Maternity clothes

cmoon3 · July 2020

Who is in them? What are your favorite brands? Are you a full panel or half panel mama? What's worth the splurge and where can we go cheap?

No one wants to go broke on something you'll only wear for a few months but we all want some well fitting and fashionable options. Let's figure this out together.

cmoon3 · July 2020

Most of my stuff comes from the thrift store. I have shorts and T-shirts from Motherhood Maternity. Also a few dresses and nightgowns from Motherhood. I'm going to need jeans and sweaters for the third trimester.

I prefer the full panel and just roll it over until I get huge. Still wearing lots of soft pants but I bet I'm in maternity clothes within a month.

tamalahoops · July 2020

I'm a ftm so I have no suggestions but I just ordered some pants from Old Navy and some tops and dresses from H&M. Will be happy to review them once they come in!

Yiggle09 · July 2020

I found the motherhood shirts and bras very uncomfortable. The shirts shrank. My capris from motherhood were comfy though. I prefer gap maternity shirts and I'm thinking bravado for nursing bras this time.

cmoon3 · July 2020

Last time I thought workout maternity capris were the most amazing thing ever. Great for lounging. I can't speak to the workout aspect!

mdfarmchick · July 2020

This is my third take home baby and the Motherhood jeans shrank a lot with my first two. I’m a SAHM so this may not be for everyone but I usually wear maternity pants during the fourth trimester as well because they tend to smooth my postpartum belly and help me keep things tucked in without being too compression like and annoying me I just wear baggier shirts.

I just bought two pairs of jeans and three pairs of leggings from Blanqi. I like their jeans. They feel just like normal jeans and have belt loops and a button but the full panel waist ((I just go full panel because it smooths things when you are in first trimester and helps keep things up the rest of the time. The side panel and partial panel seem to be harder to keep up—I have to pull them up a lot)) is super supportive and breathable. The material on the panel feels cool when I put it on and it’s much softer than the Motherhood, Gap, and Ingrid and Isabel for Target jeans that I have. The leggings are super soft but it does say on the tag to be careful to not snag them and to wash according to instructions to avoid pilling. I had a lot of problems with pubic symphysis with my second pregnancy and the tanks that Blanqi had for belly support helped me quite a bit so I wanted to try their leggings and jeans for the same level of support.

Motherhood Maternity is cheap and convenient but some of their clothes have shrunk for me. I like the full panel shorts that are at Target by Ingrid and Isabel. I live in the desert so I’ve worn shorts a lot. This time I think I’ll be more comfortable in jeans and leggings. The Ingrid and Isabel scoop tanks at Target are my absolute favorite. I have them in all the colors and wear them pregnant or not. They are soft and stretchy for a bump, but longer than most tank tops so they cover most of my butt and they don’t stretch out from the bump so just look like a regular tank top when I’m not pregnant.

I got a puffy vest from Old Navy when I was pregnant with my second, and he was due at the beginning of March so a similar timeline as this pregnancy and I loved it. I don’t live where it gets super cold but I wore it on a couple of trips with freezing temperatures and it worked well—you get warmer as baby grows and I would just wear a sweatshirt or sweater under it if it was chilly. A couple of times I threw one of my non-pregnancy jackets over and it kept me warm where I couldn’t zip up my jacket without having to buy an expensive pregnancy winter coat.

Anyway I think this time I am doing kimonos and cardigans over the tank tops and just keeping it very simple with things I can wear after the baby. I can tell you unless something happens after a few months of wearing them, I will be buying the Blanqi jeans in their postpartum option as well next spring.

mdfarmchick · July 2020

Oh and I am just doing Under Armour sports bras for now and nursing. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Nursing bras are uncomfortable for me and I haven’t found any I’ve loved.

szwill86 · July 2020

I just got full panel compression workout leggings from Old Navy in hopes that I’ll still be working out for as long as I can- one can dream! I usually get maternity clothes from Old Navy bc they come in tall and are reasonably priced. Any other good suggestions for pants that are long/talk length? I usually have an inseam of 32-33in. Last time I was pregnant was in the spring/summer, so I never needed real pants for work- just dresses I could throw on which was sooo much easier.

hannahbananas11 · July 2020

Blanqi is my love. I’ve got all of their legging styles (maternity and regular) and I just bought a pair of their maternity jeans. It all fits so well and is high quality.

Motherhood Maternity didn’t stay very nice for me. Their stuff shrank or lost elasticity pretty quickly.

Bravado nursing bras are the best, @Yiggle09! I loved them.

Get a bunch of maternity tanks for cheap from H&M or wherever, and pair them with dusters and other open cardigans (you can get the cardigans from the regular stores, since they don’t need to be maternity because they’re open).

