Shopping for clothes takes on a whole new level of complexity when you are pregnant. Not only do you have to guess ahead to how big all parts of your body will be in the months ahead, but you need to plan for different seasons as well. It's one thing when you buy a pretty dress for summer and know you can wear it for the next few years but when you are maternity clothes shopping, your window of wearing a new item may only for a couple of months unless you know for sure you are going to have many children in the coming years. Also, maternity clothes can receive a lot more abuse than your average top or dress as you are continuing to stretch it out more each day you wear it with an increasingly bigger belly. Chances are, there may not be a lot of clothes left in your wardrobe by the time you have your baby that you even want to recycle for another pregnancy several years down the road. With this in mind, you may want to target some good basic maternity clothes that will carry you across several seasons to maximize your purchases. Here are a few suggestions:
Any good American girl needs a good pair of jeans. If you are newly pregnant, you may want to postpone this purchase with a BellaBand that will allow your pre-pregnancy pants and shorts to fit a bit longer by unbuttoning the top button and even unzipping partway as the BellaBand fits around your hips and tummy and will hold the pants in place without anyone knowing your secret. The BellaBand can also be worn on pregnancy pants that are bit big and need more support - this is particularly useful after you have your baby when you are not quite ready to squeeze into your pregnancy jeans, but don't want to show off a postpartum belly or have your maternity jeans fall off.
When you are ready to buy maternity jeans and maternity pants, buy a little bigger than would fit you at the moment. You will be surprised how much bigger your belly and even hips will get in the coming months. A jean or pant that fits perfectly at 4 months of pregnancy will probably be on the tight side in another month or two down the road. Also, look for a very comfortable fit across the belly. There are so many belly styles to choose from in maternity pants today, some that fit under the belly, some over and some across. When you try on your maternity jeans or pants, try to sit down and get up several times. Lean over and pick up something and try jogging in place. These are the movements that will tell you the true comfort level of the jean and how it fits around the belly. Some lowrise maternity jeans look great on when you first pull them up, but after bending over a few times you realize they may not stay up so well and wearing a belt is not an option. Also, the bigger your belly is, the more likely a super low rise jean or pant will slide down if the belly support is not sufficient.
Tanks and tops that have built in bra support with nursing access are extremely useful for pregnancy and beyond. Not only are these types of tops nice and cool to wear for the hotter months, they can be layered effectively in the fall and winter months and worn after the baby for nursing. The tip to buying fitted tanks during pregnancy, is to go a little bigger or looser than normal if you are buying early on in your pregnancy. Not only will your belly get bigger in the coming months, your bust will continue to grow and your rib cage will expand. After you have your baby and your milk comes in, you will probably achieve another cup size of growth if you plan to nurse. Although as your milk supply settles in after 6 weeks or so, your bust size should go down a bit, but your will still be bigger than pre-pregnancy until your baby is weaned. Bravado, the nursing bra brand, has come out with a Nursing Bra Tank with very good built in bust support and easy to access strap buttons for pull down nursing access. The cotton material is very stretchy and even comes in a super soft organic blend. This bra tank can easily be worn through the first two trimesters of pregnancy due to the stretchy material and then again after the baby is born for postpartum wear and nursing.
In general when shopping for maternity tops, look for styles that are extra long and have plenty of belly coverage as well as stretch. There is nothing that is more annoying than having a belly skimming maternity top when you are 8 months pregnant and when you are not in the mood to show off your belly to the world - particularly if this time happens to be during the colder months! Also, a top that is long enough can be worn after the baby postpartum until you slim down. After all, there probably isn't a woman in the world who wants to show off a postpartum belly in the weeks or even months following the birth of their child!
Maternity tops that can double for nursing tops after the baby are always a good investment. Cross over styles are easy to wear and usually very flattering for both before and after the baby and have easy nursing access. Look for styles with ¾ sleeves that can be worn comfortably anytime of the year and dressed up or down.
Styles that are versatile for both maternity and postpartum as well as those that are made for all seasons will get you the most wear out of your maternity clothing investment. Make sure that you actually like the styles that you buy and that they are comfortable against your skin since we all know that the clothing we reach for the most in our closet are those that we like the best and feel the most comfortable on, particularly when we are pregnant!
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