Maternity wear tips?

[heleen]

I am in my 10th week of my first pregnancy and am starting to finfd my trousers very tight (though I think it's just gas! ;D)

I'm going to have to start looking at maternity wear and was hoping some of you moneysavers might have some tips for me , e.g.

where to buy
what kind of clothes are recommended
how you've minimised the cost

Thanks for any tips!

[plumpmouse]

Hi dutchgirl,,


I never bothered with maternity wear, I just bought bigger sizes of normal clothes.

[jo_b]

I tried wearing bigger sized clothing until I got very, very big! Proper well-designed maternity wear is so much more comfortable though and well worth getting. Have you had a look on Ebay? They seem to have loads of stuff at the minute and, bearing in mind the limited time of wearing, all stuff should be in good condition. I borrowed all my maternity clothes from a friend.

Just remember to think about the time of year it will be when you're at your biggest. Good luck! ;)

[Judi]

Just stick to loser fitting clothes. !My friend wore stretch jeans/trousers and baggy tops all though her pregnancy. !Unfortunately, being only little, i tended to look huge from very early on and stuck to tents. You will need to invest insome good quality sexless bras though. :-[ Just to warn you, your man may not come near you for the whole time you are wearing them though. ;D

NCT does maternity wear hire scheme -- £1-£2/item, for duration of your pregnancy. For best value you can't beat that. Contact your local NCT branch... you can also find items cheap on Ebay if you don't like to hire.

[halloweenqueen]

It is getting more fashionable now to raid the charity shops, sometimes there are bargains to be had, also surf eBay, you don't have to leave home for that!

[Sarahsaver]

i got some stretchy trousers - not maternity ones, useful afterwards too, and wore dresses id already got as tops, like empire line or flared shape just above the knee. Also used ebay, ask friends who have had kids, it neednt cost much. I didnt get on too well with maternity jeans and found they fell down until i was really big.
The best thing i had was a pair of pvc maternity jeans !!! from the now sadly defunct C&A. Sadly i sold them on ebaybut did get over £14 for them:)
If you do get any new maternity clothes they do have a good resale value on ebay.
I think H&M are the trendiest, but what you may find will happen is that you will wear the same stuff over and over again. I liked Mothercare maternity knickers the best, the ones that went over the bump. La redoute do maternity clothing and there are several codes on a thread on this site so you could get a big discount. I have got some things in my cupboard, PM me and if u live near me you could come and fetch them if that would help?

[heleen]

Thanks for all the great tips!

I will have to investigate the pvc maternity jeans to compensate for the sexless bras ;D

Congratulations, Dutchgirl!

A friend from work went all through her pregnancy with leggings, a couple of dresses in stretchy material and her normal jeans.

She's very skinny anyway and only put weight on on her bump, so her Mum very cleverly added a section of stretchy material in the gap where they didn't zip up. She just covered it with big T-shirts and sweaters. Then she removed it when the baby was born.

Ms Thrift

[plumpmouse]

You can buy maternity belt which like ms thrift's friend used extend with you normal pants. I know that Lloyds pharmacy can order them via their home heatlh catalogue but can't remember where else i've seen them. Will have a look around for you.

Looking for materinty wear is a nightmare, but I have noticed the 'George' at Asda has now brought out a maternity range. Also Debenhams, Additions & Dorothy Perkins.
Happy hunting.

[Yoga Girl]

Congratulations DutchGirl!

Check out your local NCT branch to see if they are holding any "nearly new" sales in your area - you can usually find maternity clothes as well as baby stuff.

There are a few on-line sites that sell second-hand and discounted stock:

www.budget-bumps.co.uk
www.maternityexchange.co.uk
www.bumps2bairns.co.uk

If somewhere like Asda or Mothercare have got a sale on its worth stocking up on stuff for when the bump is big (mine was HUGE!) such as comfy trousers + t-shirts. Oh and lots of BIG knickers!

[plumpmouse]

Hi again dutch girl

Check out the link below regarding maternity belts,

http://www.mothersbliss.co.uk/shopping/maternitybelt.asp


Agree that george is the best (cheapest) place for maternity wear. But still would recommend just trying bigger sizes particularly so early on.


As for big knickers I never needed them!!!!!!! But having said that i only had a small bump, they where concerned he was small but found he was large *(9 pound 10!!!!!) but he was just very well hidden apparently..


Good luck

[heleen]

Anyone have any experience with maternity G-strings?

It's been 10 years since Ive worn big knickers!! :o

[Yoga Girl]

I'm afraid I havn't any experience of maternity g-strings!

