Baby on a budget - maternity clothes

I don't like spending money on clothes, they always seem far more expensive than they're actually worth which is why a lot of my clothes are things that I've bought in sales. Call me cheap but there is something very satisfying about knowing that some of your favourite outfits cost less than someone else paid for just a top.

So pregnancy and a growing belly potentially posed a problem for me as maternity clothes are even more expensive than regular clothes yet I'm only going to wear them for like 6 months! However over the last 8 months of being pregnant I've discovered ways of having clothes that fit without having to break the bank, so I thought I'd share them :) 

1. Just because its not a maternity item doesn't mean you can't wear it whilst pregnant. 

In fact the majority of my every day clothes that I have worn throughout being pregnant have been clothes I already owned that happen to accommodate a big bump (right now I'm wearing all normal clothes just with the addition of a belly band). I actually haven't bought a single maternity specific top, although I did buy a top that was a slightly bigger size that I saw in a sale, I didn't need it but it was pretty :) 

Again, no maternity clothes, only a
belly band. I've the had shorts since
 I was about 14!

None of these are maternity clothes, just stretchy!

2. The essentials
In my opinion there are only a couple of items of clothing you really need in maternity size. The first is a belly band, it meant I could wear any of my normal trousers whilst having a big bump, and I'm still using it now at 8 months pregnant! (There is also something very liberating about walking round with your trousers undone and no one else knowing...). That said, a pair of maternity trousers or two are definitely nice to have, they are so comfy! With being pregnant over summer and in Spain I decided pretty quickly that I would need some cooler clothes than trousers (we've been in Spain nearly 3 weeks and I've only worn trousers twice for midwife appointments, (I didn't fancy lifting up a dress). So for me, and anyone else pregnant when it's hot, my essentials have been a couple of dresses, but again these don't have to break the bank if you check out point 3. Likewise if I was pregnant during winter a jumper or two would probably be my essential rather than dresses. I also thought I'd need things like a maternity swimming costume, turns out my regular one still fits fine (it's just a bit more effort getting on and off!). Another VERY important essential is a couple of maternity bras, my ribs would have died without them and they are 100x more comfortable than underwire bras when pregnant! 

Maternity dress, turns out I don't have a good photo of my favourite dress.

3. Maternity clothing still have sales! 

My two favourite maternity dresses I bought in the sale for literally a quarter of the price they should have been! I also got my favourite maternity trousers in the sale too. The only difficulty with shopping in the sale is that they are very time specific, which is where a little forward thinking can come in handy. We started 'trying to conceive' in January, the same time a all the big sales, so I thought why not have a look at some maternity things in which I found my 2 favourite dresses. There is always the risk of buying things in advance that you'll go off them or you'll buy more than you need etc. I guess it's all a matter of being realistic about what you'll need and not going crazy just because its a sale.

Maternity dress that was in the sale

Favourite maternity trousers for £10! (not that you can really see them very well)

4. You don't have to get maternity specific clothes.

With many clothes, particularly tops, you can just get a bigger size than your pre-pregnancy size and they fit over your bump a treat whist costing a fraction of the price! 

Admittedly before writing the post I thought I had more points than just 4, but they are 4 quite useful points in my opinion. They just go to show that being pregnant doesn't have to cost the earth. In a few months time I may do another 'Baby on a budget' about things you need to buy in preparation for a baby as that is something that people go way over the top with when they don't need to, however I figured I should probably wait until baby dragon arrives otherwise I will probably end up adding to it or changing it slightly. So you have that to look forward too! ;)