Maternity Clothes 101: How to Buy the Perfect Fitting Maternity Clothes

If you are planning on showering an expectant mother with the gift of maternity clothes, you are brilliant! Maternity clothes are very expensive and hard to justify buying especially near the end of a pregnancy when they are needed most. Most expectant mothers do not want to “waste” money on clothing that will only last for 1 to 3 months.

However, during these months (the last trimester) pregnant women will not fit into regular clothing, unless they are made for men or are very large and baggy. Therefore, it is hard for these women to feel beautiful in any way. There are so many beautiful maternity clothes on the market these days, and pregnancy is such a beautiful time in a woman’s life, it is sad to see her hiding under oversized clothes that do not accent her beautiful baby bearing figure.

Purchasing a shower gift for the mother is also a wonderful way to tell her that she is doing an amazing job growing the baby, and how special she is to you. Often times so much attention is given to the new arrival that everyone, including the expectant mother, tends to forget about her and her needs. Therefore, I am a huge fan of purchasing a baby shower gift for the expectant mother and maternity clothes are an optimal choice!

Here are a few tips when you are buying maternity clothes:

Maternity clothes come in sizes extra small, small, medium, large, extra large, etc. The key to buying the appropriate size is to find out what size the mother normally wears. For example, if she normally wears petit then chances are she will fit small maternity sizes, if she normally wears large then she will most likely wear large maternity clothes. If you are unsure sneak into her closet or ask her husband to sneak into her closet and get a peak at her non-pregnant clothes. Also take into consideration whether or not she has gained the average amount of weight, or if she has gained more. You may need to but a larger size.
With regards to that first point I would like to add that during the last 8 weeks of pregnancy a larger size would most likely be more comfortable. Therefore, if the mother normally wears a medium size, she would probably be most comfortable wearing a large sized during the last 2 months of pregnancy.
Try to avoid buying maternity clothes with bold busy prints or horizontal stripes, as these prints just are not flattering and tend to make women look bigger than they actually are.
Consider the season that the expectant mother will be in during her last 2 months of pregnancy and buy a color that corresponds with that season, such as pink or yellow in summer or black in winter.
An excellent idea is to buy her a shirt, sweater, or blouse that will go with jeans, dress pants, or a skirt should she choose.
If you are still uncertain as to what to get her: buy her a gift certificate to a maternity store such as Thyme Maternity, Motherhood Maternity, The Gap, or Old Navy.