The answer is simple: start as soon as you are uncomfortable.

Many women start feeling that their pants are uncomfortable right around 10 – 16 weeks (but that doesn’t mean your pants can’t feel a little tight at 8 or 18 weeks). Maternity pants can look and feel great and there is no point in being uncomfortable when a better option is out there.

Here are 5 tips toward buying maternity pants with confidence:

Paige maternity jeans, available at Hip to be Round

1. Ask for help.  Even if your favorite brand makes maternity, you’ll find items are retrofitted or made by a different designer altogether so it might not have the fit you’re used to.  Ask the salesperson what the best selling style is and why. You’ll be surprised to hear there’s a lot more that goes into designing maternity pants than you think!

2. Check the fabric content.  Most denim right now contains a certain amount of stretch fabric like Lycra or Spandex to retain shape and provide a comfortable fit.  The more stretch, the more you can go with a fit that feels good “right now”.  For example: a pair with 98% cotton and 2% elastine (stretch material like Lycra or Spandex) will have enough stretch retain it’s shape, but you will likely need to size up for a good maternity fit since they won’t grow with you.  Denim with a 78% cotton, 20% poly, 2% spandex blend will be noticeably more stretchy and you’ll be able to purchase a pair that fit closer to how you normally wear them.

One thing to remember: heat damages elastine over time. That means that if you’re putting your jeans in the dryer to “shrink them down” you are actually damaging their ability to retain their shape!

3. Give yourself a little “insurance room”.  This is especially true when shopping in your first trimester.  This does not mean you need to buy a size up or have a baggy fit, but you do want a little extra room to grow.  Here is one way to check: while wearing the jeans, use your thumb and index finger to grab a pinch of the fabric near your hip. If you pinch your skin, it’s not going to give enough room to grow,  If you can grab a full handful of the fabric, try the size down.  If you have just enough to comfortably hold between your fingers you’re probably just right.

5. Sit.  Find a spot to sit in your pants and lean forward.  Maternity pants offer the least flexibility right were the pant meets the panel (which is an important spot if you plan on sitting any time soon), if it’s digging in, it’s too tight.  While it feels low, the panel should start right above the pelvic bone, cradling the belly and allowing you to sit comfortably.

5. And this is a biggie: Don’t be tempted to purchase regular jeans in a size up.  It always seems like a good idea at the time, a cheap pair of jeans to wear in that “in between stage”, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are buying a pair of jeans for only a few weeks.  Eventually, since non-maternity pants are not meant to adapt to your growing body, they’ll have trouble staying put or be ill-fitting in the behind and before long, you’re going to need another pair.  if you need a temporary stop-gap, try a Bella Band, meant to extend the life of your pre-pregnancy jeans.  The better (and more comfortable) investment is to purchase a good pair of maternity jeans from the start that will adapt and grow with you.

I wanted to share some of the unique features with you!

Top-notch medical care 

– They are the only Level III NICU with private rooms, should a baby need additional, specialized care.

Group prenatal care: Centering Pregnancy

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center will host two open houses to showcase its renovated Labor and Delivery Unit, which offers unique accommodations and childbirth options to expectant mothers.

The new unit features spacious rooms with private labor tubs and showers, a 24-hour visitation policy for family and friends, á la carte room service and wireless fetal monitoring, allowing women to move freely during labor. The unit will support VCU Medical Center’s comprehensive labor and delivery team, including obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, certified nurse-midwives and nurses. For more information, visit VCUmom.com.

I’ll let that soak in for a minute.

This isn’t the first time someone has said something to me that couldn’t be interpreted as anything other than an insult.  When I was pregnant with my second, a customer actually scoffed when I mentioned my pre-pregnancy size.

Even pregnant women can manage to say the wrong thing to other pregnant women.

Now, what was my hormone-charged reaction to this woman telling me I look huge instead of cute?

Well, I laughed. Because it was funny. And I told her that other people looked cute because they were the one who is pregnant and not you and that we always judge ourselves (and apparently sales people) differently.

I was 30 weeks pregnant. Quickly on my way to outweighing my husband, I had dimples in places that aren’t cute, and just holding up a pair of jeans two sizes larger than my regular size I could already tell they’d be too tight.

Compared to non-pregnant me, I was huge.

And you know what? I’m totally okay with it.  I felt great about how I looked, which is why what she said really didn’t bother me.

I work with a lot of women, and I am always shocked how many women seem to truly hate their pregnant bodies.  It seems that at least once a day I hear someone say “I’m just so fat”.

To which I usually say “Stop.”

Just stop.  This will not help you. And besides, you’re completely missing the point.

Now there are extremes on either end, some people who gain too much and people who gain too little, but for the average pregnant lady (who always seem to be the most critical) I look at it like this:

Swimmers have long bodies and broad shoulders because they need strong arms and a strong back to perform strokes like the butterfly.

Marathon runners are much less broad, they are lean and spindly, they need to be light and muscular to carry their weight for long distances.

Olympic weight lifters have very big biceps of course but also large quads to stabilize themselves as they lift over 500lbs of weight.

And you’re going to need a few extra dimples on your butt to grow a strong and healthy baby.

Pregnancy and birth are nothing short of an Olympic feat. So take it easy on the self-criticism –at least temporarily.

So, no, I didn’t win any bikini contests during my pregnancy (never won one not pregnant so it’s not a hard loss). And, yeah, it’s a bummer when even your pajama pants are tight.  But I wasn’t about to be the one turning to the person next to me on the climb up Mt. Everest asking “Does this snow suit make my butt look big?”.

Because I’ll miss the view from the mountain.

And I’ll ruin the journey.

And I’ll stop myself from enjoying something that most people only get to do a few times in their life– if they are lucky. Some people never get to do it at all.

And who knows… Maybe being able to accept (maybe even love) your pregnant body… you might be able to make a few steps in forgiving that non-pregnant body too.

MODELS NEEDED CALL TODAY  804-740-9307 We need your help! We have been offered the most amazing opportunity to create and decorate a building in the City of Richmond.  This portrait Art Installation will be focused on maternity, babies and families.     We welcome new clients but would love to work with existing clients as well as new families.  We need expectant mothers, newborn babies, families with young children and families with twins, triplets, etc.     In exchange for modeling we are offering a Complimentary session and one free 5×7 portrait  ($300 value). Call to Volunteer Today! Please call or email us. 804-740-9307 mary@hayesandfisk.com www.hayesandfisk.com  – 804-740-9307 – mary@hayesandfisk.com