I know, I am a little obsessed with Kate Middleton. Please bear with me; I think all the coverage of her is helping my process my experience with all my pregnancies, because hers is writ so large. Also, I still have a teen fangirl inside me who got up early to watch Diana married and so I feel a little like the British monarchy is a part of my psyche. I promise to post many other things and preface my posts so you know the score. So: In the news, Kate Middleton goes maternity shopping. I think this is way too early, although if you are Kate Middleton you probably have to start somewhere pretty quickly. But here's why I think she is making a mistake: 1. Shopping for maternity clothes too early, even if you are Kate Middleton, means you have to wear this, and it is not going to tell you how you will carry the baby. Maternity stores helpfully provide these pillows for trying on clothes, and they do help some - but not enough. Out of my three full-term pregnancies, I carried extremely differently. With my first, I still was hardly showing at 6 months and my baby seemed stretched tall along my entire front. For my second, I carried low and my belly stuck out early and really made pants difficult to fit, even with panels or the under-the-belly low rise ones (which, for the record, I did not like...but that is why you need to wait; a belly panel or under-belly pants will wear very differently for different belly shapes.) For my third I was on bedrest so I needed more pajamas than anything else. 2. You will need to buy as you go along anyway... ...because if you're anything like me, you will get so tired of the wardrobe it will be a nice boost. However if you must start early I recommend you go with some classics like this pencil skirt from Motherhood Maternity: One tip if you're just buying up a size: Make sure your tops are cut long. Those maternity panels need a longer top to cover them, as you can see in the picture. 3. What should you buy early in your pregnancy? Besides my prior recommendations, great accessories can really punch up basic tops, skirts and pants. I love this necklace from Aldo. But other ideas include scarves, hair accessories, shoes, bracelets and don't forget sun glasses - and you'll have them going forward. Share your tips for kitting out an earlier maternity wardrobe! Of course I'm guessing that Kate Middleton's maternity shopping is pretty well done when it comes to jewels!