necessity is the mother of invention

I had another recent clothing crisis ... instigated by a growth spurt ... well basically my belly grows noticeably every single week!

I also decided I could not waste any time allowing my varicose veins to get any worse so I bought myself some knee high compression stockings. I will switch to full length ones as the weather cools although I wish they had stay up ones that grip onto your upper thighs instead of the regular pantyhose kind that I will just have to leave sitting tucked under my belly.

Firstly I believe the stockings are having a positive effect and I basically wear them from the moment I get up until I shower at night. I have 4 pairs and I hand wash each pair the day after I finish wearing them.

They are hot and they look funny especially when everyone is wearing short shorts, thongs, strappy sandals etc.

So I decided my best option was to try and wear them with some longer skirts.

One of the dresses I bought for myself last year had detachable straps so you could wear it as a short sexy dress or as a long skirt. It is scandalously short and I have not been able to wear it as a dress so I just think of it as a skirt now ... but it gave me an idea.

I need clothes that give me sun protection for when drop off and collect Kt from school so strappy dresses or even strappy tops are out.

I need clothes that are cool because I am really feeling the heat.

I need to wear the stockings to help my veins.

I don't want to look daggy when I go to school.

I want to be comfortable.

All this can not be achieved with one wardrobe so basically I wear something nice, sun protective, less comfortable and warmer for my pick up and drop off to school and also for going out shopping etc.

When I come home I switch to older, cooler, more revealing, comfortable clothes and I change back again in time to collect kt from school.

I have been doing this since last year but it has been absolutely essential this year.

So these days when i am at home I can be found wearing knee high compression stockings, short shorts and singlet style tops. I don't get too hot, I don't get uncomfortable, I can clean and move and sort things out without worrying about getting dirty and I can head back to school later looking respectable again.

My good clothes stay good, relatively clean and fresh smelling, my old favourites continue to wear and be worn and be useful.

I also looked back through my wardrobe again to see what I could do about finding suitable dressier things to wear and discovered that I could turn my other maternity dress into a longer skirt by turning the strappy sleeves in under the material and pulling the dress down below my waist, while wearing a long t shirt on top.

I can also do this same thing with a black flowery dress I like to wear ... I just have to fold the sleeves and top part under my belly, the skirt part of the dress sits on my hips and I put a t shirt on the top.

There was also a dress i got given that came from Greece. It had a boob tube type top bit with elastic that goes above your breasts, more elastic that sits below your breasts and then the skirt part.

Before i was pregnant it looked kind of feminine and nice although not my usual style. Once I was pregnant it fit well and was comfortable .... soft thin elastic but really made me look frumpy.

Now I just wear it as a skirt with both the upper and lower elastic below my belly. The material that used to cover my breasts forms a few ruffles and folds which appear underneath my t shirt, but just look like they are decorative.

Wearing it this way turns it into a fabulous skirt that I am likely to wear a lot, pregnant or not, and I am unlikely to ever wear it the other way (as a dress again).

So I am feeling very creative and inventive and happy to have found more wearable things in my wardrobe!

I did go out shopping last week and picked up a few tops ... one was a green maternity top (just because I wanted to see if they really are better than big tops) and also it was on sale for only $7 down from an original $18.

I also bought a couple of size 14 t shirts that will go with the new "skirts" I have created... and also a couple of size 14 long sleeve shirts that I can wear in winter when I am breastfeeding and while my tummy will still be big. Size 14's are roomy, not tight around the breasts, and are long enough to cover my belly.

I am feeling like I am pretty much covered now both for clothes for the rest of the pregnancy and clothes for the rest of the year and early next year while my size continues to vary....until I am back to wearing my regular clothes.

Hopefully I can avoid the shops (at least for clothes shopping for me now for a little while).

I also do not feel like I have overspent or wasted money on things ... maternity wear really is exorbitantly priced and everything I have purchased has been at a good special, or will be wearable for some time beyond the pregnancy too.

I have also borrowed some things and thankfully I kept my maternity wear from last pregnancy and every bit helps.