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Not sure when it happened, but it feels like I blinked and all of a sudden I’m more than halfway through this pregnancy. There have been a few things I’ve been wearing and using on heavy rotation, and rather than keep the glorious pieces to myself, I decided to be super sweet and share some of my favorite must haves for the uncomfortable second trimester (although, really, are any of the trimesters comfortable?).
I have totally given up on jeans or pants as of late. My hips have gotten so wide so fast, and it’s been basically impossible to find anything to fit my bottom half. I asked on my Instagram a few weeks ago about favorite maternity pants, and a ton of you shouted out Belly Bandit. Being the good little researcher that I am, I decided to try out the Belly Bandit B.D.A.™ Leggings that they tout can be worn Before, During and After pregnancy (hence the B.D.A.™), and wow – just wow.
I haven’t been able to find any of my maternity leggings from last time around due to the crazy state that is our unorganized garage currently, so these Belly Bandit B.D.A.™ Leggings were the first pair I’ve tried for this pregnancy. They definitely aren’t your average maternity leggings, and they fit more snug, like tights, but once on, they are extremely flattering! I love the high waist – I am currently about 22 weeks and have a really long torso, but the high waist is even long enough for me to pull up and tuck into the band of my bra, or I can fold it down so they’re more of a demi-panel maternity pant.
They take a little wiggling to get on, but they make everything look much smoother and firmer once up. I’m between 5ft 10 and 5ft 11, and wore an 8 pre-pregnancy, but am definitely more towards a 10 now. Based on Belly Bandit’s size chart, I ordered a medium (fits size 8 – 12), and I think they fit well, but if you’re closer to the 12 with larger hips or thighs, I might suggest sizing up to a Large rather than sticking with the Medium.
Once I fell in love with their B.D.A.™ Leggings, I knew I had to try more Belly Bandit to see if the rest of their maternity clothing was as comfy and supportive. With how much faster my belly has grown, my back and belly have been super achy and I saw that they had a Preggo Support Tank, which looked like it would be right up my alley. Belly Bandit’s Preggo Support Tank has built in belly support with their WonderWeave™ fabric, and has stretched easily over the last few weeks with this growing baby. One really cool thing is that it comes with a sample of Palmer’s lotion, which is meant to be used with the tank – so I rub some into my belly and hips and throw on the tank, and then I don’t have to worry about getting lotion on my clothing. It’s become something I wear around the house almost daily (I seriously need to invest in a second Preggo Support Tank!), and it is an awesome layering piece – it helps smooth and tighten everything like the leggings do, but it doesn’t feel constrictive or uncomfortable. As a random side note, my husband also thinks this thing is super sexy for some reason, so he loves it when I wear it too!
Along with the struggle to find pants, has been the struggle to find underthings to fit my widening hips and thighs as well. Yes, there are those pregnant unicorns who still maintain their beautiful lithe figures while carrying a child for 40 or so weeks, but I am no unicorn. The benefit of my expanding hips and thighs? My midwife says she would put down money that I won’t have any supply issues when it comes to breastfeeding, as breastmilk fat is stored in women’s thighs and hips – how interesting is that?
Back to the underwear issue, I’ve discovered two different brands that are wonderful for my burgeoning hips, that don’t cut in and give me muffin tops: Hanky Panky and Gap. Hanky Panky’s Signature Lace Low Rise thongs have a beautiful stretch to them, and still give me some semblance of sexy and pretty, even when I’m in leggings and a tank all day. They’re not maternity underwear by label, but they stretch to fit a size 2 – 12, and there’s a reason they have a cult-like following.
I also highly suggest Gap’s cotton stretch maternity underwear. I took advantage of one of Gap’s recent 40% off sales and combined it with their “buy 3 or more, $7.66 each”, so I got them for like $4.60 each, which was too good to pass up. The Hipsters were not my favorite, and the thongs were ok, but the cotton stretch maternity bikini was so so so comfortable. No, they aren’t anything pretty to look at, but my goodness they are so soft and breathable, which is extra important when pregnant during the summer. They are lower cut in the front to accommodate a growing belly, and have a little extra fabric for on the bum, so no weird or uncomfortable fit, and no VPL (visible panty line)!
