Sound Off! Are You More Conscious of Your Clothes During Pregnancy?

As women, most of us generally spend a few extra minutes in front of the closet every morning deciding what to wear. But when it comes to dressing while pregnant, you’re not just dressing yourself, but somewhat, dressing for two — you and your bump! So are you more conscious of what you wear when you’re pregnant than what you wear when you are not?

Recently, Nicole Richie got some praise — and some criticism — when she bared her big bump on the beach in a bikini. Even moms-to-be like Ellen Pompeo and Angelina Jolie get extra attention when they dress during pregnancy — but are their outfits that much different than what they’d wear on a normal day pre- or post-baby?

So here’s your chance to Sound Off! Tell us if you’re more conscious of your clothes during pregnancy!

Comments

I’m coming to the end of my first trimester, so my bump is just starting to pop. So, I’m really starting to struggle with my outfits. I think the only reason why I am taking extra time to get ready, is because I don’t really have a choice. lol
Overall, I do care about how I look, but I am mostly going for comfort with a little style.

- dlock on July 21st, 2009

In the beginning stages (you know, where you just look like you’ve been eating doughnuts for a week) and nothing fits well but you don’t look quite pregnant, I’m always a little conscious. But as the belly pops and becomes obvious I look pregnant, I love to show it off. It’s the only time I’m not worried about my love handles or muffin top. I wore a bikini 9 months pregnant with my son. I love how sexy I feel and how I don’t care what people think of what I’m wearing or the fact that I WANT to show my belly off.

I love pregnancy. It’s the only time I’m not self-conscious of how my clothes fit.

- JillT on July 21st, 2009

Each pregnancy, I am definitely more conscious of how low-cut and really tight a lot of maternity tops & dresses are. I’m busty to begin with, and don’t wear revealing clothes. I’m fine with showing off my belly, but I definitely don’t care to show off my huge pregnancy boobs. It took some doing to find tops & dresses I was comfortable with wearing, especially into the 3rd trimester.

- Christina on July 21st, 2009

I do think that it is imperative to look your best whilst pregnant. I’m currently almost nine months pregnant with my first baby and I’ve enjoyed purchasing a new maternity wardrobe and feeling cute every day. I have probably splurged a bit too much on maternity clothing, but I really believe that it is important to look your best as your body changes from week to week. When you look good, you feel good! It is easy to sit around in sweatpants and bemoan the expanding sate of your thighs, but you feel much better if you put on a pretty dress, do your hair and get out of the house!

- Jane on July 21st, 2009

I agree with JillT, the only time I’ve ever felt good about my body was while I was pregnant. I was in my third trimester during the winter months (in Pennsylvania) so I wasn’t running around in anything skimpy, but I wasn’t afraid to wear snug shirts. Now that I’m a mom, I am more aware of what I wear. I want to set a good example for my daughter, and because I look very young, I try to choose clothing that is modest and mature looking. I don’t like getting glared at by old women who think I’m a teen mom.

- Finais on July 21st, 2009

I had a rough pregnancy so I learned to stop caring what people though pretty quickly.I was one of those people that didn’t want any male other than my husband seeing me “down there” lol I think by the time I had my baby, all senses of modesty went out the window.So did style. I couldn’t care less about how I looked unless it was something special. My main concern was comfort. I loved maxi dresses and yoga sweats and t shirts. I don’t know why, but I hated anything tight or anything that touched my skin or rubbed it the wrong way..so no jeans.And make-up was the same thing, only for special occasions. The make-up was the same feeling as the clothes.I didn’t like the feel of anything on my face.

- Rach on July 21st, 2009

Also,I didn’t buy anything maternity.I just got all my stuff in L and XL’s.The looked nice and fit comfortable. And with the weight coming off super slowly, I am still wearing them and they don’t look odd at all.

- Rach on July 21st, 2009

I’ve just entered my 3rd trimester and while I thought a brand new maternity wardrobe would be a waste of money,I ended up needing it because I’ve gotten much bigger than my 1st pregnancy (my son was a relatively small baby and now I’m carrying twins).I don’t feel too self-conscious but I mostly wear neutral colors and pay more attention to accessories and makeup.:)

As for bikinis,I don’t care about people staring,one-pieces make me ichy,lol.

- Maria on July 21st, 2009

It’s an awesome excuse for a new wardrobe and I’m definately not as weight concious!!! The maternity pieces that they have are amazing now and just as cute as regular ones… and much more comfortable. I’m a huge fan of Old Navy maternity, it’s so reasonably priced!

- Jill on July 21st, 2009

I’m pretty tall and thin being almost 6ft and about 135lbs give or take 10 lbs. I think because of even tho my kid was huge(8lbs 13oz 21inches and I gained about 22lbs) that I carried really small and could still fit comfortably into my jeans until about the 6th month or so. I wasn’t really conscious of my clothing I was just determined to not look like a hot mess. I won’t lie I’m usually leaning towards the unkempt side, but we were traveling around all througout my pregnancy and I wanted to look good.

My breast went from a C cup to a DD so I was pretty annoyed because some of my t-shirts got too small in that area. I brought some maternity tops around my 8th month and I still wear them tho, I’m actually a little thinner than before I had my bebe. They’re just comfortable with just some fabulous prints. I wore a bikini but I put a tunic over it and it looked fine. Im not one of those celebrate your bump girls like some of my friends, I just didn’t wanna look a mess like I said.

- gaia's mom on July 21st, 2009

Oh and no heels! I had banana boats for feet prior to pregnancy and my feet swelled up to a size 12(from an 11), I was glad when they went down!

- gaia's mom on July 21st, 2009

The first time around, I was definitely conscious of myself and the bump and would wear clothes that were flattering to my coloring and to how I was growing.

I too ran out of things to wear at the end of the pregnancy because I ended up gaining more weight than I anticipated (it didn’t help that I was 2 weeks overdue with my daughter). I ended up with only 1 pair of pants that fit, and had to wear my husbands T-shirts, which was just not fun.

This time around, I borrowed more, and being more fit throughout, a small, but carefully crafted wardrobe has carried me through. I will be glad to put away the maternity clothes when I’m all through and losing the weight again, but thankfully I’ve not gotten totally sick of what I’ve had this time.

- Mrs. R. on July 21st, 2009

I definitely think I dressed BETTER when I was pregnant. I didn’t show in my belly until around 6 months, but my breasts were fairly small before I got pregnant so I did have to flaunt the new ones before my belly got big:) Nothing raunchy though. Luckily I found out I was pregnant in March and gave birth at the end of October, so right around the time it got warm, through the ridiculous Alabama heat,then gave birth right before it got cold so I didn’t have to buy much winter stuff. A lot of summer shirts and skirts are built for pregnancy already. With jeans and other pants I just bought bigger sizes for the most part, because I knew I’d have to back track with the weight. I loved wearing flowy dresses and spaghetti straps, and I definitely wore a bikini as often as I could! I think pregnancy is beautiful on every woman, and I felt very sexy and confident in the curves and loved dressing around my belly. I miss them, my breasts are back to a -A! Oh and I also suggest hospital scrub pants instead of pajama pants. I hated the elastic band most maternity styles have and started wearing scrubs with the drawstring instead, so comfy and fits a growing belly!

- Jessicad on July 21st, 2009