FTM question - maternity clothes

[InDreamland]

Hi everyone

Silly FTM questions about maternity clothes but I'm totally clueless.

At roughly how many weeks do ladies start wearing maternity clothes? I want to atay in my regular clothes for as long as possible but also don't want to suddenly realise one morning I can't fit into anything.

What type of clothes are most comfortable? I need comfy weekend casual stuff as well as office wear as work full time.

Where would you recommend buying maternity clothes? I've looked online at Seraphine and they look nice.

How much clothes do I need to buy?

Is it wiser to get stuff I can also wear afterwards whilst (hopefully) breastfeeding?

Underwear ........clueless! Any advice?

How much money will all this cost?

Sorry if I sound a bit dim but I really have no idea .........can see me going crazy and overbuying or buying the wrong things.

TIA

I got all mine in the sale off of ASOS its not the best quality but you are only going to need them a short amount of time! I got some lovely dresses for a fiver a go!
Did invest in a smarter maternity dress from M&S.. the tight stripy ones that everyone gets!
Also its good to look at styles which arent specifically for maternity but can be worn as normal clothing after you have give birth... so stuff like loose smock dresses and empire line dresses can be very useful as they will go quite far through your pregnancy and also be worn in the first months post birth where you might not quite have gone back to your old shape to fit in your pre pregnancy clothes yet.
Remember to look for stuff without high necklines/with stretchy necklines, if you are going to be breastfeeding as well!

I just bought my first pair of maternity jeans at the weekend and I am 11 + 3. They are so comfortable that in fact I may just always wear maternity jeans!

H&M do a mat range and the jeans were £25 or something like that. Yesterday I splurged a bit on Seraphine website for work trousers. I think just judge on when your ordinary clothes feel uncomfy. I am still wearing my normal work dresses and normal tops but trousers are just a bit tight now!

I'd check out charity shops to be honest - so much quality clothing available in my local ones.

But I second ASOS.
Seraphine (Seraphina?) is expensive but worth it for work clothes

I found some other cheap clothes online so if I can remember and find links I'll post x

I wore loose tops until 4-5 months but it depends on your bump shape and size I think.

Underwear - your boobs will probably get a bit bigger during pregnancy, but ballooooon after you give birth (think Dolly Parton), so if you plan to breastfeed, I'd wait until afterwards to buy breastfeeding bras. But a couple of slightly larger bras will probably be needed beforehand.
Pants - I didn't buy any new ones, but I know some people do. I wasn't that big, so they still fitted fine.
eBay is brilliant for second hand maternity clothes - people only wear them for a few months, so well worth a look.
And I loved JoJoMamanBebe for their tights and leggings that come up over our bump - never going back...

Also my top tip is buying a load of multipacks of dark coloured large underwear in a size or two up from what you would normally wear. And full pants or shorts style.
You bleed very heavily for quite some time after giving birth so you dont want to ruin all your underwear.. also the pads are massive so you need bigger underwear than normal... and in the last weeks of my pregnancy I found anything tight horrendously uncomfortable so it was a very good idea to have very large pants.... I also bought some leggings in a huge size from the supermarket rather than specific maternity leggings and they worked just as well but were half the price.

oh and bras extenders!! for the early moths before you know what size your breasts are going to get! Some womens breasts get really huge and then go right back down after several months (mine went up to 36C just after giving birth but were back to 32A a year later) so dont throw out any bras in case your boobs do return to previous size and wait until youve actually given birth to judge what sized new bras you will be needing for that time!
So bra extenders (you can get them off amazon) are a godsend as your bump grows, meaning you dont have to constantly be buying new bras every time your bump gets slightly bigger.

I bought quite a few different non-maternity bodycon dresses from H&M and as I got bigger they became more like tops. If you go for a lower neckline you can feed in them later on.
Also I found my NCT nearly new sale had some great bargains.

Wow thanks everyone. Amazing info and advice and lots already for me to consider and look at. I do already have a few baggy tops for winter that I love wearing anyway so hoping I can get away with wearing them through the pregnancy which will save me a few quid buying specific maternity tops.

