Maternity Fashions

There are still many questions mothers-to-be have about the next nine months of maternity fashions. When do you start wearing maternity clothes? How does one go about picking a maternity wardrobe? How much will all this cost?

Most women will begin wearing maternity clothes around four or five months. This will vary from woman to woman. A woman carrying her second or third baby or a mother of multiples may need maternity clothes earlier than a first time mom. Also the type of maternity clothes you need will change. As you begin to expand and need bigger clothes you can usually make due with hiding unbuttoned jeans under a big sweater, or wearing clothes that are a bit big on you usually or have elastic waists. As your baby grows you will need to go for the real maternity clothes.

There is no one perfect wardrobe for every mom, although some of the basic "kits" are helpful, combining a basic set of plain colored skirt, pants, shirt, etc. together. Then you accessorize around the basics, creating "different" outfits. Most women can get away with 3-4 pairs of pants, possibly a pair of jeans, several tops, and a nice dress or two. They even have maternity bathing suits and plus sized clothing!

Maternity clothes can be expensive. When you are confronted with adding a new baby and having to put forth the expense for new clothes you will want to.

Here are a few suggestions from other moms:

• "I always borrowed clothes from my husband's closet! His shirts were great and I just bought a few pair of maternity pants, a dress, and I was on my way!"
• "My sister and I were lucky to be pregnant right after each other, several times, and we just passed the clothes back and forth, adding a bit each time."
• "Go out and buy some clothes on clearance as soon as you can when pregnant. They will likely be for the same season in which your belly will be the largest."
• "Can you say yard sale? Seriously, yard sales and consignments shops were great. Then I could splurge and buy a few really nice outfits for work."
• "I bought some shirts that also doubled as nursing shirts for after the baby. It was great when pregnant, but even nicer when I was nursing."
• "As my breasts and abdomen got bigger and I needed new bras, I first added the bra expanders to the regular bras. Then I purchased some nursing bras. Get a specialist at the store to help you."

No matter what you do for maternity fashion during pregnancy, know that you have many more choices today than our mothers had, and enjoy your figure, you can be beautiful and pregnant.