The famous moms made it look so easy. Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge, Jennifer Lawrence, Hailee Steinfeld—when they were ready to share their pregnancies, they also shared a maternity style that felt refreshing, boundary-breaking, and dare I say, cool . They wore crop tops and low-slung pants; they treated their baby bumps as accessories to rival their designer bags. For me, a fashion editor thinking about starting a family, these pictures were a promise: "Sure, you can still dress like yourself when you’re growing someone else."

Sixteen weeks into my first pregnancy, I tore those images down from my mental mood board. I admired that these women could show off their stomachs with pride—but they weren’t commuting to an office three days a week. My reality, my budget, and, frankly, my comfort level couldn’t follow their leads.…