Summer Wedding Attire at 38 1/2 weeks Pregnant

So swollen, but making it work.

30min before we were supposed to head out the door to go to my cousin's wedding, I realized that my dress for the ceremony splayed open in the front and threatened to reveal all my lady parts. This is not the look I was going for, Catholic ceremony and all. So I shimmied this pencil skirt up as far as it would go, and kept it in place with a Bella Band. Then, in a frantic rush, I tried on numerous flowing blouses to see which one would cover my bump. Ann Taylor hooked a sista' up. Best part is, I was able to wear my new favorite shoes, albeit briefly as you can see my feet are so edematous I'm literally pouring out of them.

Playing off the pregnancy glow.

After the ceremony, I headed to my cousin's house to change into evening attire and get my hair flat-ironed. I have thick, coarse, naturally wavy hair, and like almost every woman I often wish I had what Mother Nature didn't give me. My husband got to witness the intense process of achieving this look and is now willing to consider 'letting' me try the Brazilian keratin perma-straight treatment. It's not that I need his permission per se, I just think it's important to get his approval since he'd miss my waviness. Plus, I hear these treatments are not cheap and that deserves some discussion.

Like my makeup? I did it myself! I have to say, I think most of my physician friends are makeup challenged. I was in that same boat until very recently (and even now I'll admit that I could take it up a notch). Toward the end of residency I realized that I'd need a 'face routine' for a professional appearance and I got to work on figuring out just how to do that. Don't make fun of me, but I seriously have to credit almost everything I know on this subject to Carmindy of TLC's What Not To Wear*. For the specifics (e.g. what shade to use) I've gone up to the counters at Clinque and Ulta and basically said "help me, I know nothing." The final frontier for me is eyelashes. For goodness sake, you'd think with all this hair I'd have some amazing lashes. Cursed irony, I do not!

Trapeze dress by Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique

I was fretting about finding a dress for the evening reception. It's summer, it's hot, and I didn't want a maxi skirt that would smother me and interfere with dancing. I went to Nordstrom's Rack and found this beautiful teal number on SALE, less than $50! It might have looked nicer to have something a bit more form fitting, but I was specifically looking for a 'trapeze' style so that I could eat whatever I wanted. -Priorities, people! Thing is, I didn't know the term 'trapeze' at that time, but now that I do I feel like my search options for pregnancy-compatible dresses has expanded significantly. Check it out.

*This is her best, fundamental video, methinks.