Maternity clothes

jenEP

Since we have the poll, I’m changing this to a different topic. 

What maternity clothes have have you liked/disliked? Anyone try the monthly subscriptions? How about active wear? I can’t seem to find good leggings. 

I have ave lots of maternity clothes from my last two pregnancies but nothing I really love. I just got some black madewell maternity overalls that I can’t wait to wear when the weather cools a bit. 

varimama

In the past I’ve seen this as a poll. Idk if you can still switch it but it’s kind of fun to see the actual number breakdowns of the group rather than just comments 

jenEP

@varimama great idea! I can create a poll, but it will be separate from this since I can't change it. And I can't figure out how to delete this thread. Is there a way to delete threads? 

silverhope

you can't delete threads. 

varimama

@jenEP you can’t delete threads but you could make it a gtky 

momoftoddlers

Old Navy’s maternity jeans and tops are a good affordable option. I just pulled a bunch of them out of the basement. 

stassischroeder

I'm a fan of Motherhood Maternity stuff. I was given a lot of it during my 1st pregnancy, and like how everything fits. 

Also, I'm team full-panel once the bump is big enough. Side panel stuff annoys the crap out of me!

miss.sally

Team full panel over here too! Side panel hurts and underbelly falls down. 

I cannot get enough of my beyond the bump leggings. They’re so comfy. LOVE. 

Also a huge fan of pea in the pod basics. 

@jenEP for activewear I love Beyond the Bump. I got some great leggings and a top that I LOVE. Also got a maternity New Balance top from Pea in the Pod that’s great. I figure 2-3 outfits that I can wash and re-wear will be fine. I used to like the target active wear but their new brand isn’t my favorite. 

stacey6689

I haven't purchased any maternity items yet since I basically live in leggings and sweaters. I am subscribed to stitch fix and saw that they offered a maternity clothing option that is supposed to be based on what trimester your in. I got the box yesterday and I didn't like anything they sent, plus it was all way to big for me. I am sure the items would fit later on but they wouldn't be seasonally appropriate. I may get a box later on in the Fall when I am actually showing. They are also opening up an Old Navy like 10 mins from my place so I am definitely going to be checking out their maternity section.

jenEP

@miss.sally I just bought some target leggings and I don't like them at all. Thanks for the recs! 

orbmaker

@stacey6689 something that I didn’t realize in my last pregnancy is that a lot of stores (old navy, gap, etc) don’t think maternity clothes in stock. Only online. So annoying. 

orbmaker

I’m not a fan of most maternity clothing. I bought leggings and a dress from Storq last time around and they’re great (if pricey) — wore each a gazillion times and they’re still in good shape. The rest of my stuff is from Gap (on deep sale) - meh. I hate the only pair of jeans I bought, so I’ll try to find another. I’m a nurse and wear scrubs at work, so that’s easy. 

silverhope

I mentioned this in another thread, but I did Le Tote for a rental subscription service last pregnancy and loved it. They used to give you 3+ “totes” per month with 3-4 clothing items per tote. Now you only get one tote per month for the same price (whomp whomp). I still plan to do it once my belly gets bigger even though the deal isn’t as sweet. 

You can pick your clothing (stylist picks first and then you can swap stuff out), so I always had clothes I liked. And you can keep the clothes if you choose to buy them (sometimes they have really good sales and I’d buy an item, but usually I just sent back everything).

If anyone wants to try a free tote, here is my referral link:  https://letote.com/freetote/KELLY5150

You just need to make sure to cancel your subscription and return your tote within two weeks if you don’t want to keep up the subscription/pay!

varimama

Don’t buy from Walmart. I did a few tops last time bc they were so cheap and they didn’t even last one pregnancy before the seems were falling apart. I should have known better as I don’t usually buy clothes from them for that reason but I figured they’d last a few months... The only thing that was ok from there was the cheap winter coat I bought, I wasn’t going to spend $100 on a coat for 3 months, this one was like $20. Nothing cute or fancy but it was warm and fit. 

