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Hawaii Babies
Maternity Jeans & Belly Bands
This is my first Bump post! I apologize in advance for bringing this up again. Like other topics I'll probably bring up in the future, I know this has been discussed numerous times on TN, but I wasn't PG at the time and really wasn't paying attention. Sorry!
1. Do any of your recommend the BellaBand (or other similar belly band)? I'm in that weird transition phase where my pre-pg jeans still fit for the most part, but they're just fitting differently and I want to get as much use out of them as I can.
2. What brand or style of maternity jeans do/did you like best? I'm short and "curvy" and normally dread shopping for jeans in general so I'm not looking forward to hunting for maternity jeans. 
TIA!
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Re: Maternity Jeans & Belly Bands
Hey Nicole,
I've had the best luck (so far) with Motherhood. I have only purchased pants there so far and I like them, I do need another pair of summer capris or something though. I bought 2 pairs of jeans at Old Navy as well and although comfy one of the bands has a small hole in it now. I think they're good for cheaper things, dollar wise and quality wise. We have another store here and it's way more expensive than the two other stores above but I may check out their sale rack soon.
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
I had Bella Band, but only used it a few times. I actually didn't like it much. I always felt like my pants would come completely undone and fall down under it.
I, too, had the best luck with Motherhood's pants. Mostly because they (along with Pea in the Pod, which is more than I wanted to spend on clothes for only a few months) are the ONLY maternity stores that I could find 34" inseam. They only carry one jean with that inseam, but they work great for me. Luckily, I don't wear jeans much, so one pair is plenty for me. I also liked their dress pants for work.
Other than that, I got several pairs of capri pants from Target....thank goodness they don't have to be long enough for tall people! And a few dresses from Motherhood and Old Navy.
I'm in that stage as well. My pre-pg still fit but they are starting to get snug around the tummy. I bought a couple of Bella Bands from Babysteals and got them for a good deal. I like it. Some pants still hook fine but some of my pants that have a smaller fit get uncomfortable around the waist (especially after I've eaten my meal lol) so I just unbook the button and cover with bella band. It holds the pants up fine and gives support to my belly. I've read that the Target brand "bella band" works fine as well and are cheaper too.
I am trying to hold off buying mat pants (or mat clothes in general) as much as I can. I haven't looked at mat pants yet but maybe Gap also has mat pants that are in ankle length that are good fit for us verticaly challenged? :-)
Are the Motherhood shirts/dresses true to size? I saw a couple of dresses online that I like. Not sure if their "small" will still be too big for me :-/.
I love Hawaii!
Tara & Ian . 4/24/2008 . The Kahala Planning . Married
I used the Target version of the Bella Band, and it was my go-to item for months! It was perfect the too-many-cheeseburger phase where my pants generally fit except for the button, and lasted through the first part of my baby belly. Although now I'm completely in maternity clothes.
I only have one pair of maternity jeans, and they are Old Navy. They fit pretty well, actually better than regular Old Navy jeans that I've tried on. I got the short inseam, but still needed to get it shortened a bit.
I also have khakis that I wear to work, one pair from Gap and one pair from Old Navy. The Gap ones fit MUCH better, and the ankle length actually fit me perfectly! I hate the Old Navy ones, but they were super cheap so I deal with them.
1. I didn't use the BellaBand.
2. All of my maternity pants and skirts were from GAP.
So far I haven't purchased any maternity pants...only dresses. It gets so hot & humid down here during the summer I mostly only wear dresses & skirts from April - October! (and so far I have only purchased mat. dresses from Target).
A friend gave me something that kind of looks like a tube top but you pull it down to your waist and it keeps your pants up despite them being unzipped. I never used them for that & they seemed kind of thin, but I use them a few times just for an extra layer to cover up.
I am not sure if this would still work for you (it won't for me!) but for the longest time, I used the rubberband trick. Loop a ponytail holder around the button & then through the button hole and then secure over the button. That extra inch or two made all of the difference in getting me through the last few days of winter & cooler spring days in my 1st trimester. (I hope that description made sense if not....https://www.ehow.com/how_2101038_wear-prepregnancy-clothes-longer.html and check out Step 3)
I used the BeBand from Target a lot. I recommend using a rubber band to loop on the button of your jeans, also.
I'm short (28" inseam), too, and got jeans from GAP when they had a sale. They have petite sizes. I definitely recommend getting the full panel because they are WAY more comfortable. I made the mistake of getting the demi and the elastic is so thick and hard that it was pretty uncomfortable pressing on my belly. I also got a pair of jeans from Motherhood but found the legs to be large and unflattering. They were full panel and comfy, though.
downtown and u-village are the only ones that sell maternity. The downtown store is much better and they usually had a pretty good sale rack.
all the mat pants (that I actually liked and wore) came from the gap - I needed the "long" jeans, but I think they have other lengths. I liked target for t-shirts/tanks and found a couple of cute work appropriate sweaters at Motherhood. Everything held up very well - but I line dried all sweaters (my SIL told me Motherhood stuff sometimes falls apart so that made me nervous...)
back to OP's question - I didn't get a bella band, but my mom made me something similar out of an old lycra blend tank when I realized (at 10pm the night before I needed to be court) that I had out grown all my suits - oops. I think the concept is great and planned to go buy a real one but soon after my pants quit fitting all together and made the leap to maternity and didn't look back - I figured I may as well get as much use out of the inevitable.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone!
