I am in the 17th week and starting to feel the pinch. Am wondering whether the little one can suffer from being stuck in too tight trousers with me?
Anyhow I am wondering how to approach the question of clothing: am I now to buy new trousers every few weeks in accordance with the weight gain? The idea drives me nuts. Also I have to be quite smartly dressed for work unfortunately, so I can't just get dungarees or something like that. Another thing is that I hate shopping, so I'll get as much advice from you girls as possible until I hit the highstreet. (sigh).
Any advice? I am very thankful in advance!!!!!
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stilllearning2016
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I have bought few bits from few high street shops (H&M, Next, JojoMaman, Mothercare) - and more expensive ones from Isabella Oliver and Seraphine - they are super stretchy, adjustable and smart looking.
Isabella Oliver is fab as the size is always the same as the size you were before getting pregnant (they have calculated that into clothes). As I was between size 10&12, I always know that their size 3 will fit me.
Good luck with the shopping!
PS: if you still fit in your old trousers - only bump is the problem then you can buy a special extension to trousers, waist extender button.
thank you for your shopping suggestions! I like the sound of "super stretchy" - sounds like I'll might be able to get a set of extra clothes only once and then it'll stretch through the three trimesters with me. Although that's still hard for me to imagine. I started by buying bigger underwear one week back and then panicked thinking "I can't be doing this every few weeks. I'll end up with a wardrobe in 10 different sizes"... That's great about IO keeping the sizes recognizable. I still dread the shopping trip. But will brave it with your info up my sleeve.
Basically, on week 6 I started wearing maternity trousers with low elastic as the thought of squeezing my baby made me feel uncomfortable (as I am 34 and this is my first pregnancy - I bought few things already before I got pregnant as I always knew that I'll have few babies) First thing I noticed was that my knickers and bras were uncomfortable. So I went to Asda and bought size 14 mini knickers so they can sit under my bump. Then I thought the sizing is tiny and even went so far that bought size 16. They fit me just right.
As my breast got bigger and heavier: I bought few thin, simple sports bras and sleep in them (as afraid to have saggy breast). Have not wore my normal bra since week 8 as underwire was squeezing my expanding breasts (have bought nursing bras from M&S and very stretchy Jane (something) as I will try my hardest to breastfeed so I thought it's worth the investment)
My bump appeared on week 16 and since then. I noticed 2 growth spurs (one was just right now on week 22 and tummy just got so big that I can't imagine how huge it will get in next 4 months if it will continue growing with this speed! 😱 I am visiting my dad right now (for 2 weeks) and he thinks probably that I need to eat for 2, so he is all the time asking if I am hungry or want to join him in having cup of tea with biscuits, nuts or fruit... I hope when I'll visit my mum (and will stay with her for 2 weeks) next week, she'll be busy and won't try to feed me all the time! 🤐
Good luck with your pregnancy and the expanding bump! 😍
With my first I went crazy with maternity wear but this time my 4th I have just bought baggy fitted tops and also quite a few pairs of maternity leggings from eBay and some maternity bras from mothercare. I also bought a maternity coat on eBay as the zip on my normal one exploded with my expanding belly haha. I have one pair of maternity jeans and one set of maternity Pjs but I find just pull waist trousers just as good as long as they are comfy. My other jeans that are hipster ones still fit I just use long tops over them. I tend to go for quite long line baggy tops anyhow and everything I have is black near enough. I can still fit into my pre pregnancy Pjs also as they have an elasticated waist that I put under my bump. It's totally up to yourself and you can wear maternity things as you are losing weight after the baby is born but for me I just went for the bare essentials I needed and worked with the clothes I already had x
thanks so much for your reply. One horror I have is that I'll end up buying all these extra clothes in ever larger sizes that in the end I won't possibly all need to have any more later.
Stupid question: do you find that as your bump grows bigger, with your normal underpants and the hipster jeans you mention, that you ever get worried squeezing the baby? That worry is partially what drives me to obsess about the clothes question right now.
