Need new spring pants and only 4 weeks pregnant!

[teddy]

I am in need of some new spring clothes, particularly pants. I have been delaying shopping until after Easter. But I just found out that I am 4 weeks pregnant with baby #2 (yaay). It seems that with this pregnancy, I am craving "bad" foods (late night burritos, Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs, etc...) and I really think I am starting to gain weight already.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy early maternity pants (no panel pants) to accomodate my growing tummy, or should I just buy regular pants with a bit of stretch in them? I am wearing the same capri pants I used before baby #1 and they are starting to look very worn. I am afraid of buying maternity pants and looking ridiculous, though.

I hate to buy pants that I'll only wear for a short while, so I am in a major dilemma. Thanks for any advice! :)

[chrissyhowie]

Hey! First off, big congratulations!!

I think you should go ahead and get a nice pair of early maternity pants. They will definitely get a lot of use during the first few months of the pregnancy. Plus, the earlier you get them the more use you'll get out of them! The ones without the panels that sit below the belly work well post-partum too. I pretty much wore the same pair of pants (early maternity ones) over and over (don't tell my co-workers ;)) until I could start to fill out the panel type, so they've gotten plenty of use.

HTH,

[teddy]

Thanks! And congrats to your baby #2 also!

What kind of early maternity pants did you get? I just looked at gap.com and they have the no panel pants, but they are suggesting they are for 3-6 months, and I'm thinking, oh great, do I look 3 months pregnant?!?! Would I even fit into them now? I wear size 4 normally. Maybe I should just lay off the steak burritos....

[lmladuke]

Sorry to give you contradicting advice, but at 4 weeks, I would buy a size or two bigger than you usually wear. Try to get low waisted, flat front pants if possible. Just to give you an idea I am 6 1/2 mos pregnant with my second. I usually wear size 2 or 4. I bought a pair of regular gap boot cut jeans in a size 6 when my size 4s did not fit anymore and wore them from my 3rd up until 2 weeks ago.

I also bought a pair of no panel capri's on sale from the gap when I was 3mos. They were always too huge on me to wear.

I know everyone is different. You may find a pair of no panel pants that fit great. I just did not have luck with them and found with both pregnancies going a size bigger worked until you really were ready for maternity clothes. Plus you can use them again after!

Good luck
Lori

[Karenn]

Congratulations!

I'm a little further a long than you, but was wrestling with the same issue just last week. (Up until then, I was just walking around with my top button undone!) I got some good ideas from this thread: [http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=11&topic_id=18952&mode=full&page=]

I ended up with a great pair of maternity pants from Liz Lange at Target. They don't have a panel so they do feel like regular pants, but I think they'll fit for awhile because they're a little stretchy.

I know what you mean about feeling silly wearing maternity clothes when you're only a few weeks pregnant! I've noticed that now, it's not really the pants that make me look ridiculous but the big balloon like shirts that I have to wear WITH the pants to cover the panel! I actually can't wait until I'm big enough to "legitmately" wear maternity clothes! ;)

[chrissyhowie]

Looking at the gap.com website, the "no panel" pants are what I had in mind. They look very similar to the type of pants I have and can still wear now. I think the brand I have is from Motherwear maternity. They really look like regular low-rider pants, but the waistband is just a little more relaxed and has elastic compared to non-maternity low-riders. I'd definitely recommend going to a maternity store and trying a few styles on versus just ordering on-line. They'll likely feel kind of roomy this early on, but you'll quickly start filling it out in a few weeks!

Normally I wear a size 4 as well, but I just couldn't stand even that slight pressure on my belly from my regular pants early on during first trimester when I just felt bloated all the time. I do also wear a couple pairs of my non-maternity elastic waist pants, even now at 28 weeks when I'm now wearing those full-panel pants! I just put the waistband below my belly.

As for the steak burritos, you are making me hungry! I say get a comfortable new pair of pants and let yourself eat :9!!

[teddy]

Such good advice, ladies. Thank you so much :) I have some shopping to do I guess. The Gap store in downtown Chicago carries maternity, and my OB is right across the street, so I may have to stop in next week. And there's always something I need at Target!