For nice clothes, I liked Seraphine, but this pregnancy will be pandemic social distancing style, so there won’t be any reason for me to get nice dresses or office clothes this time. Leggings and cardigans forever.

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@hannahbananas11 I’m so glad you love their leggings and jeans too! I loved them so much when I tried them on, but they are getting packed up for our road trip in a couple weeks so they are not getting daily use yet. ♥️ It sounds like we have the same pregnancy style with the tanks and cardigans 😆

szwill86 · July 2020

All this Blanqi talk convinced me to order two pairs of leggings. The sale helped convince me, too!

lovemesomemonster · July 2020

I do stitch fix normally
and I updated it to maternity clothes the last time I was pregnant. They sent me by far my favorite maternity clothes I have and I ended up keeping the whole box most of the time. I hated going out to try on clothes when I was rounder so it was nice to get them sent to the house and everything is great quality.

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@lovemesomemonster I can’t decide if I would waste the money or not... the last time I did Stitch Fix 5 years ago they bombed so badly and it was the third one that they bombed. 😣🤦🏻‍♀️

lovemesomemonster · July 2020

@mdfarmchick I am so sorry to hear that! I do a lot of the “is this your style” quizzes and leave lots of notes on what I keep and send back. I think I have only had one box in 3 years I didn’t keep something from (I also usually only do it every 3 months instead of every month). I personally found the maternity boxes were my favorite so maybe worth the $20 to try one? Not sure how much I will like it this time because it was cute work clothes last time and I am going to change it to casual so I will update you in September when I get it!

cmoon3 · July 2020

@szwill86
Target maternity clothes were always 1-2 inches too long for me and I'm 5'7". Maybe give them a try?

szwill86 · July 2020

@cmoon3 thanks! I’ll take a look online and again in the Fall. I just hate the process of returning stuff that doesn’t fit now that the dressing rooms are not open to try stuff on before buying 🙄

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@lovemesomemonster yes update me in September and I may do a box then. 😊

KLS123 · July 2020

I got the Blanqui postpartum leggings after my DS and I really liked them for the first month or two but the compression panel stretched and didn't suit me pretty quickly after delivery. I will probably re-use them as maternity leggings again this time around into the fall.
I liked H&M and old navy for maternity basics (tanks, workout leggings, etc). I ordered quite a few options for business professional work attire from ASOS and Motherhood Maternity and wasn't impressed with any of it (poor fit and cheaply made). I ended up using Rent the Runway subscription for maternity work clothes and any events. I also wore a lot of non-maternity clothes (open cardigans, blazers, stretchy form fitting dresses) paired with some maternity pieces as needed (leggings, ponte work pants, blouses, tanks).
The only maternity jeans I got were from Target and again, was not impressed. It gave the saggy crotch effect...not flattering.

Out of frustration, I ended up converting some of my shorts and work pants that I already had and liked to maternity by cutting out the pocket area and sewing in a stretchy panel. That was perfect for week ~12-25 before I really needed to switch over to full panel maternity pants. It's a good option if your on a budget.

WildMagelet · July 2020

I have nothing to add, but am in love with this thread and am totally taking notes!

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@KLS123 that’s a bummer about Blanqi and ASOS. I was thinking about ordering a dress for the Christmas party this year from there. Assuming we still have one I suppose...

babymamadimo · July 2020

You guys convinced me to check out Blanqi, but I couldn’t convince myself to spend that much yet. I cringe when I spend a lot on maternity clothes. My son was due in July so I’m going to need a whole new maternity wardrobe for cold weather.

KLS123 · July 2020

@mdfarmchick for a one time event, I would for sure look into Rent The Runway maternity options. They have a lot of dresses also labeled as "maternity friendly" that aren't technically maternity with tons of review pictures. I wore some of those styles to a couple of weddings up through my 8th month of pregnancy and looked fab. Waaaay better than any actual maternity dresses you would buy online.

birdiejo · July 2020

I want to do blanqui but I’m struggling with what to buy. Right now because it’s so hot and we go in and out a lot I can’t imagine wearing pants but I know in just a few months I’ll be needing pants. That’s what I really want is leggings and jeans I just don’t have a reason to buy them yet.

WildMagelet · July 2020

I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and buy some full-panel pants. My partial panels keep falling down but my belt now too tight to wear comfortably. I'm going to check out Blanqi, but any other favorite brands for jeans or slacks? I can't wear leggings to work.

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@WildMagelet everything I have gotten from Pinkblush has been pretty good quality so you might want to check them out? Also Banana Republic has maternity pants and my friends used those for the office recently. And I think JCrew?

ajbelle · July 2020

Thanks for the suggestions, I decided to do a stitch fix box every 3 months but if I like it I may switch it to every month or every other month

What a treat, I love clothes, mail, and a surprise so this sounds fun!

