Bring on the muumuu

By Kris

Last fall, after pulling out my collection of hideous maternity clothes -- mostly work clothes purchased in one ill-fated shopping spree at Dan Howard Maternity -- I decided to go shopping. I spent an evening online, and realized any single cute item would cost me $20 to $80. Then I realized I needed lots of pieces, this being my first summer baby. Then I remembered, I'm broke.

So I went to eBay and, after a week of due dilligence, made my move on one lot of clothes. It had 11 short-sleeve and sleeveless shirts, five pairs of shorts, plus stylish jeans, capris and yoga pants. I got it for under $100 and figured I'd be all set.

But here I am, 34 weeks pregnant at the end of May, and local temperatures continue to hover between 45 and 60 degrees. I love this, but it prevents me from wearing my new summer clothes.

Meanwhile, maternity pants have become my nemesis. My stretch jeans, which have an elastic band across my lower abdomen, are tight enough to cut off circulation to my legs (since I refuse to stop eating for one single second). Also, they keep falling down. Not in the "these pants are so loose they keep falling down" sense. No, in the "too much sausage squeezed into the casing" sense.

My other jeans have a regular zipper and button with a partial stretch waist. This worked OK early in my second trimester. But now, wearing them feels like I have a metal bar across my stomach that will sever my placenta if left in place one moment longer. They also fall down and, as of this weekend, no longer fit around my belly.

In April, I tried the capri pants. They were so comfortable! Playing with my kids in the back yard, I envisioned myself wearing them every day for the rest of my pregnancy. But after an hour-long honeymoon, they fell down too. Not in the "inching down until they force you to stop what you're doing and pull them up" sense. No, they fell down in the "around my knees with my white doughy butt hanging out for all to behold" sense. Thank God I was on my back deck when it happened.

Any hopes I had of being a stylish pregnant woman, with fitted tops hugging my basketball belly and trendy pants suggesting still-slim legs, have vanished. Instead, I'm fighting my pants while having nightmares about wearing shorts and sleeveless tops in public. I just want to walk without yanking my pants back up every three steps. I don't want hunks of cellulite hanging out.

I want to be comfortable. Do I want to look cute? I'll answer that with a question: Do you know where I can find some low-priced muu-muus?

Comments

[Erica80]

Cute blog...congrats on the pregnancy. It's tough finding cute clothes to fit, but luckily enough its only 9 months!

[James Kronefield]

Have any of you tried these Prenatal cradles? I'm thinking of buying one for my wife, but I wanted to get some opinions first.

[Kim]

Oops, I just saw the date. Eh, well, maybe someone else can use the advice someday...

[Kim]

Try wearing your jeans with a pony tail holder looped through the button hole. It works wonders. Just make sure your shirt is long enough to cover it up.
I bought some cute clothes, including a nice dress for my grandma's funeral. I figured I could just wear it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Well, it was looking sort of tight last week and I'm wondering if it'll make it until Christmas. A lot of my clothes are getting snug even though they are "maternity clothes". There is only one baby in there, it's not like I'm having two or three or more.

[Julie]

Bless your heart--I remember those days, and how I hated every minute of it. I, too, grew out of my maternity clothes way before my baby was due. I made it through my last pregnancy with one pair of capri pants, a huge white shirt (can you say sail?), and a really comfy stretchy dress. It was so stretchy and comfy in fact that I still wear it now--even though I no longer have the extra 40 pounds, fits like a regular dress. I sure wish I could remember where I got it (dorothy perkins??)--it was definitely a pregnancy find!
Good luck to you!

[RobinP]

Hi Kris!
I couldn't find maternity clothes past a size 12 when I was pregnant and I was so sad. Plus size women aren't having sex,apparently,so who needs to clothe them??
I asked a co-worker who was my size,where she shopped when she was pregnant. She said she bought clothes one or two sizes larger. Woohoo Wal-Mart. I was buying cutie pie tops and mostly cotton pants (not super stylish but oh so comfy!!) Some of the shoulders were a little big so a seamstress that I knew sewed in little straps that snapped around my bra strap so the shoulders wouldn't fall down.
It was awesome!!!!

I still wish there could've been some cute maternity pants in my size that weren't $100 but I survived it.
Wear pants that stay up even if they are Wal-Mart cotton pants. You won't be exposed!!
Good luck!!

[Amanda]

Ahh man. I am so there with you. The full panel jeans I bought I have to keep lifting up. because they are too big, but the little demi pane's keep falling down so I get plumber crack showing. And my crack is not one anyone wants to see in the grocery store.

On top of it I am short, so capri pants fit me like regular pants. My Mom has had to shorten four pairs of pants for me, and now I don't even know how long I will be able to wear them.

Thanks for making me feel not so alone in this.

[Misti]

Here's an idea. Buy "normal" clothes a size or two (or three) larger. ;)

I am a big girl and they make very few maternity clothes in my size. (Evidently large women are in no danger of getting pregnant.) What they do sell is jeans and t-shirts.

Now, I am not young, and I never were either jeans or t-shirts. I could see no reason to start while pregnant -- I findboth uncomfortable.

After months of hunting, and crying, and hunting and crying...in desperation I stopped into a "big girls" specialty shop and tried on some of the top of the range clothes. I was ecstatic! They fit and were comfortable -- and I still looked like me!

Not only that -- they were cheaper than even the seediest of the maternity clothes I'd seen!

[patrice]

ohhhh man. it feels like only yesterday that I had those very same dilemmas. (well, the baby's only 6 months old, so it wasn't too far off from yesterday.)

I had lots of summer clothes, but bella was born at the end of october, and I was in the same boat - I didn't necessarily want to spend money on new warmer clothes. so I took my cute muumuu-ish dresses (do you have some? try target liz lange) and wore them over some cheap stretch pants. I even went so far as to use a skinny "dress" scarf as a belt, under the belly. now, I'm sure that I looked ridiculous, but in my mind, I looked pretty good. and that's all that really mattered at that point, THINKING I looked good.

but I really feel for you. it might be time to embrace...THE PANEL. yes. the giant stomach panelled pants. godspeed.

[andrea]

Related:

Here in Ottawa we have a maternity-clothes rental place. I was way past the maternity stage when it opened (too bad for me!), but from what I've heard it sounds ideal for the busy corporate mom-to-be, or someone who wants high-end/modern clothes and doesn't see the point in buying it all outright.

[tami]

Thanks for making me laugh! I really needed that. I am only 14 weeks pregnant, but I'm already fighting the daily "What do I wear today?" battle. I am showing so much earlier than I was last time, and, since I never really lost my baby weight (O.k. I lost it, then put it and some exta back on) many of my maternity clothes are already fitting weirdly or not at all. Also, when I opened the tub of maternity clothes, some of them made me physically nauseous to look at. Why didn't anyone tell me I was dressing like Nancy Reagan the last time I was pregnant? So, now I'm faced with the dilemma: do I spend a small fortune on clothes, or establish a seven day outfit rotation? E-bay, huh? Good idea!

[Sally]

I really liked the Land's End maternity clothes.

[Jennifer]

old navy?