It's very encouraging that we're talking about our #2 babies , isn't it? I'm very excited for all of us :)

[tinkerbell1217]

I have some of the Gap no panel pants and jeans and have been wearing them since around 8 weeks, but I could have worn them earlier than that!! Just a suggestion though, the Gap maternity clothing runs big. At least the pants do. I have a broad back and the shirts that do not strecth I have to buy an XL but the pants seem to run a bit bigger.

Congrats!!!

Kelly

[mamamillie]

Congrats! I am in a similar situation - I'm 10 weeks along with #2 and am definately noticing it sooner than I did with #1!!!! I just bought 2 pairs of "every day drawstring pants" from baby style (I know there was a negative post about their CS but I've not had any problems in the past). They are very soft and comfy. I had a very itchy belly with #1 so I think I'll like the under the belly style of these pants as I get bigger. I do not feel funny wearing them now at all!

Another suggestion...I bought several outfits from Chico's for my first pregnancy when I was working. They have some styles that are not as "middle-aged" looking as most of their stuff seems to me. One outfit stretched enough that I wore it when I was 2 weeks overdue and HUGE! I just bought some sweats and linen capris there and I think the waists have enough give to get me through the next few months when the maternity stuff fits!

[hellosmiletoday]

My first suggestion is pants with a side zip...I had a pair of black ones from Limited that fit me before pregnancy and up to my forth month. I just didnt zip it up all the way, but I didnt feel self-conscious like I did when I used the rubberband trick.

I would then suggest either the Oldnavy.com "yoga" maternity pants (supposed to be exercise pants but are actually quite nice) or possibly Oldnavy.com jeans...the ones with the large elastic wasteband. At the beginning I would fold the wasteband over to make them fit, and am still wearing them (35wks)...In fact I still have to fold over the wasteband on the jeans since I'm short. The jeans arent too comfy but the price was great.

I did not like and never bought the no panel pants b/c I hated the look of the elastic on the back. They felt like children's pants to me.

[jec2]

Congrats!

And, I agree. I bought a pair or two of "transition" pants that were regular pants but a size or two bigger. I was able to wear them up until I was about 4 months pregnant and could then actually fit into the maternity clothes. And, actually, I am wearing them today--literally--at 6 months and 2 days post-partum :)

[brigmaman]

Ooohh...I was just about to head over to Babystyle. I bought a pair of no panel pants from them a few weeks ago and am loving them! I'm 11 weeks along with #2. I'm so glad someone brought this up, because I'm in the same situation. We went to FLA last week so I bought some under the belly shorts from a Motherhood store and they were great.
I actually weighed more at this point with my first pregnancy and it was winter, so it's time to shop!

[jojo2324]

the rubberband trick? It did wonders for me! If you have a pair of pants with a button/hole closure, just wrap the band around the button, put it through the hole, then wrap it back round the button again. Instant inches!

Congratulations!

[teddy]

How could I forget the rubber band trick?!?!?

I was at Old Navy yesterday and bought 2 pairs of maternity no panel linen capris, a pair of maternity no panel yoga capris, and some regular women's ribbon trim polo tops. I tried on the linen capris for my husband and he was like, they are really big in the back! I didn't bother to check the back in the dressing room, only the front. So those are going back. But the yoga capris fit well. I think I might just try regular capris in a larger size so that the back doesn't look so baggy. They're on sale this week....

The quest continues. I will definitely try babystyle.com! And there is a Chico's outlet by my mom's house I'll look into.

[chrissyhowie]

My absolute favorite pair of pants (called the UnderBelly Pant) is from Pumpkin Maternity here in NYC. Regularly priced, it's normally way more than I'd ever spend on maternity clothes, but they've been having a inventory clearance sale so I finally got to purchase some clothes from them. I had the luxury of being able to go to the store to try the stuff on, but you might want to consider taking a chance with their stuff even though you can't return them since they are really well made and comfortable. Here's the link:
http://store.yahoo.com/pumpmaternity/

They no longer have the ones I bought in stock -- sad because I'd definitely get another pair! They have some really nice lightweight sweaters as well.

