I know we have discussed this randomly in other threads, but thought it might be nice to have a dedicated space! This is also brought to you by my new over the belly jeans falling down today.
What do you have that you love? Looking for something in particular?
I did a maternity Stitch Fix. I already mentioned it in my weekly group so sorry to repeat. They sent an amazing pair of black leggings/pants (Liverpool brand) but they were way to expensive for me. I did keep a nice pair of jeans that were more legging type material (1822 Denim- wynter). Then there were 3 tops that were terribly unflattering.
My favorite jeans in previous pregnancies were H&M Mama Skinny jeans.
I found jeans and leggings at Destination maternity on black Friday and set them aside. I'm now wearing some of them. I've mentioned elsewhere I also ordered some final sale pants from Chico's ($14) and had a maternity band sewn into them. I did the same on an old skirt from Ross that I was thinking of donating.
Other than that I went up two sizes in microfiber tanks at Chico's using a gift card and got two t-shirts up two sizes so it'd be longer. I'm living in swing still short sleeve jackets (mostly Chico's) up a size that I've collected and can hide a growing tummy for a while.
I'm pretty frustrated looking at skirts and/or dresses. I don't like bodycon style dresses and there seem to be almost no skirts. We can only be casual on Fridays so it's a little tricky.
My MIL bought me Dalia stretchy pants from Costco. They aren't strictly maternity, but they are glorious. They also don't make me itch like the ones I bought from Babies R Us.
I live in PIKO tops, tunics, and dresses. Cheap but well made and very loose and blousy. I wear the tunics tucked into jeans easily, too. So comfy! They’re having 20% off right now and LOTS of colors. Pikoclothing.com
@rachelredhead I wish I could wear tops like that! I always think they look SUPER cute on the model but then I get them and they just make me look bigger I'm a small/medium up top but a large/xl on my lower half so the larger/flowy size up top plus my larger lower half ends up making me look bigger. whomp whomp... BUT, I do love a good swing dress and they have tons! Totally going to check this out for when I'm not pregnant. I bet they'd be really good summer PP wear. Something that looks non-maternity but hides the belly a little. OOOH.... also probably good for fall pics after the babies come b/c of the long sleeve ones! Thanks for the rec!
I’m mostly living in Gap and ON clothes for the next 5-6 months.
Weekends pretty much consist of ON leggings and a plaid tunic or sweater
For the office, I bought a few nicer tops and sweaters. I’m still growing into most of them, but they look okay overall with a skinny pant (full panel!). I’ve had good luck with the Gap Maternity pant with Bi-Stretch for the office, and the Pixie pant from ON
I still need to pick up a few pairs of shorts and tshirts/tanks, and I have my eye on a pair of overalls and jeans from H&M, but I need to give my bank account a break! 🙈
for some reason, I felt like splurging on everything for this second kid, with DS I had borrowed a bunch of stuff.
@rachelredhead I love the few PIKO shirts I've had (but DH got them too large for me initially....I guess they'll be perfect now? I had honestly never even thought of that!)...they're so soft! Good call!
Also really excited to hear the maternity jeans reviews...is anyone here on the taller side that has recommendations? Not like I'm super tall, I'm 5'9, but have trouble finding jeans that are long enough anyway (longs are typically TOO long for me...I guess my legs are a dumb length) so I assume I'll have the same issues for maternity stuff.
@b_1029 I am 5’8 but need extra long inseam (I’m a human starfish) and finding long length maternity jeans is really hard. I have found that designer brands are longer, I buy them at consignment stores. I’ve had the best luck with j brand, they are pricy but a good quality and definitely long enough. Otherwise I just wear target brand ones as ankle pants. Where I live is warm so I can get away with that most of the year.
As far as tops, I usually wear very flowy tops to begin with, so I'm not gonna worry about buying maternity tops until later in my pregnancy, so I don't have a lot of recommendations there! But Torrid has a lot of tops that would work with a bump, as well as Old Navy and even some Amazon brands.
married to DH on March 15, 2018 TTC since May 2018 dx: PCOS, hypothroidism tx: timed intercourse with meds (dexa, clomid, letrozole, metformin, trigger shots)
First TTGP: 5/9/19 BFN, 6/21/19 BFN, 7/29/19 BFN, 8/1/19 started a break from tx, 11/16/19 surprised with a BFP! LO born 7/7/20 Second TTGP: started meds for first cycle of tx on 10/13/21
they have tons of dresses that are bump friendly! and you can wear them when you arent pregnant too and its not obvious that they are "maternity". i have the ones below that i have been wearing for years and they definitely have room in them for a bump when the time comes. the only downside is sometimes it takes a while for them to ship, so i would order sooner rather than later.
married to DH on March 15, 2018 TTC since May 2018 dx: PCOS, hypothroidism tx: timed intercourse with meds (dexa, clomid, letrozole, metformin, trigger shots)
First TTGP: 5/9/19 BFN, 6/21/19 BFN, 7/29/19 BFN, 8/1/19 started a break from tx, 11/16/19 surprised with a BFP! LO born 7/7/20 Second TTGP: started meds for first cycle of tx on 10/13/21
@blaf322 I’ve always been anti-blousy because I’m busty and have hips and I’m short waisted so they tend to just look like tents. But these tops/dresses, maybe because of the material, fall much more flattering than I’d ever expect for the cut. Totally understand shying away from the style but definitely worth trying since they’re not spendy. And I love the swing dresses! They are so perfect for layering.