Thanks for the Target BeBand rec! And hooray for it being cheaper than the BellaBand. I think I'll pick one up this weekend. I can still button my jeans, but since I already had a bit of extra weight before becoming PG, I now have this pooch (don't know how else to describe it) that tends to cause my jeans waistband to slouch down below my belly and I'm constantly having to pull my pants up during the day.
Looks like I'll be hitting up Old Navy, Gap and Motherhood for my mat jeans hunting trips. Thanks, Christine, for the tip about the full panel mat jeans!
Good point. I exclusively wear jeans to work due to the nature of my job so I'm thinking I will need to get some maternity jeans sooner or later. I was hesitant to buy them because I didn't want to spend too much money on something I would only wear during pregnancy (and post-partum?), but I should consider the flip side. May as well buy them soon and get as much use out of them as possible.
No apologies!!! We're here to help and if anyone gets annoyed, they can just ignore the post.
I loved the Target Belly Band and I used it the entire pregnancy. I survived with just one black one.
Jeans-wise, I have one pair from Old Navy, but wore it just a few times. The fit just wasn't right for me, but I liked that they came in petite sizes. Mostly I just bought regular jeans a size up and used the Belly Band to take care of the waist.
Hey Nicole,
No worries about posting about things we've already discussed...seriously...you can only be where you are when you get there. I mean how many times did we discuss the same things over and over again during wedding planning on The Knot!
Now, for your questions...
I never used the Bella Band or similar. Just went from my pre-preg pants to mat pants. Sorry I cannot be of help there. I did have a body smoother/shaper tank (not maternity, just regular ol' plus sized) that was on the long side that I guess I used similar to a Bella Band. I never did wear my pre-preg pants unbuttoned or anything, but it did help snug my mat pants to me when I started wearing them in the second tri.
For jeans, I am the opposite of you regarding height, but I am curvy. I liked the DUO jeans available via JCPenny.com. I know Old Navy has mat jeans and my more petite (yet curvy) friends loved them! All of my other mat pants were Motherhood brand that I got second hand on consignment or from eBay. GL!
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
All of my Motherhood clothes (which is were I've shopped the most) are very true to size. I'm typically a large, and I'm still a large in everything, except I bought the jeans in an XL. The large did fit, but I thought they were too tight on my (ever-increasing!) butt, and the XL was much bigger.....I figured I'd only get bigger, not smaller, you know?! But I have several light sweaters/long-sleeved t-shirts, a pair of pajamas, and 2 dresses from there, and they are all large/my normal size.
This is what I thought, too. Rather than trying to make the Bella Band work when I didn't love it, I figured why not but what I need now and get more use out of it.....I'll need it eventually!
Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough but I could never find maternity clothes in store at Old Navy or I definitely would have bought at least one pair of jeans. I wasn't so sure about the sizing so I really didn't want to order online in case they didn't fit. The maternity selection at Target is also kind of small...definitely not as much as they have online. I just made do with the belly band from Target. I actually bought a second one when I went to South Carolina in December but forgot it at MIL's house.
When I was in the hospital after giving birth, I actually used the belly band as a bandeau bra top too.
That's what I'm using it as now since I can button up my jeans again.
i broke down and got a be band (from target) maybe 2 weeks ago. I've worn it once, and it was okay. i have 2 pairs of jeans that still fit, so i live in those now
, but the be band was great for my skinnier jeans that are uncomfortable to button.
the trick i used (which i found on TB somewhere) was to pull half the band down below your waistline, pull up your jeans (i zipped but didn't button), then fold the other half of the band over. so there's nothing over your stomach, and it holds your pants up well. it's a bit of a pain to go to the bathroom - takes an extra minute to re-situate everything, but it was much more comfortable for me than to have the other half of the band over my stomach!
i'll probably use it for as long as i can before going to full-blown maternity pants, since the zippers are all fine (for now) - the buttons are the issue...
for tops, i've been wearing more looser-fitting tops or empire waisted and flowy, but i imagine once i have an actual bump, these recs will be very useful!
ooh, thanks for the rec - i haven't started shopping for mat clothes yet, but knew i wanted to hit up the gap.
all the other recommendations are great too! yay for TB
I do the exact same thing!
Hi Nicole!
I used the bella band only for my work dress pants.
I really liked the full panel from Motherhood. I found the others uncomfortable after my belly was bigger.
Happy shopping!
Not every Old Navy has maternity in store....only a few do. You can use their "store locator" button on their website to search exclusively for maternity stores.