I’ve entered that weird place where my normal clothes don’t fit quite right anymore, but I’m not really big enough for maternity clothes.
It’s really frustrating.
Early in my pregnancy, my then VERY pregnant friend dragged me to Target to purchase a BellaBand. The stretchy tube-like contraption is supposed to help you get through the awkward clothes issues you face in pregnancy.
In the beginning when your pants juuuust don’t close anymore, you wear it over the top of your jeans with the button open. Your pants stay up, and the open button doesn’t poke out unsightly. When you have a big belly, it helps keep up maternity pants that tend to slip down. And then, postpartum, it helps you start squeezing back into your old pants again.
I’ve played around with it a few times over the last three months, but all of the sudden this week it became a necessity.
My pants don’t close anymore.
I think it’s also important to tell you that not only did smaller pants come ushering in with the 2nd trimester, so did a flood of emotional crying. I bet you can guess how great those two things go together.
(Side note — Things That Made Me Cry This Weekend: Watching the opening montage in Up, when Kevin gets captured and taken away from her babies in Up, when Michael left NY a day earlier than me to head home to go to work, opening a beautiful painting of the place we were married, Teen Mom on MTV.)
I know it’s something that all pregnant women go through, but I have officially hit the “I feel gross and fat, NOT pregnant” stage. I’m lucky that Michael is so comforting and reassuring that I’m beautiful, but still. When the only thing I fit in correctly is sweat pants, it’s hard to feel attractive.
I think I might have to go try on some maternity pants.
WHAT?
Case in point:
You might notice the yoga pants I have on. About three minutes before this picture was taken, I had the jeans/BellaBand combo on. And then I ate some artichoke/cheese dip and well, the jeans were too tight.
Any mommies or mommies-to-be have good recommendations on maternity pants? I’ll take all the help I can get.
(Also, This Little Baby apparently liked the dip. A lot.)
These Little Moments 
27 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 29, 2009 at 11:41 am
Karen
You are beautiful. And what a cute little bump!
December 29, 2009 at 11:43 am
kateastrophe
My best friend came up with a genius solution to the jeans problem when she was pregnant. She uses a rubber band and loops it through the button hole and attaches it to the button to allow stretch without the zipper coming down. She was able to wear her jeans a couple of extra months because of it!
You’re so stinkin’ cute pregnant!
December 29, 2009 at 11:44 am
Kristen
I remember being there. 🙂
The pants that I LOVED were Ann Taylor Loft maternity, but I needed pants for work. For jeans, I loved Gap maternity. Old Navy wasn’t pretty — and Target sucked.
And I didn’t feel the need to drop a ton of cash even though a lot of my friends did on the designer maternity clothes.
Also? Once you figure out your sizing, you can go up a size (shirt-wise) in regular clothes for the most part and also look on ebay for deals.
GOOD LUCK! 🙂
December 29, 2009 at 11:45 am
kateastrophe
Oh and another hint, the 60% off button in the Nordstrom Sale section has lots and lots of maternity clothes. They’re super cute too! I think they usually have maternity jeans on sale as well!
December 29, 2009 at 11:54 am
Sarah
I LOVED Gap Maternity and I got by with Old Navy maternity – wasn’t as fitting as the Gap stuff but it did the trick (tops were better than pants) – and was much more budget friendly than Gap or others. Yoga pants were a staple. With the right yoga pants, you can pair flats and a “dressier” top and be cute and SO comfortable. I also preferred the full belly covering pants to the “real waist” as the pants tended to stay up better with the full panel. Though, I have a pair of Gap maternity jeans that had a “real waist” that I LOVE LOVE LOVED… but always needed a belt.
December 29, 2009 at 12:08 pm
karijo09
My friend Andrea also did the rubber band through the button hole trick. It got her through for awhile. She LOVED Target. Lots of great stuff for great prices. Especially because she was changing size so rapidly!
December 29, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Erin
I am 6 months pregnant today, and I am still using the rubberband through the button hole trick. I bought a couple pairs of (cheap)jeans in a size (or two) bigger than I usually wear, and I am still wearing them at 6 months. I thought they will probably come in useful after I have the baby, until I am back in my regular clothes. I also sprinkle in some maternity jeans, but I have really long legs so jeans that are long enough are hard to find.
