Dressing the Bump- 1st Trimester Tips

With each of my pregnancy I've found that the first trimester is always the hardest for me to get dressed. Not to say the second and third aren't hard either, but the first trimester presents its own set of problems. Those problems include- feeling sick, tired, bloated and depending on who you are, more sick or more tired. You also start gaining weight at a regular pace and you're torso begins to expand. You don't look pregnant yet- just like you had too many tacos or pizza. It's the worst. You might start to muffin top over your pants a bit and then they won't even button. And your head knows it's part of the whole growing-a-baby-thing...but your self esteem doesn't know how to process a pair of pants that fit yesterday and don't today. 

This being my my fourth (technically fifth) pregnancy, I had high hopes of handling this first trimester better than ever- but thing have been about the same.. except my torso started expanding quite a bit sooner. However, this time around I paid attention to what worked for me. Today I've got five tips for surviving the first trimester and hiding the pizza belly until it actually looks like an baby belly.

TUNIC- Chicwish // CUFF- Stitch Fix // PANTS- Express // EARRINGS- N&S (Scuba Blue- large) // BAG-Target

1. Invest in lots of loose tops, tees, and tunics. Yes, I basically said wear a tent. But keep it balanced by wearing fitted pants with the loose tops. Also pull yourself together with some lip gloss, a pair of earrings (N&S preferably) and a cute bag. 

PANTS- Nordstrom // SHOES- Thrifted // BAG- Sole Society

2. Buy a bigger pant size. Put away your skinniest skinny jeans right away. Like now. Don't ruin them or ruin your day by trying them on and finding out that sure enough- they don't fit. You can have them back in a year or two. Now go buy some denim in once size bigger. They will be new so they automatically feel cute and they fit- so they make you feel normal. 

PANTS- Lucky Brand (old and very rubber banded) // SHOES- Old Navy // BAG- Lily Jade // CUFF- N&S

3. Rubber band your old pants that still fit. You may be able to keep your old pants in rotation for a while. But the waistband will get tight sooner or later. Don't be afraid to rubber band them. Loop a rubber band or a hair tie around the button, through the button hole and back over the button. There is nothing worse than a squeezing pair of pants so loosen them up with the rubber band trick. 

JOGGERS- GAP // SHOES- Nordstrom // TEE- GAP (old) // CLUTCH- Local Boutique (old)

4. Say yes to sweatpants (or joggers). When you are at home, embrace the sweatpant. After all, you either feel sick, tired, bloated or all of the above. Give yourself a break! Grab some cute sweatpants or joggers for yourself and don't be afraid to steal your hubby's biggest pair of sweats. Those are almost guaranteed to make you feel thin. Jogger pants are super cute to wear out and about and the stretchy waistband is so comfortable. These will ease you into maternity pants...

LEGGINGS- Zella // TUNIC- Elegantees // SHOES- Nordstrom // LEATHER CUFF- N&S // BRACELETS- Forever 12 // JACKET- Thrifted

5. Invest in leggings- What else will ease you into maternity pants? Leggings. Buy yourself some quality leggings. These will be your best friend for the next 12 months, even if you never wear them out of the house. I went up a size so I had a little room to grow in mine and I wear them all of the time. 

Other ideas for boosting your first trimester confidence? Buy new shoes- unless your feet majorly swell up, shoes always fit! Also try something new like a spray tan or treat yourself to a rare manicure or pedicure. Nothing makes me feel good like a tan or freshly painted nails!

What are your favorite tips for dressing during the first trimester? How do you style your pseudo-bump?


  1. These are good tips. I basically lived in leggings, and after baby boy arrived I stuck to the above too, for awhile. I think the "4th trimester" was the hardest for me. The aftermath.

  2. I like loose, flowy tops with extra fabric (ruffles or rousching) and always layer; somehow the extra layers feel like a protective barrier haha.

  3. So I am about 6 weeks along and I'm feeling the whole "pants don't fit", super tired, super bloated. I have two main problems. 1) I'm a sales rep, so most of my day I have to look put together. Not super fancy, but put together! and 2) It's summer so it's starting to get super hot and humid in Virginia. I really want to wear pants because let's be real, shaving my legs feels like a major task right now and also because it seems like shorts are already not esteem-boosting types. I'm generally pretty small - between a 4 and a 6 but I'm panicking about the next two months of summer where I'm in the "I ate too many tacos" phase. BTW - you look seriously BEAUTIFUL! That photo of you in the tunic -- your skin is incredible. xoxo

  4. I'm 31 weeks pregnant with my first and I struggled to know what to do the 1st trimester, so this would have come in handy! I did have one other thing that I did, I work in an office and have to wear skirts/dresses to work everyday so I wore a lot of pencil skirts with stretchy waist bands with looser tops and that helped me get through the first trimester before having to break out full-on maternity skirts and dresses.


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