I'm with the Band: My Money-Saving Maternity Wardrobe Staple

Maybe that title is a little deceiving since I don't really have much of a 'maternity wardrobe'.  In fact, I haven't purchased a single article of maternity clothing yet and I'll be 30 weeks along on Monday. I have a few items from my last pregnancy back in 2006, but I was wearing those clothes in the summer. Not so helpful now.

Anyway, back in November, my mom bought me my wardrobe staple -- a belly band. I absolutely love it!

My mom had actually thought the one she got, Motherhood Maternity's Tummy Sleeve, was a support system when she bought it, something to help me with the round ligament pains and lower back pain I'd been complaining about. When I put it on, it didn't do a whole lot for the physical pains, but it worked wonders for a whole other sort of pain: I was at the stage where no pair of pants or any of my skirts would fit right anymore.

The waistline was starting to roll and slide down on my pants, even on my stretchy yoga pants and some of my leggings. No fun. As if I didn't hate shopping for pants bad enough, I was dreading buying maternity ones. I found ones that fit with my last pregnancy, but I definitely didn't love them.  Enter the Tummy Sleeve.

By some miracle of design, the Tummy Sleeve is stretchy enough that it's comfortable but tight enough to keep your pre-pregnancy pants and skirts on. You can leave pants unbuttoned and zippers on skirts lower and the Tummy Sleeve keeps everything together and up. I wear my leggings and yoga pants lower than I would normally (so they're under my belly) and the sleeve keeps keeps them in place and keeps everything above the waist covered and smooth. Basically, the sleeve does what the bands and panels on top of maternity skirts and pants do.

The Tummy Sleeve costs $16.98 at Motherhood Maternity. At first, it seems kind of expensive for a stretchy tube of material, but it is worth every penny. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I haven't purchased any maternity pants or skirts and I'm in my third trimester. Granted, it helps that lots of the clothing styles right now allow for tops to be looser and longer, but, no matter the trends or your personal style, this belly band will extend anyone's regular wardrobe through the maternity months and spare you the expense of buying a wardrobe you won't wear for very long.