Anyone else struggling with dressing their bump?

[shivawn]

Hi! I'm a FTM, 18 weeks pregnant. In the last 7-10 days my bump has made an appearance out of nowhere! Jeans that fit fine a week ago won't even come close to zipping up now!

I've been wearing size 8 clothes for close to 20 years and my weight never normally fluctuates so I'm at a loss for how to suddenly start dressing a new body!

I'm living in jeggings and tshirts at the moment but as I get bigger and restaurants etc start reopening I need to find more stylish, pretty options. I wear scrubs at work so work attire isn't an issue.

I find shopping for maternity clothes online a bit intimidating and don't want to spend too much money either!

What do people generally do? Does sizing up work well for the early-ish bump stages? Anyone else out there struggling with this?

A size up can work for a while but bumps do tend to grow pretty fast once they pop.

Try looking at 2nd hand bundles of maternity wear on places like ebay. Unfortunately there aren't really any in store maternity wear departments these days. Quite easy to order online and try at home then send back if you don't like things though. It's best to have plenty of comfy casual maternity clothes then just 5 or 6 more dressy items for going out out. You can buy more and sell on or save for if you want to have more children.

I live in maternity leggings no mater what I am doing because they are so comfy no matter how baby lays (bump size fluctuates throughout the day).

I never enjoyed just sizing up - trousers would hang off me/tops too loose around the shoulders.

I benefitted from under bump and over bump Jean's, a few long line maternity vests, couple of maternity tops and my usual cardigans/jackets left open with a scarf.

I liked H&M maternity wear.

I'm currently 22 weeks and started wearing maternity 'over bump' jeans a couple of weeks ago. I normally wear Jamie skinny jeans from Topshop so ordered a pair of those in maternity (in my normal size) and they're perfect. Once I knew they fit I managed to buy a second hand pair on Depop for £10 as well. Vinted is also good for second hand. H&M maternity jeans are also good.
I've just ordered some maternity t-shirts and long sleeved tops from H&M, New Look and ASOS but waiting for them to arrive so not sure what they're like yet. Boohoo and Shein also have maternity if you're looking for cheap and cheerful. I've basically bought things in my normal style but maternity versions. I'm also usually a size 6/8 and sizing up in normal clothes just made everything look big and baggy! I'm going to wait to buy some summery items in a month or so as my bump is getting noticeably bigger day by day!

Hi OP,

I’m really struggling with the bump and weight gain, in fact a few mirrors have had to come down as I can’t bear looking at myself.

Sizing up worked but I found I looked a bit swamped which actually made me look larger, I’m 26 weeks now and would probably need to go up a few sizes. I’ve been sticking to maternity wear as I find fitted stuff is more flattering- I like H&M and seraphine. For reference I was also an 8 pre pregnancy (5ft 10 too) and the size small maternity jeans in H&M fit me ok, if a bit loose around the leg but imagine I’ll grow into them!

I think primark might do maternity wear at some stores- I saw it on their Instagram, might be worth a look if you can get to a store! X

Also as nextweek said, I also got some jeans from top shop in size 8 that fit fine too (the ones I have do have an awkwardly placed button though which isn’t very comfy) but they’re a bit baggy round them bum- I think that’s probably because they’re quite elasticated!

Maternity wear will come in handy for a good few weeks (or in my case months) after the birth too. And handy to keep in storage for any future pregnancies.

I never found sizing up any good (apart from knickers!). I bought 3 pairs of maternity leggings, 3 maternity tops and 3 maternity bras. Mix and match. Asda and Dorothy Perkins. Tops are one long sleeved and two sleeveless which I put shirts on with and just leave them open. Bagging jumpers I already had are also working well. Otherwise I’m living in my husbands tshirts when at home. I bought one dress that isn’t maternity but it’s maxi and flowy sort of maternity, should fit my after too. Some dresses I had, kind of fit as they just hang over the bump but are now super short because of bump, so I wear them with leggings.

All in all I’ve spent probably £80ish

*material

Look on ebay or ask on a local Facebook group or around friends with kids for maternity bundles. The clothes are expensive and it's hard to know what will fit or be comfy.

Belly bands are good, they're like tube tops but just for your tummy. Helps stretch out some normal clothing for a bit longer and you can use them later for breastfeeding to hide your tummy if you feel self conscious about it.

Most maternity clothes aren't designed for twins bumps so I wore DHs t shirts a lot towards the end.

I didn't like to size up normal clothes as preferred something more fitted to support the bump - I had one pair of maternity leggings from marks, a pair of over bump skinny jeans from next and a pack of maternity/nursing vests and a pack of the long sleeved maternity tops with the ruching at the side to fit round the bump
Also TU at Sainsbury had some cheap maternity hoodies and I lived in those

Hi, I'm 20 weeks so a bit ahead of you. I would be a size 10 usually. I am loving the style for looser dresses, think it's perfect for bumps. I've bought some maternity jeans and a couple of tops a size bigger and a few loose dresses and I'm happy enough. Think it's a good investment as I expect post baby I wont be back to my old size for a while. I needed to size up in the tops because my boobs have gotten absolutely massive!

