Somehow, I’m the real-life version of someone who barely bought maternity clothes! I saw my friends left and right buying maternity apparel from top brands, investing in seasonal specialties and cute clothing that would only be worn for a few months during pregnancy.

I knew there had to be a better way than to dump money into clothes that would fit me and suit my pregnant body for just a few weeks.

In this guide, see how I avoided buying maternity clothes, and what I did instead! I have some hacks for making clothes bigger, and ideas of ways to get maternity clothes for free, as well as enjoy maternity styles on a budget. Let’s get right in.

Get a maternity pants expander

I was so lucky to have gotten a maternity pants expanded from a friend. I didn’t even know I would need one, and I wasn’t sure what kind of value it would bring to my wardrobe.

The way it works is the “extender” has Velcro on either side, and hooks on to belt loops. Then, you can leave the fly open (as long as you have a shirt to cover it), and ta-da: you turned your “regular pants” or shorts into a maternity style.

The exact pants extender is the Maeband Maternity Waistband Pants Extender Belt and I recommend it! I used it with my favorite pair of jean shorts all summer during my second trimester, and I never bought maternity jean shorts.

Experiment with a bra expander for regular bras

One thing I never imagined happening to me was my ribs expanding as my baby started taking up unexpected parts of my torso and my insides. That meant that my bras felt tight, even on the last loop.

This can be solved with a maternity bra expander (which you can use in non-maternity life, too). These gadgets hook into your bra and make it so that you can loosen up and make the entire band expandable.

You might want to use them into postpartum, too, especially if your nursing bras feel snug.

Wear babydoll, drapey or open-back tops

A shirt that I had in my “athleisure” wardrobe that I hadn’t even worn yet turned out to be my favorite maternity workout shirt. It’s a merino wool sleeveless tank (and it runs long) with a totally open back, such that everyone gets a peek at your sports bra or cami underneath, but the flow-iness in the front worked perfectly for maternity wear.

If you can find other “forgiving” styles like babydoll or loose-fitting tops in your wardrobe, you may be baffled at how much life they can have throughout your pregnancy, depending on the season.

Try elastic waistbands (for under-bump wearing)

As my pregnancy progresses, I started discussing with pregnant friends if I was an “under bump” or “over bump” pants-wearer. Basically, maternity pants come in two styles: they can go low, below your baby bump, or super-high-waisted, going up to your rib cage, covering the whole baby bump so they don’t fall down.

For under-bump styles, you can try wearing your regular pants with elastic waist bands, as long as they are not high-waisted styles. This means wearing your old gym sweatpants, or even linen pants with tie-waists or elastic waists that can hang out under your bump region. This avoids buying maternity pants for the moment!

Embrace high-waisted skirts

I’ve never really been a skirt person, but I inherited a J.Crew high-waisted chambray skirt that I popped on during my second trimester with great results. I wore it out to “happy hour” with another expecting mom and we both got mocktails, my favorite pregnancy party drink. I felt cute!

If you’re still in the phase of pregnancy where regular clothes fit your rib cage, try out high-waisted skirts, and position them above where your bump starts. Of course, as your rib cage grows, toward the third trimester, snug styles may no longer be comfy.

Wear clothing a size up

Starting before I embraced some of the maternity clothes I had gotten for free as hand-me-downs, I started wearing pants and other bottoms that were a size larger than my usual size.

Psychologically, it was hard for me to process. I had spent so much of my 30s staying fit and eating well, and now my hard work was turning to mush because I was sizing up to old clothes. Alas, grappling with a pregnancy body was a challenge for me.

If you have old clothes in storage that are a size up, this may be the time to take them out and don them for a new look. If they need updating, try mixing and matching with new accessories or layers.

In this photo, I’m wearing a dress I hadn’t worn in years, but because it had a “fit and flare” style that widened after the torso, it worked for my second trimester.

Maxi dresses (until your bump grows)

I wore one of my most loved maxi dresses until summer ended, the year I was pregnant. It’s a maxi dress I’ve tried so hard to get rid of, yet I can never bring myself to purge it because it keeps fitting me… even during pregnancy!

It was never more useful as the perfect maternity maxi dress during my second trimester. It was even so flowy that it was a great way to hide my baby bump completely, so I didn’t have to be “that pregnant woman” if I didn’t have to be (yet).