I have some pants on the way from ThredUp, and just got a few shirts I ordered from there, too. I got 3 tops that are loose and swingy that probably won't fit me the whole way through but should work for a while, and will definitely work nicely postpartum. One is actually a dress, but I'm hoping it works through the spring as a tunic at least. It will probably be too warm for actual summertime. I also ordered a sized-up sweater.
I need to get some stuff for layering. I got a BellaBand but am not super impressed so far. I don't so much want something to hold my pants up, mostly just to function as a fake layer. I think because it's so tight it wants to flip or ride up or otherwise move somewhere else on my body than where I put it. Maybe I'll get the hang of it, though. Otherwise some cheap camis might be on the chopping block.
I also ordered 4 maternity shirts. One of the biggest issues I have with maternity shirts is that they end up too short, and it can be hard to guess on what's long enough to start with when I can't try stuff on in person. If I remember from before, my Old Navy shirts I had to size up in for 3rd tri or wear a very long tank top underneath. They were maybe less stretchy? Liz Lange were fine but I only had 1 or 2 and they were *really* long and stretchy. Motherhood seemed like my normal size worked the whole time.
I've had to put away some of my regular jeans, but I'm still in my sized up postpartum jeans and a pair that I already added stretchy panels to the sides. I had some Old Navy low panel ones last time that I wore A LOT but the darn panel always flipped down and I hated it. The over-belly always seem to slide down on me, and the less fabric to mess with in summer the better. I'm excited about the pants I ordered and really hoping I like them. I got a pair of J Brand and a pair of Isabel Maternity that both have side panels. The style seems to be very hit or miss with people. I'm guessing it can't be worse than what I had before, which was tolerable but not great. I also got a pair of stretchy waisted linen pants that I'm hoping will be good for summer worn low under my belly.
2/13 Blighted ovum, D&C -- 6/13 MC -- 8/14 DD born -- 3/17 MC -- 9/18 DD2 born Expecting again -- EDD 7/27/20
I asked a me-sized friend from my mom-running group if she had old maternity clothes for me (she's had 3 and is done), and she said she'd love to give me her old worn out maternity clothes. So I have a mystery bag of clothes coming my way this weekend, and I'm hopeful that there's like 2-3 things I can wear so I don't have to buy new stuff. But I'm not that hopeful, because I feel like maternity clothes are such low quality for the most part. I'll pass anything that doesn't work to charity.
I never needed a belly support band or anything like that for my first, but I'm already feeling like I need extra support this time around. I know it's not technically maternity clothes, but wondering whether anyone has experience and whether they help or not. Also wondering if it's worth investing in one of those Blanqi support tanks or something similar (and cheaper) since it will be warm weather when we are huge.
@rachelredhead oooh I've heard such good things about the leggings! I debated buying them but I already have a pair of Belly Bandit ones I got last time... even though I can't find them... so can't justify the purchase to myself lol.
@Pascal86 I have a mystery bin of clothes in my car that a friend gave me this weekend. She's worn them through 2 pregnancies so, we'll see. Between my bestie (who gave me a TON of stuff that works) and, literally, 3 other friends, I got SO much hand me down stuff this time, I feel like I'm not going to need anything except, like, specialty stuff.... maybe a dress for maternity pics. Stuff like that.
@blaf322 that sounds more promising than my mystery bin! I need to sort through it - last night out at dinner, DD1 managed to fall out of her chair, start bawling, so I jumped up to pick her up. Everyone was looking at us to see if she was okay (she was fine), and I realized my jeans were totally undone - button and zipper. Right now I can close them when standing but undo them the second I sit down, and was not prepared for an impromptu jump up from my chair. 😂 We haven’t told anyone I’m pregnant yet and even so, not a super good look... so I think it’s time to start wearing some pants that actually fit!
Good suggestions for bras during pregnancy? My pre pregnant bras are starting to be extra snug. But I’m sure they’ll continue to grow and grow and grow. Based off what my sisters and mom went through 😂. So I’m at a loss for what to look for. Or should I buy a bit bigger? Or cheap. Or something that may last me forever. No idea. 😂
@nursejenn5 I have a Bravado Yoga style nursing bra. Very stretchy so kind of grows with you. I wore it pregnant, breastfeeding, and pp and then for years after bc it’s so comfy.