I loved my Motherhood maternity shirts. Now I’m struggling though bc I need shirts that are not only maternity but have easy nursing access. Hoping I can find some deep v-necks or scoop necks that I like bc the ones that are actually for nursing all seem so expensive. 

kailanae

@varimama my go-to is wearing a nursing tank top with any shirt, so I can lift up the shirt but still be covered underneath.  I've been wearing nursing tanks instead of bras for about 4 years now (between DS1 and DS2).

varimama

@kailanae I wish I could get away with just a nursing tank, I’m a DDD so I need the support of a bra and find lifting my shirt, unclipping a tank and unclipping a bra to be a pain. I mostly just wear deep v necks now but none of my current maternity shirts are deep enough. I wish I had spent the money on some actual nursing shirts right after DS and definitely will this time. At the time I was like it’ll only be a year but now we’re at 2.5 and no end in sight 🤣 I also need to invest in better bras this time! I didn’t last time (for the same reason as above) and I’m still kicking myself. Waiting until further into the 2nd trimester to buy some this time in case my boobs grow more. 

Madamemerle

I really like ASOS maternity clothes. They have so much choice and lots of very current styles. The jeans and pants selection is especially great. 

That said, the things I wore most the first time around were a pair of ruched T shirt dresses I got from Target maternity. They were so comfy and went with everything. 

momoftoddlers

@Madamemerle I have a gorgeous formal dress from ASOS maternity that I wore to 2 weddings the first time I was pregnant, and 1 the second time. Great suggestion!

kagesstarshroom

@varimama omg i bought this dress from walmart on a whim like a month ago bc i loved it and thought it'd be great to wear for first tri bc it was like soft teeshirt fabric and super flowey--and it pilled WHILE I WAS WEARING IT lol like wherever i touched it basically, so i can only imagine how it will look after one wash! i have pregnancy brain and probably it already got washed lol, but yeah ugh, good tip.

Any tips on maternity clothes hand me downs/borrowing stuff from ppl who've had babies? Like, how far out do women keep that stuff? If I know couples who are Done having kids, is it... gauche to ask if they have anything? Should I just wait to see who offers? (I have this one woman in mind particularly bc I LOVE her style and would love to borrow some of her maternity stuff.) 

Otherwise, for me, I bought some bras already from Knix (if anyone is interested, here's my referral link: https://refer.knix.com/Caroline97) and some clearance stuff at Ross mostly that was just... bigger, but i could see fitting once i get bigger-- since this is first tri, I didn't want to get stuff I'd grow out of too quickly and I'm a FTM so I'm not big at all yet, just like... I look like a slightly heavier version of me naked lol. I am hoping once I need more stuff that the Good Will near me will have some good stuff, bc that's where I normally shop. (I'm a super broke grad student lol, in case that was not remembered.)

varimama

@kagesstarshroom check fb for some local consignment groups. Im in two near me and they offer great deals on used baby, kids, and women’s clothing. The one does ship as well if you can’t find a local one and wanted to check it out I can send you the link but there is a shipping charge. I’ve gotten lots of shirts, shorts, and pants for DS and myself for between $1-5 each. The one that does shipping has a maternity section as well! 

chichiphin

@kagesstarshroom thredup has a massive maternity selection. Just know returns only get you credit back to spend at thredup 

miss.sally

@kagesstarshroom I’ve gotten a lot of maternity on mercari. It’s loke an online consignment store. Like TONS of designer and top brand stuff for so cheap. I’ve gotten jeans for $10 that are normally $150. I’m semi obsessed. Haha

keeksie84

I love this thread. I love maternity clothes and I'm a super cheapskate! My all time favorite jeans are H&M Mama skinny jeans. I'm team full-panel too and they stay up reasonably well. They retail for $50, but I've found multiple pairs on Poshmark for $18 each. Between Poshmark, Mercari and Threadup, I like the first when looking for specific items. I also second (or third) checking FB marketplace or Offer Up for maternity lots. Such a great deal if you're not looking for specifics.

I feel like I missed a nursing bra question on another thread, but I'm too lazy to find it. I love the wireless bras from motherhood maternity. They go on sale for $10 each pretty often. I can post a link of anyone is interested. 

silverhope

Oh also I love my Seraphine 3-in-1coat.

you can wear it when pregnant, not, and it has a removable/addable zippered piece for baby wearing. I used it for all those. I loved babywearing DS and keeping him snuggly in the warm winter coat. 

jade0403

I'm pretty tall so finding long jeans, pants, and leggings that are also maternity will be very hard. 

