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August 2020 Moms
coldlife
member
Maternity clothes: the good, the bad, the ugly
coldlife
member
I saw a few posts in randoms about ordering maternity clothes, so I thought I'd go ahead and start a discussion. Most of us probably won't need them for a little bit yet, but it's never too early to plan.
Brands you like? Brands you hate? Brands you want to try? Where to buy? Best websites? Best stores? Professional clothing? Dressy clothing? Adapting current clothing for longer? How many pants and shirts do you need anyway? Is the hair tie trick to wear pants longer legit? Are maternity underwear a scam? And how stupid is this boss? (the comments are worth it) - https://www.askamanager.org/2017/06/my-boss-doesnt-like-my-maternity-clothes-employee-wears-a-blanket-for-sun-protection-and-more.html Plus a followup - https://www.askamanager.org/2017/12/updates-the-maternity-clothes-the-nude-snapchats-and-more.html
Brands you like? Brands you hate? Brands you want to try? Where to buy? Best websites? Best stores? Professional clothing? Dressy clothing? Adapting current clothing for longer? How many pants and shirts do you need anyway? Is the hair tie trick to wear pants longer legit? Are maternity underwear a scam? And how stupid is this boss? (the comments are worth it) - https://www.askamanager.org/2017/06/my-boss-doesnt-like-my-maternity-clothes-employee-wears-a-blanket-for-sun-protection-and-more.html Plus a followup - https://www.askamanager.org/2017/12/updates-the-maternity-clothes-the-nude-snapchats-and-more.html
Re: Maternity clothes: the good, the bad, the ugly
I really enjoy Gap maternity. They always have crazy sales and the clothes are so soft. But I also am a SAHM so my attire can be whatever I feel like. Which is a bonus.
I shop mostly at thrift stores. So great to not spend tons on a temporary wardrobe!
I totally think maternity underwear are a scam. Just buy a pack of bikini cut if you don't already wear low-rise underwear. I do, so I've never worn anything different. The hair tie trick isn't great, I don't think. It's not super comfortable and your shirt has to be long enough to hide it and the unzipped zipper.
Also, hold off on buying shoes if you can. My feet grew about 1/4 sizeish with my first pregnancy (not with my second). So annoying! I do still wear all my old shoes, but ... they're noticeably a touch tight. I wear thin socks and just deal with it. Since that pregnancy, I buy all my shoes a half size bigger.
I really do love the motherhood stuff. Most of the items I’ve gotten from there have held up super well and I like their pants. I’ve gotten things from target in the past too.
Due 1/21/17
Last time around I was able to wear some of my looser dresses until well into my second trimester. Hoping I can pull that off again.
This past weekend I watched a video on YouTube, where a lady recommended switching to maternity pants as soon as you think you might want them rather than waiting until you have to. “As long as you’ll most likely have to buy them at some point anyway, you might as well get lots of use out of them,” she said.
Pregnancy #2 Natural Miscarriage at 6 weeks 03/2014 Due date 11/9/2014
Pregnancy #3 DS 02.23.2015
Pregnancy #4 Missed Miscarriage at 11 weeks 11/2018 Due date 5/22/2019
Pregnancy #5 Positive test 12/11/2019 Due Date 8/17/2020
I'm going to have to brave the GA summer, so I figure maybe I can live in maxi dresses and maxi skirts. I did save a few fat girl t-shirts and sweatpants that I've been wearing while I work out or to sleep in, those I guess will serve as a jumping off point for a lot of things. Mostly I'm mad that I just let go of the most comfortable leggings i have ever owned, they were maternity leggings, and I still had them as recently as June. I had picked them up at a Gordmans and they were my best friends for longer than they should have been. I hope they are resting in peace wherever they are.
The maternity clothes that I did have were mostly solid colored t shirts that I could layer well. I spent the maternity clothes portion of my pregnancy in the winter though.. so I need some summer maternity clothes inspiration!
I found some cute stuff at Ross that was super comfortable and fit amazingly. I got my leggings there and they are still the bestest thing. I cant wait to fit back in them.
Pregnancy #2 Natural Miscarriage at 6 weeks 03/2014 Due date 11/9/2014
Pregnancy #3 DS 02.23.2015
Pregnancy #4 Missed Miscarriage at 11 weeks 11/2018 Due date 5/22/2019
Pregnancy #5 Positive test 12/11/2019 Due Date 8/17/2020
My #1 tip that I learned from experience is go ahead and buy the comfy maternity clothes! You will need to buy them eventually, dont suffer thru being uncomfortable in regular clothes when you can be comfortable in maternity clothes. Also you might as well get 6 months use out of the clothes instead of just 4 months! I didn’t buy maternity clothes until 5 months with my first, and what a difference it made when I finally felt comfortable again! I really should have bought maternity 2 months sooner! Also buy things that are flexible in sizing, like peplum tops and flowy dresses because you will still be wearing maternity clothes for a while after birth.
i personally really liked maternity underwear. But i also have friends who never bought any. I felt like regular underwear even in a size up just never fit right. When i finally bought some maternity underwear around 7.5 months pregnant, i was wishing i bought them a lot sooner!
