I'd seen those elastics you can attach to the buttons and button-hole of trousers to increase the space between them but it's not very discreet, especially since it doesn't do anything with the zip. I improvised this effect with hair-bands for a while but the first time someone told me my zip was undone I resolved to buy myself a Yummy Mummy Tummy.
Known by other names as well, especially in other countries, this knitted band is supposed to fit snugly but elastically around your waist so you can hide unbuttoned jeans underneath it, as pictured.Ordering and delivery
Although the gateway the site uses for processing payment was down the first few times I tried to order, it was back within an hour or so. I found the site easy to navigate and cute to look at, and the shopping basket secure and easy to use. I chose a counter-to-counter next day delivery (counter to counter is cheaper than door to door but I still wanted it soon - I'm not a patient kind of person!).
I was impressed when the lady who presumably owns the business phoned me to say that she was going to drive past my place of work (whose address I specified as the delivery address) on her way to the post office, can she just drop it off at reception. Thus I had my package even sooner than expected - she did keep my delivery fee, but I suppose she did go very slightly out of her way.
The package was beautifully wrapped in the black and white striped pattern central to the website design, and it was lovely to get a "present" in the middle of the working day like that. The product packaging was also lovely.
Size friendly
I love that the site carries two sizes of this product:
Size 1 (pre-pregnancy dress size 28 - 36)
Size 2 (pre-pregnancy dress size 38 - 46)
(those are SA / UK sizes), and that it does so without making you feel the least bit uncomfortable about needing size 2. If you've never been a plus-sizer trying to find pretty or even just comfortable things to wear, you will never know that this is a real concern.
However, unfortunately I don't think two sizes are enough. Maybe it'll change as my belly grows, but I find the size 2 (and although I'm a fair few sizes up from the lower 38, I'm not at the top end, 46, either) is too big to effectively keep my jeans up at the moment. I'm still using my hair-band trick underneath it, or with bigger/baggier trousers I'm just buttoning them up and using the band instead of a belt.
Using the product
The other disappointment, and this is more of a problem, is the thickness of the material. I appreciate that there are probably considerations such as not causing an already warmer pregnant belly to overheat, but the material is just too thin. From the descriptions and very much from the pictures I had envisages being able to wear this sticking out under my tops like a camisole or vest top. However it's not nearly as discreet as I had hoped since the shape of a denim fly, zip and button are clearly noticeable underneath and I still need to wear tops that cover the fly region, kind of making the band obsolete. The material also looks like underwear. The black is the best one in these terms; the shape of the jean underneath is extremely noticable in the white and the beige just looks like old-fashioned underwear, it's that petticoat colour (there was a 3 for 2 offer for web orders, ok?).
I concede that most women don't prefer to wear their trousers in their waist like me but on their hips, and maybe there it's less noticeable, but I had had higher hopes for the product.
On the upside, I have gotten extremely used to the soft hugging feeling over my belly when I wear it pulled up. This might however result from a lifetime of being self conscious of my belly and the feeling I like may well be something "holding it in" by association. This is not a conscious preference, and I am not at all interested anymore in whether my belly is or looks big or small enough for other people's liking, but I am aware of the cumulative sub-conscious effect those concerns might have had in my life before being pregnant or embarking on my Body Acceptance journey.
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The last concession that I must make is that I don't know how many of the issues I have with the product will disappear as my baby grows. If they do, I will post about it again.
To summarize:
✓ great idea, well presented;
✓ there are a nice amount of colour choices;
✓ catering for larger women;
x the broad size categories don't make for a great fit;
x the thin material makes it far less versatile than it can be;
✓ the physical sensation is comforting.
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