Buying Maternity Clothes

by sconway | More from this Blogger

22 Apr 2011 11:28 AM

Maternity clothes are one of the biggest indicators that you are expecting. Even before I was pregnant, I visited a local maternity boutique in the utter excitement of pregnancy anticipation. Never mind that we hadn't even started trying and that we wouldn't conceive for seven long months. I thought I needed some maternity apparel to usher in this new phase of our lives. Little did I know that the cute maternity top that I purchases would be ridiculously uncomfortable when I actually had a belly to fill it out.

Once we finally conceived, my overwhelming excitement lead me to purchase several articles of maternity clothing over the course of my 1st and 2nd trimesters; some from local boutiques, others from out of town consignment shops, and even a few items from on-line maternity boutiques. With all these different shopping experiences, I learned some very important lessons.

Lesson Number One: Don't buy anything before you are actually pregnant. It is not guaranteed that you will conceive according to plan. The item might not fit, it might be uncomfortable when it does fit, it might not be the right season (to cool or to hot when it actually fits), you might absolutely despise it when you finally get to wear it.

Lesson Number Two: Wait until you actually need them. I know that buying maternity clothes is fun and exciting, but you never know how your body is going to change. Every woman's body changes in different ways. A dear friend recommended that I buy tops one size bigger than I wore. I bought several tank tops on-line one size bigger and they ended up being too big for me even at 39 weeks!

Lesson Number Three: Buy at consignment when ever possible. Let's face it maternity clothes are expensive! When I was 18 weeks pregnant we visited friends in Minneapolis. We spent a couple hours of our time together going to several consignment shops where I found a 3 or 4 maternity tops for less than one would cost at retail. A month later my husband and I were in Austin for my students' art competition. We found a few more maternity consignment shops. I found a sundress and a couple spring/summer tops for under $20. Finally, while visiting family over spring break, a pregnant friend and I went to a nearby maternity/baby consignment shop and I found a dressy "pea in the pod" top retail around $75 for only $7. You never know what you will find!

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Sarah is a wife, mother, educator, researcher, nutrition and fitness enthusiast, artist, culinary innovator, ethics advocate, and overall lover of learning.

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