Renting my own runway and my food baby

Friday October 29th I was 16 weeks pregnant.  Even though we'd purchased the plane tickets several weeks in advance I didn't buy a dress because I didn't know how I would look by then.  At my last doctor's appointment I'd only gained three pounds but it seems like so much more to me!  Another fun side effect I'm experiencing is itchy boobs!  I've already gone up a cup size and the expanding skin is making my boobs itch like crazy!  I try to steal a scratch in whenever I can.


Anyway, I've been reading MODG.  She's pregnant and due in December and I really like her writing - she's irreverent and funny and I thought I kept it real!  This chick posted in depth about her hemorrhoids!  Well, not too long ago she went to a wedding and when she wrote about the dress she rented, the lightbulb went off!  I use the internet for everything else, I will use it for this too!  It worked for MODG, it will work for me too!


RENT THE RUNWAY FAIL.


I was so excited - it seemed foolproof!  They have a bump-friendly section and everything!  I even rented the same one she did, intending to wear it to the rehearsal dinner and I rented a long one for the wedding.  I read all the reviews on the dresses, studied the sizes of the dresses and sent the links to Kesha for approval.  With confidence, I entered my credit card number and anxiously awaited delivery to the hotel.

For the rehearsal dinner

For the wedding

Images courtesy Rent the Runway

MODG wore the blue dress to the wedding she was invited to and she was like seven months pregnant so I was sure my little four-month belly wouldn't be an issue.  All the reviews said that the dress ran large so I got a smaller size than what I was used to.  The concept is great:  you receive two sizes of the dress of your choice and for a smaller additional fee, you can get two sizes of another dress.  I thought it was a great deal for a couple of fancy dresses that I was sure I would never wear again.

When they arrived at the hotel right on time Thursday afternoon I squealed with excitement.  I ran to the room, eager to play dress up.  I pulled the blue dress out first, size small.  I was unsure about getting an XS and a S but the reviews said it ran big so I trusted the women who had gone before me.

Not only did the small barely cover my butt, the armholes were so tiny they were digging into my armpits!  I triple checked to make sure I had the Small on and didn't even bother with the XS - it would probably look like a shirt!  I mean, look at the picture - the dress is definitely a mini but it still looks respectable!  Pictures lie y'all!  I was so panicked I didn't even get pictures of me in the dress.  I tried not to freak out, remembering that Julie's mom said the rehearsal dinner place was a casual spot and I could get away with jeans.  I didn't want to wear jeans but at this point I had no choice.  At least I still had the dress to wear to the wedding.  HA!

Again, the reviews on this dress said it ran true to size and the reviewers helpfully provided their height and body shape when writing about the dress.  Again, I've only gained three pounds and specifically chose this dress because it said it looked better on girls with a fuller bust - big boobies, check!

I'd ordered the 2 and the 4, but went straight for the 4 thinking I'd feel better if it turned out to be big.  HA!  HA!

Drew couldn't even get it halfway zipped.  He was like "Babe, it's not zipping up."  I was like "Try harder!  You have to get it zipped!  I don't want to go to this wedding naked!!"  And of course you can't suck it in when you're pregnant, no matter how hard you try.  And there was this weird bra-thing on the inside of the dress that none of the reviewers mentioned that was most definitely NOT bump-friendly.  It was like a bra-corset thing that was NOT going around my mid-section AT-ALL.  Even with it undone, there was no zipping up that dress.

I was devastated.  I got on the phone with RTR customer service that second and I have to admit, I was the distraught crazy person because I was freaking out.  Yes, were were in Philly and not the sticks - it's not like I wouldn't be able to find a dress on short notice somewhere in the city.  But I had no idea where to look, I had half a day to do it and I was so proud of myself for having done my research!  I HATE doing stuff like this last minute!  And of course, they didn't have the long one available to overnight to me so I was just out of luck.  Thankfully, they refunded my money minus the shipping costs within about twenty minutes of my phone call.  I was impressed with that, but that didn't fix the fact that I didn't have a dress!  I promptly put the dresses in the postage-paid envelopes they provided and put them straight back in the mail early Friday morning, just before I caught a cab to Macy's.  If I didn't find a dress there, I really didn't know what I was going to do.

Thankfully, I found one that was nice and stretchy and with my new strapless bra that had cups almost as big as my head, I was ready for the wedding!

Can you believe this is the only good picture Drew and I have together?

Check out that freakin gorgeous flower arrangement!

When Drew saw this one, he asked why I was taking pictures 

of myself in the bathroom.

"It's for my blog, get off me."

What do you think of my food baby?

This one isn't the greatest but that's because my camera sucks.

I'm very grateful to Macy's for letting me *ahem* 'rent' my dress because it worked out perfectly!  It was so comfortable and if I had had another occasion that would have required me wearing such a fancy dress at four months pregnant, I might have kept it.  But I'm shameless like that.  I can't stomach spending any amount of money on something that I'm going to wear once at best. I can only spend money on things I'm going to get good use from - like my shoes!  Those were my wedding shoes that I've worn more than five times now and in my book that's a good purchase!  They were worth every penny and they went perfectly with my dress.  I bought a great bracelet in Philly and some earrings I got at a little shop in Dallas and I felt great!  I love dressing up and who knows when I'll get that chance again.

Of course, I looked like nothing compared to the bride!  Here's a sneak peek!

Wait till you see the rest!