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9 for me. But I'd say the average is closer to 14. The upside is how comfy they are! I won't need maternity shirts for another month I don't think (I'm 15 now). As soon as I couldn't button my pants, I gave up on them. Foldover skirts and yoga pants are lifesavers though!

I was wondering this. I gained a couple lbs after stopping BC so there isn't a ton of room left in my pants. I bought a belly band, but I haven't broken it out yet. Love dresses though!

8 weeks! i didn't have any shorts, so instead of buying my size in regular shorts for the beginning of the summer i just went ahead and bought maternity shorts i could wear all summer. now at 12 weeks, i'm exclusively in maternity bottoms. the bloating has been off the charts. i tried to wear a normal pair of pants to work today... big mistake. after getting out of the car, i was already miserable... i had to wear them unbuttoned. cute.

I'm 12 weeks with twins and still trying to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes with the help of my Bella Band. It works but it isn't the most comfortable thing especially at work. I just wish I could go to work in sweats/yoga pants. That would be so much better. I think I'm going to stop at a maternity consignment store this weekend to see what they have.

Do most women have to buy more maternity wear as the pregnancy progresses and the belly gets bigger? I'm so clueless when it comes to this.

I found myself in solely maternity clothes by 9 weeks. Most of my pants were totally unwearable by 7 weeks--I survived in maxi dresses/skirts until I went shopping a couple of weeks later. I also outgrew my rings around this same time. I gained early for sure.

I Waited awhile because 1) my pre preg clothes had some room in the waist and 2) i didnt really show until 20+ weeks. Belly band around 16 weeks and then full on maternity everything around 21 or 22 weeks. Maternity shirts looked ridiculous on me before then. BUT! I did shop for maternity clothes around 15 weeks and I thought it was really fun! Enjoy

I had the same question. I am six weeks and so bloated that most pants are uncomfortable. I also have a really sore belly button (don't know why?) so I'm looking into roomier pants already.

I couldn't figure out why I was gaining so much weight, then I found out I was pregnant, I had already gone up two sizes in my pants! I just switched over to a belly band, and this was around 12 weeks. I started showing pretty early, and around 20 weeks I was already huge and caved and bought maternity clothes more for comfort than anything else.

I was too superstitious to buy maternity clothes before 12 weeks. At that point I bought a couple of pairs of pants. I'm 23 weeks now and my normal dresses and shirts still fit. I can still even fit in a couple of my non maternity "fat pants". But I've also only gained three pounds so far.

I bought one pair of maternity work pants at 14 weeks. I've since bought some yoga pants (which are HUGE right now but so very comfy), some jeans and some kahkis that are too big, but I think will fit eventually. I had gained some weight after the wedding, so my bigger clothes got tight around 9-10 weeks. I'm 16 weeks now and can wear one pair of normal jeans with the hair band trick. I started wearing shirts early because a friend gave me a bunch. They're huge and look a tad strange, but they're so comfy that most of the time I don't care.

Pants at about 12 weeks (because I didn't like the bella band), and shirts only at about 20 weeks. I have a feeling it might be sooner the second time around though.

I'll be 10 weeks tomorrow and am still wearing my normal skinny jeans, but I wear my pants pretty low so I wonder if that makes a difference? I do have a pooch now that I didn't have before, but it starts above the waistband of my jeans. Does anyone think the rise of your jeans makes a difference in whether you need maternity pants sooner or later?

@tororojo: yeah the rise does make a difference. The 2 pairs I wore to the end were both Abercrombie, so they sat super low under the bump. But my Seven jeans that sat higher stopped ftting around like 19 weeks.

I want to say around 10 weeks with both my pregnancies. However, I can wear jeans to work and found some that were maternity but looked like regular jeans (had adjustable elastic band in the front). I wore those or regular jeans with a hairband until I announced my pregnancies to my office. One thing to keep in mind about wearing maternity clothes early is that sometimes it is VERY obvious that you are wearing maternity so be prepared to potentially answer questions if you haven't yet announced.

I really started to need maternity clothes around 17 weeks. Up until then, I was OK with most of my pants (but they were getting a bit snug in the waist) and my shirts were generally OK. By 20 weeks, there was no turning back and I needed maternity pants all the time.

I tried the BellaBand around 15 weeks and did not like it one bit

13-14 weeks. But I was using a belly band since about 10 weeks. I felt really self-conscious about it, too, but I just keep reminding myself that all women are different, and that as long as my weight gain is on track (and it is), then it's not a big deal.

I think it was around 10 weeks for work clothes, my boobs went out of control and I needed dresses that fit them. Pants, I was able to wear my jeans until 20 weeks or so.

I started at 3 months, but honestly would of felt more comfortable if I had started a little sooner. I LOVE maternity jeans. I wish I could wear them all the time. The panels are great.

All you ladies that started early are making me feel so much better. As I am sitting at work with the only way my pants are buttoned is with the old hair tie trick. I can't imagine how some of you lasted till 20+ weeks.