@nursejenn5 I'd go for a nursing bra if it were me. I got some from Target that worked really well... but I don't have super huge boobs so I just need them to be comfortable.
@nursejenn5 I also have a handful of Bravado nursing bras which are super comfy. I didn’t buy until I was PP and breastfeeding with DS but they were great. My current bra situation is not doing so well either, so I might make the switch soon
@nursejenn5 I’ve never done this, but Nordstrom told me that they’d alter any bra to be a nursing bra for me. So if you find one you love, you could potentially do that when it comes time to nurse. Especially if it’s likely it won’t fit you post-nursing anyway.
Yeah I’m definitely pre baby captain of the small boob club, still not big. But any growth was like whoa (H’s words, not mine 😂) but I need something comfy and supportive and good! Thanks for the suggestions!
@nursejenn5 my boobs are small and I remember my mom telling me whenever I complained on how small my boobs were that one day when I got pregnant I would get larger boobs.... that being said... here I am on my 2 pregnancy waiting for those larger boobs hahaha I am always playing with my mom about that, on how she lied to me, she always says.... "maybe next time, who knows..."
@nursejenn5 I second what others have suggested about Target and Bravada nursing bras. When I stopped nursing I got a wireless (non-nursing) bra from target that I've basically worn every day since. I'm wearing it right now or I'd tell you the brand
ETA also part of the smaller boob club, and @mayisch my boobs never got bigger with pregnancy either! So lame lol. Although when my milk came in I remember being like wow so this is what it's like to have cleavage lol
@nursejenn5 my boobs have also rapidly expanded, that + the prospect of an expanding ribcage + the eventual need for nursing bras led me to buy a sized up ThirdLove maternity/nursing bra. I had fairly recently bought a regular ThirdLove bra and it truly is the best fitting and feeling bra I've ever owned (it's true what the podcasters say!) So I was very willing to go with them again despite the price tag. It's worked for me so far!
@nursejenn5 amazon has some “multi-size s/m/l” based on band and cup size ones that I really liked. Still had clasps in the back, but no underwire. If you search wire free nursing bras a lot will pop up. The ones I bought did have nursing clips. I wore them through the end of my pregnancy and for a few months after until my boobs regulated a bit. I wouldn’t spend much, I was one size pre-pregnancy, 2 sizes over the past 18 months of nursing, and am a different size now.
I just got an insane wardrobe from Seraphine. I’m loving the three in one down coat with a removable kangaroo pouch for the baby.
They have a couple of long inseam jeans which are necessary for me. I ordered US size 10 and they sent me UK 10 which is a US 6. They were skinny jeans with stretch so I tried them on and ripped both before checking the size to see that they’d messed up the size, I stupidly wore them all day and was upset that I’d gained enough weight to not fit in a maternity size ten. Thankfully they’re letting me return them.
i got some nicer dresses and tops that I can wear out to eat and to parties. It’s nice to have options other than athelisure.
@rachelredhead I've always wondered about the side panel ones. I've seen those advertised by ON and they look cute! Is the side panel enough that you think you'll be able wear them the entire pregnancy? That was my main question about buying a pair this time around.
@meanjellybean hard to say but I feel like I have a LOT of room to grow. I did go ahead and size up a size just to give myself a bit more room. The way they fit now, I’m betting they come in handy postpartum, too. And maybe because I don’t have too much of a bump yet, I find the side panel so much more comfortable and flattering than the full panel. I bought one pair of full panel jeans and I’m betting I won’t wear those for another couple months, just awkward when you don’t fill it out.
@rachelredhead good point about postpartum! I may look into them since I've so far been able to avoid buying any maternity clothes (have enough from last time for winter at least). Need to buy DD some spring clothes anyway and Old Navy is my go-to. Thanks!
@meanjellybean@rachelredhead My experience with side panel is that they’ll grow with your belly, so they should be okay for your entire pregnancy and great for PP! My only beef with side panel vs full panel (although I wear them both) is the lack of support as the side panel kind of falls under your belly the whole time, but then I find the full panel adds to the itch as your belly gets bigger.
Re: Maternity Clothes
Also did a large Destination Maternity online haul and got some decent leggings but many of the things I bought are for later in the process :-)
Edited for negation and clarity.
I'm a small/medium up top but a large/xl on my lower half so the larger/flowy size up top plus my larger lower half ends up making me look bigger. whomp whomp... BUT, I do love a good swing dress and they have tons! Totally going to check this out for when I'm not pregnant. I bet they'd be really good summer PP wear. Something that looks non-maternity but hides the belly a little. OOOH.... also probably good for fall pics after the babies come b/c of the long sleeve ones! Thanks for the rec!