I'm also a FTM and felt very confused about maternity wear! I managed to get away with wearing my normal clothes until I was about 24 weeks but I brought some maternity jeans from ASOS and New Look and they're really comfortable.

I've sworn by Jojo Maman Bebe for flattering tops and dresses. They do knit dresses that are lovely quality and will expand with you. I think they will be fine postpartum too as they retain their shape and don't look like maternity wear.

I've also brought up a couple of sizes in normal shops as I found it hard to find maternity clothes on the high street - stretchy waistband skirts from H&M and cheaper shirts for work from Primark.

I've brought most of my maternity clothes from eBay as I don't really want to spend a lot of money when I'm not wearing them for very long. You can get maternity bundles too which are great value.

I did have to go and buy new bras from M&S as all of my old ones no longer fit(!). I've brought nursing bras from Jojo Maman Bebe too as I found them the best price.

H&M, New Look, ASOS and Mothercare all have a maternity range online (though I found the Mothercare one a bit bland and full of plain T-shirts or stripy dresses). I'm hoping to breastfeed so have brought a few things on eBay that are nursing friendly (button-up shirts/dresses, nursing specific clothes from Jojo Maman Bebe and ASOS)

@InDreamland

First time round, few months in I bought some stuff

Recently found out I'm 6 weeks with DC 2 and I've had to change bottoms already :-(

I'm wearing the same size knickers e.g. shorts, high legs, full knickers as I was wearing before pregnancy but have gone up 3 cup sizes and I'm nearly 29 weeks. So I've had to buy new sets of bras 3 times but not new knickers.

I had to start wearing maternity leggings and larger tops to exercise in at about 13 weeks. I had to start wearing maternity jeans at about 16 weeks. My bump was showing from about 15 weeks.

Some of my other clothes e.g. dresses, skirts are just a size larger than I normally wear but in stretchy fabrics. I have t-shirts that are a size or two sizes bigger that I can still fit into.

I also have some specific maternity leggings, tights, tops, a skirt and dresses. Plus clothes I've borrowed from a friend.

I've been warned the bump bands on over bump jeans tend not to last more than one pregnancy.

Some people don't need to wear any maternity clothes until over 20 weeks they can just manage with larger sizes.

Generally if a retailer's clothes fitted you properly before pregnancy they should fit you as your bump gets larger if they sell maternity clothes.

George from Asda sizes are generous so should fit later in pregnancy - some women get very large in later weeks. H&M sizes aren't generous but if you have a small bump that doesn't matter. (I like the length of some of their clothes. ) JoJo Mama Bebe, where I brought my jeans from, has sizing is which is on the generous side but not as much as Asda.

I bought maternity jeans quite early on in my pregnancy. My normal trousers were OK, but getting a bit tight and felt uncomfortable. I just bought a few pairs of Next jeans on ebay, along with a pair of chinos. Didn't pay more than a fiver for any of them.
I'm nearly 22 weeks at the moment and am still wearing my current blouses and t-shirts, but I have to wear my white stretchy vest style tops underneath. Then I can leave a few buttons on my blouses undone on the sections that are getting a bit tight.
I already have bought (well DP has!) massive granny knickers and a couple of maternity bras as well (latter from Debenams). When I get bigger I'll probably get properly measured at M&S and get a few more).

Lots of the tight stretchy maternity clothes over your bump look bloody awful when you've given birth and that bump is not tight and filled with baby but is now just fat and wobbly. I had to send my sister out to get me loose not clingy and empire line tops while I was still in hospital after having first baby for this reason.

I'm ten weeks and have got some cotton empire line tops from johomaman nene as most of my clothes are too tight over upper tummy, probably bloating at this stage, jeans still ok for a while I think.

I've also got some dresses that are maternity and nursing from seraphine for my hols next week, so I can use them next year too. They have a sale on at the moment.

Re nursing, mostly I just wore normal tops I could lift up, with a vest top underneath I could pull down. So it's really only dresses that need to be specific for nursing.

I was uncomfortable in my regular clothes by 10 weeks and in maternity clothes by 12 weeks.

