So I can’t promise that you’re going to daintily sneeze and pop out the baby, nor can I promise that you’ll have the perfect retort every time someone remarks on your body and how you’re carrying.

Sure, it would be great if there was a preciseness to it and we could know exactly every change before hand, but we can’t. What we do know is that our belly is going to grow and that we’re going to love that child.

Just know your belly’s not going to be that big forever.

I’ve not made it a secret that I was thrilled to have a baby belly and loved every minute of walking around with it even on the days when it felt like it weight 45 pounds all by itself.

Since there’s so much physical change going on and you’ve got that interesting cocktail of hormones swirling around, you want to be as prepared as possible with the outfits you’re going to be wearing while that belly grows and grows.

So I CAN promise that these tips will help you smoothly transition into and out of your maternity wardrobe…

(Going into this pregnancy, by the way, I also gave away the biggest amount of clothes I’ve ever given in my life. I did that to sew a seed so that I would never be frustrated dressing my baby bump. I’m here to say, it worked!)

GAP Shirts and Statement Necklaces

I am freshly into my 3rd trimester in this picture and wearing one of only 4 shirts that I bought that were actual “maternity” shirts.

I picked up this white shirt, a gray one and a coral one from GAP in order to have basic tees that I could dress up or down. In this pic I’m wearing a simple long striped tank underneath to jazz up the basic white. You can read about that ensemble here.

I paid less than $10 for all three and squeezed every last penny out of them. I wore them with all kinds of necklaces, different pants, under jackets, under sweaters, with skirts…you name it. These went so very far. And because I picked up two of them in neutral colors (gray and white) and a third one in a nice summer color (coral) the options were endless.

Jackets, statement necklaces and sweaters are all things you can keep buying at your original size and rock all throughout the pregnancy and beyond. Since I was biggest in the summer I stocked up mostly on statement necklaces, but when I was believing God for this baby, I stepped up my blazer game and was able to disguise the bump a little with them in the spring when it was still cool outside.

 Elastic Waist Lines

The only maternity pants I bought were my jeans because being a freak about jeans an avid jean wearer, I knew that I would need at least two pairs to get me through and that’s just what I bought.

However, for business and church I knew I would need more than that, so I stocked up on pants with elastic waist bands. Pictured above are my elastic waist band patterned pants. These came in handy because they added visual interest to my outfit and allowed me more use out of those GAP maternity tops.

Pictured below is a great pair of black pants I got at GAP (from the non-maternity section). They’ve been great for business or dressier events. And because they’re so voluminous I can pair them with a tight fitting maternity top and it all works together. This striped top is the fourth of four tops I bought that are maternity. I picked this up at Motherhood on sale for $20.

Dresses – Stretch, Midi, Maxi

So I realize not everyone will have the weather to wear a maxi dress when the bump is at its biggest, but while you can, buy them and wear them because they’re something that will work later on so you don’t have to buy them from the maternity section. I got several from Ross (like this one pictured) that were $12. And really you can throw a regular jacket over them and wear them a little into fall if you’d like.

If you are going to buy a maternity dress, get one that you can do a lot with. Pictured below is the only maternity dress I bought (this one’s from Target) and I have worn the HECK out of it. Plus when I’m pregnant again, this pattern is a classic so I won’t mind pulling it back out.

Midi length is so popular right now and is a great option for preggo’s because the bump makes the dress shorter, and with a dress at a midi length that’s not a problem.

When I found one I liked I bought others in the same shape but in a different pattern and wore them all different ways. I got these at H&M and have worn them every which way – most of which included a belt so I carved out that waistline and looked less like a big prego blob.

Kimonos and Long Tees

It’s great that kimono’s are on trend right now because they’re going to help you jazz up a simple outfit. They helped me get miles more out of simple dresses and tops and also helped to streamline my shape which made me look less big and pregnant (I’ve got one on from Target with the striped dress above and a leopard one from TJMaxx in the picture directly above this).

However, they are seasonally appropriate for summer and that’s about it. So if your bump is growing well into the fall, add lots of open waterfall sweaters to your wardrobe as these will produce the same affect and allow you to spend more on something you’ll get use out of later on when you’re not pregnant.

Long t-shirts in bigger sizes helped me out greatly when it came to dressing down. In fact, honestly if I was going to panic about anything it would have been about what I was going to wear casually, but I found several great shirts from TJMaxx, Ross and Forever21 for less than $20 that weren’t maternity and fit over my bump. Then for just around the house or running errands, I went to AC Moore and picked up several $4 plain Gildan tees to wear with workout pants and sweats.

All of these tips will help you feel more beautiful and less frustrated when you get dressed with your baby bump. Plus they’ll fill your closet with pieces you’ll be able to wear long after that little one comes out into the world!

Working on a little baby bump? See what I wore for that here!