I hit up a maternity store for the very first time the other weekend. It was kind of fun.

Did you know they have fake bumps in the dressing room so you can see how something will fit when you’re further along?

Such fun! And very useful to see how this maternity coat will look in a few months when I need it.

I got a good deal on it too.

The worst part of my first maternity store experience was checking out. It took about 800 minutes, between getting my personal info into the store database, hooking me up with their little first-timer goodie bag of free junk, attempting to sign me up for Parenting magazine and issuing my “Bump Bucks” for spending a certain amount. It was all far too complicated.

Consider this your warning not to be in a rush when maternity shopping for the first time.