Building a Maternity Wardrobe

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They say you should remain approximately the same size you were through the first trimester. Personally, I outgrew my jeans by 10 weeks. I was bloating– retaining water, and wasn’t able to move much because I was already on bed rest. So I went looking for new clothes. Maternity clothes so I hopefully would not have to go shopping again.

What a racket!

Maternity clothes are generally expensive, look crappy, and are poorly made. When I first realized how poorly made they were, I tried to rationalize. I thought “I’m only going to be wearing them for what? 9 months? They don’t have to last that long.”

I was wrong.

The media likes to portray women as though they walk out of the hospital the same size as they were before they got pregnant. What a joke. A lot of women I know didn’t really start to deflate until they were finished breast feeding. It can take 2-3 years (or never) to return to your original size. And that doesn’t include a second pregnancy.

Does that mean you should give up your pre-pregnancy clothes? Resign yourself to larger sizes? Eat the high cost of those maternity jeans and wear them for a year?

No. For one thing those maternity jeans won’t last a year (mine all fell apart after 4 months of use and all of them were supposedly high quality). It is time to build a wardrobe that will accommodate your physical changes through the pregnancy and the subsequent weight loss that you will actually like wearing. It is time to build a capsule wardrobe.

Building a Pregnancy Capsule Wardrobe

If I had to do it again, I would start with a pregnancy capsule wardrobe, and honestly, a year later I would still be wearing most of it.

Start by evaluating what you currently wear and feel comfortable in. Your pregnancy wardrobe may have different fit requirements than your usual one, but you should still wear pieces that approximate what you would have worn normally. You deserve to feel comfortable in what you are wearing. That means if you are a dress person, think about buying new midi or maxi wrap dresses; t-shirt and jeans more your style, you can work with that too.

Take a moment and write down what you want to wear. If you like separates, you will likely want between 5-7 tops and 3-5 bottoms. If you like dresses, you will need a few of those. Try to build a wardrobe with enough clean clothes to last you a week. And do not forget underwear and bras! Underwear and bras are literally the only thing worth shopping the maternity section for. Everything else you will find better quality in the regular isles.

What to get in the Maternity Store

Now I know I said to mostly avoid the maternity store, but being pregnant there are a few things you will need that are pregnancy specific.

Bras

First, you are going to need new bras. I bought new bras right before I got pregnant, and I cried when I had to replace them. But I am so glad I did. Underwire bras simply are not conducive to pregnancy and breastfeeding. The girls change so much. They change weight and shape (even over the course of a single day) and the underwire is just painful until things settle down. So spring for some new wireless bras. Your back will thank you.

Underwear

Next you will need some new underwear. Pregnancy and post-partum are messy. You will not want to ruin your cute underwear with all the mess pregnancy provides. Your current underwear is likely stopping at a point on your body that will cause problems as your tummy grows. There are two kinds of pregnancy underwear: over the bump and under the bump. I am a huge advocate for under the bump. You can wear them longer, layer things over the bump easier, and not have anything on the bump when you don’t want it there. Sometimes morning sickness can be aggravated by anything on the tummy, it is nice to not have to worry about that with underwear.

You will also want to splurge (as you get closer to your due date) on a package of c-section underwear. As much as you think you won’t have a c-section, on the day you give birth everything could change. You won’t need the underwear for a few days after you give birth, so keep them in the package. Your significant other will have time to wash and bring them to you if you need them. Return them if you don’t, but have them on hand just in case. You will thank me if you wind up needing them.

Nursing Tanks

Finally, nursing tanks are a very worthy purchase. I have 4 (2 black and 2 white) and they are amazing. During pregnancy, they were super stretchy and went over the bump easily. I used them as shells (under other shirts) and as something light to sleep in. The built in bra will not be enough for most women during the day, but it is the right amount of supportive for at night. Then, when the baby is born, they become great loungewear with easy access for the baby. It has been over a year since I had my little girl, and I stopped breastfeeding months ago, but the nursing tanks are still number one for sleeping in.

What to wear, what to wear….

Now that you went to the pregnancy store and got the undergarment situation settled, you still need clothes. Here is the big secret: everything you wear will get shorter long before it gets tighter.

Tops

Only your belly is growing, so your tops will get shorter on the stomach, but not really much tighter. Keeping that in mind, it is easy to find pieces you would enjoy wearing both during and after the pregnancy. Any dress that ends just above the knee on you now will be a shirt in a few months. Maxi dresses will just be shorter dresses.

You will still need to get one or two sizes bigger to accommodate any swelling and make sure there is enough give, but overall, you can really just buy things that are longer than you would normally wear.

Pants

Pants are so difficult. They are difficult in general, but for pregnancy even more so. Like with underwear, there are two directions you can go: under the bump or over the bump. While I prefer under the bump with my underwear, I tend towards over the bump for my pants. Underwear doesn’t have to hold keys, wallets, or phones; but pants do. Over the bump just feels more secure to me… it is also harder to buy for.

Personally, I look for high quality leggings with a pull tie (if possible). The pull tie will allow the pants to fit now, and they will stretch to accommodate the growth later. I also go for yoga pants that are a few sizes too big. Because of the high stretch of these pants, only one or two sizes bigger could last the rest of your pregnancy. They will also be super comfortable to go home from the hospital in.

And that’s it. Get clothes you would feel comfortable wearing for a couple of years, because it could be a couple of years before you are back in your pre-pregnancy clothes. You deserve to feel good in your clothes, no matter your size or shape.

If you are pregnant, or were recently, what are your favorite pregnancy clothing hacks?