Being pregnant = wanting to wander through a maze of crazed mothers and toddlers

And other myths perpetrated by The Gap...

So, I meant to post this a bit ago, but didn't want to lose this gem, even though I've related the story to a few of you already.

So, when I first decided that I was going to give up the good fight of wearing my normal clothes due to some agonizing meetings where I couldn't find a couth way to unbutton my pants, I went out in search of maternity clothes. Now, Ann and Christine both sent me boxes of all of their maternity clothes, but alas they're both too short for me to wear any of their pants.

So, I decided to start off at Gap Maternity searching for a couple pairs of work pants. I wandered into Gap and circled the store twice, seeing not a thing that looked like it was maternity. There were lots of salespeople, but no one asked why I was taking laps around the store, and I of course didn't want to ask.

I finally and cautiously poked my head through the door to Baby Gap and then recoiled. It was a Saturday, and the Baby Gap was a blur of strollers, crying babies, running toddlers, and frazzled mothers. "Surely," I thought, "Surely, the women's maternity clothes can't be in there!" Glancing back at the salespeople who were avoiding my pleading look, I decided I wasn't going to come back another weekend and I must brave the Baby Gap.

So, in I went. Waiting patiently for mother's to move strollers so I could pass, who didn't notice me until I said excuse me three times in a subsequently louder voice, and then they'd move ever so slightly without looking up from the jumpers they were poring over.

I finally made my way to the back of the store, and there was the maternity section and with only one woman in it who was sans children. The selection was pretty lame, but I found black pants and a pair of jeans that worked.

However, I was really shocked that maternity clothes were in the back of all the kids stuff. I've since found that this is the case at Old Navy as well. But why is it? Is it cause these stores assume that pregnant women will be shopping with children and they want to keep the children away from the quiet adults in The Gap, or is it because they think that pregnant women just want to be around children as much as possible. If either of these are the reason, I think they've misjudged pregnant women, or at least this one.

My last thought is that they think forcing pregnant women to walk through the kids clothes will get them to buy cute little kid clothes in anticipation of their baby, or at least remember how cute the clothes are at Baby Gap for after their little one comes along. I get this sales-oriented angle, but man, someone should have warned me about this! Someone starting their 2nd trimester, as I was at the time, is not ready for this kind of shocking introduction to motherhood. Let me at least get through the 2nd chapter of "What to Expect" first!

At any rate, I've now found ways around the Baby Gap, like Pea in a Pod, and buying flowy dresses at Ross and other discount stores...

So, that's my latest. Not much else is new. I think despite my anti-maternal perspective toward The Gap, I'm becoming more maternal. Molly Brown has become my baby for the time being. I've noticed that I can't say no to her anymore and I keep wanting to snuggle with her. She resists a little, but then gives in when she sees me getting out the ice cream, since she knows she can get me to give her little doggy scoops in her bowl if she stares at me while I'm eating. So, there ya go. More later. :)