Maternity clothing cheap
When it comes to undergarments I made do with my normal panties; my favorites had the comfort bands that I rolled down under my stomach as it grew. They didn’t fall down once.
I also didn’t buy maternity bras either; I found that I wasn’t busting out of my 18-hour brassieres and, in fact, a little constriction (not a lot!) helped me avoid some breastfeeding related pains. Though do stay away from underwire as it can hinder milk production.
You can get extra mileage out of your regular pants by simply unbuttoning the fly and covering the gap with a strategically placed top. If you are worried about the pants sliding down, I jerry-rigged a couple extra inches by using a hair/rubber band. I did this until I chanced to find a belly band from Medela ($$$ brand) at a garage sale for pennies!
Yoga pants! They beat the ‘traditional’ pair of maternity pants by a mile! With those you must choose either a high or low waist and I’m not comfy with having the waist so high over my stomach so I got the low waistband and then they refuse to stay up! Aggravating! Yoga pants have a waist band that you can fold up over your stomach or down over your hips (they stay up!) whatever suits you. You don’t have to have one or the other anymore, Yayy! Super comfy and they’ll even go on sale from time to time. If you’re not a Yoganista I recommend that this be the item you pick up for your pregnancy.
Around the fourth month I began to see that my regular shirts weren’t quite cutting it any longer but the ruched maternity shirt I had was clearly too far along for me. Enter the long tank top! If you don’t have one in your (or hubby’s) drawer you can find them cheap in menswear. The long tank will happily house your belly bump through the second (maybe part of all of the third!) trimester and it’s perfect for layering. Search your closet (maybe your girlfriends’ too!) for other ‘waist-less’ options that might also do for you, go for the baby doll shirt, the maxi dress, the empire waist, anything really. As long as it stays off your stomach it will be perfect!
Footwear. My feet expanded, it’s the truth. Shoes that I bought before I was pregnant are not just a smidge too snug, this may never happen to you but I just wanted to share. Refrain from buying shoes the next size up, don’t do it until you need it! Meantime it’s easiest (weather depending) to enjoy the open air of flip flops or the roominess of snow boots.
You can also find some pretty good ‘traditional’ maternity wear through secondhand places like Goodwill. If you’re or someone you know is a savvy thrifter you could soon be rolling in the cute pregnancy wear. And don’t be afraid to take over your husband’s wardrobe as your own, what’s he going to do, say no? Bwaahaaa!