I mainly shopped at destination maternity. For work i liked A Pea in the Pod or Seraphine. For weekends/casual usually the motherhood brand or jessica simpson. I also liked Pink Blush online and they always have sales and free shipping, but some of their stuff can be cheap feeling or a little see thru, but they also have free return shipping.
Luckily I still have all of my clothes from last pregnancy, but i was pregnant in cooler weather so i dont have a lot of summer stuff. At least it will be a while until I need to buy new stuff to wear in the summer.
Craft Blog
If you have a Clothes Mentor consignment store in your city check there. I've been to two in diff states with huge selection of maternity clothes. It helped me when I was working! I'm now 1 hour from one but I plan to check it out.
Luckily, I was pregnant through summer with my last babe as well, so I have plenty of maternity shorts, dresses, and cute tops to reuse. All of them either came from Target or Old Navy. I also have a Bellaband, but truly love actual maternity clothes versus fussing/adjusting the band all the time.
I just looked at their website, and they’re having a SITE-WIDE 30% off sale! (Today is the last day!)
Also if your planning on breastfeeding get maternity and nursing clothes when you can. I acctualy need to replace a few bits of my maternity wardrobe because I've worn them out. If you only have 7-10 outfits they're going to get worn and washed a lot.
Finally over the bump maternity panties all the way!
I swore to myself that this pregnancy I would splurge on nice maternity jeans I actually felt confident in, but with a late August due date (I’m another one in the south) I wonder how much I’ll actually wear them. Anyone have a pair/brand they love?
I 100% need compression stockings to not feel tired from dragging my legs around in third trimester. I was scoping out some cute ones to get immediately because I will be on more airplanes this time around...they have so many more kinds to choose from now!
I also loved wearing a belly support. It made all the difference in the world and allowed me to stay active.
And finally, to keep my belly from itching I needed a soft base layer under all of it. Those were pretty much my must-haves.
For pants this time around, I will probably wear more leggings.:) I hate maternity pants. I'm psyched about wearing dresses this time around. Except that I also need to wear the knee high stockings, lol.
I also really liked having a couple pairs of over the bump maternity leggings for walking, prenatal yoga, sleeping, even for work with the right top. They were my go-to for post-birth too.
My other hot tip from my last pregnancy is that the cheap 'divided' line at H&M has some basic tops (mostly tanks, tshirts, and sweaters) that are cut extremely long in the torso and made perfect maternity wear for me for a really low price. By grabbing most of my basic tops there, I was able to spend a bit more on bottoms and bras.
I have four pairs of cropped motherhood yoga / lounge pants from last time I Loooved. This time I will get some full length because I found I wanted to keep wearing them PP, and the crops weren't great for Oct/Nov/Dec. (My first was a September baby, so luckily mostly the seasons will be the same.)
I have five pairs of basic black motherhood work pants which were great, except the material was not super high quality, and after one pregnancy, there's a lot of pilling and scratchiness that make them not look great anymore. Fit wise, they were amazing tho, so it's disappointing. I'm hoping I can shave a lot of the pilling and get another round out of them, tho.
A lot of my work blouses were basic motherhood ones with a little lace on top, but sadly two or three of the handful I bought (loved the fit, drape, ruching, softness) the button or loop in the back came undone and of course it's a simple fix, but it's a pita so there's two tops I barely wore because they didn't last past the first wash practically, and I still need to get around to mending them. :/
I would love to try more thrift type options for work blouses, because you wear them so briefly! The pea in the pod stuff is nice, but I <i>can't</i> justify spending $80 on one blouse. Plus the material for a couple of those I did have had no stretch, so they looked nice, but were not as comfy as I might like.
I did eventually get under the bump maternity panties, which were fine and I needed the under bump at the time, but what were real gold to me, were the gigantic cotton over-bump ones I got from Amazon. I am totally getting a second 4-pack of those this time. They are still my favorite to sleep in!
I also wish someone had mentioned sooner about getting wrap style / nursing friendly maternity blouses whenever possible to do double duty. The maternity stuff that's like all boat and scoop necks is not great for pumping/ nursing, but I think I still made it work just by lifting the shirt straight up out of the way. 🤷 You figure it out.
I’m finding lots of search results, but it’s so hard to know if they will be comfy or not. So I’d rather just get some that come recommended from a friend!
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07K1QGM75/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ANIILZIQFL91&psc=1