Maternity Hiking Clothes

[buckysprplmonkey]

Ugh! I think this is more a vent than anything. But if anyone has advice, I'll take that too. As I was planning our 9 day trip to the White Mountains this July, I realized that none of my hiking clothes fit. And while the elastic band or bella band tricks work fine for jeans or slacks, it's not super comfy when you're hiking several miles in the woods (neither is just getting something in a bigger size). So I found exactly one pair of maternity hiking pants online (and looking in the stores is a giant joke) and they wanted $70 for it. They can kiss my butt. So I picked up a couple patterns for maternity walking shorts/cargo capris/etc and ordered $70 worth of outdoor fabrics (suplex nylon and the sort from Rose City Textiles) to make my own. For $92, I'll get two pair of shorts, two pair of capris, three or more shirts and I'll have enough fabric left to make at least one pair of pants/shorts for each of the girls.

I've always been pregnant in the winter and had my babies before cool/comfortable hiking clothes were much of an issue (we don't do alot of winter hiking, but TONS in the summer), so this didn't even occur to me until now! Anyone else have luck/experience with maternity hiking gear?

[nnodnar]

Wow, this hadn't even occured to me before. I'm not a huge hiker but, we do have a 5 day camping trip planned for the end of July that will involve hiking and probably canoeing/kayaking. I had planned to try and coast through this with just belly bands but, boo, now I'm going to have to reconsider that.

Sweet deal making your own, though! Perhaps I will try and hack my way through a pattern, albeit with a cheapo fabric.

[buckysprplmonkey]

Butterick has some MAJOR easy maternity patterns that if you know how to work your sewing machine, you should be able to handle. Those are what I'm using. And Rose City Textiles online has great outdoors fabrics CHEAP. We're talking $3/yd for suplex nylon!

[mochimama]

I hike a lot. The last time I was pg I wore a lot of maternity shorts while hiking--mostly cotton ones which is not ideal for the rain, but being pg I was never too far from a trailhead anyway. I also found a few pants that have drawstring waists and they stretched out far enough to either cover my belly across the middle or tie underneath my belly. I remember I found a pair of ski pants for cross country skiing last time I was pg and I wore them every time I went out. Once you find the right pair of pants you cannot part with them!
Now if only I could get that pack waist buckle to extend a bit more!!!!

[buckysprplmonkey]

Now if only I could get that pack waist buckle to extend a bit more!!!!

Ha ha, I was googling hiking while pregnant (and a zillion variations on the theme) and one of the sites had the advice "don't try to buckle the waist strap on your pack." Duh.

[mochimama]

I know. Did the advice you read say anything about weight limits for carrying? I love to go hiking with dd and she doesn't want to walk all the time. We have a Kelty kids backpack, but the waist belt is crucial. I used it about 2 weeks ago, but I've sort of popped out since then and it would be more of an issue now. I wonder about this with slings, too. I use an Ergo and I'm still carrying dd around.

[buckysprplmonkey]

It said that weight limit should be less than what you normally carry, but really goes by what you're used to and to consult your doctor/midwife. My midwife is pretty easy going with stuff like that- even gave me clearance to rock climb, provided I do no bouldering or anything else that doesn't use a harness and that I don't use a waist harness.

As for slings/wraps, have you tried an onbuhimo? That's the only one that's comfortable for me right now. DD#2 is 2 in a week and weighs about 28 lb, so I don't wear her much anymore, but when I need to, it's a back carry in the onbu.

[~sweet pea~]

Originally Posted by buckysprplmonkey

Butterick has some MAJOR easy maternity patterns that if you know how to work your sewing machine, you should be able to handle. Those are what I'm using. And Rose City Textiles online has great outdoors fabrics CHEAP. We're talking $3/yd for suplex nylon!

OMG! Thank you for posting this! I'm going to give it a shot.

OT: I've been sewing for a few years, mostly household items like pillows and curtains. Last winter I decided to try my hand at sewing clothes. To help out with this, I had my sister help me make a dressform to my exact measurements, using the layers of masking tape over trash bag method. (BTW, that's a really great bonding exercise, but you might want hubby out of the house because you look absolutely ridiculous while it's in progress.) We did this in late January/ early February, just a few weeks before I conceived. I now have an exact replica of my pre-pregnancy self from neck to mid-thigh. My DH has dubbed it "the BEFORE."

[Birdie B.]

I am a big hiker too, and I found some Columbia pants 2 sizes larger than my normal size that fit great! For now, at least! They have a drawstring/pull cord thingy to tighten them, and they are so loose and comfortable. I got them at Sports Authority for $25. I recommend just getting pants that are a size or two larger than normal. Columbia also makes pants with elastic stretchy waist bands.
Good luck - I'm glad to see other preggos keeping up the outdoor activities!