You can get away with adapting what you've got, and supplementing with the odd charity shop item, or items from friends, and still look yummy with an increasing large bump.
In the early weeks you can often wear your normal clothes, and if, like me, you have a range of different sizes in your wardrobe, you will often find slightly larger trousers hidden away that join the party as your waist begins to expand.
But once that bump gets too large for your trousers, do you really need to go out and spend a fortune on new clothes that will only fit for as few weeks? No, not at all.
Remember boob-tubes from the 80s? If you still have these, they are great for using as a belt and bump support. Not only can they cover over the tops of trousers and hide that top button that just won't do up, but they also support your bump and enable you to continue to wear tops that otherwise wouldn't come down far enough to cover the bump.
You can, of course, buy these in the form of the bumpband! (Approx £17; but cheaper on Amazon) But you can just as easily make your own with some Lycra based material from an old Lycra dress or top if you haven't managed to hoard those boob tubes for that long!
Equally, you can fashion a triangle of material, stitched into the front of trousers, with a button, Velcro, or even stitched in both sides, to span the gap between buttons and holes on trousers. I did this very successfully with my work trousers. The only problem is that it's not that pretty, and once your waist gets wider than your hips, there's nothing to hold them up. So I stitched in my material and wore the trousers with my husbands braces underneath my usual smart work shirt. Nobody knew the wiser (shhh!) Again, you can buy these in the form of waist extenders for about £13; still much cheaper than a couple of pairs of brand new maternity trousers.
Finally, there are plenty of dresses, wrap tops and knitwear pieces that will happily stretch to accommodate a growing bump. Just be careful you don't pick your favourite, as it may not return to it's usual size afterwards!
And finally, leggings are actually in fashion! Elasticated waists just when you need them! Pity they weren't quite so fashionable when I was pregnant!
However, if you do have a little bit of money to spend, I would recommend using it for a good non-wired bra. You'll probably need to start looking at about 20 weeks, and maybe again at 35 weeks for a breastfeeding bra. It's not just your tummy that is going to grow, and under wires are not very good for your precious milk makers at this time.
Has anyone got any other money saving tips for making do when pregnant?
What did you do to keep your clothes lasting longer whilst your bump grew bigger?
And for where to buy maternity wear if you are feeling cash rich, and what to buy, click here!
In the early weeks you can often wear your normal clothes, and if, like me, you have a range of different sizes in your wardrobe, you will often find slightly larger trousers hidden away that join the party as your waist begins to expand.
But once that bump gets too large for your trousers, do you really need to go out and spend a fortune on new clothes that will only fit for as few weeks? No, not at all.
Remember boob-tubes from the 80s? If you still have these, they are great for using as a belt and bump support. Not only can they cover over the tops of trousers and hide that top button that just won't do up, but they also support your bump and enable you to continue to wear tops that otherwise wouldn't come down far enough to cover the bump.
You can, of course, buy these in the form of the bumpband! (Approx £17; but cheaper on Amazon) But you can just as easily make your own with some Lycra based material from an old Lycra dress or top if you haven't managed to hoard those boob tubes for that long!
Equally, you can fashion a triangle of material, stitched into the front of trousers, with a button, Velcro, or even stitched in both sides, to span the gap between buttons and holes on trousers. I did this very successfully with my work trousers. The only problem is that it's not that pretty, and once your waist gets wider than your hips, there's nothing to hold them up. So I stitched in my material and wore the trousers with my husbands braces underneath my usual smart work shirt. Nobody knew the wiser (shhh!) Again, you can buy these in the form of waist extenders for about £13; still much cheaper than a couple of pairs of brand new maternity trousers.
Finally, there are plenty of dresses, wrap tops and knitwear pieces that will happily stretch to accommodate a growing bump. Just be careful you don't pick your favourite, as it may not return to it's usual size afterwards!
And finally, leggings are actually in fashion! Elasticated waists just when you need them! Pity they weren't quite so fashionable when I was pregnant!
However, if you do have a little bit of money to spend, I would recommend using it for a good non-wired bra. You'll probably need to start looking at about 20 weeks, and maybe again at 35 weeks for a breastfeeding bra. It's not just your tummy that is going to grow, and under wires are not very good for your precious milk makers at this time.
Has anyone got any other money saving tips for making do when pregnant?
What did you do to keep your clothes lasting longer whilst your bump grew bigger?
And for where to buy maternity wear if you are feeling cash rich, and what to buy, click here!
Great post! I'm lucky as my sisters and SILs passed me lots of lovely stuf, so am probably better dressed than normal! But I love bump bands - they're great for making normal clothes last longer in the early months. Plus they're great for breastfeeding. I just use my normal tops with a bump band, which means I can lift my top up while sparing the world a view of my pudgy, stretch-marky, post-birth tum!
ReplyDeleteI so wish I had known about bumpbands when I was pregnant! Much more sophisticated than braces!
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