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I'd just get full panel. They are SUPER stretchy and stayed up on me immediately when I started showing. Like, could still fit in my jeans but they were just tight after eating. I went ahead and bought full panel and they've been comfy all along and I won't have to buy more.

I tried on my full panel yesterday & they fit awkward right now.

I have a pair of 1st tri pants from old navy with an elastic waist. They're sooo comfy & I am wearing them right now!

I have a pair of demi jeans from ON and they are kind of uncomfortable, so I don't wear those.

I bought three pairs of full panels and have been wearing them since around week 15-16. They suck. I hate them. They constantly fall down and I am constantly hitching them back up. I don't know why people praise them so much. I took a poll here regarding the same questions back in the day, and the full panels won by an overwhelming majority, but I cannot stand them. I am going to suck it up through the end of my pregnancy, but then I will chuck them. If I get pregnant again, I am going to try the below-the-belly pants because this has just been a terrible experience.

If you can find elastic waist pants, I suggest that as an alternative. These days (34w tomorrow) I am most comfortable wearing either my non-maternity sweatpants or my husband's fleece long underwear around the house. They both have elastic waists, sit below my belly, and stay in place.

I can't wait until I can wear a belt again!!!

I hate full panels, they are uncomfortable and itchy to me. I've been fine with demi/stretchy waist even with a big belly for both pregnancies.

Hmm, this is tricky because everyone is different. Personally, I preferred demi-panels and had a couple pairs of pants with them that I wore my entire pregnancy. A couple other pairs got too tight or dug in too much so I had to stop wearing those. But I also found full-panels uncomfortable at the end because they put pressure on the top of my belly -- it was fine in the morning but by late afternoon I was always folding them down under my belly to get some relief. So IMO, nothing is very comfy at the end and it's just a matter of personal preference which is more tolerable!

That said, I couldn't even think about wearing most of the full-panel pants until I was 20+ weeks along, they were way too baggy until then. So if you can go try some on, that should help you decide whether to go for one style or the other right now. The sucky thing about maternity clothing, bottoms in particular, is that there aren't too many things that are comfy and flattering the whole way through.

I voted full panel. I hated the band for many of the same reasons you mentioned. The demi panel was ok in the beginning but once I got bigger I found it very uncomfortable. I love the full panel!

I fold down the full panel. But I've never tried anything else, so I can't say whether that's what I'd prefer if I had options. (I only have these at all because I got them at goodwill on dollar jean day.)

For me the demi panel was awkward at first and pushed up my belly into an unattractive muffin top. Now that I have a real bump the demi is alright, but I still prefer the full.

Full!!

I voted full panel, they were the most comfy throughout and I thought they gave the belly a nice shape. Also, the Demi panel cut into my early pregnancy bloat/belly oddly and gave me a bad case of (uncomfortable) muffin top.

I can't stand full panels! I just don't like the feeling of having something so high up on my stomach.. For pants, I got the Demi panels and even folded those down. Some of my stuff is full, and I just fold them down. 38 weeks & nothing has fallen down yet!

I wore demi panel pants for the first ~18weeks, but much prefer the comfort and look of the full panel. Unfortunately, the full panel just didn't stay up on my belly until mid 2nd tri, and would just bunch up, uncomfortably. I carried on the smaller side, so it just depends what kind of bump you're rocking!

For me my elastic pants hurt this early because everything is still so low down there.

I hate full panels. They made me feel so suffocated towards the end. I prefer under belly and did not find them to be a problem.

Full! I wasn't a big fan of demi panels past 20 weeks. and Honestly, the full panels fit just fine, even in the beginning. Although after about 30 weeks, none of the panels were comfy, so I just wore dresses constantly!

Like others, I used a bella band to keep my full panels up until my belly could hold them up on their own. I caved at 16 weeks for them, and don't know why I didn't do it sooner!

I went straight to full panel around 11 weeks. I got the ones with a really stretchy panel (almost like a nylon) for work dress pants, and they were super comfy, and I wore them right through to when I finished work in August 4 days before she was born since it was an air conditioned building. And quite honestly, I still wear them now sometimes 5 mos PP.

I never loved the demi so if you have to purchase, I say full, but until about midway through I just did the rubber band trick, lol.

@T.H.O.U.: This. My husband commented this morning that I had a lower gut - so glad to read someone else saying you carry low in the beginning. He made me feel like I was smuggling brownies in my uterus.

Another suggestion to go try some on. I wore old navy Demi panels my entire pregnancy and postpartum. I don't usually love ON jeans, but I loved these.