Maternity Pants

I really liked the pants I bought from Sears. They were part of a set, so I was able to get a few shirts, too. They were great! I also really liked Once Upon a Child and a few other used clothing stores.
I also work in an office and had to meet with people regularly. I don't normally wear skirts or dresses, but I found that I love them when I'm pregnant. There is usually a fair amount of give in the belly area, and you don't even need to buy maternity dresses (the styles now all leave the belly pretty big anyway). I would wear either maternity leggings or some other slender pants underneath, and I felt great!

With my oldest, I had a few maternity pants. I had the ones that went over the belly, and found I kept pushing them down under my belly. I would pull them up when I went out of the house, but as soon as I was home, they were off. It made my belly itch.

My second was a much smaller baby (5 lbs vs 9.5 lbs) and I was able to wear my low rise jeans most of the pregnancy with longer shirts.

With my 3rd pregnancy, I found the belly wraps (recently found them at target too) in Maternity shops that I was able to wear my regualar pants for a while longer. It kindof helped hold up my pants a little, if left undone, and I got a little bit bigger pants. The belly wrap also helped keep my belly covered, even where the longer shirts seemed to not cover anymore. Towards the end, I did go to the maternity pants unless I was home and got comfortable where it didn't matter if my belly was showing

The belly wraps are about $15 at target I think, and come in black, white and tan (if I remember right). I even use them now with my little bit larger pants to hold up, and it looks like I had layered my shirts.

Try some stuff on to see what feels right for you. I never cared to the "under the belly" styles, but I know women who loved them. A maternity store and most dept. stores will have a little pillow to strap around your waist so you can better judge the fit for when you're bigger. I remember at first, I was able to go with just stretchy pants, but there does vcome a point where you need maternity pants!

I prefered the pants that go over the belly, the other ones kept trying to fall off. I carried low so that is why I guess. The best place I found to buy them was JCPenny Outlet store. Although, it doesn't look like you live anywhere near there....that's too bad. I also bought from Target & I went to yard sales & asked anyone that was selling baby clothes if they had any. For some reason most people had not thought of putting them in their sale until I asked.

For some decently priced (and not attrocious looking clothes) I suggest Target, Gap & Old Navy. For me at least, the most comfortable pants were the ones that just had the stretch band in front - not all the way around - but I guess that's a personal preference. Also I tend to wear my pants a tad lower, so that worked better because the ones that go all the way around cover your belly and thus sit higher. I didn't love having something on my belly... it just made me itch more!

For the weekends, you could also wear a 'bella band' which is similar to a spandex/stretch band that goes over the waist of your existing pants that cannot be zipped/buttoned anymore to hold them up. That saved me some money from having to invest in MORE pants. (http://www.ingridandisabel.com) I think Mimi's Maternity sells a version of it too. I probably ended up buying a few casual pants when I got huge towards the end, but for the most part I wore my regular pants but with the band.

At that stage I liked the elastic waistband (some with a zipper and button, some without). Later I bought the band that went all the way around, but I preferred it under my belly. A great place to look if you don't want to spend a fortune is Clothes Mentor. I sold some of my maternity clothes there and when I saw their selection I wished that store had been around when I was pregnant! The clothes are gently used, but in good condition, and you can save a lot of money since these are not clothes you'll be wearing forever (although they are nice for the first few weeks after you have the baby). I also had luck with the Target and Old Navy maternity clothes, as well as Motherhood.

the type of pants will depend on what iscomfortable to you. I wore different types of pants with each of my two pregnancies and stages of pregnancy. Any good maternity store should be able to point you in the right direction.

I am almost 18 weeks pregnant and I found some awesome elastic waist jeans in the plus size section of Walmart. They were only $16 and the difference was immediate. I figure I can use them post baby as well. Of course I am a bit fluffy anyways so I just went up one size from where I was.

Try Target. They have jeans and pants. They are reasonably priced and look pretty decent. I could just never wrap my mind around paying a ton of money for items I was only going to wear a few months.

Good Luck!!
Mag :)

First pregnancy, I used larger sizes of knit stretchy type pants from WalMart, went from a size 10/12 up through a 16/18 at the end, and also some real maternity pants, including the jeans. I got one pair of the Secret Fit Belly form Motherhood at the end of that pregnancy and fell in love witht them, and wanted all my pants to be like that!

http://www.motherhood.com/maternity/secret-fit-belly-jean...

The top is like a stretchy tube, so in the beginning, you can fold/roll it down, so they only come under the belly, or halfway up, and then when the belly gets bigger, you can pull it all the way up and over the belly. Unfortunately, they are very expensive....so I took all my older maternity pants with just the front panel, or the under belly style, and went on eBay to this store:
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Great-Expectation_maternity-nurs...

I bought enough belly bands in coordinating colors to go with each of the pants and had a friend who could sew, cut off the old waistband (using my one pair of Secret Fit Form Motherhood as an example) and sew on the belly bands, and they were the BEST - you could even do it with non-maternity pants, if you find some on sale that fit your thighs and but, but won't zip or button, you just cut off the waistband starting right uner the beltloops at the back, and curving down to cut off most of the front, down to the bottom of the zipper,a nd then sew on a tube/band! Good Luck!

You should try on, and start with just a few pairs, a kahki, a black and a jean, and then try mroe as your belly grows, but I presonally think the bakd/secret fit belly is best cause it takes you all the way through all the different sizes and will still work a while after in that funny postpartum time when your belly is still not back to flat yet.

