38 weeks

38 weeks! I can't believe I only have 2 weeks or less to go. It could be tonight that baby Sophia Kiko decides to pop out. It's a weird feeling, exciting, but strange!

My little sister (4 years my younger) and my parents came over to my place, and we snapped these photos right outside of our house. 

The baby moved when my sister touched my belly - she is so active..always kicking, punching and stretching.  Except when Andy touches my belly, then she freezes! I think she is shy.

Look how flat my sister's belly is! I hope to get back into shape once the baby is born.

And she can fly...like a bird.

I barely made it off the ground. My belly is just too huge.

This blue dress was my recent vintage find from "Sanbiki no Koneko" (three kittens) in Shimokitazawa. I bought it for 600 yen (about 6 bucks). I really liked the bat sleeves, and elastic waist, so I decided to take this home with me.

One problem with the dress was that it was too long for my liking, down to mid calf level. I decided to hem it shorter.  But, having learned the lesson from my hemming experience of this polka dot dress a few weeks ago I decided to readjust my approach to hemming. If you hem a dress or skirt in the traditional way while you are in your third trimester, the center front of the skirt will raise more than expected because of the big belly. So, you must compensate!
So, this time I cut the front center of the dress 3 inches longer than the side and back.

From the side view, you can see that there is a slope - front center is longer than the side and back on dress form. Once the baby is out, I can hem the dress again to even out the front:)

Doing this will make allowance for the expanding pregnancy belly and make it so that the dress will not rise too high.  

By the way, I was asked about maternity tights and leggings by one of the blog readers recently. I thought my answers might help some other pregnant ladies out there, so I decided to post them here.

1. What about Comfort and Durability (will they last the whole pregnancy?): 

Maternity tights are super comfortable. I can't live without them now. The maternity tights have a longer length allowance from crotch to waist, and they cover the whole belly. They seem to stretch more than regular tights. As for durability, I guess it depends on how often you wear them, just like regular tights! Mine are still wearable, no  holes or other such wear and tear yet! 

2. In regards to fashion, what sort of things can they be worn with? 

I pair them with everything! Dresses, long tops, shorts etc. 

3. What are they like compared to standard tights (eg differences)?   

As I mentioned above, maternity tights has longer and stretchier in the torso in order to cover the big belly!