Jane is 15 weeks pregnant with baby #3. “I loaned all of my maternity clothes to a good friend in the summer,” she writes, “and she’s due in about 3-4 weeks. I’m at the point where I can’t use the belly band much longer because my regular jeans are starting to feel uncomfortable everywhere, not just in the waist/hip area that I can’t button or zip. I can do without tops for now…I borrowed some from another friend, and I can make do with my cardigans to cover up the bump that is slowly emerging.
But I feel very strongly about having one good pair of jeans. I think I have two in my stash (on loan to the girlfriend), and I love them both. But alas, I don’t have them. Should I just stick it out until she has her baby or should I bite the bullet and buy a new pair? I tried a pair of full-panel maternity boot-cuts at GAP maternity, and I gasped — they looked so amazing and felt soooooo comfortable. But it was about $70 at the store. Right now, as I am typing this email, there is an online promotion for 40% off your purchase, and the jeans would be just under $40. that’s still a lot of money to me, ESPECIALLY for one item of maternity wear.
“What should I do? Any other cheap/free alternatives come to mind?”
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I bought all of my maternity clothes from thrift stores or craigslist. I found really nice clothes, including grand and with clothes, for a fraction if what it would have cost new.
I do agree that a good pair of maternity jeans is a good investment … but no more than once. During my second pregnancy, I felt the need to spruce up the somewhat tired maternity wardrobe with a few items, but really? Beyond a couple of new t-shirts that didn’t have belly stains (because you always end up with dribbles there), the money was mostly wasted. After the baby’s arrival, I ended up giving away or reselling (at a slight fraction of original cost) a lot of things I’d worn maybe three or four times. I could see getting a nice pair of jeans second time around IF there might be a third time around.