ugh. pants.

[bernergirl]

or, lack of fitting ones.     I'm 11 weeks, definitely not showing, but the bloat is horrendous.  I was already down to about 4 pairs of pants that fit (3 work, 1 jeans) before the BFP since work conspired to keep me out of the gym for 3 months.  I need to go buy some stuff, as this limited wardrobe is just not working.  But should I just buy some "regular" stuff a size larger, since it will also work as transition clothing PP?  Or should I bite the bullet and start buying maternity stuff?  If maternity, demi band or full panel?  I'm 5'9" and super-long-torsoed, if that makes a difference.  I plan to live mostly in dresses 3rd tri since I'm due at the beginning of August.

[pinotgrig]

I bought work pants around 12 weeks intending to wait awhile before wearing them. They are SO comfortable though, that I stated wearing them immediately. Lol

I love the full panel bc it smooths everything out and is warm (I'm always cold).

[greencrayon]

I went straight to maternity pants and loved it. I got full panel, since you can fold it over to help keep it up at first. I feel better about spending the money on clothes since I wore them for 2/3 of the pregnancy.

[MrsDarcy]

With my first pregnancy, I had both kinds of pants. I felt the Demi was ok for a while, but when I got bigger they cut into my belly. I liked the full panel much better. I'm 5'8", but not necessarily long-torsoed. I'm due at the beginning of August too, so I might be living in dresses as well! I was due in May last time.

[picksthemusic]

Just go maternity. I also vote for full-panel, since I like the way they smooth things out and help create the 'belly' look faster.

[Deleted]

I would not buy clothing a size up at this point. I got a belly band (BeBand from Target) and bra extenders to from Amazon. These worked from the 1st trimester until mid 2nd tri when I wore full panel maternity pants. Hate the feel of demi panels.

[IndiaInk]

I'm 5'7.5" and have a fairly long torso. I bought the Bella band and starting wearing that early in the 2nd trimester. It was great for getting a few more weeks out of my regular jeans, and worked great for regular life but it didn't work so well for all the bending over I do as part of my farm work. I still recommend it though.
I started wearing full-panel maternity pants at about 19 weeks, but they are only JUST now starting to stay up somewhat properly, now that my bump is getting bigger. They sagged a lot in the beginning, though they were necessary.
I still wear mostly non-maternity shirts, though I do have a few maternity ones in my closet. Bras in a bigger cup size were 100% necessary by 21 weeks. If nothing else, be comfortable in that regard! I didn't want to spend the money on new bras, but it was well worth it.

[D2M]

I happened to have pants a size up from my normal size in the back of my closet (yay for being a hoarder) and they served me really well for a while. If you don't have dresses or big pants on hand, I'd try a bella band (they're good for maternity clothes, too) and then just buy some maternity pants. My demi-panel jeans were amazing up until week 16 and now they are instruments of torture unless I fold down the flap and wear a bella band. So I'd skip right to the full-panel pants.

[loira]

I'm already in maternity trousers at almost 8 weeks, but I am quite petite and have a short torso. They are super comfy, though it took a while for me to get used to the feeling of the panel coming up almost to my bra. Also, I had already bought them for my first, unsuccessful pregnancy. If they hadn't been hanging out in my closet, I might have waited a bit longer to transition.

[hokiegirl82]

I went full time to maternity pants around 9 or 10 weeks. My bloat was crazy and I'm really short with a short torso so none of my regular pants, even my fat pants a size up, were accomodating enough for the bloat to feel good enough to wear all day. I got the full panel pants and they feel so good to not having anything constricting on the belly.

[Deleted]

Just buy some work pants from Motherhood or the Gap and deal with the fact that they will be falling down until you get a little bigger.

[chickadee77]

I JUST got my full-panel pants and am wearing them today for the first time. Soooooo comfy. I made it a bit past 16 weeks, but waistbands were killing me, lol. I figured I'd need them eventually, so why not? Especially with Kohls' awesome online sale, and ebates, lol!

[Deleted]

I'm tall and long waisted. I was in maternity pants before 12 weeks, not because I had a bump, but because my pants were too uncomfortable! Go straight into maternity pants. They have nice looking ones that nobody else can tell they are preggo pants. I have full-panel and find them to be very comfortable!

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2014 12:18:26 GMT -5 @mjmksb04 said:

Just buy some work pants from Motherhood or the Gap and deal with the fact that they will be falling down until you get a little bigger.

A lot of the pants have adjustable waistbands on the inside, so they don't fall down.

[formerlyak]

Go straight to maternity pants. When I was pg with my first I swore by the demi panel the whole time. This time, I am carrying so much differently so the demi panel started to cut in about a week ago (I am 26.5 weeks) and I switched to full panel.

Also, when I was at the point you are at, I found that the fold over waist maxi-skirts were a godsend. I work in a fairly casual office, so a maxi-skirt with a solid t-shirt and a cardigan was totally appropriate for me to wear at work. And so so comfy.

[rbp]

I am also at 11 weeks and just bought a pair of jeans and a pair of work pants in a size larger. I didn't want to go overboard as I wear a lot of dresses, but I figure these will be nice in the post-partum time as well!

I got mine from GAP. They are having a great sale right now!

[statlerwaldorf]

I would go straight to maternity and buy a belly band to keep them up if you need to. I had some low rise ones that were good for the beginning, but got uncomfortable toward the end. I got more use out of the full panel ones.

[bernergirl]

Thank you everyone! I took a long lunch and went to the mall. GAP denim did not work for me but I did get a pair of black work pants and some dresses from the sale rack. I stopped by Pea in the Pod just because it happened to be on the way out and found 3 great pairs of jeans on the sale rack. And y'all were definitely right in the full panel. As long as my torso is the demi barely worked right now let alone with a real bump. They are so comfortable I don't know if I will want to go back to real jeans lol.

[andthentherewere10]

I like the demi panel.

[Deleted]

Don't fight the maternity pants. They're the best. I live in maternity leggings and have since about 16 weeks on.

[mannah]

Jan 14, 2014 12:18:02 GMT -5 hokiegirl82 said:

I went full time to maternity pants around 9 or 10 weeks. My bloat was crazy and I'm really short with a short torso so none of my regular pants, even my fat pants a size up, were accomodating enough for the bloat to feel good enough to wear all day. I got the full panel pants and they feel so good to not having anything constricting on the belly.

Exactly the same story over here. I say go right for the maternity stuff--so comfortable and you'll wear it enough to make it worth it.

[mannah]

Oops sorry, just realized you already went shopping! Glad you found some great stuff!!