The Maternity Wardrobe!

Clothes to cover the bump have come a long way since the days of my mother's muu muus.

Mom admits to wearing extra large clothes to hide the bump in contrast to today's fashion to show the bump off in all it's basketball-sized wonder!

I'm on the fence about it all.  I know I like comfort and so I have a feeling that is where my new wardrobe is heading.  I have a bit of a bulge around the middle so as of now (currently 19 weeks along), I despise any uncomfortably tight waists.  Right now I own two pair of pants that still fit, although the belt notch has changed, a pair of cords and a pair of jeans!

To make things easier on the wallet I have been purchasing maternity wear a few items at a time in the last 2 months.  I, of course am not the only preggo buying clothes - for another experience read my friend, Jenny's experience.

Maternity Shopping:

Living in the bitter cold while pregnant has its challenges!  For instance, I need a plethora of warm clothes and layers in a variety of sizes.  So I began my search around Halloween to find a few pieces to fill in the gaps between being my normal size to being bigger than my normal size!

So far I have found that layers are the key.

A few shops to keep in mind when venturing into this world of shopping for the belly:


Old Navy - you can always find cheap tops

I visited a couple of their stores and perused their online site to find some good cheap deals.  I stuck with shirts in the beginning because I was unsure how the rest of my body would expand.  They had great long sleeve shirts and cute tops to layer.  Success.

H&M - if they're on sale, cheap tops

I too ventured to their stores (in Europe and in Chicago - yep just rubbing it in for good measure!) and found a few sweaters and tank tops to layer with.  Success.

Gap - if you wear their jeans you'll probably like their preggo pants

Their online shop was easy to navigate to find a couple of solid options.  I've never seen their maternity clothes in a store, although they exist.  You just have to look up store locations near you to find them.  I chose a warm pairs of gray corduroys!  Yesterday, in Chicago's high of 22 degrees, I wore them over a pair of long underwear and was pretty comfortable.  Their elastic band isn't too high so it stays where it should when sitting or standing!

Macy's - don't plan on using Macy's coupons for maternity wear!
We have 7-story Macy's in Chicago.  I knew I could find something there I couldn't live without.  I was excited to find a wide selection of winter coats, nursing bras, tops, pants and everything in between.  Now you know Macy's can offer some good deals so I was excited to use my 40% off coupons for a garment I happened to like.  Their maternity section DOES NOT accept Macy's coupons.  It's a bummer they don't have a maternity page online either!

Hot Mama - their name says it all!
They offer a wide varity of clothing options, both maternity clothes and after baby clothes, also some clever baby related items like maternity Spanx and the Belly Band, which I purchased.  They have an online shop but their store offers much more.


The Belly Band - still on the fence
For $25 I'm not sure this was worth it.  I've used it a handful of time but it always rolls to create a lot of fabric in uncomfortable spots.  I've heard from a few people that it's good in the beginning before you want to wear the maternity pants and after the baby is born you'll get a lot of use out of it.  So I will have a better opinion of it once this whole baby cooking thing is over.


When I googled Maternity Wear I discovered a few other shops.

American  Appearal - one photo and you'll know why I didn't look into them much further

Esty - their site is a wonderous place to purchase all sorts of fun items including custom maternity wear!
I was pretty stinkin' excited to see sellers with maternity wear but it was mostly limited to tops/sweaters and I am in the market for pants.

I hope you can find the good deals that fit your style - Happy Shopping!