Maternity and fashion are two words you probably don’t expect to see together. Being pregnant is a celebration… and now there is more reason to celebrate because being pregnant allows you to be more fashionable. The women today look forward for ways to be comfortable and beautiful about being pregnant.

When I found out that I am weeks pregnant, what struck me as a problem are my clothes. Most of my clothes are form-fitting — from shirts to trousers, all of it are body-fit. And since it was my first pregnancy I am excited to buy maternity clothes. Then I learned that the bump in my body will only last for nine months.

One of the things that bothered to me during my pregnancy is the clothes that I am going to wear. I live an active lifestyle — I have my work, I have my yoga classes, I have my freelance jobs… the question is: where can I scout a nice maternity clothes store where every type of apparel is available.

Maternity clothing is not so frustrating as it used to. Unlike before the clothes make you look fatter and bigger, today with the advent of the maternity clothes specialty stores and discount maternity stores, you can choose different maternity fashion from undergarments to maternity swimwear or maternity workout clothes.

It is a good thing too that my mother and my best friend has helped through the process. Now I am sharing some tips on finding maternity clothes, if it is your first time in becoming pregnant.

When shopping for maternity clothes consider if the store has a website where you can browse their product line, the available variations of the clothes’ color and sizes, and including its prize.

Undergarments

When I got my child inside of me, my breasts has grown larger that it used to. My brassieres were not enough to handle the cup size. My mother insisted on buying one for me and she specifically mentioned, "NO LACES."

When someone is pregnant, like in my case, I am very much sensitive with everything and anything that touches my body from lotion to the clothes I wear. During my 9-month bump, I only wore cotton and satin brassieres – strictly no intricate lacy designs.

Dresses

I rarely wore a dress in my entire life. But when I was pregnant, I have a dozen in my closet. Not to mention in different styles. My favorite store back then carries different styles and cut for women like me. Their racks are filled with empire cut dresses, to chiffon dress, to casual dresses… no only are they colorful but they are also available.

Pants

This is the most complicated clothing for me. Since I am a dress-down-girl who grew up wearing jeans and shirt, finding a fitted pants is harder that I imagined. The stores downtown sells garter denim pants in different colors that perfectly contours the body shape of a pregnant woman.

Shirts

This is not so hard after all. When I don’t have time or the reason to buy a shirt, I just borrow three to four sizes bigger than me — like the ones my husband uses — that are really, really, really comfortable.

Other specialty clothing

My ob-gynecologist recommended me to try yoga exercises and pool exercise during my pregnancy. So I bought maternity activewear and maternity bikini swimwear are two of the best purchase I got when I was pregnant.

I have to admit, after delivering my baby, the size of my body does not dropped down in an instant. It allowed me a year to bring back my normal size and wear the clothes I used to when I was not pregnant.

What also makes maternity clothes special is that they are flexible. It is important if you want to save money to buy maternity clothes that will change as you change. You don’t want to wind up buy multiple maternity dresses, pants and jeans when you can just buy one of each and have it last your entire term.

With the various ways of acquiring fashionable motherhood maternity clothing without spending a lot, entering motherhood would be much more appealing to women today. Being able to maintain one’s identity during pregnancy, and through the early years of child-rearing boosts mothers’ self-esteem, and keeps new moms feeling attractive, capable and ready to face the world.