When the babies head was bouncing up and down on my bladder I prefered big knickers to give me a feeling of a bit more security! Didn't have much confidence in my pelvic floor 2nd time around! :-[

(Keep doing those pelvic floor exercises!!!!)

Hi Dutch Girl,

I am 30 weeks in to my second pregnancy and big!! :D

I would recommend that you buy 2 pairs of good quality
trousers from Formes(if you are office based) I had bought cheaper versions at Next and Dunnes Stores (I live in Belfast) they are fine to about 23 weeks and then they just are a really bad fit and will annoy the !!! off you!
Ebay is great - I bought new/good condition tops/dresses all Formes brand for a fraction of the price.

If you have any friends going to the States check out gap.com and oldnavy.com and give them lists!!

There are lots of new, past season gap clothes on ebay USA who say that they will ship to the UK.

Finally, laredoute.co.uk have some trendy and comfy maternity clothes - there is a sale starting tomorrow. Its best to view on the net and then order by phone as they delay all internet orders for some reason??Bizarre!

For bras - buy a back extender - from mothercare,as you will be all sizes by the end!

Hope that this helps,

Have you taken up the £25 off la redoute offer, as I believe they do maternity thongs.

It's £25 off your order plus free p&p, with no minumum order (so basically, if you spend £22 it's all free, if you spend £45 you pay £20...etc)

www.redoute.co.uk

offer code: 1991

DO NOT use on sale items, as it may appear to work when you place the order, but they will charge you for them.

HTH

Sarah

[rach]

friends of mine have a 'maternity clothes box' which gets passed around when anyone needs it - people add the odd thing from time to time but the system works well as you don;t all have to fork out for stuff.

[Ally]

Firstly …. Big Congrats DutchGirl!! ;D

I went through my first pregnancy (a winter baby) without buying any maternity clothes. I didn’t show until I was 7 months, but then, over night I was huge! I didn’t want to spend money on clothes I would only wear for 2 months, so I stuck with dresses that had a lot of give in them (worn at size 8 to 16, so masses of give in them!) and wide leg pants with elasticised waists (sounds frumpy but they were very classy). I did invest in a few maternity clothes for baby number 2 (a summer baby), as my bump was showing a month before I was pregnant!! Mothercare jeans and dress (with a tie back) total cost £50 and worth every penny. I can’t recommend maternity tops, I spent £60 on 2 tops and they were c**p! As it is hot now, you can wear vest tops which stretch, during the colder months, invest in a few good jumpers or cardigans a couple of sizes up.

Ask friends or try ebay, like other users have suggested for maternity clothes. I would have to recommend the maternity belt too, to extend your regular trousers (mentioned by Ms Thrift and PlumpMouse). If you don’t want to buy seconds, invest in a few good quality adaptable garments. I picked up a dress at peacocks for £4! A quick tip, during pregnancy number 2, I bought a number of garments from Wallis (@4 months pregnant) I was still wearing them when I went to hospital to have my baby – for some reason they fit me better when pregnant!

Ok, after all my yapping, the moral is - Shop around, you’ll be surprised what will work, it doesn’t have to be labelled ‘Maternity wear’ to be suitable.

Ally,
Ps. Congratulations to Suzie Sue too! ;D

[nips]

I can recommend jojo maman bebe, the clothes are great quality but are mail order. However there are three sites over the country where they sell off their stock for next to nothing. One is in London another in South Wales and I cant remember where the last one is. It will be worth ordering a brochure as the details are on the cover jojomamanbebe.co.uk

The sales attract people from miles away and the clothes are sold at about £5 per item. Be prepared to queue but it will be worth it!

[Plumpud]

As well as the previous tips I would recommend just larger clothes than normal. On my last baby (my third) I didn't have any maternity clothes except bras. Indian skirts with elasticated waists are excellent, especially for when it is hot, as you will be several degrees hotter too. I found Evans and Size Up to be the best for bigger clothes. Don't buy too big, only 2 or 3 sizes at most - I was massive (and still am ???) but as long as they are fairly stretchy you should be fine.

For knickers I just bought my normal size but in 'mini' or 'slip' size so that they just went under my bump. Mens slip pants are a good fit too (raid your partner's).

For tights I bought them in extra large, which has an extra panel, and wore them back to front. Much cheaper than maternity tights, which appear to be identical.

I would recommend buying some flattish shoes just to wear in pregnancy. Your feet swell when pregnant. Making shoes too big when you are no longer pregnant, don't want to ruin your favourites. Choose flat as the change in your centre of gravity makes you more likely to lose you balance and to fall over, your ligaments are looser and you are more likely to hurt yourself.

