18 weeks + thoughts on borrowing maternity clothes

I remember 20 plus years ago when my mom was pregnant with my little brother how she borrowed clothes from friends, but hadn't really heard my friends talk about it. When I got pregnant and finally started telling people, I thought at least one person would offer their stash of maternity clothes to borrow, however the time came to start wearing maternity pants and no one said a word to me about it. So several weeks ago, I consulted Twitter about the protocol for borrowing maternity clothes.

Thanks to some encouragement from Andrea, Virginia, Hannah, and Amber, I went ahead and asked a few friends if they had maternity clothes I could borrow. I wanted to borrow clothes for a few reasons.
>> Budget. We have a limited budget and maternity clothes are expensive. I learned this quickly in my first online perusal of maternity clothing basics. 
>> Expand my wardrobe. Who doesn't like to have option when it comes to getting dressed? I used to love sharing clothes with my roommates in college.
>> Timing. I'm not guaranteed to get pregnant again or be pregnant at the same time of year, so spending money on winter/spring maternity clothes doesn't seem wise (we do want more than one kid).

My cousin mailed me a box of maternity clothes since she's done using them. One friend told me she already gave hers away (she'd had a baby last spring) and another had hers and told me she was glad I asked about it. This past weekend, our schedules finally meshed and I was able to pickup the clothes, most of which will be great for the office.

Here's how I went about asking to borrow maternity clothes.
>> Make a list. I made a list of friends who were close in size. I was mostly concerned about height since I'm slightly taller than average at 5'7" and have long legs (finding pants that are the right length can be a challenge).
>>  Ask. Most of the friends that made that list aren't friends I see very often (a few times a month or less), so I decided email was the best way to reach out and ask. I also mentioned my search in a few conversations that yielded suggestions for where to look for used maternity clothes (not the same as borrowing, but certainly easier on the wallet)!
>> Make time. Coordinating schedules can be another hurdle in itself when it comes to actually getting the clothes. Thankfully, friends made time since they knew I was literally running out of pants that fit me!

It's only been a few days since my wearable wardrobe nearly doubled in size and I am so grateful!  I've found that several of my pre-maternity tops still work, especially when layering a long tank underneath but it's the pants that are making me happy. Having more than one pair of pants and a few skirts to wear to work has been amazing, especially since 30 has been the high and tights don't cut it in those temps!

I'm linking up with Lindsey for What I Wore Wednesday!