Wear your husband’s clothes

In my final month of pregnancy, I gave up on fashion and started wearing Dan’s clothes: sweatpants, T-shirts, sweatshirts, you name it.

I was working from home, and everyone only saw my shoulders. It couldn’t have mattered less what I was wearing, and I was basically loafing around our apartment waiting for the baby to come!

Do this: If your husband has any clothes you’ve always wanted to try, this is the time! Go for sweatpants or basketball shirts, hooded sweatshirts with loose fits and comfy T-shirts. It’s a great look for the third trimester and it saved me all the money on maternity clothing.

Borrow season-specific maternity clothes

Yes, I borrowed maternity clothes! Namely, I borrowed maternity wear from my sister, who was recently pregnant and was done with her entire maternity wardrobe.

I enjoyed her maternity tees for the end of summer and early fall, and maternity sweaters that I started wearing as winter arrived. It felt great to avoid buying maternity apparel, and to know that I’d give everything back to my sister when my baby was born!

Do this: Ask around friends and family if anyone was recently pregnant and is also around your size, if you can borrow season-specific maternity clothing to get you through summer, fall, or winter (etc.). You may be pleasantly surprised with what you wind up with!

Use Buy Nothing

Have you read my Buy Nothing review? In it, I talk about how I was able to score most of my maternity and pregnancy accessories totally for free, as hand-me-downs from my local community.

If you’re not part of a Buy Nothing group yet, what are you waiting for? In my group, women offer their maternity clothes up for free, and sometimes, it’s in really large amounts! Plus, I would always “pass on” and “re-gift” the maternity items that didn’t work for me, because a “size S” in one brand is kind of like a “M” in another. I was always happy to return the favor of free maternity clothes for more women in my neighborhood.

P.S. Buy Nothing was the main way for how I got so much baby stuff for free in my child’s first year.

Surf “mom groups” on Facebook

I was so lucky that a friend of mine suggested that I join the “Winter babies” Facebook group when I got pregnant. It was for women who would be giving birth between October and March of the next year, approximately.

It was a Facebook group for our town and the town next door, where everyone lived somewhat close by. This was great because as winter came around, women who had already given birth would offer up things like postpartum care products, maternity comfort items like “pregnancy pillows” and of course, maternity clothing!

I wound up with a bunch of free maternity clothes from this group, and it really saved my wallet as we prepared for our baby’s arrival (it is never too early to save money with a baby on the way!).

Wear your regular cardigans and button-downs open

I’ve seen maternity jackets, cardigans, button-downs and vests, but the fact is, if you style them “open” (not closing the zippers, buttons or snaps), you can wear your regular clothes.

For this reason, a vest I had just picked up served me as one of my favorite maternity accessories, and I styled it with all of my maternity long-sleeve tees. I also wore my “regular” cardigans all fall, just in an “open” style.

Rent maternity clothes

My group of “Mom friends” swears by renting maternity clothes. The way they’ve explained it to me is that renting maternity clothes is a smart move, because youdon’t know if your next pregnancy will be a winter pregnancy, or a summer pregnancy, or if you’ll even have another pregnancy.

Renting things like maternity swimwear, maternity winter coats or maternity formalwear (like if you have weddings or other occasions for work) may have limited lifespans

Wear nursing clothes

While this isn’t one of the most exciting tips on the list, the good news is that a lot of brands are making maternity clothes that double as nursing clothes.

So, if you want your maternity clothes to have a longer lifespan, invest (or borrow) maternity-wear that has nursing access functionality. I had some maxi dresses with this exact use: they could be worn in pregnancy summer months, and then an entire year later, when I was nursing my baby.

Basically, I included this tip about nursing clothing because it gives your postpartum wardrobe two lives. It doesn’t feel like “money wasted” if you can wear nursing clothes for an extended period of time, and maybe even pass them onto a friend when you’re done with them.

One final tip: re-sell your maternity wear

Sure, this tip isn’t about “not buying maternity clothes,” but if you did have to buy maternity clothes (and to be honest, I did: I bought a pair of maternity jeans and a pair of paternity bike shorts that were basically my lifelines), you can re-sell them and make your money back (or almost).

I recommend selling on Poshmark, and if you really want to be successful with it, check out my guide to how to sell on Poshmark like a pro.