1st and 2nd Trimester Maternity Style Must Haves

With my first pregnancy, I gained a lot of weight, like more than half my body weight a lot, but that is a post for a different day.  The point is, I gained weight all over early on and was in maternity clothes by 16 weeks.  This time around, I've been doing much better and haven't really worn much by way of maternity clothes yet, though that time is rapidly approaching.

In order to make my regular wardrobe stretch I've discovered that a few things are key.  At the very top of this list is maxi dresses and skirts.  I know I've said before how great maxi dresses are in general, but even more so for mamas-to-be.  If you don't have any maxi dresses in your wardrobe you can buy maternity ones if you want, but non-maternity are cheaper and will still be useful after pregnancy.  The key is to find ones that don't have a defined waist, empire waist or tank style are perfect.

A close second on my list of maternity must haves is the belly belt.  This thing is amazing!!  I inherited mine from a friend, who inherited it from her sister-in-law.  I can not say enough about this thing.  It allowed me to wear my pants, completely unzipped, without them falling down.  I know a lot of people love the belly band for this same purpose, and while I have one and have used it, I didn't find it very comfortable.  I have had a lot of stomach aches with this pregnancy and when my stomach hurts, the last thing I want is a giant, tight band pressing in on my entire stomach area.  The belly belt solves this problem completely.  Now it comes in a two pack, one for bottoms that button and one for bottoms that hook.  It also has some little fabric pieces to cover up the bare skin exposed by the fact that your pants are unzipped.  I only have the button one, nothing else and I still couldn't survive this pregnancy without it.  Get one, it will be the best $20 you spend this pregnancy.

That brings me to maternity must have #3: long tops.  No matter what you are doing with your bottom half, you will need longer tops.  Loose, tight, flowy, whatever you have in your closet that is long enough to cover your zipper and fits over your bump.

These tanks are great.  They are long, soft, stretchy, cheap, and come in tons of colors.  Also they aren't so low cut that your newly enhanced bust is on display.  (Remember I teach 6th graders so I try to be extra aware of this.)  You can layer them under tops that are too short to wear with your unzipped jeans, under a tied or unbuttoned button up, or wear them tucked into a maxi skirt.  All in all they are a great basic.  I didn't buy new ones, I just wear the ones I already had.

Rounding out my list of maternity must haves are leggings.  Leggings are perfect for those days when you just don't want to deal with clothes.  Pull on, pull off, basically wear pajamas all day.  Not pregnant, I'm not sure where I fall on the whole leggings as pants issue.  Pregnant, I say bring them on.

Leggings are one area where I really advise buying maternity.  I wore my regular leggings for a while, just rolled down, but then they started to press in on my bladder and that is not a good situation.  I really wanted the under belly ones because it is hot here so I didn't want another layer.   I bought the GAP supersoft leggings on sale but they were way too sheer for me so back they went.   I lusted over some more expensive nicer ones, but since this is our last baby I couldn't justify it.   I lucked out and found the last pair at old navy for 97 cents.  You read that right, 97 cents.  These look the same, I don't know why mine were so cheap, not that $15 is very expensive.  My best advice is to check out your local stores, try some on, and bend over.  If you can see everything, keep looking.

Obviously every woman is different and every pregnancy is different (I'm a prime example of that) but these few things can make your wardrobe go a long way.


I'm linking up with Style Sessions, What I Wore Wednesday, and I Feel Pretty.