Mama's favorite maxi dress

In years past, I've been kind of sneaky with my announcements, but I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I'm pregnant! So that explains why things have been quiet lately on the blog. This summer has been much less action-packed for me than I thought it would be. I didn't have any pregnancy sickness with Edmund and only a little with Lavinia, but boy, it's been rough this go around! Pregnancy sickness every day from week six. No vomiting (thankyouthankyouthankyou, Lord) but other diverse and odd symptoms that make me feel nauseous most of the time. Ironically, mornings are when I feel the best. I think things are getting ever-so-slightly better, but I'll know I'm 100% back to myself when I can brush my teeth without gagging. ;)

Necessity drove me to do some sewing, despite not "feeling like it." My summer wardrobe is really lacking and I was getting depressed from having so few options when it came to getting dressed. My cute kids (via their daddy) gave me some pretty fabrics for my birthday in June, and one was a length of medium-weight jersey knit from The Fabric Fairy. I wanted to sew it into a maxi dress, but I was hoping to extend the wearability by making it pregnancy, nursing, and post-partum friendly. Yes, it's a tall order, but I was able to come up with a design that fulfills all three criteria! The dress has an empire waist with some elastic shirring to make it comfortable for a growing baby bump. The nursing access comes from the deep V-neck and the faux camisole underneath.


So as you can see in the photos, I have hardly any bump at all at this point (13 weeks). However, there is room to grow and, since I am still nursing Lavinia three times a day, it's very convenient to be able to nurse in it. The jersey makes it soooo comfortable and because of the longer skirt length, reasonable neckline, and slight cap sleeves I can basically forget what I'm wearing while wrangling my kids throughout the day (it's nice to not have to think about bending over too much, bra straps sliding out, skirt being pulled up, etc.). Now that I've made one dress and gotten most of the tweaks out, I'm planning on making another one, and next time I'll document my steps with photos and write up a tutorial so you can make something similar, if you like. I know I will be wearing this often throughout the rest of summer and, with a jacket or cardigan, into fall!