If you’re pregnant and the baby is starting to make itself known, your clothes will only keep shrinking 😉 from now till that baby is out.
My biggest enemies when I started looking for new clothes were budget and local options to shop. Any maternity stores that used to be in the area were long closed down. My only options were Target or online and Target only had like half an aisle for all the maternity stuff and the options weren’t great. With online I couldn’t try anything on without obviously ordering it and then having to deal with returns for what didn’t fit which is a hassle.
The budget issue also limited my options to what I could find on Amazon and I splurged a bit on Maurices for a couple items.
It wasn’t all bad though and if you’re in the predicament I was in trying to sort through all the listings, including the ones that aren’t maternity and yet are still coming up in your results, I have compiled a list of some must-have and nice-to-have items that I used in my pregnancy. Some of these I actually got sad to pack away after the baby came because they were so comfortable.
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1. Bearsland Shirts
First on this list are the softest shirts I have ever owned. They are long and stretchy and so comfortable. I only stopped wearing them because I opted for nursing-friendly tops most days but they made their way back into the rotation when I slowed down on nursing sessions throughout the day with my first and all while pregnant with my second.
They come in short sleeve and long sleeve in various colors. I got both for summer and fall when I was most heavily pregnant.
2. Underwear
These were one of the things that I struggled with because I have always been a thong or spandex person but neither were cutting it as my body kept expanding. I did wear these for a little while postpartum while my belly was still pretty big but once things calmed down they were too big.
The only issue is that they would ride up in the back and give me a wedgie with certain pants, usually loose fitted sweatpants and such. My solution for that was either shapewear or a pair of maternity shorts I have that are super soft and stretchy. As long as there was something fitted over the underwear then I could wear whatever pants I wanted. Since I mainly wore leggings, this wasn’t a huge issue for me.
Luckily, I did find some underwear that better suited my postpartum body and I have bought like 3 packs so far and I will make a whole new post for the clothes that got me through postpartum and breastfeeding.
3. Shapewear
The shapewear I got was very comfortable and supportive and was a great tool to have for all sorts of outfits, not just dresses. The ones I got are no longer available but these ones look similar and have a lot of glowing reviews.
Usually, I would like to have tried the exact item I am recommending. However, in this case, I didn’t want to leave shapewear off the list as I felt these were such an important part of my wardrobe that helped me feel more comfortable.
4. Dresses
Speaking of dresses…this black daisy dress was so comfortable and versatile and I wore it on several occasions including my baby shower!
This green one was also a versatile find that I could add a nice cardigan to and look professional or a chunky sweater or by itself to be more casual. It was stretchy and comfortable and I felt great in both of these dresses
5. Sweatshirt
This sweatshirt is not a maternity sweatshirt but it is an oversized hoodie that I ordered prior to getting pregnant and ended up wearing it almost everyday when the weather got cold.
It is probably the most comfortable sweatshirt I have ever owned and the only thing I regret is the color. I got it in light grey, which I like, but with a toddler, everything he did in a day was showing on my sweatshirt by the end.
6. Leggings
With my first pregnancy I bought many pairs of leggings and gave up on finding a truly comfortable pair. Even when I thought I found them, they would eventually prove to be very uncomfortable.
I had little hope this time around but still bought a few sets to try and I am so glad that I did. I found this set of 3 leggings and even though I was sure at first that I would end up sending them back, I was thankfully proven wrong.
They ended up being the most comfortable leggings and the best part–they would stay where I put them. Previous pairs would slide down and make me chafe. Once I got these ones situated where I wanted them, they stayed there and remained comfortable all day.
Do yourself a favor and buy more than 1 set so you aren’t rushing to get them washed so often throughout the week.
There were many other things I had bought and hated and some I liked. Some I never ended up wearing…oops! But these items got me through those long months feeling much better in my changing body.