# On buying a t-shirt for a pregnant friend **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461 "2010-02-10T19:47:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/1 "2010-02-10T19:47:46Z")
My pal at work is expecting, and she’s complaining about how her body feels like it’s been taken over by an alien force, making her puke and pee and sleep all the time. She and I have been jokingly calling the baby “[Krang](http://www.thetechnodrome.com/images/albums/Krang_and_Shredder_Together/shredandkrang1.jpg)” after the evil brain from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Because he sits in the belly of his android body and controls it, you see. I found a great T-shirt online and I want to buy it for her - I think she’d love the joke. The question is, how do I choose a size? She’s a small, fit woman, definitely wears a size small normally. She’s only due in August, so she’s not even showing yet (although she says she notices a bulge, it’s not apparent to anyone else). So do I get a medium or even a large to accommodate the eventual belly, or would the fit be all wrong? If I get the small she could maybe wear it for a month, I guess, but she could wear it after having the baby, if she wanted. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/2 "2010-02-10T19:51:48Z")
Go big. Maybe even XL. Girls like big t-shirts to wear as nightgowns or just around the house, so she’d still be able to use it after the baby is born. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/3 "2010-02-10T20:10:56Z")
Is the shirt a maternity shirt, or a normal one? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/4 "2010-02-10T20:23:22Z")
It’s a normal shirt - I can’t find a maternity version. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/5 "2010-02-10T20:35:36Z")
Is the shirt something that will still be funny after the baby has been born, or is it really only to wear while she’s pregnant? If the former, get her usual size, knowing she’ll be able to wear it for a little while, and again once Krang arrives. If it’s the latter, consider getting a medium, or REALLY large to act as a night shirt. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/6 "2010-02-10T20:44:52Z")
> [@Beadalin](#): > > Is the shirt something that will still be funny after the baby has been born, or is it really only to wear while she’s pregnant? If the former, get her usual size, knowing she’ll be able to wear it for a little while, and again once Krang arrives. > > If it’s the latter, consider getting a medium, or REALLY large to act as a night shirt. I agree with this. A medium will most likely fit her for awhile, if she’s a small normally\*. She may not be able to wear it her whole pregnancy, but it’ll also be good for right after she has the baby, and the baby weight is still around - most people still look pregnant for at least a few weeks, even if they’re fit and didn’t gain an excess amount of weight, it just takes time for your body to shrink back. \*assuming this is a unisex-type of t-shirt. If it’s one of the baby-doll types, go huge. They run really small, and often women who normally wear a small need a large in those. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/7 "2010-02-10T21:50:46Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Go big. Maybe even XL. Girls like big t-shirts to wear as nightgowns or just around the house, so she’d still be able to use it after the baby is born. Speaking as a girl, I hate giant t-shirts. I have an entire drawer full of unisex XL shirts that I got as well-intentioned gifts or that were handed out at events where I volunteered, and I never ever ever wear them. Every so often, I just empty out the drawer and give the lot to Goodwill. Not that I’ve ever been pregnant, of course, but just saying that some girls don’t really go for the big t-shirt look. Given that this is a small-framed woman who’s not showing yet, there’s a good chance she may not get all that huge until the very tail end of the pregnancy. I’d vote for a medium so that she can wear it now and for the first several months, rather than an XL that will likely never be worn as anything but a nightie (if that). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/8 "2010-02-10T22:53:38Z")
You can always wear a big t-shirt and tuck it in. Baggy clothes are in, so you always get the bigger T-Shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/9 "2010-02-10T23:00:17Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Speaking as a girl, I hate giant t-shirts. I have an entire drawer full of unisex XL shirts that I got as well-intentioned gifts or that were handed out at events where I volunteered, and I never ever ever wear them. Exactly. I’m six feet tall, but thin–and somehow this often translates into people who don’t know my size getting me larges. No, sorry, that hangs off me like I just got through with six months of chemo. I have a whole stack of shirts that I’d love to wear, but they’re so huge that the only thing I can use them for is PJs. If you think there’s any chance she’ll ever want to actually wear the shirt, get her one in her usual size. Even while she’s pregnant, she probably won’t be wearing oversized normal clothes–just maternity-tailored ones, empire waists, etc. ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/10 "2010-02-11T01:05:56Z")
Keep in mind that some women get very self conscious about their figure during pregnancy. Giving her an oversized shirt could be taken the wrong way. I vote for her usual size, or one size up. Also, I don’t know any women who don’t already have half a wardrobe full of big t-shirts they never use. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/11 "2010-02-11T01:58:18Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Not that I’ve ever been pregnant, of course, but just saying that some girls don’t really go for the big t-shirt look. Individual preferences? _sigh_ Y’all do that stuff on purpose, just to confuse us menfolk. We are simple creatures. When/if we find something that pleases a woman…any woman…we carve it into the stone tablets in our man-caves to remember for all eternity. Then y’all go and change the rules on us, and we don’t know what the hell to buy you. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/12 "2010-02-11T08:22:03Z")
Count me in as one who doesn’t like big tee shirts, and also didn’t get that big when pregnant - normally 6/8 US, could still fit into standard 10/12 at 40 weeks. I’d go medium, knowing it will fit her on the way up and down. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/13 "2010-02-11T13:32:06Z")
I don’t know (I’d think either would be acceptible, but I don’t know which is better). If it seems to be often a personal preference, you could ask her without telling her exacrly WHICH T-Shirt ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/14 "2010-02-11T14:49:49Z")
**toodlepip** brings up a really good point, too. Since the OP’s friend is already starting to worry about a bump that no one else can see, then there’s a possibility (albeit slim) that giving her an XL would send her into a full-blow OMG-you-thing-I’m-a-whaaaaaaaaaale episode. > [@Oakminster](#): > > Individual preferences? > > _sigh_ > > Y’all do that stuff on purpose, just to confuse us menfolk. We are simple creatures. When/if we find something that pleases a woman…any woman…we carve it into the stone tablets in our man-caves to remember for all eternity. Then y’all go and change the rules on us, and we don’t know what the hell to buy you. 😕 I know… we’re confusing that way. I still like roses and chocolate, though… hopefully that helps restore your fragile worldview a little? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-buying-a-t-shirt-for-a-pregnant-friend/528461/15 "2010-02-11T16:59:56Z")
One size up. If it’s her first kid, she’ll probably be able to wear it well into her second trimester.