For the office, I bought a few nicer tops and sweaters. I’m still growing into most of them, but they look okay overall with a skinny pant (full panel!). I’ve had good luck with the Gap Maternity pant with Bi-Stretch for the office, and the Pixie pant from ON
I still need to pick up a few pairs of shorts and tshirts/tanks, and I have my eye on a pair of overalls and jeans from H&M, but I need to give my bank account a break! 🙈
for some reason, I felt like splurging on everything for this second kid, with DS I had borrowed a bunch of stuff.
Also really excited to hear the maternity jeans reviews...is anyone here on the taller side that has recommendations? Not like I'm super tall, I'm 5'9, but have trouble finding jeans that are long enough anyway (longs are typically TOO long for me...I guess my legs are a dumb length) so I assume I'll have the same issues for maternity stuff.
I got these leggings from Motherhood Maternity. They're having a sale right now and they are only $12!!!!!! Super comfy and lots of room to grow. https://www.motherhood.com/plus-size-basic-secret-fit-belly-maternity-leggings/006-90057-40-3X.html
I got these dress pants from Motherhood Maternity as well, and they're on sale too for $20! They're a little long on me but they fit great otherwise. https://www.motherhood.com/plus-size-secret-fit-belly-rayon-skinny-leg-maternity-ankle-pants/006-95815-68-3X.html
I've heard tons of great things about Torrid maternity pants but they are often out of stock because they sell so fast. Well you're in luck, cause they are back in stock! I ordered some and am waiting for them to get in. https://www.torrid.com/product/maternity-premium-legging---black/11573497.html
As far as tops, I usually wear very flowy tops to begin with, so I'm not gonna worry about buying maternity tops until later in my pregnancy, so I don't have a lot of recommendations there! But Torrid has a lot of tops that would work with a bump, as well as Old Navy and even some Amazon brands.
dx: PCOS, hypothroidism tx: timed intercourse with meds (dexa, clomid, letrozole, metformin, trigger shots)
Second TTGP: started meds for first cycle of tx on 10/13/21
they have tons of dresses that are bump friendly! and you can wear them when you arent pregnant too and its not obvious that they are "maternity". i have the ones below that i have been wearing for years and they definitely have room in them for a bump when the time comes. the only downside is sometimes it takes a while for them to ship, so i would order sooner rather than later.
https://taralynnsboutique.com/collections/maternity/products/making-my-rounds-maxi
https://taralynnsboutique.com/collections/maternity/products/the-sienna-floral-maxi-mint
dx: PCOS, hypothroidism tx: timed intercourse with meds (dexa, clomid, letrozole, metformin, trigger shots)
Second TTGP: started meds for first cycle of tx on 10/13/21
I need to get some stuff for layering. I got a BellaBand but am not super impressed so far. I don't so much want something to hold my pants up, mostly just to function as a fake layer. I think because it's so tight it wants to flip or ride up or otherwise move somewhere else on my body than where I put it. Maybe I'll get the hang of it, though. Otherwise some cheap camis might be on the chopping block.
I also ordered 4 maternity shirts. One of the biggest issues I have with maternity shirts is that they end up too short, and it can be hard to guess on what's long enough to start with when I can't try stuff on in person. If I remember from before, my Old Navy shirts I had to size up in for 3rd tri or wear a very long tank top underneath. They were maybe less stretchy? Liz Lange were fine but I only had 1 or 2 and they were *really* long and stretchy. Motherhood seemed like my normal size worked the whole time.
I've had to put away some of my regular jeans, but I'm still in my sized up postpartum jeans and a pair that I already added stretchy panels to the sides. I had some Old Navy low panel ones last time that I wore A LOT but the darn panel always flipped down and I hated it. The over-belly always seem to slide down on me, and the less fabric to mess with in summer the better. I'm excited about the pants I ordered and really hoping I like them. I got a pair of J Brand and a pair of Isabel Maternity that both have side panels. The style seems to be very hit or miss with people. I'm guessing it can't be worse than what I had before, which was tolerable but not great. I also got a pair of stretchy waisted linen pants that I'm hoping will be good for summer worn low under my belly.
Expecting again -- EDD 7/27/20
I never needed a belly support band or anything like that for my first, but I'm already feeling like I need extra support this time around. I know it's not technically maternity clothes, but wondering whether anyone has experience and whether they help or not. Also wondering if it's worth investing in one of those Blanqi support tanks or something similar (and cheaper) since it will be warm weather when we are huge.
ETA also part of the smaller boob club, and @mayisch my boobs never got bigger with pregnancy either! So lame lol. Although when my milk came in I remember being like wow so this is what it's like to have cleavage lol
i got some nicer dresses and tops that I can wear out to eat and to parties. It’s nice to have options other than athelisure.
Natural MC 10/01/14