Are Maternity clothes essential?

Krystaltips

When I had my first baby I had literally no spare money and wore a pair of old stretchy trousers and my own tops for the first 6 months... Then I got a pair of maternity trousers for christmas... I wore them until my daughter was born in March... Alternating them with the stretchy ones when they needed washing... I really did get my money's worth out of them, they'd fallen apart by the end! Tops wise I had a couple of longer line tops and with the maternity trousers, these worked fine...

This time I have invested in a couple of pairs of trousers and 3 tops... But still have a couple of my own tops that are longer length that still fit fine... Like someone said, you get sick of wearing the same thing... But that's not really important....

Bebsie

Why don't you try asking of Freecycle?

Danni1979

Thanks for the replies

I have asked on freecycle but had no replies..

Do any of you think as i have some babydoll style tops that i could wear them for quite a while??

D

tiamai_d

Danni1979 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies

I have asked on freecycle but had no replies..

Do any of you think as i have some babydoll style tops that i could wear them for quite a while??

D

Oh yes! They are comfy! But, if they are quite short, they will sit above your waist line when you are a bit bigger. My going out top last time was a baby doll style top. Looked lovely with black trousers.

Go for comfort.

Krystaltips

I'm 31 weeks (nearly) and still fit well into a couple of my babydoll style tops... Anything that's fitted round the bust and flares out will do for a while... The longer the top, the longer you'll be able to wear it too..

Baileys_Babe

I have been lucky this time as I was still wearing my own clothes up to 26+ weeks. I now have 4 pairs of maternity trousers, all leant by friends as well as maternity bands. I'm still in my normal tops most of the time, the exception being a silk maternity top (also donated by a friend) which I wear when going out and I need to dress up. I have been given 2 over sized cardigans (not maternity) which thankfully co ordinate with everything else which has made it easier. The only things I have bought are maternity bras, sleep bras and maternity bands. I am now 39 weeks and have spent very little. At home I often wear yoga pants and OHs tops and go for comfort over elegance.

It may be an idea to ask friends/colleagues if they could lend/give some of their maternity clothes.

jamsandwhich

I have a pair of linen maternity trousers I got from la redoute which were the best things I have ever bought - can't remember the cost but over the summer they were fab. Also got a pair of maternity jeans from DP and just got babydoll style tops in a larger style and wore with a shrug or loose cotton cardi. Have kept all my gear for next time and tbh we were a bit strapped too but a couple of pairs of good trousers were a godsend!

Ishtar

I moved into my maternity clothes at around 10 weeks this time - took me a bit longer for my first; probably more like 18 weeks.

The problem I had was trousers and jeans cutting in - you really do need the extra panel towards the end... I am currently in a non-maternity size 16 jumper, but have a maternity t-shirt underneath to hide my huge bump (I'm due next week).

Have a look and see if you have an NCT Nearly New sale coming up - I got a load of stuff from there and they're usually quite cheap and good value. I've also managed to get a couple of pairs of jeans from Freecycle - have you tried asking in the groups just outside of your local area (ie. still not a huge trek to collect anything).

I have to say that with my first pregnancy money was tight - we'd just relocated and I didn't have a job, so I tried buying larger sized clothes from charity shops to save some cash. It worked for a while, but clothes started to ride up or down and were just generally uncomfortable.

Good luck with your pregnancy!
D

weezl74

Krystaltips wrote: »

I'm 31 weeks (nearly) and still fit well into a couple of my babydoll style tops... Anything that's fitted round the bust and flares out will do for a while... The longer the top, the longer you'll be able to wear it too..

I got through my whole pregnancy with 2 of these style tops. I'm usually a 10, and my friend was giving away a few in 14s and 16s, they worked really well, as did 2 pairs of M and S non-maternity size 12 jersey fabric wide legged trousers, which I think will be fine for work when not pregnant. Happy to post a link if you'd like!:D

spike70

I needed maternity trousers from about 10 weeks so I bought some elasticated waist trousers from Matalan for about £10, then once my bump started growing I found New Look and Peacocks did the best value jeans, combats and trousers etc for around £12-£15. I found the expanding waist type the best as the over the bump ones dug in to my bump during the last month or so, and you can also wear the expanding ones afterwards. I also bought some smock style tops and T-shirts from H&M and Matalan and a bump band from Toys R Us.