So far I have a few pieces from Motherhood, purchased some on FB market place, and I 2nd Thread Up. 

chichiphin

@silverhope oh I love those coats - I need something warm AF for windy, cold Philly commuting. I guess this LO will be about 8mo when the bad part of winter starts up too, so the extender makes sense. also how do you not spend $$$ on these clothes? they're so cute. 

silverhope

@chichiphin I have this one (I live in NJ). It’s pretty warm (except your legs are exposed...I wish it were longer): https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/3-in-1-maternity-winter-coat.html

this new one looks warm too and is longer: https://www.seraphine.com/en-us/grey-3-in-1-down-maternity-coat.html

and that’s why I do a rental subscription for most of my maternity clothes (besides a few staples) ha. Maternity clothes are so freaking expensive, but so many are  super cute. 

chichiphin

@silverhope that second one is what I was looking at. what subscription service do you use? sorry if you've mentioned already 

silverhope

@chichiphin I use Le Tote. If you scroll up like 10 or so posts in this thread, I shared a link if you wanna try it for free.

They used to let you have multiple rental totes per month and now you only get one a month (3-4 clothing items per tote), but I’m still planning to do it again this pregnancy once my blump becomes a solid bump. It was a really awesome deal when you got more totes per month. I really liked the clothing options though. 

mrsvp614

Anyone have good underwear recs? I bought some at Motherhood last pregnancy that were okay. Some of my regular undies are already uncomfortable. 

dunder_mifflin

@MrsVP614 yes!! Mine are getting to uncomfortable. Looking for high waisted 

miss.sally

@MrsVP614 Tell me if you find any. I never got maternity underwear in either of my other pregnancies because I usually wear low-rise anyways so they didn’t bother me. I’m kinda curious though this time (literally always thought it was a scam and people didn’t need them?) lol. But I’m here for all the comfort this time around. 


Also. Anyone have recs for a maternity support tank top? I’m looking at the blanqui one, but it’s so darn expensive. But my back is already starting to hurt and I haven’t even gained weight so I know it’s only going to get worse. I need something now before it’s too late. 

mauvelousone

Bought a pair of side panel jeans at Target - a bit of a premature purchase it seems because despite the fact that I'm oozing out of my regular fat pants, the maternity jeans were falling down all day. 

varimama

@mauvelousone try Belly Bands or even the hair tie trick for keeping regular pants up. Honestly I got through my entire last pregnancy with Belly Bands and never actually bought maternity pants. I had just lost 15lbs or so though so my pants were getting loose when I got pregnant. 

dunder_mifflin

I’m already in full panel maternity pants 😂 I thought “eff this, may as well be comfortable.” And I don’t know if I can ever go back to regular pants now. 

Malidocious

I wore a maternity skirt over the weekend and it was life-changing.  I need some maternity clothes stat!

varimama

Finally pulled the trigger and bought some maternity tops. Motherhood had an additional 30% off sale prices so I got 6 tops for $80. A couple were fancier but 4 were just tees and long sleeve tees. I stay home so I don’t really need a lot of fancy shirts just for once in a while. 

chichiphin

motherhood has 40% off dresses. I've bought a few and was pleasantly surprised with the quality when they arrived

edit - I actually loved this one when it came in: https://www.motherhood.com/drop-shoulder-tie-detail-maternity-dress/006-94969-000-001.html?cgid=deals&dwvar_006-94969-000-001_color=006-94969-58#start=1

varimama

@chichiphin yea I found motherhood quality really held up too versus other cheaper places I got clothes. Unfortunately the dress I was eyeing on there was still only 25% off so Im waiting for it to drop a bit more before I pull the trigger! 

jenEP

Those who have purchased from motherhood maternity, how is their sizing? I am always between sizes and I can't decide if I should go up or down. @chichiphin how was the sizing with your order?

chichiphin

@jenep tbh I went off of the sizing chart measurements in inches for my prepreg size. seems to have worked out so far!