The task at hand is workwear. Specifically, workwear that’s intruded by growing an actual human around one’s midsection. Pregnancy, it seems, has decided to throw a literal bump into my daily workwear dressing. That’s fine—two can style the maternity workwear game.

Today, I’m breaking down the core essentials for styling your work days during pregnancy. Below, you’ll find the nine essential maternity items every professional woman needs to make it through nine months of working and growing a human, along with all of my favorite picks for each category. You’ll likely see a trend as you click through—so many of my favorite maternity clothes can be found at Nordstrom (a.k.a. the mothership).

But first, a few overall tips…