my experience encouraged me to start my own company…
My pregnancy story isn’t a particularly conventional one. Back in 2008, I was madly head over heels in love with my son’s father. I was pretty certain we would be having kids within the next 2 years but we just needed to settle ourselves in our very own home first. In the middle of 2009, I remember being off food for at least a week, maybe two weeks, which is completely unlike me. I LOVE food. I remember experiencing a weird, unpleasant taste in my mouth despite brushing my teeth and brushing again to rid the horrible taste. Then it dawned on me that I may be …. LATE. After a date with my friend over dinner in my favourite Italian restaurant (where I couldn’t stomach my usual favourite dish) I thought I ought to buy a pregnancy test just to reassure myself that, y’know, I wasn’t pregnant and I was in fact just ‘unwell’.
Within an hour of returning home; the stick confirmed I was indeed pregnant. It was completely unplanned but it was such a happy, if unexpected, discovery.
The first 3 months weren’t pleasant. Why they call it ‘morning sickness’, I don’t know. I woke up; felt nauseous. I got ready for work; felt nauseous. I’d sit on a bus on my daily commute, smelling that awful public transport stench that is 200 times worse when you’re pregnant; felt nauseous. Arrive at work, try to put on a smile, run to the toilets – heave. Back to my desk, felt nauseous. Run to the toilets, heave, back to work. You get the idea! And all my colleagues would wonder why I kept making trips to the doctors, why I looked so unwell… it was not easy to keep this little secret to myself until we had our 3 months scan.
Finally, the 3 month mark passed and my bump was no longer a secret. However, the nausea did not pass. In fact, it didn’t pass until after about 4 months. 4 whole months of feeling wretched, nauseous every single day. Who knew it was so draining and that you could actually survive your first trimester eating very little and feeling so UN-HEALTHY. Where was the glow??
Into my second trimester, thankfully – it got a little easier. I no longer had to start the day eating oat biscuits in bed. I could get on with my day as normal but as my bump grew bigger, there began the wardrobe dilemmas. Luckily, over the years, I happened to hoard a huge amount of independent labels with that oversized Japanese drapey look. The likes of Boessert-Schorn, Complex Geometries and unknown independent designer pieces purchased from Hong Kong’s malls came really useful. But I was puzzled as to why the current maternity wear offering was so … bland, so drab, so flowery, so mumsy.
I sailed into my third trimester and was getting by on maternity leggings and oversized tees, specifically I recall an Ann-Sofie Back x Topshop number and oversized shirts. I remember needing a dress for a friend’s birthday dinner and having to default to an ASOS ruched, wrap front maternity dress. It was uber feminine, uber fitted and not particularly me…
When my son arrived, I then had the task of finding nursing-friendly tops and dresses. I had a button front Whistles denim dress which was ideal but otherwise; I refused to buy into the cheap jersey stretchy t-shirts on offer. Instead, I stayed at home a huge amount of the time and opted for flashing at home. Not a great solution for a first-time mum in need of fresh air and bonding time with other new mums!
Within a year of my son’s arrival; my idea of a contemporary clothing line which was bump-friendly but not maternity-only took shape. In 2012, I launched Keungzai.com in response to my personal experience, a solution to my own wardrobe dilemmas during and after pregnancy. Keungzai delivers affordable luxury for style-savvy women, mothers and mums-to-be. Contemporary pieces that are functional yet modern. I have loved dressing women since 2012 in our ethically, British-made designs with great responses from women who were previously exasperated on the search for maternity-friendly clothing!
This is part one of a 2 part guest blog post from Michelle, the owner of Keungzai.com and mum to M., 3 and a half. In the next post, Michelle will be helping you with some bump-friendly fashion and styling tips depending on your stage.
Tags: guest post