I'm 33 weeks with my 2nd pregnancy and was a size 8 before

I've found that buying maternity jeans from H&M is actually a godsend rather than sizing up - especially if you just have bump weight and no weight gain anywhere else.

Primark have some good stretchy midi dresses in at the moment which I got in a 10 for the summer

boohoo have a good maternity range which are quite cheap; I got a few nice summer tops / dresses between £3-£10

I didn't go crazy as my bump only really came out around 25 weeks

I'm about the same gestation as you. I have a couple of staple bottoms - a great pair of shorts from H&M which have a medium bump size rather than a huge late-pregnancy bump size, and an ordinary pair of leggings in a size up from my usual. Around the house I wear joggers.

Going out, the leggings and shorts cover me for casual use. For smarter I stick to dresses. Currently don't need any maternity dresses, - just buy dresses in the normal range but which are cut well for bump space - looser/empire/A-line/maxi etc - there are loads of choices. Dresses are great as you can wear them after preg too and won't waste money so much. Same with tops and jumpers - just buy anything that looks as if there's a bit of room in the belly area!

Later you might need more dedicated maternity stuff, but hopefully it will be easier to try stuff on in shops by then :)

Also 18 weeks here and previously a size 8! Since lockdown and WFH I've been more into comfy wear anyway so have a number of loose fitting dresses (mostly sweater dress style because they are sooooo comfy!) that are still fine. Haven't worn jeans for weeks. I don't really like having anything tight on my belly, even if it's stretchy stuff, so I'm moving over to all-in-ones and overalls. Still got room to grow in them and will be able to wear them post-birth too. You can find nice ones on Monki and ASOS.

I mostly bought mat clothes as soon as I needed anything bigger last time because sizing up would just mean you need even more later so would spend even more. We were really broke in my first pregnancy so I bought bare minimum really. I was wearing a mix of mat and non mat clothes from about 20 weeks. This time we are much more financially comfortable so I got rid of a few bits from last time that never fitted me right and have bought an extra few bits. I haven't been able to fit into my size 8 jeans since about 8 weeks this time though haha with it being my second I've had a very pronounced bump by week 12 really. I am anticipating this baby will be bigger too as I lost a lot of weight last time with HG but haven't this time.

I would recommend going to buy mat clothes in store if you can so you can try stuff on, it's definitely better than shopping online, for anything other than basics. I bought most my mat clothes reduced in sales sections and they are from fairly cheap high street shops like H&M, Boohoo, Dorothy Perkins, Topshop etc. Things with elasticated waists I wore throughout pregnancy just low under my bump like skirts, joggers, underwear, PJs, leggings, tights etc and didn't buy any mat versions of those type of things. I had a small bump and it wasn't necessary.

Yes I’m on the same boat. 19 weeks and living in leisure wear. Have a bbq on the weekend and need to get a new dress but have been putting it off! Gonna have a look on ASOS

Thanks everyone for all the advice! Seems like maternity clothes are the way to go. Spent the last hour scrolling through Shein, Boohoo, H&M and Asos....really isn't a great selection of maternity clothes out there! I bought a pair of topshop jeans and a dress on ebay and another pair on Shein. Also bought a pair of maternity leggings and a few summer tops on Shein so hopefully that'll be enough to get me started!

I literally live in oversized t shirts and baggy joggers, it’s not glam and certainly isn’t restaurant attire but if I buy clothes to fit my bump I’ll be spending too much money as bumps grow quite fast and after pregnancy I don’t think those clothes would be of much use.

Maybe get a pair or two of maternity jeans/jeggings/leggings and some oversized cheap t shirts or even t shirts from the men’s section will work. You can make it work with some trainers and a bit of makeup x

I'm 28 weeks but fit into my normal size 8-10 clothes until about 4-5 weeks ago. I would avoid sizing up, especially on the bottom half, you'll just look scruffy (and trousers will fall down). You'll find your normal jumpers and tops fit you much longer than trousers though.

I bought 2 pairs of maternity jeans (off facebook), I have a pair of under bump thick leggings I live in, then bought 4 maternity dresses off Asos. I'd avoid Boohoo even though they're cheaper as everything I bought from there fitted badly and I had to send back.

It's a bit hard with the weather being so unseasonably cold but I'm trying to avoid buying anything wintery as I know I'll be biggest in the summer.

I wouldn't' say I'd figured out a style yet, but broadly, some looks that work well include:

• Maternity jeans with a plain black/white T shirt/long sleeve T (my normal ones still fit) and a pretty 'kimono' style open top, long cardigan, or blazer. Looks great.
• Loose top or dress tied above the bump - I have a couple of (non maternity) silky tops and a shirt dress that look great tied with a black ribbon above the bump
• Maternity dresses - I only bought ones that look good with a small bump too, I have 3 that I love, I don't think you need many more than this. I made sure they were all styles that could be worn informally or more dressed up.

Bump bands are really good as you can continue to wear your normal jeans for a lot longer.

Maternity leggings are great, ASOS has some good ones...and longline camis are really useful and versatile - you can wear them under tops if they've started to ride up.

And once it gets warmer I've got some nice floaty dresses for when I'm like 8/9 months.