Maternity wear tips?

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:

https://www.budget-bumps.co.uk
https://www.maternityexchange.co.uk
https://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!!

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!!!!)

System

Hi Dutch Girl,

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

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,

System

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)

https://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_3

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