Congratulations on your pregnancy! It can be quite a daunting experience when you are newly pregnant and start to notice changes in your body. It can often feel like “ages” before you get a bump to show off proudly to everyone!
Usually the first thing that you’ll notice is that breasts feel sore and tender, and they may feel slightly bigger than usual. This is normal, and is noticed around the 14 week mark. Make sure that you are wearing a comfortable bra, and that the underwire is placed beneath your breasts correctly. Many corsetieres will recommend that you wear a Maternity Bra throughout your pregnant, as this will eliminate any risk to the development of your milk ducts, which could otherwise occur with an ill-fitting underwire.
Make sure that you measure your bra size online at Breastmates at the 14 week mark. Then you’ll need to measure again at 36-38 weeks gestation to determine your nursing size. Even if you end up buying a couple of maternity bras in different sizes, they will still be useful after baby is born and your breast size changes/decreases after a few months of nursing.
The most exciting part of being pregnant is the changes to your belly as your baby grows inside. In general, most women will notice a bump appearing by around 15-16 weeks in their first pregnancy, or earlier if second+ pregnancy. At this stage, other people don’t typically realize that you are pregnant, and they may just think that you have gained a kilo or two.
Initially you can get by wearing your usual clothing, and team it up with a Belly Band, or some elastic Belly Belts to tie up your usual jeans. These can bridge the gap in your clothing and can get you through a few weeks.
Purchasing maternity jeans, and maternity tights are essentials. These are fundamentals that will get you through the rest of your pregnancy. Maternity tights or leggings are great to wear with tunics, boots and dresses.
Next up you’ll need some maternity tops – to allow for your expanding belly. When buying maternity tops – you need to judge the sizing by how well it fits around your shoulders and bust. Most maternity tops are designed to accommodate growth in your belly, (and so you’ll buy your usual size) and they are usually slightly longer than standard tops to help bridge the gap between your pants.
Most maternity clothing is designed for summer/spring weight. There is often not very much heavy winter garments available. This is likely due to how warm pregnant women usually feel, a couple of degrees more than usual due to all the extra blood flow. So you just need to buy a few maternity tops, and then you can add your usual cardigans and jackets to wear over your shoulders.
Enjoy it! And enjoy looking around our beautiful clothing collection
