How long should I expect to be in maternity clothes after giving birth?

amroke · August 2012

Do new moms usually keep wearing maternity clothes for a few weeks after giving birth? Or will I be able to get right back into regular clothes? If so, I assume they will have to be bigger than my pre-pregnancy clothes since I've gained about 30 pounds already!

lindsay.lou · August 2012

Well it depends. Are you willing to buy regular clothing in a size or two bigger than your normal size? If so, you should be able to wear that clothing after a week or two. But if you're asking when you'll be back in your old pre-pregnancy clothing, that depends on a million things. It could be two weeks, it could be....never.

I will say this. Maternity clothing makes you look pregnant. It's not flattering (unless you actually ARE pregnant, of course). So while it sucks to spend money, I'd invest in some post-partum clothing. You'll feel and look better.

danienross · August 2012

I would say its different for every woman. Some can slip right back into their prepregnancy clothes. Others, like myself, may not ever get back into prekid clothes. DD was 14mos when I got pregnant again and while I had packed away the maternity clothes, I had definitely bought new pants in a bigger size.

Rachelilly23 · August 2012

It really varies from person to person and is based on how much your body changes. I gained 50 lbs with DS, and I was wearing the maternity clothes I wore when I was about 5-6 months pregnant for a few weeks. Then I switched to wearing stuff that was 1-2 sizes bigger than pre-pregnancy. I lost 23 lbs the first few weeks after delivery. This time, I'm already up 40 lbs so I imagine it will be similar.

Mrs.RockyM · August 2012

about a week or two later (I wore nothing but sweats and yoga pants till then) I was still in maternity clothes, but the smaller stuff that i wore very early in my pregnancy. after that I got some stuff a size up. it took me about a year or so to get back into my regular clothes, because my body really changed. I also wasn't as motiviated as I should have been to really work out and exercise.

I think it really depends on the person. Some can get right back into their pre-maternity clothes in a couple weeks, others it takes years. I'd defintely expect to be in maternity clothes for a couple weeks, and maybe the next size up for a few months. That seems to be the norm for most.

Mrs.G123 · August 2012

I guarantee you won't want to wear mat clothes after the baby is born. That said, you will likely not fit into your regular clothes for awhile. You may need some things for in between.

lindsay.lou · August 2012

Tip: I bought three of these (two in the knee length, one int he floor length) right after DS1 was born. They are amazing for post-partum. Very forgiving and stretchy, but don't look like maternity clothing (b/c it's not).

jessilynnwilliams · August 2012

I love that everybody is suggesting buying clothes a size up! Right now, I think I only own two maternity tops.... my belly bands and buying tops a size (or two depending on the brand) have been sufficient. I can't see spending a ton of money on clothes I'm only going to wear for a short time. I'm glad to hear that I'll be getting a little more use out of them!!

KLeighM23 · August 2012

I plan on just wearing a ton of yoga pants/hoodies and leggings/tunics - my faves anyways

jillybean800 · August 2012

Yeah, i definitely went to Target and bought pants a couple sizes up to get me through a few months. My shirts I was able to get away with wearing again pretty soon (the looser ones)

opaque1997 · August 2012

I'm very happy for you that you are in that boat (and I mean it!! )

However.. for those of us - who not only have had to buy a full new wardrobe of maternity clothes - but actually maybe 2 or 3 because I never dreamed I'd put on this much weight - its hard to read Oh I've only needed one size up...

I'm on track to put on 60 pounds So depressing - I'm anticipating being in my early maternity clothes for a while.. at least I have them though!

LauLauCC08 · August 2012

I would just invest in some sweat pants and comfy clothes. If you need to go anywhere special, just wear your maternityclothes!

kmitch0303 · August 2012

With DD I had a csection and I wore my maternity clothes for probably longer than I should have, because that is what was comfortable. I remember going to the liquor store a few weeks afterwards and the guy commenting on how I shouldn't be drinking pregnant. After that, I decided I should probably put the maternity clothes away. I went to TJ Maxx and target before I went back to work and bought some new things in bigger sizes.

ivalita · August 2012

I wanted to borrow maternity clothes from my sister, but she was still wearing some of them when her baby was 4 months old, and I was almost 4 months pregnant! The good news is she DID lend it all to me 2 months later, and is now borrowing all my cutest pre-preg stuff, and it all looks great on her.

We were both the same size pre-preg, and I'm on track to gain only slightly less weight than she did, so I'm hoping to get all that cute stuff back from her by early spring.

lindsay.lou · August 2012

Just wanted to also throw this out there re: wearing maternity clothes post-partum. You don't realize now how stretched out they'll be. If you're wearing ruched, fitted maternity tops now, they may SEEM stretchy, but once you put them on PP (when you only look a few months pregnant), you'll realize how much you stretched them out.

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