I’m wearing a pair from motherhood maternity right now (barely long enough – flats only!), and the full panel is much mor comfortable. But, they have a really long waist, and the saggy crotch thing drives me a little crazy. I think I might have also bought them a little too big, so that doesn’t help. I just ordered a pair from both GAP & Old Navy… I’ll let you know! 🙂
December 29, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Stacey
I did the rubber band thing for a long time. I also loved, loved, loved Gap maternity. I had a pair of jeans and khakis from there that I adored. I didn’t have much luck with Old Navy, I had some jeans that I hated but a pair of khaki’s I loved. So, it could be hit or miss there. But, like I said, Gap was great and the sizes were true, you just buy the size you are not pregnant and I ordered all of it online and never returned a thing. I also found the form fitting shirts while pregnant were more flattering than the flowing one’s because those only made me feel even bigger! (just a tip) You might find now too if you look on Gap for some spring/summer shirts, since you are due in July, you might find them really cheap and you can just cover them with a cardigan that you use not preggers in these colder months.
My last thing, before I end this novel, is yes, it will seem like you are spending some cash, but it’s worth it to feel good and I still have all mine for the next baby, so think of it like that too. 🙂
Cute belly shot!
December 29, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Britt
Such a cute baby bump. I hope you find some fabulous pants. I’m useless in the maternity clothes dept, but I do know they’re super expensive!
December 29, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Diana
Regardless of what you are wearing, you look beautiful and happy! I’ve never been pregnant, so I’ve never had to deal with maternity jeans and that kind of stuff, but the belly band looks like it’d be comfy.
December 29, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Anna
My favorite maternity pants so far have been from Target. I know! I’ve tried a bunch of other brands/styles, but for me, the Liz Lange Target brand just fit the best. Also, you can pretty much wear maternity pants right away. They are meant to stretch with you, so even if you have the slightest baby-bump, they should fit you just fine. I skipped right to maternity jeans because I didn’t like the bella band I bought, and the jeans have served me well from 10 weeks to my current huge 26 weeks.
Good luck and congrats again to you and Michael!
December 29, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Ashley
Don’t feel bad – I cried at both of those scenes in UP, too, and I’m not pregnant. It’s just an emotional movie! And you don’t look fat at all, you look like a glowing mommy-to-be!
December 29, 2009 at 2:22 pm
zoey
Not to be contrary, but I found the rubber-band-through the button-hole method to be really uncomfortable for me. As the pants opened, i couldn’t stand the feeling of the rubberband touching my skin.
Yoga pants, a pair of maternity jeans, and later dresses in the spring/summer will go very far.
December 29, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Jane
Make sure you get some full panel pants. Early in my pregnancy I thought, “Ew, no way!” and bought mostly jeans with a shorter elastic waist. Later in my pregnancy, my big belly kept pushing those jeans down, and the full panel became my best friend.
I tried the rubber band thing, but it irritated my skin. I know a lot of people who did that all the way through their pregnancy, though.
My advice would be to hit up anyone you know that might have maternity clothes to share, and check out Goodwill or thrift stores. As far as tops go, I bought a lot of things at Target that weren’t maternity tops, but worked as maternity tops…that way you can wear them post-baby, too.
Also, you will have to wear your maternity clothes for awhile after you have the baby. This may seem like a given, but I wasn’t prepared for this and felt totally fat and ugly three weeks postpardum when I tried to put on my old jeans.
Last tip – don’t buy anything you don’t like or feel good in. I bought a couple of shirts just because they were cheap, and they made me look huge. I felt horrible about myself when I wore them. It just wasn’t worth it!
Your bump is adorable!
December 29, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Jenn @ Paying Myself
I’m not sure if it’s true, but I heard lululemon pants (yoga wear) (if you can find them in your area – they’re also on ebay sometimes) are guaranteed not to stretch out of shape while pregnant.
And my best friend who has had two babies would definitely support the full panel comment above!
That’s all I can contribute as a never-been-pregnant gal. That and CUTE BELLY! Seriously! Adorable.
December 29, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Jenny
You’re the cutest!
December 29, 2009 at 7:23 pm
La Petite Chic
Awww, Molly, look at that cute baby bump! I definitely plan on buying a bella band…I’ve heard nothing but good reviews.