I bought a couple of pairs of jeans (new look), a pair of shorts (H&M), maxi skirt (Asos), a few dresses and about half a dozen tops. I also bought a couple of jumpers which although I havent had much wear out of yet I am looking forward to wearing once baby arrives in October as it should be getting cooler by then.

I was happy to buy a fair amount of maternity clothes as my work has a casual dress code so I knew I would get plenty of wear out of it. Some of tje stuff is not obviously maternity so I am hoping I will be able to wear after too.

Underwear I have just been buying bigger sizes or normal knickers. I bought a couple of nursing bras from M&S before I found out I was pregnant (I broke 3 ribs and had them pinned and plated so needed comfortable bras to sit over my scar whilst healing) and have lived in them ever since.

In my first pregnancy I avoided buying maternity clothes for as long as possible. I was quite small until 6 months and then went into maternity wear. The problem with that was then I was reluctant to spend much on it as I wouldn't be wearing it for long.

In my next pregnancy I got maternity clothes earlier.

Now I am pregnant again after a big gap and have started buying a few bits on eBay even though it's early days - so I can build up a wardrobe of nice bits without having to spend too much. Seraphine is a nice brand (good quality) and there is lots of it on eBay. Their summer sale is also on right now and I went into the London shop yesterday and saw lots of nice things on sale (didn't buy any as will all be the wrong season by the time I need it).

Isabella Oliver is another nice brand - a bit pricey but good. ASOS, Next and Top Shop all have lots of maternity wear too these days.

I got a really nice dress from Seraphine and currently have a referral code where you can save £15 on your first order over £100 (if that's of any use to anyone!)

I'm 14 weeks and have been slowly buying Maternity clothes. At about 12 weeks I realised I was just too fat for my normal stuff, but Maternity clothes help you feel more pregnant than fat ;)

My Mum has bought me some things from Jojo Maman Bébé which are really comfy, and I also have a few bits from H&M, New look and mothercare.

Towards the end of the first trimester when my normal clothes were too tight but I wasn't big enough for maternity, I bought two pairs of regular jeans in a size up. DD is ten weeks and they've been invaluable as they fit on the way back down as well and saved me having to go shopping.

I bought four pairs of maternity jeans from H&M and top shop (I can wear jeans for work), a few dresses for work from Seraphine, jersey tops and a dress from Jojo. I think Seraphine have a sale right now. Found H&M to be the best - top shop tops and dresses didn't have nearly enough room for me.

Bra and pants - my usual stuff fit for a long time, even though my bump was HUGE. At the end i got the soft crop top bras in H&M and have now been properly fitted for nursing bras in bravisimo. Big granny pants as others have said.

For breastfeeding, I find specific nursing tops much handier, but a friend found her normal tops with a vest top underneath easier. (Wish I agreed as miss my old clothes and cheaper to!) So I wouldn't spend until you've tried both and know what you prefer - odds are some of your maternity stuff will be nursing and that'll get you started.

Thanks again everyone for all your comments. So helpful and interesting. Loving all the recommendations of where to shop.

I've checked out Jojo maman and there's actually one on our little high street (how I've missed that all the years I've been living here i don't know) so gonna check that out.

Had a better look on the seraphine site and found some bump kit maternity starter kits for capsule wardrobes which really speaks out to me. Reckon 2 different sets of them, then add a free random other tops and a couple of pairs of jeans and that will be my wardrobe sorted ......... what do you think? I wear mainly black anyway and guess all my cardigansI wear now will still fit me as they're loose fit ones.

I would buy bits as and when you need them as it's impossible to know how big you will get. With DD1 I bought some maternity dresses which I never wore as my bump never grew big enough for them! With DD1 and DD2 I wore normal clothes until about 24 weeks and still am now at 17w with No. 3.

It sounds like your plan for a capsule wardrobe is s good one!

In terms of bras I've stayed the same 34DD through all pregnancies and breastfeeding (thank goodness as I don't need any more up there!)

The things I got most wear out of were my H&M over the bump jeans and a black pair of Isabella Oliver trousers. For work if I didn't have any important meetings I'd wear a pair of dark wash maternity jeans with a normal black top and blazer.