Maternity Clothes - What Did and Didn't Work For Me - First Time Pregnancy
This is my first pregnancy. I have struggled a lot, learned a lot, and wanted to start sharing it with you. I figured since I have struggled so much then maybe what I have learned along the way can help others too :)
Honestly, I thought finding clothes while I was pregnant wasn’t going to be too difficult. I had this idea in my head that I wouldn’t need too many clothes since I wear pretty flowy clothes anyways, and that when I did need clothes they wouldn’t be hard to find. Man was I so incredibly wrong.
The whole clothes thing had a huge affect on my mental state of mind. Growing out of my clothes was really difficult for me. I have always had an issue with my tummy, and have been a pretty self conscious person throughout my whole life, but I didn’t think pregnancy would effect me this way. I thought that I would be happy to watch my belly grow knowing that my body is doing some incredibly amazing things. Man… I was wrong about that too!
My mindset went way down hill. You see, when you are pregnant for the first time, or at least this is how hit is going for me, you don’t really start showing too quickly. You just feel …. well…. fat. You look in the mirror and see your belly growing, your body fat increasing, and your face getting puffy. No one knows you are pregnant you just look like you have gained a lot of weight. This was hard for me. To watch me gain wait, look large, and just not look pregnant. I thought I would have a little baby bump that I could show off with super cute tight dresses or tight tank tops. Man…. WRONG AGAIN!
Actually, to be honest, I have been wrong about most things as it pertains to pregnancy. But that will be in a different post :)
So, again clothes is where I struggled and man did I struggle hard. I tried buying some of those maternity dresses, maternity shirts, and maternity leggings, but none of them worked out. I ended up not using ANYTHING except a pair of leggings.
Maternity Clothes -
What Did and Didn't Work For Me
Now, before we get started my style is a little different. I am not girly, but I am not boyish either. I am a bit outdoorsy with a hint of boho country …. I know it is a bit of a contradiction but let me show you some examples of what I wear on a typical day when I am not preggo:
I typically buy my clothes from:
Free People
REI
Back Country
Amazon
American Eagle
Eddie Bauer (mainly for Down Jackets)
and sometimes Target.
Ok, so if your style is like mine then this article is definitely going to help you out :)
So I am going to start out with I really don’t like tight clothes. They make me so uncomfortable and again really self conscious. I tried to get a few tight clothes because I wanted to show off my preggo belly. Some of them worked but most of them didn’t. Again, something to keep in mind when you are reading what I liked and didn’t like :)
Some guidelines for buying maternity clothes:
You are not going to want anything touching your belly. At least anything tight that is for the first trimester at least. You just feel bloated, fat, and constantly uncomfortable.
You are going to want to wait to buy maternity clothes. Most of your clothes will fit for quite some time. Then you are going to grow quite a bit, so you want to make sure that you buy them at the right time.
Expect to buy more clothes in your third trimester. Your belly will grow like crazy! I ended up buying some leggings in the second trimester in prep for the third trimester
Comfy is key.
Streachy is another really important key. You need clothes that are going to give a little. Something that isn’t too stiff. You see, your belly is going to fluctuate. One day it is going to look and feel huge and the next it wont. So, make sure your clothes have a little give to them.
Get yourself a cute outfit or so. Something that you can wear when you want to look cute, when you are going out on date night, etc
Think about your maternity photos. What are you going to want to wear during your maternity session?
On a side note, schedule your session ASAP. You will want to schedule your session mid second trimester. I have a whole article about this over on my photography site.
Ok, now lets talk about what worked and didn’t work for me.
NOTE: EVERYTHING LINKED IS SOMETHING THAT I ACTUALLY BOUGHT.
Dresses
Dresses have been my friend throughout this entire journey. I love dresses, but I don’t wear them all the time. I was wearing dresses quite alot during my first trimester. They were comfy, flowy, and didn’t touch my belly which was a plus. They also made it to where I didn’t feel like I looked “fat” which was nice.
Some of the dresses that I had already in my closet were TShirt Dresses and Free People Dresses . Flowy and comfy. Again, Key!
All of these worked really well throughout the entire pregnancy. Now for what didn’t work…. Actual maternity dresses… you know… the ones with the scrunch on the side to allow for your belly to grow. Ya, those really didn’t work for me. They were pretty tight, super uncomfortable, and way too short. The other thing is that the armpits were super tight too which showed all the sweat. I sweat quite a bit in my armpits, but being pregnant has created even more heat and sweat so that sucked.
I wanted to get these because I wanted to have something to show my belly and something for the baby shower, but I never ended up wearing either of the ones I bought.
Here are the ones I am talking about:
Leggings
Leggings have been my best friend throughout my pregnancy journey. I was able to use my workout leggings for quite some time before I had to buy new ones. I ended up sizing up about half way through my second trimester. I also ended up buying pregnancy leggings for my third trimester.
Note: Pregnancy leggings will not work for you until you get a nice round belly. I was really surprised about that. I thought I was going to be wearing pregnancy leggings my entire pregnancy but I only started wearing them around 32 weeks.
Here are my fave leggings for pregnancy. The first two are my regular leggings that I just sized up one size. The second two are specifically maternity leggings that worked during my third trimester:
Pants
Pants were pretty much the hardest thing for me. I couldn’t seem to find anything I liked. I immediately ditched my jeans during my first trimester. They put too much pressure on my belly and made me feel even more sick than I was.
Some styles that worked best for me were:
Gypsy Pants
Joggers
Leggings
Palazzo Pants
Rompers and Jumpers
All of mine are from Free People
Overalls
The overalls that I bought are from American Eagle and can be found here.
Here is what I ended up buying that I liked the most:
Skirts
Long skirts have been my thing to “dress up” for when hubby and I go on a date. I haven’t bought any since I have been pregnant because I already had them. My thoughts here are get long skirts. This way you can either have it below your belly or above your belly and right under your boobs :) I love the skirt above your belly and a tied band shirt look.
Just make sure that the waist band is stretchy. Here are some that I think are super cute just note that I don’t have any of these so don’t know about the quality. Just wanted to give you a sense of style:
Shirts
Shirts have been the easy thing for me. I have bought some Tee’s from Amazon, some tanks from walmart, and then some band tees from Urban Outfitters. Then of course I have these as my faves:
Swim Suits
American Eagle all the way . They have amazing two piece swim suits. All I have to say is buy the bikini and wear the bikini!
Workout Clothes
I have used my regular workout clothes this entire pregnancy. I did end up sizing up on my leggings and I bought an extra pair of workout shorts. I get all my workout clothes from American Eagle, REI, or Amazon. Here are the leggings that I have been loving for pregnancy and the shorts I bought:
Shoes
So I have been living in my Birkenstocks, Tevas, and Altras. My other shoes do not fit anymore as my feet got too swollen and too wide. You are going to want some shoes that are comfy, squishy, and flexible. I actually ended up buying a second set of Teva’s and my mom bought me another pair of Birkenstock’s!
There you have it!
All the things I loved and hated about maternity clothes. The maternity clothes that did and didn’t work for me. Let me know your thoughts below in the comments. Are you pregnant or have you been pregnant? Did you struggle as much as I did with figuring out what to wear while being pregnant? Let me know :)
Wishing you nothing but beautiful days!
Bess