Belly Bands for Pregnancy: Look Stylish and Save Money on Maternity Clothing

Maternity bands for jeans are an ingenious little invention that allow you to extend the amount of time you can wear your pre-pregnancy clothes, both your pants and shirts. As the names implies, they are wide, stretchable bands of stylish fabric you wear around your belly to hide skin exposure. They give you the length you need to cover that expanding skin gap, you know the one.

The best part? You can still wear your favorite pair of jeans, unbuttoned, of course since the belly band will hide the undone button and zipper. Since the bands are snug, they are also great for holding up any loose maternity pants in the postpartum phase. Since the layered look is in, you will look stylish, to boot! And, your clothes will look more form-fitting, instead of loose and frumpy. Some women also enjoy how they provide a little bit of extra support to the growing stomach.

Investing in a few bands saves you money compared to buying a whole new maternity wardrobe. Costing only $15.99 to $16.99, they are considerably less than buying maternity jeans or pants.

They are stylish and will allow for a highly varied wardrobe. You will still be able to wear your regular button down shirts, sweaters, tee shirts and fitted jackets without exposing your growing belly. They also help keep up jeans and pants by adding support to your belly so its weight is less likely to push and roll down your pants. If you're looking for additional abdominal and back support, check out Review: Best Pregnancy Belly Support: The Pregnancy Belt and Maternity Girdle.

Belly bands act a little like body shapers, smoothing out panty lines and giving you that extra bit of support you need. They also provide back support, which every pregnant woman needs.

They can also be used postpartum. They are a perfect addition to your wardrobe as you slowly transition back into your regular clothes.

They are a great way to keep yourself covered up when you're breastfeeding your new baby.

In the early weeks of pregnancy, before you've gotten very big, you will still find these pregnancy bands for jeans useful. In fact, there's a little trick to make them customizable for your size, you just need to fold the band. Before you're very big, you won't need to cover your entire abdomen, only the bottom part of your abdomen.

Here's what you do... Put the belly band on inside out, tuck the bottom into your pants or jeans and then fold over the top part. This way the right side will be showing and you'll be able to custom fit how much skin you need to cover. Easy peasy!

They are not one-size-fits-all, so you will need to pay attention to sizing. Most sizes correspond to the size you were pre-pregnancy. For example, with the wildly popular Baby Be Mine ones, a size one is for pre-pregnancy sizes 0-4, size two for 6-12, size three for 14-18, and size four for 18-24. It can be difficult to determine the appropriate size to get if you are on the border. They tend to run large, so if you're on the border, order the smaller size of the two. If you know you've gained a lot of water weight and/or fat during your pregnancy, bear that in mind when considering your size.

I just had to include this very cool, inventive and unique way to solve the open zipper problem with pants. The Belly Belt Combo Kit by Fertile Mind is perfect in conjunction with standard belly bands, or as a stand-alone way to extend the use of your pre-pregnancy pants. It provides a one-size-fits-all way to transform your regular pants into maternity pants.

Each kit comes with two different size belts and three fabric panels, which the belts slide into. You simply slide the belt into the fabric panel and button the belt into the preexisting buttons and holes in your pants, jeans or skirt. Voila! You've successfully turned your favorite clothing into maternity wear.

Ingenious, huh?