Congrats on your 4th pregnancy! First time pregnant mum admires your experience very much!
To be honest I do if they are really tight around my waist but I am quite lucky in that the jeans I do have now have a bit of stretch to them so they are not really tight under my bump. I am quite lucky in that I am carrying quite high this time but haven't always carried the same in previous pregnancies. It takes a bit more hunting around but just go for elasticated waists and comfy haha. I have always ended up with loads of expensive maternity clothes or even finding ones I bought eventually become really uncomfortable anyhow with zips and buttons
As you get bigger you start dreading wearing those anyhow. X
I'd ageee with all that and just wanted to add: no, you won't need to buy new clothes every few weeks. Most items will see you through the entire pregnancy, just some might be too tight towards the end or sit quite losely initially. But in both my pregnancies I only ever shopped one maternity size.
Fara Kids charity shops often have a maternity section as well where you can get really nice items very reduced. Range and quality of clothes depends on location though.
Shop smart with a few tops and buy some that double up during pregnancy and then as maternity tops or you'll be out shopping soon after birth again!
Though, there as well you can get tops that aren't especially made for breast feeding but I found buying a couple of strap tops that had the clicking bits on the side to open for feeding was really useful during my second pregnancy and I was able to use the same top for really easy feeding.
I hope this makes sense - toddler is. It keen on me typing right now!
thank you for the great advice! you saying one size of maternity clothes should go a long way is music to my ears! And great advice about getting tops in view of breastfeeding as well - I wouldn't have thought that far. Thank you!!! did I get that right, your toddler likes you typing on the forum? Sweetheart!
sorry, no, it meant to say she is NOT keen on me typing Hence the fast response, which hopefully made sense.
I didn't think about the doubling up of maternity and breastfeeding tops first time round, but made so much sense in hindsight, so I planned better second time round.
George by Asda do some really nice stuff that is also very cost effective and easy to order online. My wife had lovely skinny jeans that she carried on using till she lost the baby weight of our second. Just remember you'll only be wearing them a short time so the cheaper the better.
I also buy loads of the long line vest tops from primark which are about 3 quid I think. They are great to layer under things if tops come up a bit short. They have been a godsend haha. George at asda are good have to agree with that, they do a lot of long loose tops anyhow and the fittings are generous x
Love the primark stretch vests and long sleeve tops currently living in them at 20 weeks. And the great thing is once you out grow them, you'll wear them again after you've had baby but aren't back into your prepregancy clothes.
Asda have good basics which you can dress up as bump grows. Jojomamanbebe have some gorgeous dresses which are usually more comfortable and mothercare do rather comfy maternity tights. If you're not over a size 16, which i am so I struggle to get clothes, then there is a plethora of options that you can get now and will grow with you, even smart work trousers with elasticated bands over the bump. Think a small capsule wardrobe will do fine until bubs arrives. Also,there is alot of your organs to shift out of the way first before tight clothes get anywhere near baby so it's really for your own comfort which is key to general survival day to day. Any decent workplace will make allowances for blossoming staff so as long as you're making an effort in wearing clean and tidy clothes, I wouldn't worry too much about them as it's short term.
Hi, I bought some maternity work trousers from Next, they are comfy! I just bought two pairs and wash and dry them each night (as I didn't see the point in buying loads of pairs) and also a pair of jeans with an over the bump fabric, I find the over the bump much more comfy to the under bump trousers, hope this helps
Don't know if you've already been shopping already. But I like uniqlo jeggings. They are much smarter looking then most and sit under the bump which I like. they don't actually do maternity clothes I just go up a couple sizes for growth, and they are not hugely expensive either.
Hi, my advice is EBay! Grab some bargains because you won’t be wearing them for very long.
Invest in a few short sleeve tops that have the stretch on the sides. I got a size up and they have seen me through my pregnancy. They are great for wearing under your usual shirts, which u can wear open to accommodate bump.
1 pair of maternity leggings and one pair of maternity jeans from H&M have seen me through, as when I’m home it’s pj bottoms all the way!
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