Maternity clothes

[Thingandgeorge]

Hi, just wanted to ask how soon did most of you need maternity clothes? I understand that most women will put on approx 2 -2.5 stones by week 40 but how much did your waist expand in the first few months? I'm 9 weeks, too early to show but I seem to have put on 2 inches around my waist already! Is this normal?

[ChrisWest1983]

Hi! So happy to hear that you're slowly 'expanding' 😊 I suppose it depends on so many things as you can imagine- specially on your starting weight. Slimmer women tend to put on more. I started of being around 9,4st (BMI 21) and 30 weeks later I am 10,7st - never been this heavy in my life 🙈 and probably I will put another 0,7 -1,5 stone in next 10 weeks 🙉

First of my maternity range clothes I started to wear were trousers as I was worried to squash my baby and found it uncomfortable a bit (I am a jegging girl rather than jeans) and that was as soon as week 8 or so- also I started to wear maternity/nursing bras with no metal support as my boobs grew size bigger and were tender, also wore cotton type sports bras in bed too so they can't move too much at night. Comfort means everything time. Then maternity tops looked ridiculous on me till week 22, but since then I have enjoyed them soooo much (one of my favourites is Jojo-Maman wrap around one as it grows with the bump and later can be used to breastfeed- so I got it few different colours I bought expensive Isabella Oliver wrap around shirts as in the photos they look so flattering, but sadly I think my tummy has outgrown them already without even wearing them

I bought quite a lot of maternity clothes and up to now I think I wore only maybe 1/4 (As bump has been big enough to wear only past 8 weeks )

I also love maternity pj's with low waist cut as they are so low under bump that they feel very comfortable.

I like to put Bio oil 2x day (friend said it's not greasy but I find it greasy) and I noticed that my pj's got oil stains on them so I bought cheep Tesco girls tank tops size age 12-13 that are very stretchy so after applying oil on my body I would wear them so I don't stain my nice clothes

Good luck with your new wardrobe shopping!x

[Lemonillie]

There is no normal in this situation whatever your body does is the norm. My belly didn't pop out until 5 months, whereas a friend who was pregnant at the same time needed an entirely new wardrobe of maternity clothes by week 3. I would suggest buying some simple staple pieces like a pair of maternity jeans 2 sizes bigger that you are now they should fit throughout the entire pregnancy and beyond. H&M, Gap and Prime mark are your best friends here. Don't overdo it, don't buy things you don't really need. Most importantly I found that the after pregnancy clothes were more necessary that the pregnancy ones. I breastfed so my wardrobe was limited to only tops and dresses with easy boob access. Believe me that narrows down your choices quite a bit. I also had a csection so I couldn't wear anything that aggravates my scar. So, when you're shopping for your growing size keep in mind what you will need for after the baby comes when you will have much less time to shop. I recommend the candy nursing bras and the H&M maternity tops those were my uniform for 7 months.

[AprilZ]

I had a lot of bloating so expanded quite a bit from an early stage (without putting on much actual weight) - luckily I had kept my 'size bigger' trousers from before I lost weight running over the last couple of years, so I just switched back to those at first. I'm 16 weeks now and I'm not sure how much longer they'll last though - I'm quite tall and this is my first so wasn't expecting to grow as much this early (everyone told me I should be okay until 5 months or so but no).

I bought a pair of maternity trousers at 13 weeks and they are the most comfortable thing I have ever worn, think I will wear them forever! Now looking for jeans as my normal ones are finished

I also had to buy all new bras quite early as I went up a cup size pretty much overnight, quite a surprise for someone who's always been quite slim!

As Lemonillie says don't overbuy too early, I'm hoping to get away without new tops until quite a bit later because mine are all jersey and stretchy anyway. Hopefully by that stage of the summer a few T-shirts and a big wrap cardigan might do the trick!