Doing a Little Shopping

I was an Old Navy shopper. I’m short so didn’t have to worry about pant length (other than hemming) and since I was at home, I didn’t have to worry about my work wardrobe. I highly recommend the yoga pants. I spent most of my last few months in those pants because the jeans got too tight and I didn’t want to order a new size just to wear for two months. I agree with the insanity of the prices on maternity clothes. You no longer can plan the spacing of your children based on what’s best for your family, but rather trying to be pregnant during the same season so you can reuse maternity clothes!

I have to admit, my “Whaaaaat?” moment came when I stumbled across the maternity thong. I can think of nothing I wanted to wear less when hugely pregnant than thong underwear. (*waves to your mom*)

My best luck has been Old Navy maternity jeans. I love them! As of now, I have 4 pairs. I love them all. 2 are real waist (with an adjustable waist which is awesome), 1 pair of full panel, and 1 low rise. Their shirts are very comfy and cute and true to size. Right now they’re having a good sale on summer stuff and I love layering camis and tanks with cardigans so I will wear them while it’s still warm and then again when it gets cold. Gap stuff seems a little steep to me. I mean, I’m already 4 months pregnant.
I agree with Joanna about the thong. I actually bought some “maternity underwear” at Motherhood over the weekend and can’t tell a difference between them and my regular bikini underwear. Waste of money, IMO!

Kohls and Target both carry maternity lines, and the prices are incredibly reasonable, so you didn’t feel like you are doing something awful like paying $150 for a pair of maternity clothes!! (i think maybe Wal-Mart does too)

a few things to remember though…what might fit you in your second trimester may not fit in your third. it just depends on how you carry. will you carry really low, and thus need larger pants? will you carry very high and need shirts with more give? will you outgrow your maternity clothes in the last 6 weeks and have to go back to buy more stuff in larger sizes because you still have to go to work like me

(or, will you go on wearing your smaller maternity jeans for a long time post pregnany because they are so incredibly comfy that you don’t want to go back to the old style!!)

the secret to maternity clothes is to realize that it might not fit like your old clothes, but that’s ok. you are pregnant, it’s obvious if you are in maternity clothes, and no one is expecting your clothes to fall in exactly the right places that it did before. and don’t go to the expensive stores. its really not worth it.

OH. and I was famous for the hair-rubberband-through-the button-loop trick in my before-jeans. I bought one size larger in jeans, and wore them buttoned for a while, then with a hair tie for a while, then with one of those bella bands at the end.

Oh Tabitha. I feel for you. When I was pg I was sure that they only made clothes for women 5’5″ or under. I was sure it was a conspiracy to keep tall people from reproducing.

Also, my butt was just plain huge. In fact my sister asked me if my butt was pregnant too.

I cried.

Have you looked at Target?

I can’t help myself… I have to share these two blogs with you. Every time I check in with them now I think of you and your journey into Motherhood!

See: http://marriageconfessions.com/confessions/

and

http://glamlifehousewife.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Janet

Oh, maternity clothes, how I cannot WAIT to need you!

Although, I feel your pain (except my problem is being short, not tall). I feel like I can barely find clothes to fit NOW (not pregnant!), I can’t imagine what it will be like with a bowling ball in my abdominal area too!

Shopping for maternity clothes sounds like torture to me! Especially since you’re going to keep growing so I’m assuming that your first round of maternity clothes isn’t going to get you through the whole pregnancy. I have no idea, but that sounds logical to me. That’s something I’m not looking forward to doing!

My problem is being a plus sized petite person and pregnant. Forget about finding anything flattering. Luckily for me Motherhood Maternity has been my place to go to for both pregnancies. I still have stuff from my first pregnancy but since it was during the winter time most of the stuff is jeans and long sleeved shirts. This time around, I needed shorts and short sleeved shirts. At least part of this pregnancy will be during the fall, so I hope (cross my fingers), I can still fit into a few of my pieces from the first pregnancy. The whole maternity clothing is a racket just because of how brief you wear the clothing. The other thing to buy is one of those band things (http://www.ingridandisabel.com/bellaband.html) that you can slip over your existing jeans and pants so they last a little longer.

Maternity shopping sucks!!!! Especially since you’re spending money on stuff you’ll wear only a few months. I got some stuff on eBay, and I wear a lot of sundresses and skirts with elastic waistbands. That way I don’t have to pack them away after I have the baby and they’re usually cuter too! Yoga pants and sweats work wonders too…and if all else fails I’ve had some luck at Old Navy

–>I was thankful to get a lot of maternity hand-me-downs which I passed along.

http://www.WebSavyMom.com

If you are certain that you are going to have more children in the future – maternity clothing is more than likely a good investment.
I remember seeing the all-too-cute clothing hanging in the store windows, beckoning me to come in and purchase them only to have them carry a huge price tag. I too am tall – 6 feet – and have problems finding jeans that fit. I do live in a warm climate and can avoid that problem all together by wearing capris.
When I was pregnant, I got away with purchasing three items that were actual maternity items: A white shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of capris – all found, believe it or not, at Wal-Mart – they fit perfectly.
I found, though, that I got away with wearing tie-waste items that expanded with me and stretchy skirts that I already owned. For shirts, I was able to wear they style that I like so much – empire waste shirts that were already in my wardrobe. I also was able to pair stretchy tanks with button-ups that I left open (for the layered look).
That was four years ago already, but I have talked with my also-tall cousin, who says the greatest invention in the world for pregnant woman is now a stretchy band that goes over the pants you currently own. Just leave them unbuttoned and put this band over them to hold up your pants and secure your growing belly. I am uncertain of the name, but I have seen it in the windows of maternity stores and it only costs around $50.
Good luck.

You’ve given me another reason to avoid pregnancy! I need those 36″ inseams and a waist that’s a size smaller than hips. I don’t like shopping for clothing as a general rule and it sounds like I would probably learn unique ways of wearing sheets and belts (a la toga) rather than actually putting forth the effort required to find nice clothes! That said, I might suggest some maternity dresses rather than jeans/tops. Comfort and ease!

My ‘mom’ group had four of us who were in different stages of pregnancy for years. Only one of us worked and three of us sewed. We had THE BOX. The box held all the maternity clothes the four of owned and it made the rounds to whoever needed it. We pruned out the old worn things and added new as needed. Often the first notice that someone was expecting again was a phone call saying ‘take the box to …’. My favorite picture of us was all four lined up: newly pregnant through hugely pregnant and two inbetween pregnant. The first of the kids to get married was just this summer. Time flies.

I love the Levi jeans I got from JCPennys. Other than that I mostly just bought ‘up’ a size or two I usually hate maternity clothing. The exception was when pregnant with twins…then I had no choice. Good luck trying to find your maternity style! Kim

I received a million maternity hand-me-downs and that made a world of difference. It’s HARD to find maternity clothes that work for you, not just because they’re costly and don’t fit well, but also because it’s easy to get exhausted with the process. I wound up donating about half of the hand-me-downs because they would never fit me, but I am so thankful for the ones that did fit.

That said, my best fits were Old Navy. I loved the wide-panel style of jeans the most because I felt like it offered more support (and my belly button wasn’t sensitive, so why not?) and Old Navy was one of the only places that sold long pants with that style in spring. Most places stopped selling long pants in February – presumably because our summers are so warm – and while that makes sense, I just never was able to convince my boss to let me wear denim shorts or capris to the office.

Good luck finding maternity clothes that fit!