Too big for ordinary clothes - too small for maternity clothes

[Lilysmum]

I need a kind of adjustable waist band expander (if such a thing exists) to adapt my current clothes and make them wearable for a few weeks longer before I adopt maternity wear....

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks in anticipation

How about the belly belt kit ? (I haven't tried it personally).

you can get button hol extenders - or just buy stretchy trousers in a bigger size

This is a better picture of that belly belt kit - here

I had one. Its a bit of elastic with a buttonhole in one end and a button on the other so you can wear your jeans without actually doing them up, IYSWIM. The bit of cloth on the elastic hangs down to cover the gap - but you still need a long jumper or t-shirt over the top because it looks silly!

You get 3 bits of elastic (diff lengths) but I only used the first one as after that I fitted maternity clothes. Its an ok solution but not hugely comfortable. Cheap elasticated waist leggings in a bigger size from the market might be a better bet! Depends whether you need smart work trousers / skirts to fit or not? The belly belt thing was quite comfy on skirts.

or you could go slutty like me and just undo the top of the trousers and wear a long baggy shirt over the top (at work ritght now like this in fact) - I promise noone can see!

Thanks! - I might try the belly belt kit because I've got some work suits that I need to last a bit longer.....

Hello everyone

It's always worth searching the old threads, there's hardly ever a new topic!

I'm currently 6 wks pg. Not a problem yet, but I can see that my ordinary clothes are not going to last me until I am big enough for maternity wear. This is not my first pregnancy, I've got some stuff to dig out of storage.

It seems obvious I will need to buy some "transitional" stuff - e.g. bigger sizes, elasticated waists - gulp! Even the belly belt is not an ideal solution - I would need to buy some long tops to cover up the belly belt!

As I tend to be quite - ahem - "careful" (OK - tight) with money, I'm appalled at the prospect of having to buy "transitional" clothes - that I wouldn't otherwise wear in a million years...

Any ideas or at least reassurance that sometimes there's just no other solution?

Thanks in advance, I'd be grateful for some opinions or ideas, were you in the same situation etc etc

PS - don't want to go into mat wear until the last moment, as it really emphasises your bump, and I don't want work to know until the last possible moment (not treated too well by work last time), let my colleagues think I'm larding up, I don't care...

i never wore mat wear really with either pregnancy. i had one pair of mat trousers which werent that comfortable. if u can get away with it just buy clothes a larger size, or in a stretchy material, nick your dp shirts if he is bigger, and just get things with a huge waistband.

but then i lost weight with each pregnancy due to morning sickness which is why i didnt appear all that big.

NGPY - unless you are a movie star you will need "transitional" clothes after the birth also. It depend how smart you have to be at work whether you could buy suitable stuff for both. I got a really cheap blouse and skirt in a larger size and found it really nice to go into them again after having ds rather than having to wear maternity clothes. After a few weeks my normal stuff fitted again and I never want to see that outfit again - though at the time I thought it was the bees knees.

Thanks, misdee and bobthebaby.

I definitely haven't got a movie star figure, but didn't need any transitional stuff last time. Went into mat wear at 22 weeks - then had enormous bump (so no getting away with bigger sizes of ordinary clothes), and back to pre-pregnancy wear in 2/3 weeks - so it just wasn't an issue last time.

I've put on quite a bit of weight since then though and there is no slack whatsoever in my ordinary clothes this time!

I'll have a look around and see what I can find - I suppose I can always sell things afterwards.

Thanks again.

NGPY, why not ask to borrow stuff from friends - or tshirts and shirts from your dh? What I did was buy some outfits from Primark - so cheap they are disposable. Then I realised my 'transitional' size was going to be closer to my permanent size than my old size (iyswim) and had to buy a whole new wardrobe anyway. Sob.

Thanks, aloha, most of my friends are child free or different sizes... I don't think I'd feel right asking anyway. Primark is a really good idea - if I could get some longer tops from there and get the belly belt kit that would probably sort me out quite cheaply... Thanks