December 29, 2009 at 8:09 pm
veronica
Go for the full belly panel pants – they are the most comfy in my opinion. I love the Gap Long and Lean jeans, they are the only jean that has looked good on me. I also like the way the maternity pants at Kohls fit, but I haven’t tried the jeans from them, only work pants.
I tried just buying the next size up on sweaters & shirts but it didn’t work for me – everything was too big in shoulders and just looked sloppy on me.
And just a little FYI – Motherhood Maternity stuff is kind of cheap, some of it is nice (I got a coat there, 2 pairs of pants and 2 sweaters, but I really had to be picky and try on stuff before I bought it and wish I didn’t buy one of the pants – any little fuzzy just sticks to the fabric) but other stuff just feels and looks poorly made – and their return policy sucks – be careful if you shop there.
December 29, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Kitty
Hold off on “official” maternity pants as long as you can. For me, the maternity jeans really didn’t fit until I was 7 or 8 months pregnant – otherwise they just kept sliding down under my belly. The jeans I bought were from Motherhood Maternity, I think. They rocked, but looking back on it I’m really glad that I only splurged on one or two pairs, since I didn’t wear them for very long. I LOVED my bella band (and the imitation bella bands work fine too). I wore it over skirts and pants for most of my pregnancy. Also, leggings are your friend for the next few months!!
A final tip – it’s never too early for maternity tights, if you wear a lot of dresses. If you’re like me, most of your casual dresses will be belly-friendly, since the empire waist has been in style these past few years. When I wanted to dress up, I loved my maternity tights – so very comfortable!
You are adorable and I can’t wait to see more pics.
December 29, 2009 at 8:54 pm
noringsattached
awwww….you look so beautiful!!! My favorite maternity jeans were GAP…they fit well, held their shape and were super comfy!
December 29, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Kaley
Ah yes, Pants Purgatory. Thank goodness for Bella Bands, I wore those suckers (because I refused to buy preggo pants) until I was like five months pregnant. When you do get maternity clothes, I had a lot of luck at A Pea In A Pod. Also, Isabella Oliver. Motherhood Maternity (is that what it’s called? I forget.)? BOOOOO.
But anyway, you look PREGNANT! Got a cute little bump goin’ on! So exciting, isn’t it? 🙂
December 29, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Valerie
If it makes you feel better I cried at Up too. And I’m not pregnant.
That movie really tugs at your heartstrings. Also, I want Dug…but he’s a talking dog!
December 30, 2009 at 7:47 am
Rachel
Not pants related at all, sorry.
BUT…I wanted to know the latest in the Deodorant saga. I need a great one for an upcoming event and wanted to see if you (and the other gals that visit) have any super suggestions.
Thank you so much and keep up the fun blog!
Rachel!
January 2, 2010 at 2:28 am
Kasia Fink
Ooh, you look gorgeous, girl!
I can’t stop raving about my ‘full panel hip slung flare pants’ from Gap Maternity (in black). Seriously, they are AWESOME. Get some right away, trust me.
I agree about the superiority of full panels versus demi or hidden panels. I find the demi panels result in a very unflattering muffin top effect (though maybe that’s just me). And don’t hold off on buying real maternity pants – no way! The day I switched from belly bands to real mat pants was an epiphany. I feel a million trillion times better (and sexier) in them, believe it or not. Go for it!
January 2, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Erin
Just a quick update… My jeans arrived. I concur with most of the others; Old Navy sucks, GAP jeans (I got the Long & Lean version) are awesome.
🙂
January 4, 2010 at 10:53 am
Barb
I also used the Bella Band…. totally worked out great… It now holds up my maternity pants that fall down a bit… since my stomach is so enormous!!! UGH…. 6 weeks to go for me!!
January 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm
KR
The band didn’t work for me either. I’m 23 weeks now, and I love, love, love my Citizens for Humanity maternity jeans. Worth the money (on sale!). I also have a much cheaper pair from Motherhood Maternity. The problem with those is that I have to buy ‘long’ length (I’m only 5′ 8″), so I can’t imagine what genuinely tall people do, and they just aren’t as cute (and I love, love, love jeans – so cute is important). But VERY comfortable and functional and again, cheap! Good luck! Very excited for you!