My Maternity Wardrobe Essentials

Because of the way a woman's body changes so rapidly and unpredictably during pregnancy, it can be difficult to choose clothes that are practical, comfortable and also look good on us in this period of our lives! Now that I'm on my second pregnancy and am reminded just what a challenge this is, I wanted to share some of my tips for building a good maternity wardrobe.

• Find a comfortable pair of jeans in a style you like. I like wearing dark skinnies and thanks to a tip from Laura of the wonderful Liparazzi blog, I discovered Topshop's Leigh maternity jeans. I might not have tried these on otherwise, as Topshop jeans don't usually fit me well, but these are by far the most flattering and comfy maternity jeans I've tried on. I bought them in black to go with most things and I hope one pair will be all I need. Click on images for links to the products!

• Dresses are the easiest thing for me to wear as I get bigger. I had an enormous bump last time and it wasn't long before I couldn't bear to wear anything with a normal waistband! Dresses which are cinched in or tie under the bust are nice and flattering for pregnant women, plus they show off your bump nicely. I like soft jersey fabrics which are comfortable and stretch as you grow. I've bought this green dress from Asos which is lovely in person and I can't wait to wear it as an everyday dress. Kate Middleton had this dress in navy blue and she always looked immaculate with her bump!
• Leggings! I have been wearing leggings since about week six of my pregnancy as I was gaining a bit of weight, feeling ill and generally needed maximum comfort/slouchiness from my clothes. Normal leggings will last you for a while but when your bump starts to get bigger I'd recommend over-the-bump maternity leggings. Last time around my favourites were from Dorothy Perkins but they seem to have discontinued their maternity line. Sad face :( If anyone can recommend me a good alternative I would be very grateful (my legs are a teeny bit on the short side)! In the early stages I'm wearing my leggings with loose tops from my normal wardrobe and as my bump expands I'll wear them under maternity dresses and tunics.

• Maternity bras. I must admit that I've been through hell with maternity bras, even to the point that in the latter part of my first pregnancy I ended up crying in a department store because they had nothing that would fit me! My normal size is a fairly standard 32D but boobs grow massively during pregnancy and I really feel for the larger-chested women who are just not catered for with suitable bras for pregnancy and nursing. My problem was that it was near impossible to find bras in the shops which had a 32 inch back and my eventual cup size which was F. Going up a back size and down a cup size just meant that my bra rode up and didn't support me properly. I'm currently wearing a Panache bra similar to this Sophie style from Asos in 32E, which is fairly comfortable to wear for most of the day. The best bra I found for later in my pregnancy last time was one from Miriam Stoppard Nurture at Debenhams. It was a t-shirt style with good support and very soft cups, so I bought a few and hope they will last me for this time too. They were also very good for breastfeeding. I think also this time I'll shop for bras online as there seems to be a better selection of sizes.
• Outerwear. I don't have too much to say on this as I haven't been heavily pregnant during the winter. I've found that wearing my normal coats, jackets and cardigans unbuttoned over the bump has been sufficient for my needs. I have got a zip-up maternity hoodie which was much loved in my last pregnancy, and almost became my comfort blanket when I got huge and full of aches and pains towards the end. That was from H&M Mama and I'm sure it will appear again later in this pregnancy!

I'll stop now as this post is getting long! But I do hope to show you some of what I'm wearing over the coming months as I grow ever larger. Do you have any maternity style tips? I'd particularly love some recommendations for decent tights and leggings :)

After a little hiatus I'm linking up again to the lovely Fashion Friday!