Maternity Clothes - What do I need and where to buy plus sizes

[Spiritedwolf]

Hello ladies,

I'm 17 weeks + 3 with my first baby. I'm not really into clothes buying so haven't bought anything specially for pregnancy/nursing yet. I'm a size 22, but as I was in the process of losing weight when I discovered I was pregnant, I still have size 24s and larger elasticated clothes about.

I don't want to spend a fortune I hope to be a smaller clothes size before future pregnancies so - I was wondering what you think the basics are, what did you wear through pregnancy and afterwards for nursing? What was a complete waste of money? And when did you start wearing maternity clothes?

Is it worth getting nursing items before the baby is born, or will changing breast sizes mean I'm better waiting for most things till my milk supply is in?

I'd also like some advice about where to shop for plus size maternity ware. I'm on a pretty tight budget, but I'm also not looking to buy loads of items. I'm not exactly in a shopping hub, so shops with online buying options would be useful. Bonus points for Fairtrade cotton clothes.

I'm not working , so comfy casual clothes are fine on the whole (I have a few smart clothes with elastic waists and loose, long tops that I wore before I lost weight for any more formal occasions). I also need to get a swimming costume too. I want to breastfeed, so tops suitable for nursing would be useful.

Rambling a bit, sorry! Thanks for your suggestions.

The essentials for me have been a couple of pairs of jeans, a pair of black trousers and a skirt for work and bump bands so I can wear non-maternity stretchy tops. I also have a black dress for going out (needed it for Xmas parties and a couple of black tie dos and a couple of meals out) and have also found useful a big hoodie top, a casual wrap around dress and stretchy lounge pants.

The shops I've used (although I'm afraid I don't know about sizes) have been H&M, Dorothy Perkins and Next and a random website I found for bump bands.

I was a 22 with DD1 and a 24 with DD2, and I got away with normal clothes until the last few weeks. Simply Be do maternity clothes but be warned, they come up very big. Next have plus sizes as well as far as I remember.

Hello,

Congrats on your pregnancy.

Re, nursing bras... your advised not to buy them until just before or just after your baby's born. Your cup size goes up and your chest size goes down after you've had the baby... I just bought a couple of stretchy crop top style nursing bras toward the end. They're really comfy and you can sleep in them... and then I went shopping for proper bras after my boobs settled down. I wouldn't bother investing in lots of expensive nursing tops until you've had the baby and happily BFing. (I've BF all my children and never bothered with them but I know lots of people find them useful.) Hope that helps.

Hi

I'm about a size 20 and 22 weeks pregnant. I have bought some stuff from Next, Asda, Dorothy Perkins and Mama and Papas outlet store (very expensive otherwise). Check out Ebay too for some bargains. I picked up some Next stuff still with tags on for £5-£10.

I am living in dresses with leggings as they can be smart enough for work but are also comfortable.

Hi, I use Next - most of their maternity range goes up to a 22 - not sure about all of the trousers but def most of the tops do. Next are only good for maternity online though - in store is usually rubbish!!!

Dorothy perkins also good online - and also ASOS do maternity, not sure about their sizing though.

I found I could actually get away with non maternity tops for most of the pregnancy but it was trousers/jeans that I really needed. Stay in your normal clothes as long as you're comfy! You can always do the old 'hairband looped through the button hole' trick for trousers for now - or if a lot of your stuff is elasticated you might get away with it for a while anyway.

I breastfed first baby and plan to with this one too (due in August) and I actually found a lot of the specific feeding tops are not that great in reality! Different things work for different people but often getting a decent shawl cover thingy works better. Also you can wear a vest top with another top over it. Pull top layer up and vest top down to expose booby!! Feeding bras are a must in my opinion though (don;t bother getting measured yet though - your boobs will get big when your milk comes in around day 2 after baby arrives!!

Good luck with it all!

Thanks for all your tips xx

It's getting exciting now... except for ongoing morning, noon and night sickness.