Jessie

Secret fit belly! Any motherhood or affiliates

I bought most of my clothes at Motherhood Maternity. I shopped their sales and clearances and did well. For more casual clothes, particularly shirts, I bought at Target.

One mistake I made was buying those maternity clothes with just the thick waistband. Those only worked until my belly got big, then my belly pushed them down. Buy the pants with the panel or that rise over the belly. They are more comfortable and fit better. Your shirt will hide the panel.

My daughter just went through a pregnancy and she wore a stretchy band around her waist that was just a band about 10 inches wide, some had lace at the bottom. This she would wear under a shirt over her regular pants (unzipped). She didn't have to find new clothes (she couldn't find the tall sizes she needed anyway) and she was comfortable. She found these online, at maternity shops and at Target.

I highly recommend a Bella Band. You can get it at Target and it will let you wear your normal pants longer (unbuttoned). Get a white one and a black one - they're pricey, like $17 each, but they're worth it. You can also use them with maternity pants that have buttons in the front instead of elastic waistbands. I love mine and so do my preggo friends! Good luck!

Target has a decent maternity section and Old Navy used to have some maternity in stores, and has them online still. I was due in Oct and I actually preferred skirts to pants since most of my pregnancy was during the summer. Skirts are more forgiving than pants. I found two linen-style skirts at the JCP outlet in Overland Park that I lived in that summer. I worked in a law office and they were fine.

Ok i'm the cheap person here. take a rubber band wrap it around the button then through the loop and back around the button and it will let you wear your normal clothes longer. also for the weekends stretch pants work great and in cold weather the tighter the pants the warmer the legs will be.

Depending on what size you were before you got pregnant if it is possible get a few pants just a few sizes bigger. since I was a stay at home mom my thing was sweats but I also was pregnant with my first from may to febuary. This time around the early months are in the winter. Just go with whats you find comfortable. try on different things I never had maternity tops because I carried low and most of my shirts are usually a little baggy. I did have a pair of maternity jeans from walmart that were great they stretched and a pair of khaki pants with the strech belly. Hope you can find some that work for you each person is different.

I can second or third or fourth target and old navy. I had three pairs of maternity pants that were work appropriate and probably 12 or more tops, and a couple of dresses. I also boxed them up from my first pregnancy and for my second, I treated myself with a few new tops and one new pair of pants. I also shared with a friend, and made sure to save all of my stuff for her. Also - Ebay, FreeCycle and Craigslist will have Maternity wear on it. I don't think the really expensive stuff is worth it unless you have a special occasion to attend.

I agree that you want the over-the-belly kind, since the below-the-belly kind won't work after about 25 weeks (where I am now). They're also more comfy. Professional maternity clothes are challenging to find, in my experience, especially if you don't want to spend a million dollars at "A Pea in the Pod." I have 3 pairs of work pants--one from Motherhood, one from Gap maternity, and one from Sears. At each store, I think there were only 1-2 pairs in the whole store I thought were appropriate for work (depends upon how formal your office is, of course--I really need dress slacks or suits). I also have a couple of dresses I wear to work, which are actually the most comfy, although I'm selective about when I wear them, since they're a tad less professional (I got one dress in plain black, that I wear with a jacket, and one in burgundy). My most comfy maternity pants total--including jeans--are the dress slacks from Motherhood, b/c they have the seamless belly panel, which I love. I'd recommend looking for that. Also, I recommend getting mix-and-match work wardrobe--as you can tell, I didn't buy a lot, but everything goes with everything else. So most items get worn every week, but not always in the same combination. GL!

I like the pants that go under the belly personally, only because the ones with the big piece that goes over the belly made my tummy itch all the time and it didn't feel very supportive. The below the belly band made me feel like my pants were helping to hold my belly up a little and it took pressure off my back. I was able to wear mine throughout my pregnancy. (I was cautious to stay within 25-35 pound weight gain recommendation, so this helped me not gain in the butt/hip area.) Old Navy had my favorites, although most of their stores do not sell maternity clothing anymore - you have to buy them online now. :( Motherhood Maternity is reasonably priced, and they have steals on the clearance racks. A lot of stores are having sales right now (Sears and JCPenny, I notice last week) and maternity stuff is marked down as well. Also check second-hand children clothing stores (like "Once Upon A Child" in the St. Louis area); they often carry maternity clothes too for great prices.

Congrats on your pregnancy!
I vowed I would not wear maternity pants, but my belly got HUGE and I was forced to. They weren't so bad after I started wearing them. In fact they were GREAT! Sooo comfy! I had some of each kind--band and the full panel. I'll tell ya, the ones with the band were easier to pair with shirts since I didn't have to worry about the panel peeking out, but the ones with the panel were SOOO comfy. They were really snug on my tummy and provided a little extra support which is nice when you're to the point where you think the baby's going to fall out of your belly because he is so heavy... Oh wait--I'm not the ONLY one that felt that way am I? LOL. Good luck!!

I shopped at resale shops (Goodwill etc and got a few things off of ebay) and Once Upon a Child (even some things there on clearance for 50 cents or a dollar). I ended up with more than I needed, but averaged about 2.00 an item. But I spent a lot of time looking. I had a pair of jeans with the band all around, and although they were cute, they didn't fit right, always rolling down. The panels in the front, although they seemed goofy, seemed to fit better for me.