Just as with any fashion collection, a maternity range needs to have a handful of staples that you can live in and accessorise and style up in your own way depending on the occasion. You want these staples to make you look and feel good; just because you are pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t look stylish and fashionable, especially now that high street brands are doing their own in-house maternity ranges. So what are these maternity-wear staples? We pick three of our must-have maternity items from New Look.

Maternity jeans

Jeans are an absolute must-have in any wardrobe so this shouldn’t change during pregnancy. You have several styles to choose from, including under-bump, stretch-front and expandable so that your jeans can last your entire pregnancy. One of our favourite pairs of maternity jeans from New Look are the Maternity Blue Skinny Jeans (pictured). At just £19.99 they are a real bargain, but what we like most about these maternity jeans is the bright colour – coloured jeans are the only jeans you should be wearing this summer – and the expandable and elasticated sides. Another option is to go for a pair of jeggins. New Look’s Mamalicious Hot Slim Jeggings are fantastic. They look exactly like jeans but the stretchy, elasticated fabric will expand as you do but allow you to show off rather than hide your bump.

Stretchy cotton t-shirt

Another item of clothing designed to show off rather than hide your bump is a stretchy cotton top or fitted t-shirt. Go for styles with details and on-trend features. We really love New Look’s Maternity Stripey Ruched Top. The blue and white stripe is on-point for this summer’s nautical trend; the ruching adds interest and the round neck and three-quarter length sleeves are flattering and feminine. Here Natalie Portman shows you exactly how to wear a fitted t-shirt and rock a flattering off-duty look.

Loose jersey dress

When you’re pregnant you are at your most feminine, so why not show off this femininity in a dress? Dresses are comfortable and flattering and will help you keep your cool during the warmer summer months. Our favourite dress is New Look’s Maternity Kimono Sleeve Jersey Dress. The deep-v neckline and loose kimono-style sleeves will flatter your bust and shoulders, whilst the tie waist and flowing jersey fabric will show off your bump and make you feel sexy and stylish.

The most important decision a parent can make has to be their child’s name, after all it’s something that will stay with them for the rest of their life.  My husband and I have to be the most indecisive people in the world and that is probably why Imogen remained nameless for nearly a week after she was born.

From the very beginning of my pregnancy I pondered on a multitude of names and carried a baby name book around in my handbag but nothing seemed to stick out.  I’ve met an awful lot of people with some badly thought out names such as Justin Case, Lee King and worked with a Wayne Kerr and I didn’t want my baby to be ridiculed for the rest of her life.

One of the best pieces of advice I was given was to say your chosen name out loud and imagine yourself shouting it after your child in the supermarket or park.  I couldn’t see myself shouting Tiberios Rios after a tot in the park as much as my brother in law loved the name!  I wanted something uncommon for my child but I also wanted something fairly normal.  I was daunted by the amount of baby names and that is probably why we decided to find out the sex of our baby.

Once we discovered that we were expecting a baby girl I thought that the decision would be easier, somehow cutting in half our name choice but it wasn’t.  There are so pretty baby girl names that it became harder.

Eventually (once I started my maternity leave) we had a short list which included Megan, Matilda (Tilly), Imogen and Poppy.  None of which were in the top 20 popular girls names but all of which were in the top 100.  So uncommon but not unusual, job done!  However a couple of days before I gave birth I couldn’t get this song out of my head

and it really threw things into a mix!

Should we have a baby Elenore, after all she would be our “Pride and Joy etc..”?

Our baby girl was born and was nameless, she even stayed that way when we left the hospital 3 days later.  Back at home a few days later and with her in my arms I flicked through the baby name book whilst looking down on her and Imogen meaning “Maiden” of “Image of her Mother” seemed to fit and our baby girl had her name.

Imogen                                           Me

I love her name and it does suit her well, so my advice when making this important decision?  Don’t panic, it’ll come to you.

Valentine’s day is just around the corner and whilst I don’t believe in all that jazz, you can’t help but notice the air of love that surrounds the day/week/weekend before and afterwards. 

I may have mentioned before that I work part time in a nice four star hotel and the phone has been ringing off the hook the past few days for four poster rooms (what do they use them for?) and our poor florist has been inundated with order after order of flowers in every shape and form.  I know of at least 3 proposals that are happening at the hotel over the course of about 10 days and part of me can’t help but feel a little jealous of all of the attention these lucky girls are getting. 

Tony and I have been together for 12 years this year and the end of this month will see our 5th wedding anniversary, I love him dearly but he isn’t the most romantic of souls.  Things weren’t always this way and on our first Valentine’s day together I was brought the most beautiful bouquet of a dozen long stemmed red roses, they must have cost a fortune but were greatly appreciated.  Since then, he’s brought me flowers once and this was after an awful lot of nagging on my part since I hadn’t even been given a small bunch of carnations after the birth of the kiddywinks.

I wasn’t romantically proposed to either, I just had a ring trust in my face on Christmas Eve 2005 when we were both a bit tipsy and all my hopes of him down on one knee disappeared in a flash.  I said yes, of course and I suppose that I will just have to accept that there isn’t a romantic bone in his body.

I’m not saying this just because it’s Valentine’s day (well maybe a bit) but we all love a random show of affection once in a while, so go on Tony – buy your wife some flowers!