Maternity Pants that Fit -- and Feel Good!

I bought a pair of over-the-belly maternity pants when I was expecting my little boy. I heard a friend telling another friend how they were the only pants that worked for her. Naturally, I assumed that meant that they worked best for everybody and the pants with the wide elastic were completely uncomfortable. I had purchased this pair before I was really big enough to tell if they would fit the best. As time went on, I realized that they didn't work that well for me, so I invested in two pairs of jeans that had the wide elastic. They were much more comfortable and didn't feel like they were falling down all the time. I wore them frequently throughout my pregnancy. I also experienced that I preferred pants that didn't have elastic in the waist and sat below the waist line. I believe they are called under-the-belly pants. They seem harder to find, but I may not have looked at the right stores. After I had my little boy, I turned down the elastic on my pants and sewed it in place so that they had a lower waist, and wore them like that until I could finally fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, about five months later.

With my next pregnancy, I have worn my jeans with the elastic that is turned down and sewn in place. I wear jeans a lot, so it is hard to get by with just two pairs of jeans. I have tried wearing my over-the-belly jeans a few times, but always with much discomfort.

Today, I did the cooles thing. I purchased a piece of 3" elastic (I could have used 2" wide elastic just fine though) and sized them it up agains the length of elastic in the maternity capris that are size medium. I wear a size small for most things and can fit into a medium for the last two or three months of a pregnancy. The capris are the most comfortable pair of pants that I have. I sewed the length of the elastic in place to be the same diameter around as the capris. Then I sewed the elastice into the over-the-belly panel. This was a little bit hard to do since the stretchy material is a little bit difficult to manipulate, but after several small blunders and the use of a seam ripper, I finally suceeded.
I then proceeded to turn down the elastic waist and sew it in place on either side of the label, down the fly line and next to the seam on both of the sides.

When I tried on the pants the fit perfectly and now are more comfortable than either of my other two pairs of jeans. The only downside is that the pockets are a slight challenge to get to. The best part about it? The size small jeans have a size medium waist, so they fit in the pants and the waist exactly as I need them to, and comfort is achieved along with practicality! I was so excited that I called up one of my friends just to tell her of my success!