Urgh in between sizes - do I buy bigger or maternity?

[Anonymous]

Hi - I need some advice on clothes! I'm 11 weeks pregnant and my stomach is becoming very rotund and my boobs are huge! I'm a petite girl who usually wears fitted clothes but now everything is fitting very snug and I'm totally uncomfortable. I haven't even gained that much weight - only 4-5 lbs. Do I start to buy maternity clothes now? Do I buy regular clothes in a bigger size? I'm scared the skirt I'm wearing now is cutting off circulation! urgh!!

[Anonymous]

You can buy one of those stretchy bands that Mimi or Motherhood sells. It goes over your regular clothes but you can leave the clothes unzipped without having them fall off. You'll need to leave your shirts untucked though.

Personally, I think maternity clothes are cheap and ugly (unless they are really expensive then they are barely tolerable and ugly). I bought 3-4 dress shirts a few sizes up (I'm a 2 and bought them in an 8) and that lasted me until the beginning of my last trimester. I was such a whale at that point that I had to wear the few maternity clothes I did buy.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

You probably won't fill out maternity clothes yet. I would buy a few pieces a size up. It's not a total waste because you will likely need them again "on the way down" after baby is born. You probably won't want to be wearing maternity clothes after having baby, but will likely not be back to your regular clothes for a while, especially if you normally wear fitted styles.

[Anonymous]

I had to buy clothes in two batches: one for months 3-5 when I didn't fit into regular clothes but wasn't quite into maternity yet, and one bunch for months 6-9 when you really are looking pregnant.

Get one size up from your previous size. Get one size up in short or ankle length if that helps the fit. If you a short like me, you can go get the larger sized petite clothes and they will fit you a bit better too.

It is also helpful to have this batch of clothes post-pregnancy too, because for at least 2-4 months I was between maternity and my previous size.

[Anonymous]

I am also very petite and found that maternity clothes just dont fit me quite right (aka--I'm swimming in them). However, I bought a few pairs of pants at www.lucy.com (the Mesa pant is my favorite) and have lived in them my entire pregnancy. They are technically yoga pants...but some of their styles are dressy enough that I've worn them to work. I am 38 weeks pregnant now and still wearing them below my belly. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

try babystyle's transitional clothing, they have excellent selection of coh and paige jeans for preggo moms

[Anonymous]

It's worth buying clothes a size bigger for both pre & post pregnancy. Of course nothing fit when I went back to work after 12 weeks, so those bigger pants came in handy -- through two pregnancies!!!.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the posts! Do I just buy one size bigger?

[Anonymous]

Around 11 weeks, I found it helpful to use a bella band over unbuttoned pants, combined with a few maternity t-shirts. The bella bands kept my pants from falling off, and the maternity t-shirts are longer than my regular t-shirts so they nicely hid the bella band. For skirts, I was most comfortable in a-line knit jersey skirts and did not need the bella band with those. If you buy a few things in a size too big, you can always have them taken in when you're back to your normal weight.

I'm 18 weeks now, and my clothes started to get very uncomfortable, so I'm just now starting to wear maternity. I really like the stuff I got, but I had to look through tons of stuff to find the nice ones. I found a couple things at JC Penny, Gap, and Motherhood. Most of the stuff I saw I did not care for, but the items I got are nice and simple and look close to what I normally wear.

[Anonymous]

I was in the same boat -- was a size 4p pre pregnancy and very quickly couldn't fit into my regular clothes. Buy some basic pieces in a size or two up -- like jeans, black pants, etc - as PPs have said, you will probably find yourself wearing them on the way back down. I was out of many of my clothes by the end of the first trimester -- I gained a total of 40lbs (and I'm only 5ft tall!) and found that I wasn't quite back into my regular clothes by the time I started back to work (at 12 weeks post) so it was nice to have normal "transitional" clothing....

[Anonymous]

I'm now 25 weeks pregnant and finally have a big belly. I bought a bunch of outfits at Chico's in size 0 short pants and size 1 shirts from their Traveler's line. They are very stretchy and comfortable and look pretty professional to go to work in. Much better than the maternity stuff out there but it's not cheap.

[Anonymous]

This is perhaps the biggest challenge of early pregnancy (if you can ignore the nausea and fatigue). I hated getting dressed in the morning because I had such a hard time. I agree with what everyone else has said. Bella band is great, etc. Also, try the Spanx Maternity hose. They run pretty easily, but they are super comfy. I found that hose became unbearable around 14-16 weeks.

Around 11 weeks I went to Appleseed Maternity in Old Town, VA and splurged on a pair of maternity pants by Ripe Maternity. They fit me like normal pants--i.e. no panel--and have an expandable waistline so as my belly gets bigger, I just let out the pants bit-by-bit. They have been my favorite maternity item. Those boutiques do have very cute things that are a lot better quality than Motherhood (I have found). I also did well buying used stuff. People often post to the DCUM Listserve about selling maternity stuff in all different sizes. Craig's List also has postings for that kind of thing. In Bethesda there's a consignment store called Wiggle Room. I haven't been there yet but I hear it's pretty good. The final thing is--borrow! I got an entire wardrobe from a 2nd cousin. Who knew she'd still have her maternity stuff 7 years after the birth of her son?? When I sent out our 'announcement' at 15 weeks to our extended family she wrote back and offered it up. So nice!

Good luck, and congratulations!
Jennifer

[Anonymous]

The other thing to look for are skirts with elastic waists. Likely not your normal style, I am sure, but they are a bit more forgiving than real waistbands! I found one or two at Gap and then a few others in a random ladies clothing store that catered to an older clientele. At least I could wear them to work! A gal I worked with swore by Chico's, but I never tried it. Can't offer any advice about pants, I'm afraid.

[Anonymous]

Also wrap dresses are awesome! And, Appleseed is having a sale--here's the blurb:

Just wanted to let you know that Apple Seed will be participating in the Alexandria Boutique Warehouse Sale this Saturday March 1, 9am-3pm at the George Washington Masonic Memorial located at 101 Callahan Dr, Alexandria VA 22301.

We will have a great selection of our maternity and baby (up to 4T) clothing in addition to baby gifts for discounts up to 70% off. Last year, we cleared out by 2 pm or so, so get there early for our best selections. Can't wait to see you there.

Limited free parking available and walkable from the King Street Metro.

See you there!
Apple Seed Maternity and Baby Boutique