Thursday, January 2, 2014

Thoughts on maternity cloths...



 
For Christmas this year, I received a visa gift card. I wasn’t sure what to spend it on but I knew that I needed some new cloths that would fit me in the coming months. Most of my jeans are too tight but most of my shirts still fit me pretty good because they all stretch. I have one pair of jeans that fit perfect still. A few pairs I totally grew out of and a very few that I can wear but I am using a hair tie to keep the button closed. I loop the hair tie through the hole and tighten it then loop that one piece around the button and whalah! Jeans that fit! That only gets you by for so long though.  I have used the bellybands before. The “strap” of fabric that goes around your hips to keep your pants up when they aren’t buttoned, or zipped sometimes, but I always got mad because when I sat down, they would roll up. Therefore, I had to keep adjusting them. Adjusting my pants, the band, my shirts…UGH! Not worth it!
In my quest for maternity clothes that were affordable, I went to about a million websites. Now, either I’m cheap or frugal, but all of the websites charged way more than I wanted to pay. However, there were a few sites that had really good deals and I will list those:
www.zulily.com – I got a great pair of maternity pants for $17 that fit PERFECT and when I tried them on, they didn’t even look like maternity jeans. Very stylish and comfortable.
www.Target.com – There were a lot of overpriced things here, however I scored a great maternity/nursing top on clearance for $7 and a nursing bra that I did pay almost $25 for. This is a little steep if you ask me but I knew a nursing bra would be and this one had a ton of great reviews.
www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com – Had the best deals. I could have shopped till I dropped. Everything was super cheap and cute. I ended up buying two pairs of maternity jeans, maternity yoga pants, and three maternity shirts and paid about $100. The only thing that was somewhat weird was sizing. The pants I got from Zulily were a size M, so I got a size M from Burlington, but both pairs ended up being a bit baggy. I’ll have to return them and get a small or I know I won’t be comfortable in them and thus, I won’t wear them.
I think that’s a lot of cloths for not very much money. I’m happy, I just wish those two pairs of jeans fit but that’s an easy fix. I didn’t end up getting any nursing tank tops. It was on my list of things I wanted. So, like I do with everything else, I looked up reviews for the best nursing tanks and the top three out there costs between $40 and $70. WOW!!! I’m used to going to Kohl’s and getting a SO… brand tank top for under $5. I mean, I know it’s a bit too early to worry about nursing cloths but I like to have all my p’s and q’s in line way before baby arrives. I’m about 19 weeks along so, half way. By 30 weeks, I don’t want to have to buy a single thing. I want to have anything all ready because you never know what could happen and I want to be prepared. Anyway, I know some clever ways to nurse wearing (some kinds) of regular cloths and I plan on buying one of those nursing covers you wear in public. This baby will be born in the start of summer and if you know me, I wear a lot of cami’s (tank tops) in the summer time. So, I have to have some that make it easy to nurse in. This gave me the idea, “How hard can it possibly be to make one?” I already have a million cami’s. Therefore, that’s what I set out to do tonight, make one of my cheap Kohl’s brand (So…) cami’s into a nursing cami. And…I think it may be a success. So, I decided to post what I did.
·         The reason I chose the Kohl’s brand, SO… cami’s is because they are very stretchy, comfortable and come in a million colors. Top it off, they are super cheap!
#1 First thing I did was to lay my cami flat out.



#2 Next, I cut the strap totally off in the back.



#3 In front, I cut off all but about 2-3 inches.



#4 I then looped that 2-3 inches of strap behind the front of the cami and sewed it in place really good. Of course, I did this on both sides.



#5 Then, I unhooked the nursing bra and slid the loops I made, over the clasp. (The unhook part that comes down when you breast feed) -i should have adjusted that green strap before i took the photo-



#6 Here is what the finished product looks like and what it would look like if you were to take it off to breast feed. Of course, I didn’t want to show my boob…but you get the picture.




In my experience, you don’t have to buy a bunch of maternity clothes. A few staples? Yes! Jeans are a must, new comfortable bra’s and undies a must. Most shirts however will stretch with you. And if you still want something new, you can find some real deals at second hand clothing stores (such as Playdoughs closet). It is fun to buy some new shirts though, if they are reasonably priced. I personally love the maternity shirts with side runching. Those always make the belly look super cute.
Anyway, I’m pretty good on maternity clothes. Nursing tops are not something that is NEEDED either. I think the basics that I like to have are nursing pajamas, which are especially nice in the hospital. And a couple shirts in case you go out somewhere and want to be extra discrete. Besides that, cloths when pregnant and after shouldn’t be something to stress about. You don’t need a whole wardrobe. I’m even kind of regretting buying what I bought because I know that in about 20 weeks, I won’t fit into half the stuff I bought.

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