Dramatic Change in Sewing Tack...(Plus, does anyone have this pattern?!)

Dear reader, it is time to disclose one of the 'mystery projects' I alluded to in my recent self-employment update post. So here's the thing: basically I have a bun in the oven. As I type I have 14 weeks-worth of baby inside me. Last week we had the first scan and saw our baby. I was very much expecting it to look like a weird alien but instead what was presented to us on the screen was quite firmly baby-shaped, and moving about. Crazy. Exciting. And very moving.

This blog of mine being what it is, (i.e. a sewing-related one) I am of course going to use it to document the clothing/sewing side of this whole insane new life development. My body is currently making the transition from looking a bit bloated to being distinctly pregnant. A woman I've only met once before told me yesterday she wasn't sure if I'd had a big meal or was pregnant! As with every damn thing in my life, I plan to deal with being pregnant in a DIY fashion where at all possible, so that means sewing, sewing and some more sewing to accommodate my changing shape. I can just about squeeze into most of my clothing at the moment, but it's not going to be long before most of it has to be set aside and I'm going to be mighty cold if I don't get busy.

The thing I've only just started to realise about this whole changing shape thing is this: there's no point ignoring it. I fear that sounds like I'm not exciting about being pregnant, which I totally am. This baby was planned and is very much wanted, but hoping to be pregnant and actually being pregnant, I'm finding, are two very different states of head-space. What I'm beginning to acknowledge is that being pregnant isn't like putting on weight. When I've noticed I've been getting bigger in the past, I've just swapped to the larger, roomier garments in my wardrobe and addressed my naughty-food-and-drink intake and after a while things have balanced out again. This time, the change is only going to go in one direction for quite a long time, so I've got to get dealing with it.

I've always hoped that one day I'd have a child, so have had a fair few abstract thoughts over the years about what I'd do maternity clothing-wise. But I'm finding it a bit surreal and strange because it's actually happening, like NOW. My body is changing at a surprising rate so expect a fair bit of panic-sewing over the next month or so.

From my incredibly unscientific research (= casually observing pregnant friends, family and colleagues), there doesn't seem to be any kind of 'set amount' of weight you can expect to put on. Some have ballooned alarmingly, whilst some seemed only to have a basket-ball shoved up their top and from the back looked no different. Because I have no idea what's going to happen to me in the later months of my pregnancy, I'm kind of thinking of maternity clothing in two distinct stages: the period of small-to-medium bump and the period of medium-to-big bump. I'm still very much getting my head around all this, so I'll get back to you soon when I have had more time to think about what that is going to mean, sewing-wise. Don't even mention baby-sewing yet!!!!