Short girl walks into a maternity store . . .

I'm short. And pants? They've always been my own personal Waterloo. I once cried in the middle of a store when I found they quit making this one kind of jean - they fit me so well, without a trip to the tailor to shorten them. I tend to buy pants and then wear them until they suddenly rip (generally while I'm in a mall, necessitating a sudden pants purchase while holding a big bag behind me), because it's that hard to find them the right length.

But maternity pants shopping? Whole new war. And it's becoming a necessary one. I'm finally getting to the point where my jeans and pants are getting snug. I'm running out of presentable work clothes. It's time to shop.

I first hit the Internet, mostly because I knew that going to a store would require several rounds of trying pants on. I hate trying clothes on - I'd rather just pick something out and know it will fit. Heck, I even bought my wedding dress online. I will do just about anything to avoid standing in a small room in my underwear, pulling pants on and off.

I went to one site because it was having a sale. For around $50 (which is a steal if you've ever priced maternity clothes), I got a very cute shirt, a pair of jeans and a dress I have dubbed the Little Black Maternity Tent. When they arrived, though, they sat in the box for two weeks while I avoided trying them on.

Yes, this trying clothes on thing extends to home. But finally I did. The shirt and dress fit well, with plenty of room for the next few months. But the jeans? Well, I don't have enough junk in the trunk to hold the rear up, and my belly isn't quite enough for the panel in the front. But those are things that will likely be rectified over time. The real problem? The length.

The legs of these jeans keep going ... and going. They extend past my foot, and then another footlength. I could make feetie pajamas out of these jeans. I thought about returning them, but I know that finding jeans the right length for me right now is going to be a Herculean task. So instead, I'll hem them.

And in the meantime, this first foray into maternity clothes shopping has given me some insight as to what I want to buy when I do a bigger expedition later. I'm now leaning more toward dresses and skirts, which require no hemming, and pairing them with tights and boots for the winter. I'll buy maybe one more pair of work pants, but I think that will probably be it. For home, yoga pants and drawstring pants in larger sizes will suffice.

I'd be interesting in hearing from mothers who have already done the maternity clothes buying experience. What pearls of wisdom do you have for shopping?

Bethany Erickson is 18 weeks pregnant and the wife of Texas Health Resources web editor Tom Erickson.