How to Wear Your Pre-Pregnancy Clothes Longer

When your belly starts to expand during the first trimester it makes it difficult to wear your clothes. Buying maternity clothes this early is premature as you don't know exactly how your body will change. Here is how to wear your pre pregnancy clothes longer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• rubber band
• belly band
• long t-shirts
• elastic

1. The first step to making your prepregnancy clothes last longer is to unbutton. Yes, unbutton your pants! This may seem a little silly, but this simple step will allow for a few more weeks of expansion. Pregnancy clothes will still be too loose at this point, and honestly, you will not want to wear maternity clothes longer than you have to! Now that you have unbuttoned your pants, what should you do?
2. You will need a way to cover up the fact your pants are unbuttoned. The easiest solution may be to wear longer shirts. This hides the button area easily and quickly. Unfortunately, this isn't always the best option. Depending on your clothing style it may not even be possible to wear a longer shirt over the button area.
3. There are a few items you can use to hide your unbuttoned pants with or without a longer shirt. The rubber band is a common tool used by pregnant women. The runner band is wrapped around the button hole to create a loop. This loop is then used to hold the button. This keeps the pants "buttoned" without actually using the normal buttonhole. This allows the expasion you need. In a few weeks, you may need to be more drastic though.
4. After the rubber band trick is no longer working, you may be able to continue to wear your pants by unzipping them. Leaving them unzipped will allow for several more inches of room for your growing belly. Of course leaving your pants unzipped is a bit embarrassing, so here is your next trick!
5. Belly bands are used to cover your unbuttoned and unzipped pants. They can be purchased online or in maternity stores and come in several colors and styles. They are quite simple to use. You place the band over your pants and pull your shirt down. This creates a layered effect. The band will appear to be a shirt under your top shirt - thus a layered appearance. The band will stay in place as it is stretchy. With the many styles and colors available, you can create a look just for you!

Tips & Warnings

• Buy several belly bands in various colors so you won't have to wear the same one everyday. By changing the color of band with the same shirt, you will create a completely different look.
• Save the bands for after the birth. You will be able to wear your prepregnancy clothes sooner after the birth with them.
• If you you are uncomfortable in your clothes (ie. they are too tight) even with the above tips, don't push to keep wearing your clothes. Buy clothing that is more room such as maternity clothes. Wearing clothing that is too tight can cause unnecessary pain and discomfort, possibly even damage to you or your unborn child.