Right around week 9 of my pregnancy (going back in time a little bit – I’m 26 weeks now) I felt my usual pants getting a little bit snug. I could still do them up, but sitting in a chair for a long time was uncomfortable. I decided that it wasn’t too early to venture into the world of mama-wear, and though I didn’t know up from down when it came to maternity shopping, I just jumped in. Looking back, my early pregnancy status made me feel like a bit of a newbie, but since then I’ve learned a few things about maternity clothes shopping, and mama-wear in general, if you’re interested:
- Maternity stores have a foam belly in the change rooms for you to try on under the clothes, to see how it they will look when you’ve grown a bit – these are fun and you should take selfies with them.
- The sales women at the store like to ask how far along you are, which is sorta fun if you’re newly pregnant, because no one else dares to ask.
- The clothing sizes are like coffee sizes (small, med or large, etc).
- Nursing bras are basically the same as maternity bras (with the added clips), and even though they try to talk you out of buying them too early, my personal opinion is that they aren’t a bad investment. If you grow out of them then you replace them as you would a maternity bra, and if you ever return to that size, you can wear them again and conveniently nurse. Win win.
- Shopping for maternity clothes with a friend or family member is wonderful, especially when they they rescue you with juice boxes when your blood sugar is low. Shopping, amiright?
- Not every mama blog will tell you the best clothes to buy so don’t take every person’s “must haves” too seriously. I’d stick with friend recommendations first.
- Black leggings and maternity jeans are awesome, so they should be purchased early on.
- Long tank tops are da bomb.
- For work clothes – two good pairs of dress pants and a handful of dresses can take you a long way. Your pre-pregnancy cardigans, jewellery, and shoes can shake up the look from day to day.
- Borrowing clothes from a new mom can be a wonderful way to save money, and make you feel like you’ve just gone on a shopping spree.
- Maternity clothes can be expensive but sales happen often and can make stocking up on essentials perfectly reasonable.
- Your body will teach you what clothes you need so be patient for it to catch up with your evolving style.
- Finally, you don’t have to buy every staple of clothing you’ll ever need during pregnancy at the same time – you’ll live on a few basics until your next payday. Not to mention you might grow out of some of your early purchases one day soon.
Some of my first clothing purchases are special to me now because I have been watching my body grow and change in them ever since those early weeks. Week by week shirts get a little bit snugger, and they look different on than they did before. Non-maternity clothes are the same; shirts and pants you couldn’t conceive of growing out of, don’t button up. I find it pretty entertaining, and if you let it, it can make you proud too. (We did it body – we conquered another shirt!).
For the curious:
My tank top, jeans (similar), dress pants, and wish list.
Canadian Julia 