Because I sometimes need to leave the house during the day, and the leggings and tank combo isn’t always exactly socially acceptable, the Tolutina Bombshell dress has been a super easy grab-and-go piece that makes me look way more put together than I am. The Bombshell is a modern take on the house dress, and is designed for us mamas to take on the mess of our every day lives. It’s perfect for both maternity wear and postpartum wear, and I can guarantee you my husband would rather see me in this gorgeous blue dress than in my previous grandma worthy muumuu. If you crossed a stylish wrap dress with a functional apron, the resulting hybrid would come close to the Bombshell. While I think it looks much nicer than your run of the mill housecoat, it is easy enough to use as such and throw on over your clothes if you want to keep your outfit free of sticky / messy / dirty kid stuff.
I foresee it getting broken in quite well with baby Bear’s spit up, as newborns have a tendency to do, and since its machine washable, I don’t have to worry about getting it dirty. It’s available right now on Kickstarter for special pricing until May 26th, so take advantage of the discount! I would have loved one of these breastfeeding and postpartum friendly dresses as a shower gift, had I known about them then, so they make wonderful baby shower and new baby presents for all the new mamas in your life as well!
Another item that I had to replace for this pregnancy was my maternity pillow. Once again, the one I used with H’s pregnancy has mysteriously disappeared, so I wanted to find something that wasn’t huge or cumbersome, and would still allow my husband and I to both fit into our queen bed. Thanks to the beauty of Instagram, I discovered the Bellifly Maternity and Nursing Pillow and it. is. so. COOL! It is so much more compact and easier to maneuver and transport than my previous big “C” shaped pillow, yet the Bellifly pregnancy pillow is still super supportive to my achy belly, back and hips. The shape is so unique, and its easy for me to move around with all night long, even with all the moving and position adjusting I do.
A huge benefit to it’s compact size is that the Bellifly maternity pillow folds up and ties for easy cleaning – yep, that’s right, you can throw this wonderful little support pillow into your household’s washer and dryer, without worrying that it will overload your machine. Right now I really like to have one of the pillow’s sections under my belly, and another in between my knees for the most comfort, but as time passes, I’ve noticed that for naps during the day (#NoShame), I have one side of the pillow behind my back, lay on the middle stretchy part, and then put the other section of the pillow under my belly for support. Yet another bonus is that this pregnancy pillow can be reused after the baby is born as a nursing or bottle feeding pillow! Yay for extra bang for your buck!
What were some of your pregnancy favorites for the second trimester? Any advice for going into the third trimester?
As your belly grows, the amount of comfort you need increases, especially from the clothes that you wear. So nice to know that you've found the perfect ensemble! This is definitely a must have for all pregnant women!
Yes! Comfort is key!
Wow, I never thought that pregnancy can be comfortable. I am going to take notes of these must haves just to keep handy in case I got pregnant again!
It's helpful to have as many things as possible to help with the comfort! 🙂
Oh, I love these! It looks like someone has finally nailed it! Now we can look cute and stay comfy while pregnant. Bravo!
Comfortable and cute is always my goal 🙂
I'm not and won't ever be pregnant, but I love that dress lol. There's always such amazing fashion in the maternity department!
Ha, thank you Carly! Its super versatile too!
It sounds like you've chosen the most comfortable items to help with your pregnancy.
They are super comfortable and it helps they look cute too 🙂
I would love to have Tolutina Bombshell dress, looks so chic!
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And it's SO soft and the color is wonderful!
I have 3 kiddos and one thing I needed most was comfort, it truly makes things easier.
Yes! Especially being pregnant with a toddler, comfort is even more important!
I have 3 kiddos and one thing I needed most was comfort, it truly makes things easier.
I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable….I didn't have kids!
It's a lot of work! But our son is pretty great, and I'm excited to meet this little one!
I bit of advice, all your images are opening up to the media file instead of going to the actual merchant. So when I click on them, they take me off the page to a media file. That's not good. I would UNLINK those immediately and leave them static or link to the actual person with the outfit.
Hi Lesley! When I click on the photos, it stays on the blog page, but it just opens them in the media viewer – I didn't realize this was a bad thing? The Hanky Panky and Gap undies go to the respective merchants, so I'll go in and change the rest. Is that better for the companies and my blog to do it that way? Thank you for the advice!
I bit of advice, all your images are opening up to the media file instead of going to the actual merchant. So when I click on them, they take me off the page to a media file. That's not good. I would UNLINK those immediately and leave them static or link to the actual person with the outfit.
These are great pieces! I just lived in my pajama pants during my pregnancies, LOL!
Such cool products/clothes.
Looks very comfy.
I love that Bombshell dress, even non pregnant women could rock that.
I plan on it, after I have this baby 🙂
It is good to see that there are wide selections of stylish maternity clothes. This is especially great for women who are working.