Shopping for Maternity Clothes During Pregnancy: From Blah to TaDa!

The days of boring maternity clothes are long gone, thank God. I couldn't imagine being pregnant 40 or 50 some years ago with the clothes pregnant women were forced to wear then. They were all pretty much designed to 'hide' your belly rather than flaunt it. And can we say, "A LITTLE COLOR PLEASE?" Talk about some boring, blah clothes. Yuck.

Ta-da! Welcome to the 21st century women! It's all about the colors and designs now. Also, we've got more form-fitting clothes to show off that beautiful belly of ours! Pregnancy actually looks fun and enjoyable these days! Finally!

Just about every clothing store has a maternity section now. And it's not hard to find affordable maternity clothes either. Also, if you're not up for going out shopping...shop from the comfort of your own home, or even from work if you happen to be bored, with help from the world wide web.

The following are a few of my favorite stores to shop for maternity wear:

The Gap. They offer fairly reasonably priced clothes, especially if you shop during sales or find things on clearance. Their clothes are some of the most comfortable I've purchased during my pregnancies. They have up-to-date styles and fit the best out of any other place I've shopped for maternity clothes. The Gap also has a website with a wide range of selections; sometimes more than you find in-store with extra choices in sizes. www.gap.com

Old Navy. They have very reasonable prices and lots of sale and clearance items. They have many styles and sizes to choose from. Not every Old Navy store has a maternity section so you may want to check out their website. www.oldnavy.com

Motherhood Maternity. This whole store is dedicated to pregnant women. They offer everything from casual wear to dresses to pajamas to nursing bras to pregnancy books and gifts and much, much more. They have very reasonably priced items. The only downfall to shopping here is that you can't return anything. Regular priced items may be exchanged within 10 days of purchase but sale and clearance items are final sale. They are part of the www.maternitymall.com website along with a few of their partner stores.

There are obviously many more stores to choose from, but these happen to be my favorite. Others are way more expensive and some are a lot cheaper. But I've found that, as with most things, you get what you pay for with maternity clothes. I don't think there's any reason to spend an outrageous amount of money for a new wardrobe when you're pregnant, unless of course you plan on being pregnant for the rest of your life. Also, I don't think you have to feel forced to buy the cheapest clothes you can find since you'll only be wearing them for a few months. This is a time when you want to feel and look your best! Thankfully, a lot of stores cater to that now. So make the most of it!