My Postpartum Wardrobe

It’s been a while since I id an outfit round up. Not since I was pregnant, in fact! There’s good reason for that. The main one, of course, is the fact I gave birth and have been more than a little busy since our little boy arrived! The second though, has been my motivation to do so. See, I found pregnancy unexpectedly enjoyable. I loved my growing bump, the way it made my body look and the fun I had finding creative ways to dress. But then came baby. At first I just didn’t have the time to think about my outfits, never mind write a post about them. I was sleep deprived, exhausted, and spent most of my waking hours feeding or consoling my little boy. Then when he was peacefully sleeping, I just couldn’t bring myself to put him down or stop staring at him! That phase didn’t last long though, and I soon found myself settling into some sort of a routine which included getting dressed everyday, but still, the motivation to write about what I was wearing didn’t come. My body had changed, and I wasn’t loving it. Plus I was breastfeeding now, and had only just come to realise that I was not at all prepared – I’d spent so much time worrying about how much of my wardrobe was maternity friendly, I’d completely forgotten to factor in breastfeeding, and it was tougher than I thought! So what resulted was a few weeks of me feeling a bit lost, style wise. I got up and dressed, true, I even posted those outfits on Instagram each day, but a lot of the time I didn’t feel like ‘me’, so was really struggling to find the words to talk about it. The truth is, an element of that still exists. As much as I’m loving having a bit of a break from work, it did give me an excuse to get dressed up everyday, and it’s taking me a little while to come to terms with that no longer being the case and find my new normal, so most days what I put on feels a little like a costume. I’m getting there though, and here are the pieces I couldn’t do without right now…

Wrap Styles

Be it a dress, a top or a cardigan with a cami underneath, the wrap has become my best friend since Bailey was born. Not only is it an incredibly flattering shape (heck, I’ve never had boobs before, so why wouldn’t I want to show them off?!) it provides super easy access even when out and about so has fast become my absolute favourite thing to wear. In the early days when I was getting used to feeding in public I did feel a little exposed so tended to use a cover and wrap styles made that super easy to do without smothering the poor little guy with extra layers of clothing! A lot of my Summer dresses – i.e all those floaty midis – are wrap shaped so these got lots of wear before the cold weather kicked in. Unfortunately not as many of my shorter tea dresses which I wear so much in Winter are, so that’s an area I might find a bit trickier through the next few months!

Button Through

Blouses and button through dresses offer the same benefits of a wrap style, though when you’re first getting to grips with things undoing and doing up those buttons can be a bit annoying, especially when your baby is cluster feeding! I lost count of how many times I gave up on doing the back up and walked around the house with my bra out! Thankfully me and Bailey have found our stride now so those days are over and I don’t look quite so much of a slob!

Midi Skirts

Now, midi skirts aren’t exactly breastfeeding friendly – you still have the challenge of finding something to wear on your top half – but I have really enjoyed discovering these again after months of not being able to wear them while I was pregnant so they deserve a feature. I love that I always feel like I have something pretty to wear, even if it’s just paired with a plain vest.

Loose Tops

After a few weeks of obsessing over buttons and wraps and bemoaning the fact that wearing jeans had become a rarity now, I realised I was overthinking things. Wearing my favourite sweater or a pretty, floaty top was completely possible – I just needed to layer with an easy access vest underneath. I haven’t really bought many nursing clothes other than bras, but I did invest in a couple of nursing camis from H&M which have been a god send! As log as it’s loose enough to lift up I can throw any top over them, and they add a little extra coverage when feeding too so I don’t need to panic if I forget to pack my cover when leaving the house!

Buy Of The Month

So, completely not breastfeeding related, but these gorgeous boots from Zara – which I picked up for just £17 at TK Maxx – are my absolute favourite thing right now. I’ve been after a pair of camel boots for an age and these are the perfect shape and real leather – I just can’t believe what a bargain they were! They make everything I wear feel more polished somehow, and that is something I really needed to feel lately.

Outfit Of The Month

Once upon a time this outfit would have been perfectly run of the mill, the kind of thing I’d have happily trotted out for a normal day at work. This day was three weeks after Bailey was born though, I put it on for a photo shoot we’d booked for him and it was the first time in weeks I felt like myself again. Amazing what a splash of red lipstick can do to your self esteem!

I’m sure I have many more challenges to come now that Winter is definitely here to stay, and I haven’t even thought about the festive season yet! Breastfeeding in sequins may be a tricky one! Wish me luck!

Love,

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