My grandmother’s shock about maternity clothes

I'm wearing low-rise maternity jeans with a built in belly-band thing. I have a couple of pairs of work pants which are the same (although those are falling off right now, I'm going to have to add a gather I think!).

I can't imagine jeans going OVER my bump!!! How uncomfortable. Plus I'd look like those old men who hoik their pants up over their beer belly!

My Mom keeps saying how lucky I am with the tange of maternity wear. She also keeps saying "You're not going to wear tight stuff though are you?"... I'll be wearing fitted and stretchy, I'd rather look pregnant than fat any day!

I just happened upon your blog and had to say that maternity clothes have made a huge improvement just in the last decade. I'm expecting my third now, my oldest is 9 and my second is 5. Even in 2000 the choices weren't all that stylish, although better than what Kirstie Alley sported in Look Who's Talking. By 2004 they had taken a giant leap forward, and now they are even more stylish than five years ago. Very nice. Now if they could just not cost an arm and a leg . . .

My grandmother keeps saying things like "I guess they don't hide it these days". It seems that in her day being pregnant was kind of shameful, after all, it meant you had sex (how terrible!).

I have low rise pants (even at the end the higher waist drove me nuts) and I have some fitted shirts and some looser, but pretty, blouses. I LIKE to show off my bump! Just a tip, if you really want to keep in the low rise pants, buy a bella band, they keep your pants up but for some reason don't bother me the same way as full belly jeans.

Here's to all the Mamas-to-be, showing it off and proud of it.

I don't know why they don't stay up, they just don't. I guess every body's different. You're lucky.

It looks like many of you are on the same page with me as far as fitted shirts go. As far as the low-rise jeans, for the record my friends, my butt crack does NOT show at all! I just had to clear that up so that you don't think I walk around looking all kinds of trashy! ;)

Question for the ppl that said you can't keep low-rise jeans up - Why not? I can't figure that one out!

Thanks Whit for the belly band insight - I'll definitely keep that in mind. I have one and it's been so helpful already.

Michaela - I'm with you on the hot & humid weather! It is already warm here and I don't want to have anymore clothes on than I need... and that goes for the full-panel pants!

Low rise = plumbers butt here too. Just not an option. I can't keep them up, but I'm having a problem keeping the full panel up too at this point. I don't like the HUGE flowy shirts either. I look like I'm wearing a tent. I'm wearing one that's supposed to be flowy, but since my basketball is so big, it's more fitted. I'd just be happy to have shirts that are LONG enough. That's what's driving me bonkers lately.

To save some money later in pregnancy, use a belly band for belly support... that way, you don't even have to buy full panel maternity jeans... that's what I did. I felt the same way about maternity shirts. I was all about the fitted stuff. I mean, for crying out loud, my belly looks way better pregnant than un-pregnant. Love the bump... for real.

When I was preganant we didn't have much of an option, but moms now have it so good! I particularly love the look of the Japanese Weekend criss-cross D&A shirt. It shows off the belly in a really flattering way!

I preferred the fitted shirts too. They were just more comfortable and didn't make me feel huge. I also don't think I owned a pair of full panel pants... all low rise. I was due last August and it gets really hot and humid where I live, so there was no way I was going to add another layer of clothes to an already hot belly.

This cracked me up. I am all about the full panel maternity pants (Secret Fit for the win!) but I am with you on tighter shirts to show off the bump. I'm sure it's shocking to a lot of women who went through the days where all maternity clothes tied in the back and basically looked like a ruffled tent.

LOL, I like the fitted shirts too, for the same reason you do. It was only last week that strangers have been able to tell I'm preggo. I like wearing the fitted shirts cause they show off my belly more and then there's little guessing. That said, I did wear a loose, flowy one last week that was really nice cause I didn't feel like I had to pull it down in the back, making sure the panel on the pants was showing.

As for pants, you must have a diff. body type than me. If I tried to wear low-rise, I'd be showing of my crack to everyone and they'd be falling down all the time, driving me nuts. I haven't minded the secret-fit panels on my pants, but it's also been winter here. It's been an extra layer of warmth. Now that it's getting warm, I'm betting it's gonna be annoying and itchy. But then again, I'll be wearing more shorts and dresses...