Baby it's cold outside - Where are my insulated maternity coveralls?

Obviously maternity wear was designed by men. Actually, now that I think about it, ALL industrial work wear is designed by men. If you would like a Ladies “Manager” style steel toed safety boot, you will find the end of the interwebs before you find the shoe you are looking for. The same can be said for maternity wear. By no means am I out working everyday digging ditches for a living, but I imagine some lady out there is.

 My husband and I have very active hobbies that are hard on our clothes. Our hobbies don’t stop just because it is now cold outside. Case and I love camping, and going on 4x4 Jeep trail rides. We enjoy being outside on the farm, really just piddlin’ around; fishing, target shooting, or whatever else we can get into. I currently have 3 hens, but would love to live on a place with more land so I could have a small hobby farm of livestock. We are often working in the yard of our families, or getting the garden ready for the next season (in the winter). When I first met Case, I was ill prepared with quality outdoor work wear. Case showed me the light in the wonders of a good moisture wicking base layer, and insulated coveralls (or bib overalls). Camping was no fun before my ugly insulated Wal-Mart hunting section bib overalls. I was so naive to think that jeans would keep me warm in freezing temperatures! I now sport insulated boots (down to -30, overkill but hey, they WILL stay warm), wool blend hiking socks, insulated overalls, Under Armor base layers, and my Carhartt jacket (worth its weight in gold).

Case and I have a big camping/4x4 trip coming up, and it is going to be a cold one. Knowing I am expecting, I am not going to fit in my usual insulated bib coveralls, so I naturally assumed that all of the wonderfully progressive women before me have already paved the way for industrious maternity wear. I own a set of pink tools (cliché, but the pink does work to keep my husband out of my tool box. He wouldn’t be caught dead with a pink screwdriver) and pink Mechanix’s gloves for general labor around the house, trail, or campsite. While I own none, you can even purchase pink camo, Mossy Oak makes a line of lingerie, and bikinis; OBVIOUSLY they make maternity wear. I mean….their lingerie got you pregnant in the first place, might as well follow it up with maternity wear. Just like ladies safety shoes, BOY WAS I WRONG.

According to maternity manufactures (and of course this is pushed by market demand) expectant mothers only hold 2 types of jobs. Either you work in some kind of corporate setting, or you are a nurse. WOW we have went back to 1930 haven’t we. You can either be a secretary, teacher, or nurse; that is your career choices ladies.  It is probably a bad idea for an expectant mother to be out digging ditches by hand, but I know there is a woman out there who is running a Bobcat, driving a John Deere, or just directing traffic for the highway workers. Just because you are pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t walk outside and be warm. Do expectant mothers have to quit hunting, fishing, farming, tending to livestock, camping, hiking, or just chilling it outside in the snowy weather?? According to the makers of maternity wear, I guess so.

Where is the maternity Carhartt coveralls, maternity UnderArmor, maternity Dickies work pants, NorthFace’s maternity line, or maternity Nike running shorts (with the built in drahhhws, lol)

Like the generations of women before me, I will have to resort to my husband’s clothing. No specialty designed for my body shape, work wear for me. This brings up another pet peeve, running shorts. The few I have found on the interwebs are very expensive and so I am hesitant to purchase them! Obviously expectant mothers ONLY do yoga after their corporate or nursing jobs. If anyone finds a line of Mossy Oak, Carhartt, Dickies, Under Armor, Mountain Hardware, Nike, or Reebok maternity wear…. Please let me know. J