Yiggle09 · July 2020

I live right outside a retirement city and the target maternity options were two racks mostly maxi dresses. I was very unimpressed but obviously they are not in high demand lol. I'll take a peek at kohls their back to school sale is about to start then I'll probably just go online. I've also got to buy maternity scrubs!

adorebel · July 2020

My favorite maternity clothes last time were actually from ASOS - stylish and pretty inexpensive. I don't like the full panel thing, so I last time also got some black jeans on sale from JCrew maternity.

manditchka24 · July 2020

thank you all for the helpful suggestions!!

I am in a tricky situation because I’m currently redeployed to a position where I have access to a scrub vending machine. In a few weeks I will redeploy to a field hospital where I need scrubs but don’t have access (I only own one pair because my normal job doesn’t require scrubs). I’m not ready for maternity scrubs but I don’t want to buy a whole set of regular ones and then also have to get maternity ones....and then if I go back to my regular job I will need a weeks worth of business causal maternity. I’m currently solving this problem by ignoring it 🤷🏻‍♀️.

I’m happy I won’t need to buy much non work maternity clothes since we’re doing nothing due to covid, but I’m also bummed that I won’t have any events to attend to get to dress my bump up!

WildMagelet · July 2020

@Yiggle09 - I'm super disappointed with our Target selection too. That's the ONLY store in my city that carries maternity clothing in the store and it was mostly dresses or kinda boring shirts plus like 1 brand of jeans. I did pick up a few comfy looking nursing bras on clearance though, so we'll see how those work out. And I hate that I can't try anything on right now (because of COVID), I just kind of have to guess if something will fit or not and hope for the best and then take it back if it doesn't work out.

szwill86 · July 2020

Thank you to everyone who suggested Blanqi- my maternity leggings came today! They are sooo soft and definitely long enough for me (I’m 5’10). Can’t wear them yet, but I can’t wait until I have to!

WildMagelet · July 2020

I gave in and finally bought some full-panel pants, and these are way more comfortable than the pocket inserts! I might have to nab a pair of full-panel shorts too. I avoided it because it's already the end of July, but now I kind of don't care. I'd rather wear these any day, LOL.

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@WildMagelet I did the side panels with my first and the hair and trick but now I’m just committing to full panel and being comfortable. 😆

manditchka24 · July 2020

As a newbie to maternity clothes can someone explain what the benefit would be of the side panels over full panel? You guys seem to be generally pro full panel and everything you say makes me wonder why one would ever consider side panels.

birdiejo · July 2020

@manditchka24 I wonder if people don’t like the full panel because there’s literally a giant swath of extra fabric that you pull up over your belly? Maybe people who like side panels prefer the more regularish feel of it? I prefer full because my stomach feels heavy and like it’s going to fall off and I feel like it gives me the feeling of support and smoothing!

cmoon3 · July 2020

I just feel like full panel is more comfortable. Plus, it's easy to forget how big you're going to get.
When I first wore the full panel, I could barely keep them up. At the end, I thought the seams were going to bust.

I would have needed to buy more if I had side panel clothes. You actually can outgrow maternity clothes!

babymamadimo · July 2020

I hated the full panel at first with my first pregnancy. My regular pants were too tight but the full panel were still big, so I loved side panel. Not long after I started to HATE side panel because I got so big and full panel was amazing.

manditchka24 · July 2020

Thank you all! This is clearing up a lot and will be very helpful when I have to decide!

mdfarmchick · July 2020

@manditchka24 I don’t like the side panel because I feel like I constantly have to pull them up, and they don’t give you and support. Side panel is more popular for first trimester and then Demi ((half)) panel is recommended for second trimester but I don’t like the demi panel. It just annoys me. 😂 Full panel offers the most support. Since this is hopefully my third take home baby, I just skip straight to full panel. You can always fold the panel down to half if it’s annoying you. And at this point in my pregnancy the full panel smooths me out so I look pregnant and not just bloated.

WildMagelet · July 2020

@manditchka24 @mdfarmchick - I started with the side panels because I thought they'd look more like regular jeans if someone saw me wearing them, but like mdfarmchick I have the problem of constantly having to pull them up. Every time I got out of my office chair, and even sometimes when walking around the building I'd have to adjust or just "grab on" to a belt-loop so I didn't legit lose my pants. The full panel is much more comfortable to wear, I don't have to pull them up throughout the day, and in general are just a lot more flattering on me.

jumpy57 · July 2020

Full panel is good and comfy, nothing digs in. However I usually have issues with them sliding down. If you are going to be moving around a lot or doing house/yard work I think overalls are awesome!

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