Review: Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband (vs generics)

I bought my Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband when I found out I was pregnant, thinking it would, as advertised, be great for holding up my "normal" pants in early pregnancy and covering the gap between the bottom of too-short maternity tops and low-rise maternity pants in late pregnancy.  It did both of these things well, but what I consider the BEST use of the Bellaband is the containing and hiding the post-pregnancy midsection jiggly bits.  I wear it with normal shirts and it turns any shirt into a nursing top by hiding the midsection that tends to hang out and greet others when I am breastfeeding.   It comes in a ton of colours (though I just have one, in a neutral cream shade) so you can co-ordinate it with any wardrobe.  Because it is basically an elastic tube, it not only hides your midsection, but it also helps rein in any post-baby muffin top and smooths any other lumps and bumps so that you can look sleek (if not slim) in your summertime tanks and tees.

After buying an Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband (on eBay, to save money), it occurred to me that I might want more than one, in different colours, so I went splits with a pregnant friend on a set of five generic bands from another eBay seller.  I think I bought the wrong size, because I find the generic bands to be too stretchy to really hold anything in, and a bit too tall to wear post-baby.  I like to use the back pocket of my jeans (yes, my iPhone gets sat on ALL.THE.TIME.) and so I don't like to pull the band down so far that I don't have access to the pocket, but with the generic band, I have to pull it down this far so that it doesn't bunch up under my bra.  I was a size 8/10 pre-pregnancy, and so I bought the Bellaband in their size 1 (sizes 0 to 8).  I bought the generic bands in a size Medium (sizes 6-12) because I thought that would be more appropriate than their size Small (0-8).  If I were to do it over, I think I would have bought either two Ingrid & Isabel (one light, one dark), OR I would have gotten a 5 pack of the generics in a size Small.  I still think the Ingrid & Isabel brand has a better stretch and "holding power" so budget permitting, that's what I would choose.

Check out the Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband on their website at http://www.ingridandisabel.com/category/ingrid-isabel-catalog/bellaband.  Or, opt for the generic brand bands over on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.ca/1-2-3-5-BE-BELLA-Bands-maternity-belly-nursing-tops-/

How about you - did you wear a belly band in your pregnancy or afterwards? Did you have a preferred brand?