Rant- Motherhood Maternity sizing

Maple403

Does anyone else think the sizing at MM is FUBAR? Supposedly the sizes are scaled to your prepregnancy size, but NOTHING fit right there for me. Also, the models/manniquins in the store are like crazy skinny models with big bellies. In general I find the maternity clothing advertisements rather disturbing. They are so unrealistic! Like stick women with basketballs under their stomachs. What is wrong with showing real pregnant women, or at least something more realistic than what I have seen in ads? I'm pretty much straight up average, body wise. Not overweight, but not skinny. I never realized that the unrealistic expectations of women's bodies was portrayed in pregnancy fashion models as much as in regular women's fashion. 

Rant over. I will check other maternity clothing stores, maybe I just don't fit into MM's styles. Also, as a FTM, I have no idea how big I will get, whether I will be popping up and out or just all-over-round. I'm hesitant in general to buy maternity clothes but I don't want to wait until nothing fits before buying anything. I can make do with my non-pregnancy clothes that are more generous for the time being- my pants still fit and I have bella bands to tide me by until I need real maternity clothes.

summerandmatt

MM sucks! I get all my maternity clothes from Old Navy. They have a lot of sales. You usually have to order online (few stores actually carry maternity), but the online reviews are helpful in figuring out how clothes fit. They even have a scale that shows how most commenters rated their clothes (fits large, small, or true to size).

Eta: also, the tags on a lot of their pants say "hello pretty mama" instead of a size...which I think is awesome.

bookworm982

Interesting. Motherhood Maternity is my favorite store, and I love almost everything there. I'm with you on being average build. It's the only store I really shop in. Everything else I get is typically online.

kavydz

I didn't get maternity clothes until 5 or 6 months and really didn't wear them much. This time I'll be in them quicker for sure, but I would wait to buy them as long as possible. I don't understand the rush to get them- how do you know how big you will get? But, everyone I knew kept saying to be sure and get them cause you're going to all the sudden need them (I didn't experience that)
Also, old navy and general department stores are great. Who wants to spend a bunch on crap you'll never wear again?!!:)

freegiraffe

I'm a FTM and I'm not buying any maternity clothes until I actually need them for this reason - no idea how things will fit/how I'll need them to fit. Then again I work from home full time so I can get away with leggings almost every day.

jennjilljo

MM makes clothes for my type so it's perfect for me. That was at 8 months pregnant. Usually turning around was followed by someone shouting "Damn!".

sleeepybunny

I just bought two pairs of skinny pants at Motherhood and I love them.  I thought the sizing was okay on the particular style I bought.  I didn't try anything else on because I wanted to get out of there ASAP.  The sales lady was all up in my business about my pregnancy and acted offended when I asked her to not put me on the mailing list.  I would die if I experienced another loss and then started getting a bunch of baby-related shit in the mail.

Me: "So you won't mail anything to me?"

Sales Lady: "No... except maybe some trial cans of formula and other smaller things when the baby is born."

I think I will continue to only shop online.

mommy510

In defense of all maternity clothes and their sizing, the idea is that it fits you the entire pregnancy. As a FTM, you will probably be about 4 months before you are really showing enough for maternity clothes (Everyone is different though), and even if you are out growing your regular clothes that doesn't mean that maternity clothes will fit. I usually have an awkward stage where nothing fits right. It is hard though because there are so many different body types and everyone carries their baby differently. I would recommend going back again in Sept and checking out the fall/winter selection. Hopefully you'll have better luck when your bump is more developed.

agm04

I feel like I'm in between (not just MM but in general).  No baby bump, but WAY too fat for my muscular/lean pre-pregnancy body-fitting clothes.  Between feeling like garbage and exhaustion keeping me from lifting weights and bloat, I barely recognize my midsection.  And my normal clothes DO NOT recognize my midsection.

Maple403

Thanks, everyone, for giving me your advice. I have heard really good things about old navy from other people too, so I will definitely check them out when the time comes. I guess I was feeling self conscious- I told my coworkers today I was pregnant and one of my female coworkers was like "I can't wait to see your cute maternity outfits!!" While I would love to splurge on a bunch of cute stuff, budget wise I need to focus on stretching my dollar. I'm aiming more for the fewest pieces for the maximum number of different outfits. So when I went to MM I was immediately worried I wouldn't find anything that fit right or looked ok, much less that would be "cute".

Sigh- fashion has never been my strong point. To be honest DH is way better at picking out clothes for me at stores. I might be the only woman whose husband can double as her professional dresser.

thegoodpotato

I always got stuff at Thyme Maternity. And then they closed the store near me.

I've never tried MM... But usually they do fit to your pre-preg size (if you're a med normally, you should wear a med the whole time).  Like @CrazyCornball, I was about 192 when I delivered, and was still wearing the size med pants and tops.... Even though a lot of he weight went to my hips/ass in addition to my belly. 

My mom liked to tell me I was 'broad across the beam'. Because apparently I was so large I was comparable to a sailing vessel....

(Just kidding. That's her polite way of saying fat.)

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MrsTucker2011

I bought maternity jeans at MM and it was the only thing that fit me size wise. Everything else is way too big for me. I usually wear medium tops but the nursings tops are wayyyyy bigger than normal sizes.

I recommend jeans from MM and tops, dresses, etc from Old Navy or Ross.

salbabe79

old navy was great because they have alot of cute things and the price is much better considering you are only wearing them for a limited time.  i have hand me downs from friends much wealthier with joe's jeans maternity...$200 maternity jeans...they are freaking fabulous but not if they weren't hand me downs

JsRib

I got all of my stuff at old navy...and believe it or not...SEARS! I got awesome cords and sweaters there. The black slacks were cheap fabric so I skipped on those but everything else was pretty nice. And I got each piece for $5 bucks!
I bought a few tops from MM last time when they were on sale and they fit the whole pregnancy and worked for when I was nursing.

Maple403

@Amymfred‌ - thank god it's not just me!!!! I've been a solid medium all my life and I almost cried when the medium pants were much too tight! I only gained 3 pounds so far and it's almost all in my boobs.

I'm super excited to check out old navy now that just about everyone I've talked to recommended it. I just need to get a bump first

RedGiant

I have a few good things from Motherhood Maternity, sweaters and dresses definitely. Their pants never fit me right. 

I got a bunch of maternity stuff at Gap (usually on sale or with coupons). In the mall by me the maternity stuff is actually in Baby Gap, near the back by the dressing rooms. I have some maternity jeans that I love because they are the same cut as the Gap jeans I usually wear, just with an elastic waist/belly band instead of the zipper and button. I went through airport security about 6 months pregnant (opted for pat down to avoid xray) and the lady giving me a pat down was surprised my jeans were maternity. 

I just pulled out some of my maternity shorts from last pregnancy since I don't like the belly bands that extend wearing your normal pants, I just find myself tugging at my clothes all day to keep everything in place. Yay for getting pregnant at the same time of year, I can reuse all my clothes (assuming I don't get huge really early).