HTH,

[McQ]

Thanks Chrissy. I checked the site what a good sale price. Can you help with a sizing question. Pre-preg I'm a size 4 (can't believe I'm gong to type this but...) I'm 5'2" and 115 pounds. So I'm stuck between the XS which says 2-4 and the S which says 4-6. Did you find that these ran big? All the Gap stuff I had last go around in S ended up being way too big (only gained 19 pounds so I never filled up the front). Can't believe I'm admitting all this!

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03
and number 2 EDD 9.14.04

[lampes]

I have to add my two cents here. I bought three gap maternity pieces - two pairs of pants and one skirt. I hated, HATED, my gap pants. The first pair was a side panel gray pair of pants. The pants were always too large (bought size small as I was size 4 pre pregnancy) until my very last few weeks and even then the pants never stayed up. I kept having to hitch up my pants every time I stood up. Even worse, the pants itched me like crazy. The second pair was a large waistband with a soft elastic and again, the pants were too big and never stayed up. It was a huge waste of money. If you can, I would buy pants in a size larger or maybe even two sizes larger because you will not want to wear maternity clothes after having the baby but because it takes an average of 6 months to lose the weight, you will be buying intermediate sizes of clothes anyway - so you can wear these non maternity clothes post pregnancy.

[chrissyhowie]

Allison,

LOL! I'll be happy to help with sizing. Turns out that I'm the same height and weight as you pre-preg. I got the size S, but keep in mind that I really dislike tight-fitting pants. I love the way these fit -- definitely not baggy, but no need to wear a thong either :P. If you tend to like a snug fit, you might prefer the XS. The legs were much too long though -- definitely designed for longer legged gals. They were very easy to hem though.

If they still have any smalls left, you may want to check out the "shirring dress". It fits really well and works both alone or under a light jacket or sweater. Unfortunately their other dresses didn't seem to work as well for our height.

I hope the sizes work out for you if you decide to order.

[teddy]

After my first baby, I made do with a pair of black pants I wore in my early months of pregnancy, along with some stretchy exercise pants and skirts, for a month or so after the baby. I am hoping that with this pregnancy, I'll be back down to pre-baby weight just as fast (must be the nursing, LOL!).

But, I am going to get a pair or two of larger size capris so I can wear them now. The maternity pants just won't fit me properly. Too bad I can't wear capris in November after this baby!

[teddy]

I was on their mailing list for my first pregnancy. I love Pumpkin's stuff. Too bad they don't have the pants anymore you recommend. I would have bought them ASAP!

[McQ]

Thanks Chrissy! I can't stand tight fitting pants either. Need some room you know. But funny about the thong thing. I lived in my thongs last go around as they fit better under the bulge. But I was out walking the day before I had Declan and I was like wow, time to give up the thong. But little did I know the little bugger had dropped and decided to arrive 5 weeks early. So it was thongs until the end!

I've got the pants and the short sleeve tango dress in my cart. Did you try that one on? They didn't have the shirring in S. Figure for $22 bucks I'd give the tango a try. The site is messing up my shipping charge so I'm going to give them a call this morning. Thanks for the tips!

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03
and number 2 EDD 9.14.04

[teddy]

Got back from my first ultrasound today - I'm 9 weeks pregnant, not 5 like I thought last week. So perhaps I misheard the nurse when she calculated it. And perhaps that is why my belly is not fitting into my pants anymore! Can't blame the burritos...

Anyhoo, just wanted to update everyone that OLD NAVY DRAWSTRING CAPRI PANTS (regular, not maternity) are GREAT for those of us who are getting bellies but not yet fitting into maternity! They are also on sale this week. I tried several pairs of capris and the drawstring ones are the most comfortable without feeling like they're falling down. (The ultra low waist on some capris make them feel too low.)

So thank you ALL for all the great suggestions. Hopefully I can get away with 2 pairs of these pants until it's time to drag out the maternity clothes :)