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I was meeting a business associate/friend for dinner last night. It took me more than an hour to find something to wear. Looking at a pile of my favorite skirts and dress pants on the floor, knowing it would be at least a year before I could wear them again, I wanted to cry.

As a work-at-home freelance writer, my wardrobe has consisted of sweatpants and t-shirts for the past month. Prior to getting pregnant, I usually made an effort to get dressed for work. I’d shower in the morning, do my hair and some light make-up, and put on jeans and a t-shirt—the same thing I’ve worn to work for every office job I’ve held since college.

I still shower every morning, but it’s far too time-consuming to find pants that fit my rapidly-expanding waist. My legs and thighs are still the same size as always, so buying larger clothes is tricky right now. Besides, I don’t know how long I’ll stay this size.

This morning, I braced myself to get on the scale for the first time since January 30, when I found out I was pregnant. “I will not cry if it says 140,” I repeated like a mantra.

I’m 5’3” and very petite. My ideal weight is between 115 and 125. Pre-pregnancy, I was hovering around 132, depending on the time of month. (Sometimes I hit 129, some mornings I was at a high of 134.)

Imagine my surprise when the scale said 131.6. “How could this be?” I asked my friend and fellow blogger, Julie Fletcher, mother of 4. “None of my clothes fit!” “Your womb is expanding,” she explained. “Your waist and hips are growing, but you haven’t gained any weight yet. It’s perfectly normal.”

So what to do when you don’t yet fit into maternity clothes, but your pre-pregnancy low-rise jeans and baby doll tees just aren’t cutting it (or buttoning, for that matter)?

The rubber band trick: Wrap a rubber band around the button of your jeans, thread it through the button hole, and wrap it around the button again. Add a long, baggy shirt, and you can get another month of wear out of your favorite pre-pregnancy denim.

Be thankful sweat suits are in! I’ve never liked the trend, but women and teens wear sweat suits with hooded, zip-up jackets everywhere. Some women can make these suits look good! What’s their secret? A nice, well-made t-shirt, some casual jewelry and clean, matching sneakers dress up a sweat suit, making it perfectly appropriate for the movies, the mall, even dinner. When you wear one of these comfortable ensembles, the secret is in the details—your hair, your make-up, and your accessories will complete the package.

Look for pants with stretch waistbands. You can even find dress pants today made from stretchy material. Add a long, loose shirt, nice shoes and some jewelry and you have an outfit that will take you from the office to dinner appointments with no fuss.

Tags: maternity clothes, Pregnancy, weight gain