Buying Maternity Clothes ~ Creating your 9 months maternity wardrobe
(by Jessica Hudson ~ Owner, Eva Lillian Maternity)

Check out online maternity stores and you'll see similarly titled articles. They'll give terribly practical advice about how to create a maternity wardrobe that will last you a long time and "not break the bank".

According to them, you are supposed to buy maternity clothes just like you do a normal wardrobe. You buy mostly staples, a non-descript pair of maternity pants, a plain button-down maternity shirt, in solid colors like black and white. When you have most of your boring maternity pieces out of the way, if you have any money left, you should spice it up with just a few maternity pieces that will make it interesting and "make you feel special". Visit us at http://www.evalillian.com  and you'll see in every pixel of the site how I feel about that advice. I say "Bologna!"

First of all, this "wardrobe" only needs to last you about 6 months of pregnancy. And if you're lucky you'll be out of them before a month post partum. (But that's what we recommend transitional clothes for. More about that later)

This 6 month maternity period is going to see you changing a lot! You are going to become so tired of your gargantuan body.  And you will become extremely tired of your drab "staples" by the end of the 3rd month. Especially if this is your second time through your maternity wardrobe, or more!

Never in my life have I hated clothing more than in my first pregnancy, when I bought the trendiest maternity clothing available at the local chain store (which was not at all trendy, of course. You know the ame of that store. You've been in it.  And that's why you find yourself looking online!). The maternity pants had panels with thin elastic at the top that didn't hold them up when I was small and dug into my belly when I was big. The shirts had the tie in the back and were so big that the terms "body-hugging" and "pregnant and proud of it" had obviously never been uttered in their headquarters. Ordinary was the best word to describe these maternity clothes (and I would still use that word for their maternity clothing).

Not only could I find nothing I liked, or that was even slightly comfortable, but nothing fit me. I'm 5'8" and was borderline "tall" before I had a big bump hiking up all my over-the-belly pants. And I gained over 45 lbs!

My second pregnancy was better. I refused to wear almost anything from my first pregnancy, and I refused to shop at that same mall store for maternity clothing. I turned to the internet and found things much more to my liking. Under the belly maternity pants (and underbelly underwear and thongs! That was a eureka moment), pretty and feminine tops, luxuriously slinky fabrics, and a fabulous fit.

I actually lost 15 lbs in the first half of this pregnancy due to my extreme morning sickness. There was one day where I ate most of a tomato and drank a half glass of orange juice, and managed to keep it down. That was a great day. So I was starting from a much smaller size this time, and I wanted to really show off my bump. I bought those figure flattering maternity clothes that hug your body.

And I got more compliments on my clothes and how great I looked than I have in my entire life, before or since. Let me tell you what a pick-me-up that is  when you are the most tired you've ever been in your life, dragging your sorry self into work, feeling incredibly green and like you just want to dig out your uterus with a spoon to prevent yourself from ever feeling like this again.

Now that's feeling special. I bought only trendy maternity clothes. I bought sexy maternity clothes that would have me feeling great about my expanding body. When else is your life are you buying a whole new wardrobe to wear for only 6 months? Go crazy and get the things that WON'T last years, because you don't need it to. I loved my maternity clothing in the second pregnancy, because they made me feel sexy, pretty, and happy.  They made me feel better when not much else would.

That is the benefit of trendy designer maternity clothing.

The first time, I bought plus sized clothing for a few months after the baby was born. What I could find wasn't attractive and it just didn't fit right. My chest was much larger, as was my belly, but other things just didn't warrant plus sizes. So I looked frumpy and un-put-together. The second time I bought transitional clothing for my postpartum period. I bought a nursing dress (because this is one piece of nursing wear you can't substitute. You may be able to make do for shirts, but you can't hike your whole dress over your head every few hours when that baby squals), and Lily Padz's unbelievable nursing pads.

Despite being pretty much the same size as my first postpartum
period, I got compliments, I felt good and atractive, and my clothes fit my new body. Tranisitional clothing is worth it's weight in gold. Some feel it's an unnecessary expense when you husband's clothes will do. But you need every tool you've got to feel normal, and pretty, and not-just-Mommy again. Transitional Clothes were that missing link back to being a woman again, and they, and YOU, are worth every penny.

That is the benefit of having a "Personal Shopper" (me) that's been there and done that, and is able to let you in on all the little secret tools that make Motherhood easier.

Jessica Hudson http://www.evalillian.com  (Copyright 2004)

Visit our store for Baby Gear, pregnancy vitamins, Fertile CM, Her Gel, Slippery Stuff, Happy PMS Cream as recommended by Dr. John R. Lee, One Step HcG Pregnancy Test Strips and Cassettes and other preconception, pregnancy, fertility, infertility and healthy supplemental products for men, women and baby.  Don't forget we have Gift Certificates available for those who don't know just yet.

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Jessica Hudson is a researcher and fanatic of all things pregnancy and baby. Find more great articles, on nursing, pregnancy, parenting and more, and great products to compliment them, in her store Eva Lillian Maternity & Nursing Boutique at http://www.evalillian.com