I love to buy clothes. For those who know me well, this comes as no surprise. However, after having a baby, trying on clothes was the last thing I wanted to do.
My first son Luke, was born in November which was great from a fashion standpoint. I basically lived in leggings and yoga pants for 5 months post-partum (and still do). After all, every day was simply about surviving, not thinking about fashion. (Yes, there was a point when I thought ONE child was tough, one child now feels like a vacation!)
However, with my second son, Jake, I was not so fortunate. He was born at the end of April in Houston, TX. Those of you unfamiliar with Houston may be thinking spring is the PERFECT time to have a baby. Let me tell you, there is no such thing as “spring” in Houston. I couldn’t pull off yoga pants or sweats in 90 plus degree weather.
As I was getting dressed one morning to take my oldest son to Mother’s Day Out, I remember staring at the shorts lying in my dresser drawer and thinking No.way. I’ll sweat to death in yoga pants before I try to squeeze into shorts. As if trying to get dressed or do anyting after a baby isn’t hard enough, I was also dealing with trying to dress my not so svelte post-partum body. {Not that I had Giselle Bundchen’s body prior to babies, but I definitely looked and felt different post-partum.}
After trying on my whole closet, I found that maxi skirts and dresses, tunics, shift dresses and accessories were great wardrobe staples that made me feel comfortable in my unfamiliar body.
My go to clothing piece (even when I didn’t just have a baby) for the post partum bod is the Maxi skirt. Most maxi skirts are made of elastic at the waist. Ladies, let elastic be your best friend during your bodies post partum “season.” Not to mention in the summer maxi skirts also afford you the luxury to skip the necessary leg shaving.
Welcome the sister of the maxi skirt, the maxi dress. I love this piece of clothing for many of the same reasons as the skirt. Including that it has the added benefit of not having to choose a shirt. It’s a one stop shop. Just throw on the maxi dress and you are good to go. Maxi dresses are perfect for layering too. You can throw a cardigan, jean jacket or chambray shirt over a maxi during cooler months. Helpful hint: When choosing a maxi dress, cotton is definitely the way to go. It’s comfy and non-clingy, which is important during hot summer months.
I absolutely love tunics. Long in the front and back, yes sign me up for one in every color. Wearing a tunic covered all my post-partum problem areas and also allowed me to wear my beloved cropped leggings.
The very name of this dress is appealing. A shift dress lacks a definitive shape of any sort, which is ideal when you feel as if your body has taken on a less than desirable shape since giving birth. This dress is also great because it is non-clingy especially around the stomach region.
Accessories
Want to draw attention away from your post-partum problem areas? Wear a fun scarf, dangly earrings, stack dozens of bracelets, or wear a statement necklace. After all, my neck, wrists, and ears were not my problem areas. Wearing accessories made me look both put together and fashionable even though my body was feeling anything but that.
Although dressing myself was not a top priority during those first few tough months at home, it did make me feel somewhat “normal” again. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself. After all, you just gave birth and you should proudly rock the post-baby bump.
What were your go-to fashion staples postpartum?
I also struggle with dressing my body after having my second baby. I’m still nursing him and have found dresses and tunics just don’t work well with that. I desperately miss dresses because of how easy they are to throw on and go and still look presents bel and flattering.
Amen to that. Nursing in the summer is so hard for that reason – dresses aren’t exactly made for hiking up! 🙂
Some of my maxi dresses were strapless which made it super easy to nurse. Also the maxi skirts I wore, I paired with tanks that were stretchy which also made nursing easy.
I put nursing tanks under tunics and have worn them since Day 1 nursing my son…dresses are definitely harder for me. I’m pretty big up top when breastfeeding, so strapless is not my friend! But if I can get a boob out, it’s a “nursing dress” 😉