by R Marie Taylor

Created on: January 15, 2008

After four full-term pregnancies at different stages of my life, I can give you quite a few tips about maternity clothes from personal experience.

*WEARING*
- STYLE vs COMFORT -

Styles come and go. You can look fabulous and still be comfortable. But, after a while, comfort will win hands down.

TROUSERS: You're not going to be able to deal with tight waistbands across your tummy, however, in the first several months of your pregnancy, you don't have to buy maternity clothes, you can simply wear baggy clothes.

You can wear trousers that are snug across your bottom, but you'll be more comfortable if the waistband is below your tummy.You already know that you're tummy is going to get bigger, but your breasts and butt probably will too. So go large!

When I was pregnant, tight clothes made me feel light headed, my stomach hurt and gave me bad gas. It's not worth trying to squeeze into a baggy outfit that you bought a few weeks ago. Buy larger than you think you could ever need and as time passes, you'll probably keep
getting larger.

One of the first things you'll have to decide is whether you prefer to have light support across your tummy or if you prefer to have the waistband below your tummy. You should wait until your pregnancy progresses before buying several pair of any particular type of trouser
because you can't know in advance how uncomfortable you'll be in one style or the other.

I must admit that my favorite clothes were the maternity jeans, because they had a very soft sort of net that my tummy sat in (sort of like very heavy duty pantie hose with a flexible waistband), it was a light support, but not restrictive.

I could cover the tummy part of my trousers with a long baggy shirt or a maternity shirt. I loved them because I could comfortably sit down in them without any added pressure on my stomach, and they stretched.

Although, when I was young, I actually preferred below the tummy clothes, this might be because my tummy muscles were tighter and stronger. I didn't need the support like I did after I got a bit older and after having given birth several times.

You also want to re-think short skirts, because sometimes your legs swell up a bit too, especially around your ankles. No only that, but when you sit down, your pregnant belly forces your legs open, like a fat man with a big ole beer belly.

Unless you want to do a Paris and Brittney every-time you go in public, then remember this one little tip: In pregnancy, modesty is always more attractive.

Here's one

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