I’ve Been Pregnant or Breastfeeding for 14 Years (Sometimes Both) — These Are the Maternity Clothes Worth Buying

Tomorrow my oldest turns fourteen.

Which means I’ve been pregnant or breastfeeding for fourteen straight years — with a grand total of two weeks off. Actually, even longer if you count the 9 months of pregnancy with her.

Sometimes I was pregnant and nursing at the same time. I’ve tandem nursed. I’ve done newborns and toddlers. I’ve done third trimester in July. I’ve done postpartum recovery in winter.

I’ve lived in maternity clothes.

Let me save you from wasting money.

Here are the pieces that actually hold up — the ones that get you through pregnancy, postpartum, and all the overlap in between.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I only share pieces I personally own, have worn, or would confidently recommend after years of pregnancy and postpartum life.

The Dressy Top That Still Feels Like Pajamas

If you’re pregnant long enough, you will need something that makes you feel polished.

Baby showers. Holidays Parties. Court. Date night. Family photos. Work meetings. Something.

Click Here for the Wrap Blouse

This wrap blouse is that piece for me.

It’s incredibly comfortable and breathable — but still really flattering and feminine.

I’ve worn this when I needed to feel put together and confident — and it never once felt stiff or restrictive. Which, in pregnancy, is everything.

The Everyday Maternity Pullover I Bought in Three Colors

Half-Zip Shirt Here

If I’m being honest, this is the maternity top I’ve worn the most over the last few years.

I own three of them in different colors. It’s lightweight, stretchy, flattering, and long enough to actually cover your whole
Bump.

I throw it over maternity leggings and go.

It works at 12 weeks.
It works at 32 weeks.
It works at “please get this baby out of me” weeks.

If you want one practical, flattering maternity staple that you’ll actually wear nonstop — this is it.

Buttery Soft Leggings

If you’re pregnant, you need soft, buttery, comfortable leggings.

These are mine.

They are incredibly soft — The kind you forget you’re wearing. They stretch with your bump without squeezing, and the over-the-belly panel actually stays up instead of rolling down.

They don’t go sheer. They don’t sag. They don’t dig in. I’ve fallen asleep dozens of times in them.

If I had to rebuild my maternity wardrobe from scratch, these would be one of the first things I’d buy.

Leggings Here

Maternity Rompers

I love rompers.

There’s something about a single piece of clothing that just simplifies life.

One thing to wash, fold, pack, and grab.

And somehow, rompers always look styled. Even when you didn’t try. They’re comfortable. They’re flattering. And they make pregnancy feel a little more fun.

If you want pieces that feel cute but still practical, rompers are it. Here are a few of my favorites:

Get the Brown Romper Here

Striped Romper Here

Blue Romper Here

Soft Lounge Wear, Pajamas & What I Actually Wore to Give Birth

I nap a lot when I’m pregnant. Growing an entire human is exhausting.

So comfortable loungewear and pajamas that actually fit your changing body? Absolute must.

And here’s the thing — a lot of these pieces double as hospital wear and labor wear.

I’m sitting at an even split: three homebirths and three hospital births. And you need soft, breathable, non-restrictive clothes for both.

Here’s what I actually wore, am currently wearing, have loved, and would pack again.

Striped Maternity and Nursing Set Here

This next one is hospital perfect, plus you can wear it in pregnancy and postpartum:

Labor, Maternity, and Postpartum Set

Full confession: I’m wearing this in green as I write this article for all of you, and I have other colors ordered. I bought it to wear around the house but I’ve been wearing it everywhere, I just wore it hiking today (slow, pregnancy hiking). And I adore the comfort and softness.

Cozy Lounge Set Here

And how cute and feminine is this one?

Get the Pink Sleep Gown Here

I have this one too and it’s perfect for cooking Saturday morning pancakes:

Get the Pajama Set Here

The Best Coat for your Entire Childbearing Years

Okay, this coat is so awesome. You can wear it normally, but then, when you get pregnant you add in a zip in panel to extend the belly area. Then, when baby is born, you can zip this coat right around the baby in a sling and keep you and baby both warm and breastfeeding ready all winter long. Many of my infants have happily slept in a baby sling warm and cozy while my older kids went sledding, trick or treating, or any of their other cold weathered fun.

Get the Coat Here

And P.S, if you don’t have a baby sling, I’ve used my Boba Classic carrier for every child, for 14 years, and it’s still holding up without issue. I’ve bought new ones but always go back to my original one. Nothing else fits like it, and I’ve carried each baby for years in it. It’s also pretty funny when I once had a lady only recognize me, a decade after first meeting me, because I was still wearing the same baby carrier. Highly recommend as the BEST baby item out there. I usually start carrying babies in it at only a few days old and I’ve had three year olds use it to hop on my back during a walk and take a nap.

Get the Boba Classic Carrier Here

Survive the Heat

And don’t we all know and dread how incredibly long pregnancy is. Here in Michigan we have four very distinct seasons. So one pregnancy tends to see both the coldest lows (we average about 100 inches of snow per year here) as well as boiling hot summer tempts. Here are the summer staples that I recommend to survive the dog days of summer:

Stretchy Cozy Maternity Bike Shorts (I have at least 8 sets of these):

Get the Bike Shorts Here

Athletic lounge shorts, I just bought these! Perfect for that third trimester when nothing feels comfortable and everything is too hot. These are a godsend: