Over the belly maternity trousers - how are they meant to fit?

[misssmilla1]

This is my first pregnancy and I've given in to my waistbands cutting in to me for too long, so gone and ordered a couple of pairs of jeans and work trousers from the Gap maternity range.

I ordered over the belly ones as I had no real idea of the fit, but tried them on last night and am a bit baffled. Everything fits fine around the legs and bum but the elastic on the bump band feels tight and it's really long.

I'm a shortarse so had to order the petite length, but the belly band comes up to my rib cage / bra band. I'm trying to figure out if this is the norm and it won't be quite as crazy as I start to get bigger, or whether they've left the length the same as standard length trousers i.e. too long. The elastic also feels quite tight / constricting, especially around the top. I figure they've had to do this to stop it rolling down but if it's like that at 12 weeks I'm a bit at what it's going to be like in another 15 or so.

Is this normal, or should I bite the bullet and keep looking for something more suitable and / or try the ones with the different size bump cover?

I always found that they didn't really fit until much much later on.

If you're only 12 weeks pregnant with your first baby (ie, your stomach muscles still exist and aren't shot to pieces!) then they won't fit - I imagine you've put a but if weight on but no real bump. The elastic needs to be long - remember they reckon 1cm per week so your bump will be 40cm long by the end.

Fwiw, I hated over the belly trousers in my first pregnancy and got some under the bump ones from mamas and papas. In my 2nd pregnancy though I loved over the belly ones. Just felt different both times.

Oh, and your bump starts under your ribs so it definitely needs to be that high up!

Maternity clothes are a total PITA! Well no, shops that sell maternity clothes are a total PITA because they don't let you try them on, you have to get them online even though this is the time you need to try them on most!! You might just have to try some others. I'd love some that went all the way over my bump up to my bra but mine (left over from last pregnancy)seem to dig in 3/4 of the way up my bump. I think each pregnancy is different, how high you're carrying baby and so on because these I'm in now are uncomfy at 22 weeks when they were fine up to birth with ds. Maybe try some under bump ones? Or just go to Mothercare or Mamas and Papa where you can actually try them on before buying.

Agree with pp, it's that long to accommodate a 9 month bump, cosy!
When I was in that in between period I switched to jeggings and those jodhpur type stretchy smart trousers (both non maternity) they were great up until about 6months in

i had under bump and over bump trousers for work during my pregnancy, and i started off loving the under bump ones, but towards the end of the pregnancy they just hung too low, as my bump finished in a place i didn't fancy flashing , so i switched to over the bump. These had seemed really ill-fitting until the third trimester, when they started to make perfect sense! New Look maternity was good at offering both under and over bump trousers and jeans, but with under bump designs if the waist band starts to dig in when sitting, i can recommend a BumpBand, not cheap but i used mine everyday!

Over bump ones are meant to go over the bump, so up to your bra or as close as possible, I would've thought? Mine used to go up that far (I have a long torso), which was comfortable, but now at 33 weeks they are only coming halfway up my bump which is pretty uncomfortable and annoying, but under bump ones are massively uncomfortable on me. I wish warm weather would come quicker so I can just wear dresses and not have to worry about jeans/leggings/tights!

I have gap jeans and the band is too short actually. I can still wear them because it is not tight but it only comes up to half of my bump, im 33 weeks now.

At 12 weeks i got jeans from mothercare there the band was fitting great but it is too tight now.

The best band is on New look pants, cottony, stretchy. I was tucking it in on the top under my bra while it was too romy, but fit just great now.

Yeah they're definitely meant to come right up to your rib cage. Before they fitted properly (ie stretched across my bump) I used to tuck them into my bra and hope for the best.

I had Next under bump petite ones - brilliant. Over bump are cosy at the end but can get very hot. Will swamp
You until about 6mths tho

I'm 18 weeks but only 4'11" and really short in the torso, and the over bump maternity trousers I have come up so high I could quite easily tuck my tits inside them. I've just rolled over the top elastic and tucked them above my bump.

Thanks all. I'm really small atm (albeit with a nice lower pot belly) but the bands fit / are quite tight already especially at the top so I was trying to imagine what I'd be like in another 10 weeks or so!

I'm back in the UK in 4 weeks so will try out Next and New Look; anyone who bought from there, did you have to get mail order or do the bigger stores carry their maternity line?

For Next maternity is only online.
For new look some locations carry maternity but you might not find proper size and lenght. In new look I tried couple and then ordered online the best fitting style in correct lenght.

As far as I know for Next you'll probable have to order online. I think probably for New Look as well, I tried desperately to find an actual shop with a maternity range but just couldn't (unless you count Mothercare or Jojo Maman Bebe). I have a really comfy pair of over the bump jeans from Dorothy Perkins, super comfy and fit really well, they also don't look like maternity jeans they have a very nice classic shape and look. They have seen me through nearly 2 pregnancies so far (33 weeks with 2nd) and they still look great.

As others have said maybe under the bump may be more comfortable early on, it give you the flexible no digging in feel without the huge bump covering. I got some nice pairs second hand on ebay for the early days because you do grow out of them quite quickly. Well I did anyway.

It's really hard to get trousers that fit though you the second and third trimesters, and even harder to judge what you'll find comfy in2-3 months time.

H&M is one of the few places that has maternity in store. I like their maternity jeans. You can have them taken up if they're too long.

I got some things from New Look Maternity that they had in store but it was a really huge, out of town, shopping estate one, they had some nice tops and was quite cheap. Probably better for casual stuff and not as good for work clothes.

missmilla I had the same problem with a pair I got from H&M, the elastic at the top of the bump band was really tight. Whereas all my other mat jeans the elastic is really comfortable. Just put it down to being a bad pair

I always found the over the belly bands really uncomfortable so I went for under the belly. You can also get expandable trousers the you loosen at the side as you get bigger.

At 12 weeks you may want to try the hair band trick on your current trousers. I know it sounds silly but it worked a treat for me right up to about 19 weeks.

Was going to suggest the hairband trick to Gym.

Mat jeans are a pita but I found rhey only really worked later in pregnancy. Bump bands are better earlier on

I don't like the ones that have a separate elastic band at the top. Look for ones where the whole over belly part is elastic - Pea in the Pod Secret Fit is really good for example (American brand though, so expensive to order), but others have similar styles as well.

I've found jeans really difficult to buy. The under bump ones are really uncomfortable as my very small bump is really low, and anything bulky feels awful. I'm waiting for some over bump jeans to arrive, they'll hopefully get here today! Although I have a small bump, I do have a very large stomach and would easily pass for 6 months, even though I'm only 3

Completely agree that I need to try stuff on but can't!