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@Softcream: *raises hand* Me! I didn't buy a single pair of maternity pants/jeans. I just wore yoga pants or dresses/skirts throughout the entirety of my pregnancy.

ETA: I worked until the the day I was induced (surprise induction), so during the week, I wore suit-like skirts and maternity dresses. I could only wear casual clothes on weekends, and so I opted for maxi dresses and skirts. I live in the Southeast, and it was a brutally hot summer, so I was more comfortable in maxi dresses (most of which were non-maternity). I wore yoga pants (with the fold-down waist) around the house.

I tried so hard, but now I'm searching desperately for a pair of good maternity jeans (I'm 24W). I have non-maternity skinny dress pants on today (Jcrew Minnies), but they are barely zipped up, and the belly band keeps coming up. I would think if you found just 1 - 2 pairs of pants it would be worth it, but who knows, maybe you can get away without? Depends what you do for work and what you need to wear most of the time!

I held out for a long time (for me a long time was through 16 weeks), but I broke down then and bought some maternity work pants and maternity jeans. After I bought them, I cursed myself for waiting for so long! They were so much more comfortable! We plan on trying for another as well, so as long as I'm so blessed to be pregnant a second time, I'll wear them again during that pregnancy!

not even close! haha i only bought 5 pairs of pants my entire first pregnancy(2 work 3 jeans). i love how comfortable maternity pants are...i wore them after pregnancy and wasn't ashamed haha

I still wear regular tights, leggings and sweatpants at 35 weeks along, but I love my maternity jeans! I believe one pair of regular jeans will still fit below my bump, but they're not nearly as comfy. I would invest in 2 pairs of maternity jeans--one you can dress up and one you can wear casual; I think you'll be glad you did. Got mine at Motherhood Maternity and they have held up well.

I can't imagine not wearing them. Guess it all depends on when you are big. No way I could do dresses every day in winter. I can still wear normal workout pants/sweat pants around the house, but the maternity ones are so much more comfy.

I am going to try. I really don't want to buy any!

I could've - I wore prepregnacy yoga pants and leggings but had a few maternity pants as well. I think it partial depends how you carry as well.

@Pumpkinspice: I agree with you!! I want to keep them and wear them after pregnancy because HELLO, no waistband!

I bought maternity jeans because I wanted to be able to wear them out to dinner, etc. but aside from those, I wore regular leggings and lululemons through the end of pregnancy. So it's definitely doable! In my opinion the jeans were worth it, even if I only wore them for 5 or so months.

@BetsyBoop: Agree! Anything to make yourself as comfortable as possible--for as long as possible--during pregnancy is totally worth it!

I'm still early on (12w,4d) and have invested in 1 pair of maternity pants, and holy cow are they comfy!! They don't dig in like regular pants. However, I'm trying to prevent purchasing too many maternity clothing so I'm still wearing my regular jeans with the help of a rubber band. So far, I'm okay.

I held out for awhile. I still have one pair of work pants I can wear that are not Maternity and then work out pants etc...

I went to consinment shops and got Maternity pants/clothes. Like you said they are worn so little so they were practically new and a fraction of the cost of new.

At 38 weeks there is absolutely no way I could get in a pair of my pre-preg pants! I love my maternity pants. They are so comfortable I'm actually dreading going back to regular pants... haha. Most women don't bounce back immediately, so you'll likely still be able/want to wear your maternity pants after baby arrives. You can find comfy and cheap pants at Target and Old Navy -- so worth the $20-$25!

I didn't buy any maternity pants. Just wore my jeans with a belly band and hair tie!

I needed to switch to maternity jeans for comfort so early. I found having my pants undone and a bella band extremely uncomfortable. I only bought 2 pairs of jeans, and 1 pair of dress pants and the jeans were basically destroyed from 6 months of only wearing them (I am a nurse, so I am in scrubs when I am at work, so I didn't need dress pants for daily use).

I only bought one pair, but OH THEY WERE glorious.... should've bought them earlier in the pregnancy! Otherwise i lived in leggings with dresses/tunic and boots.

I'm almost 35 weeks now and I think I could have gotten away with not getting any maternity clothes period. If I could reverse time, I would definitely get LESS stuff, even though I don't think I bought too much. That being said, maternity pants are the one thing I've worn the most out of all my maternity clothes. I bought 2 Bella Bands and 1 is still in the package. A lot of my jeans and pants would suffice with just the rubber band trick. If you can get away with wearing yoga pants and yoga leggings a lot, you can probably do without maternity pants. I wear my Lululemon bottoms equally, if not more than my maternity jeans and maternity leggings. That being said, 1 pair of black maternity leggings from Old Navy or H&M are probably a good investment and so cheap! Also, 1 pair of maternity jeans from Gap or Old Navy are probably a good investment too (esp. if you plan to have another). They both always have pretty good sales (30-40% off). I wear 2 main pairs of maternity jeans about 1/2 the week (and leggings the other half). If I were heavily pregnant in the Summer or when it's warm enough, I'd probably do without the jeans and just get a pair of leggings. You can live in dresses in the summer!

I tried the bella band with my pants for work, and although it *worked*, it wasn't comfortable, because I sit down and stand up all day long (I'm a school librarian), and the bella band had to be adjusted with each stand up/sit down cycle, and it's pretttty awkward always adjusting your pants in front of middle schoolers.

So I bought 3 pairs of maternity pants at Macy's--all Motherhood brand, all skinny styles, and I LOVE THEM. They are the type with the spandex-material panel, so they aren't gappy at all, even if you aren't pregnant. My SIL gave me some maternity hand-me-downs from Old Nacy, but they don't fit me at all yet--the panel from those is made of a more knit material, so it's really huge and gappy on my belly right now.

But again, I *heart* the maternity brand skinny pants. I got a pair of jeans, too. And I got 2 of them on clearance for $18 dollars each. The other two at full price were only $30 each, so that's way cheaper than my normal non-preg clothes, and I don't tend to keep clothes too long anyway. I use, abuse, and then throw away about a year later. heh.