I am short…in my bare feet I stand around 5 ft 5 on a good day. I am built kinda like a hibachi grill…squatty and round with very short round little legs. In normal pants/jeans, I have no problem finding ‘petite’ items that fit me just fine in the leg, neither too long or too short. And usually, these pants/jeans don’t cost me an arm and a bloody leg.
But tis not true with maternity pants…oh no. Maternity pants (as any mother-to-be knows) cost a fortune, especially if you have short, round legs as I do. I either have to suffer and roll my jeans up about 5-6 times to make the the right length and suffer the dreaded super-thick/wide cuff disease OR run around in capris which only make my legs look shorter and rounder.
Also…why is it that the when the maternity store at the mall has a sale, they only have a sale on pants that are full panel (late pregnancy) pants/jeans and not quater/half panel (early to mid pregnancy)!!! This frustates me no freaking end. I cannot afford to spend $40-$50 on a pair of pants I am going to wear only for a few months before I grow out of them. I have better things to spend my money on…like baby gear.
Yes…I have been to Target, but the only ‘cheap’ maternity wear they have is ugly velour and velvet crap. Their ‘good stuff’ (Liz something and In Due Time) is just as expensive as the stuff at the maternity store in the mall.
And WHY oh WHY can’t they make pretty maternity underwear/brs? Must all expectant mothers be forced to wear the dreaded white/black/cream granny panties of death? Must we strap on the Over-the-Shoulder-Boulder-Holders of Certain Doom that are not only ugly, but have ill-fitting straps as well?
Oy…I can’t wait till this baby pops out and I can fit into my NORMAL clothes again. I long for my comfortably broken-in jeans and teeshirts and undies and my pretty bras that fit just right because I’ve had them forever.
See, this is where you post a thread in IMHO about maternity clothes.
When I was pregnant with Aaron (last year), I dispensed with maternity clothes until the last possible minute. The first and second trimester, I generally wore stretchy non-maternity pants and T-shirts from Wal-Mart. (Yeah, I know.) They were comfortable though. After I delivered, the pants came back out until I got something of a shape back.
Once my belly exploded (and with Aaron, I carried him way out front), I went to Motherhood Maternity and bought a few outfits. I got a pair of jeans, some tops, and a couple of two-piece pants outfits. I added to these as my pregnancy progressed. I didn’t bother with underwear or bras (until I got close to delivery), but most maternity shops will help you find a good bra that fits properly. It might be a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it. Everything I bought, I got on sale, so I got some very good deals. I also made it a point to get a very nice maternity dress for those special occasions, but as I got bigger and rounder, dresses were more trouble than they were worth. You might also hit some thrift and resale shops; I didn’t do this, but a couple friends did and made out like bandits. I think one of them got a dressy pantsuit for about a third of what it would cost new.
Next time you go to the maternity store, ask one of the salespeople for fitting help. Also, read some of the pregnancy magazines. The clothes models wear are expensive, but they can give you some ideas. And don’t feel shy about raiding your husband’s shirts if they fit.