The most common question I hear is when should I start buying maternity clothes.  First, stop it, just stop talking and thinking in absolutes.  It does not matter how much weight your neighbor gained, how long your sister took to lose her baby weight, when your best friend started showing or how far along the lady sitting next to you at the doctor’s office is.  And, pay close attention; nobody will give you a medal for saying I did not have to wear maternity clothes until I was six months pregnant.  Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, but if we are being honest here, you could go an entire pregnancy in size large sweats and your husband’s t-shirts, then you could one up the last girl and say, yeah well I NEVER needed maternity clothes.  That game is silly, it creates wedgies and muffin tops and potential what not to wear moments.

You should buy maternity clothes as you need them, and if you have a store conveniently located or can find a great website with free shipping, then only buy as you need them.  You can assume that you that you will need maternity jeans before you need maternity tops.  Most Pregnant Girl’s jeans stop feeling comfy quickly, these days tops run longer so we can often wear them for the first few months.  Definitely buy maternity pants before you have camel toe and lose all sense of pride and buy maternity tops long before your non-maternity tees are belly baring shirts that as far as I’m concerned should be illegal.  On the flip side, avoid buying too early.  As I just pointed out, absolutes are gone and you really don’t know what your body will do throughout your pregnancy.  This is not the time to add pressure by feeling like you have to stay a certain size.  You just need to stay healthy, comfortable and happy.

Luckily we live in a time when maternity clothes are amazingly stylish and, while the task of buying a new wardrobe is somewhat daunting and can be expensive, there is no need to feel overwhelmed or to break the bank.  Sit down, create a realistic budget (sometimes it’s easiest to decide on how much per month or per trimester so you save some cash for later) and then make a plan.  I cannot speak in complete generalities here because I am not sure what your lifestyle entails, but if you want specific suggestions please post or email me your budget and lifestyle needs and I will make suggestions (no, they won’t all be from my boutique). 

Happy shopping!