For bras I would strongly recommend Contessa for fitting. M&S are not trained as well and have a higher staff turnover. Contessa also sell the bra extenders.

When I was pregnant with my first, I extended my jeans with a strong elastic band looped between hole and button. I just wore long shirts and t-shirts over the top to cover. I should have patented it as something very similar is sold by PHP (very good catalogue). For t-shirts, mens are better as they are cut bigger across the hips.

When buying nightwear for hospital, remember it is very hot in there, so very thin cotton is best. Also you will bleed after the birth like you can't imagine. Take plenty of disposable knickers with you and/or your oldest, tattiest knickers which you can just throw away.

Hope this helps, all the best for your happy event :)

[deronda]

I bought a denim dress and a pair of dungarees from mothercare. They were very comfy and not very expensive. I had twins so by eight months the dress was a bit tight but the dungarees were still very comfy and lovely to wear particullary on the not so warm days and it meant i did not have to by any tops as the gaping hole left between the top of anything and my t-shirts was nicely covered and kept warm.

;D

[Counting_Pennies]

I can strongly recommend the maternity exchange, a link to their website was given by someone else above.

They really are great, they specialise not only in second hand good quality clothes, but also liquidation stock. I have come away with Formes, the TwoofUs and may other branded goods at a fraction of the price.

If you live near Berkshire I would recommend booking an appointment and popping in (it is run out of a converted garage at the woman's home) although beware she can talk for Britain!!! Alternatively I hear they do most of their business online.

The good thing is you can also sell your maternity wear back to her when you are finished to be sold as secondhand!!

[Sarahsaver]

Just a thought for afterwards - i found the most comfortable thing to be old fashioned men's pyjamas - sew up the fly if theres no buttons! and men's briefs to wear after you have had the baby because i have not yet found womens knickers which are big enough to accommodate the GINORMOUS sanitary towels you WILL need to wear. A few midwives thought I was funny wearing men's pants but they are much more secure at this time ;D when you need to feel comfortable.

[trippy]

I found that I was still wearing maternity clothes for up to 3 months after my baby was born and I was only 1/2 stone overweight the day after I gave birth - I just couldn't do the buttons up on my trousers and the tops were big enough to keep breastfeeding discreet.

With this in mind I've bought more maternity clothes this time round (am 20wks) as I know I'll wear them for longer. I also have in mind how big I felt at the end and how important it was for me to still look like I'd been able to make an effort with how I looked. Clothes that were simply bigger sizes weren't as flattering and made me look bigger than I was.

I definitely recommend ebay. Visit a few shops to try their maternity range on to get an idea of your size and then bid away on ebay.

Also recommend low rise jeans as my sister is still wearing hers at 37 wks. Top Shop do them if you can cope with being at least a 14 (I'm a 10/12 normally but in 'grown up shops').

With tops, go for the tall range in the next size up. They'll be long enough to cover your bump and can be quite cheap. Plus Dorothy Perkins are doing a great range of maternity tops for the summer starting at £6 and they look great!

Good luck!

ps. Forgot to say that I wore thongs throughout my first pregnancy and so far this one. I didn't buy any maternity ones just got some in the next size up and they sat just below the bump.

[Frances_O]

Yea, I got a lot of my clothes from Dorothy Perkins too, and I know Topshop have just brought out quite a large Maternity Range (3 months too late for me! :()
If anyone's interested I've got several items of maternity clothing I'm wanting to sell now (I don't want much for them). Mostly Autumn/Winter stuff, some vests too, but handy if you're gonna be needing something bigger around about then!
Just let me know....! :)
Fran

[Angelolly]

Great tips for maternity wear but does anyone know where to get reasonably priced breastfeeding clothes? I never bothered with my son but I'm pregnant again and can remember all too vividly my inexpert fumblings and poor attempt at discretion!

I can find nice tops on NCT and JoJoMaman but they are about £30! I will sell them on but this amount still seems a bit steep to me. Ebay don't seem to have any/many either.
I accidentally searched USA sites yesteday and they have loads - obviously more enlightened than we are!

[deedee]

Check out some of the US sites some ebayers will send stuff to the UK.

When I was pregnant I used to borrow my hubbys shirts and jumpers. Though I won't be able to do it next time as he has lost a lot of weight!

Iwould highly recomend finding out about your local NCT. Their sales are brilliant. The one here you have to start queuing at least an hour before it starts.
http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/