What The Stock: Maternity Fashion According To Stock Photos

Maternity clothes don't have to be drab. We've seen plenty of great pregnancy looks from Kate Middleton, Miranda Kerr and Meghan Markle to mention a few. But if you look at pregnant women in stock photos, you'll see that all they wear are crop tops! Check out the stock photos below to see how pregnant women style their baby bumps.

10 Faces Of Pregnancy In Emojis

😀The Positive pregnancy test.

😵Morning sickness.

😝Unexplainable food aversions.

😍Hearing baby's heartbeat for the first time.

😭Watching an ad about babies/children/pets (can also apply to seeing the cost of baby gear).

😌First time you slip into maternity leggings: Oh the comfort!

😒When a stranger touches your belly.

😣Constipation.

😖Getting up every 15 minutes to pee.

😳When you water breaks.

How I Spent My Maternity Leave

Before I gave birth to the twins, I had this crazy idea that maternity leave = rest. But a week before going back to work, I was already thinking "What? That was it? My maternity leave is over? I feel like I haven't even fully recovered yet!" Instead of resting and recovering, my maternity leave felt like a temporary job assignment with two super demanding bosses and never-ending shifts. The truth is there's no rest when you're on maternity leave. To illustrate where those 78 days went (I gave birth via C-section), here's a breakdown of how I spent my maternity leave:

A Fascinating Look Into A Pregnant Woman's Brain

Thanks to a scientific study*, we can finally get an inside look at a pregnant woman's brain.

*Based on one woman's experience

The Best Post-Pregnancy Fitness Routine

I gave birth to my twins via C-Section after 4 months of at-home bed rest and 5 days of in-hospital complete bed rest without bathroom privileges. The day after I gave birth, I was encouraged to move around to speed up my recovery. I honestly thought I had forgotten how to walk. After all, it was my first time to plant my feet on the ground after 6 long days! But I had to get up to see my twins who were in the hospital's Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU). So Joey pushed me on a wheelchair from our room to the IMCU but once we got inside, I had to walk. I didn't mind the pain because I wanted to see my babies. But once we got home, I felt really sore.

When Is It OK To Ask A Woman If She's Pregnant?

"We have strollers in pink and blue. How far along is your pregnancy? Do you already know the gender?" asked the sales assistant. Yes, a girl and a boy. Except I knew because I already gave birth to my twins two weeks ago. I kept the last sentence to myself. My husband and I were in a hurry. Our twins were born three weeks early so they were still in the hospital. We just made a quick trip to the mall to buy their strollers and car seats then it's back to the hospital to be with our babies and do kangaroo care.

That was definitely not what I needed. But I just let it slide because I had bigger things to worry about. Then it happened again when I was 6 weeks postpartum. Here's the exchange:

Me: Do you have a wedge pillow for babies? (Shows photo)

Sales Assistant #1: We used to have that but now it's out of stock. (Turns to Sales Assistant #2) Right?

Sales Assistant #2: Yes. (Turns to me) Ma'am what you should get is a maternity pillow to help you sleep.

Me: No it's OK thanks.

SA #2: It's really helpful. I used it when I was pregnant and it helped with my back. How many months pregnant are you? When you're nine months pregnant your tummy will get even bigger and make your back sore.

Me: I already gave birth 6 weeks ago. AND YOU JUST LOST ANY SALES YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE OFF ME!

Don't worry, I also kept that last sentence to myself. Along with the thought that we really need to be careful when it comes to asking a woman if she's pregnant or when her due date is. To make it easy, we should have a reference guide like this: