what clothes?

[Newmom2b]

I have officially grown out of my last wearable work dress... dh tried to get the zip up this morning but it wasnt happening!! I'm 18+5 and although I'm too big for my work dresses I'm too small for maternity clothes so what do I do? Anybody got any helpful tips?

I bought stretchy trousers in ASDA in a size bigger than normal (plain black - only £14)... I'm still wearing them at 26+2

Maternity clothes come in size 6 at the smallest, so surely you aren't smaller than that?!!

My pregnant aunty who is 34 weeks has been comfortably wearing maternity clothes or baggy/smart tops over size 10 normal trousers (she is normally a size six) or dresses for the last 15 weeks.

ha ha i can assure you I'm not smaller than a size 6!

So there should be no problem with clothes then?!

There are some maternity clothes that will fit you and not look silly but you will have to do some looking around. I remember with dd when I went to get dressed for work after the Xmas break

Just bite the bullet and buy some maternity clothes - you are going to need them at some stage and the earlier you buy them the more wear you will get out of them. Don't be tempted to burn them as soon as you have the baby though, you won't lose your bump straight away. But as soon as you can get rid of them. I didn't figuring I'd use them again but tbh when I did get pg again (9mths later) I had worn them so much I couldn't stand the sight of them and ended up buying all new ones anyway.

Depends how smart your work clothes need to be. I've just started maternity leave but I wore a lot of stretchy / jersey dresses - not maternity ones specifically but ones that had a seam under the bust then flowed over the bump. Black ones tend to look quite smart. Stretchy wrap dresses can be good too. I also had a pair of maternity work trousers (black) from Topshop which I wore with longish tops. So, a mixture of "normal" clothes, maternity clothes, and normal clothes in a size bigger for extra room.

Newmom2be, I can really relate to what you are saying here. I'm now 26 weeks and am so relieved to be finally fitting into maternity clothes.

It's not about the size as such, more the general shape of maternity clothes. For instance, clothes which allow room for a 30+ week bump just look daft when you are 18 - 20 weeks, or at least they did on me! It turns out that I'm not the sort of body shape where you get a nice neat bump all out front, mine sort of spread sideways at first, which made it harder to find clothes to fit.

I got round the problem by wearing non pregnancy trousers, with the button undone and a bump band round my waist and covering the zip area. On my top half I wore vest tops in a size larger than I normally would, topped off with a cardigan which had just one button done up, so my tummy area wasn't constricted. I found a couple of White Stuff tops in John Lewis which accommodated my tummy (again, these were non-maternity, but looser than I would usually wear).

Now I finally have what looks like a 'proper bump' and it's so nice to be wearing maternity clothes. These seem to vary so much in availablility depending on where you live, but I've found Gap good for jeans (they fitted from quite early); H&M good for tops (including some really nice ones which will be good for breastfeeding afterwards) plus some bits in Dorothy Perkins and New Look, neither of which are places I would usually shop, but have some excellent and reasonably priced maternity clothes in my local store.

Good luck, and enjoy your pregnancy. :0)

I agree with learningfast. I'm also a first time expectant mother and found it hard to get clothes for work. Maternity clothes are limited in range, usually expensive and made for "bigger bumps".

I got round this by buying size 10/12 dresses and skirts for work (normally a size 8). Be smart though, don't buy structured clothes you want them to be a loose material or have some kind of flex. The ones I got saw me through to the first 28 weeks (ish) and I found in most instances, were actually better than the range of maternity clothes on offer. During this time, I kept my eye on the maternity ranges in stores and waited until I found a maternity clothes I could use for work which was on sale. This saved me quite a bit of money in the long run and the 10/12 clothes can be used as I slim back down after the birth.

I only had to get a few items of casual maternity clothes which accomodated by shape and could be mixed with the rest of my wardrobe. I got some great t-shirts, jeans and denim shorts from new look and dorothy perkins all of which were on sale and will see me through a summery June (due 1st July).

Best shops for range and price of maternity clothes is defintely new look, dorothy perkins and (surprisingly) peacocks. When you do come to buy actual maternity clothes, try mama and papa's factory outlet stores which have the same clothes at a third of the price in the actual stores.

until i was about 20 weeks i got some trouser extenders to make the waist more comfy, and then wore my floatier tops to cover it! x

I got through in a-line or wraparound jersey dresses, tops a size larger than normal from Primark, specifically because their styles tend to be quite long and cover a growing bump well, my normal cardigans just not done up and one pair of expensive black French maternity trousers. I never found jeans that stayed up, perhaps ths time!

Im a size 10 and 13 weeks though my pies bump is showing. Ive bought a few pairs of primark linen trousers in a 12 which are great for work and only £9! They fasten under the bump so fx if my bum doesn't actually grow they might last me the whole way through.

Their long stretchy t shirts are also good and I can see them lasting a while though may be not the whole way.

Also bought maxi dresses/skirts from new look as there quite loose fitting around the stomach area and the skirt can go under the bump.

Some maternity trousers are adjustable at the sides - sounds perfect for allowing you a little extra room for now & lots of extra room later in your pregnancy!? :) Plus, most are really comfy, trust me - you won't look back!

Congratulations too!