A friend of mine asked me to write a post about what baby items are truly necessary , and how to prepare for baby well before he or she arrives. I am so happy to oblige that I think I'll do a series. I am certainly no expert being a new mom myself, but I have learned quite a bit in the last 10 months and it will be really fun to share what I know with you.
Start Now
Even if your baby is little more than a thought, there are things you can do to start preparing to expand your family. Motherhood brings a lot of changes, to you AND your wardrobe.
Start Building A Flexible Wardrobe
Nothing can prepare you for the drastic bodily changes that occur during pregnancy. You might look at pregnant women and think "She looks pretty much the same except with a basketball under her shirt." You're wrong. EVERYTHING grows and EVERYTHING stretches and you will be utterly amazed at how stinkin' huge you are in the end. Facts of life my friends.
I made the mistake of thinking I could sneak by with a few maternity tops and 2 pairs of maternity jeans. By the end I was wearing my mom's housecoat around feeling like a blimp. I wish I had invested in more maternity pieces because I felt awful about myself and I was uncomfortable in t-shirts that were much too tight. So even if that day is far off, you can start getting ready for family life right now by picking up a cute maternity top/dress from the sale rack every now and then. I wouldn't go too crazy buying maternity pants though---the fact is your bottom is probably going to expand much more than you can even imagine at this point.
 |
| So large...and this is the good pic. Those are my faithful maternity jeans that I wore pretty much everyday. I chose a sweater and scarf to minimize the hugeness. |
It took me a good while to get back to my normal size, and during the interim I did not fit into a single piece of my pre-pregnancy clothing. At that point I was sick of rotating maternity clothes! For the post-partum stage you are going to want a couple pairs of basic black yoga pants with a panel. You can pass them off for slacks if you pair them with the right top and they won't bother your incision and such if you end up having a c-section. You might also think about picking up a pair or two of stretch jeans/slacks 2 sizes bigger than your usual size-you'll thank me later. Also, my mom bought me a really cute PJ outfit for my baby shower. It's PJ bottoms, cutesie top and a long sweater with a cinched waist. BEST INVESTMENT EVER! My Mom says it's the best gift she's ever bought me because I wore...ok wear...it so much. I've almost worn them out and it hasn't even been a year!
This was probably really silly of me, but I simply did not realize how ill-fitting my clothes would be post pregnancy. Even though I am back to my pre-pregnancy size, I am shaped differently. Before I got pregnant I guess I thought that once I lost the baby weight my old clothes would be just fine--this has not been my experience.
On top of this, breastfeeding presents a clothing conundrum. While breastfeeding you'll want to wear tops with easy access to the goods and you'll probably be quite a bit bustier than usual. Bearing these factors in mind, you can stock up on button-up shirts with a little more room up top.
 |
| Got this thin, buttoned blouse at Target. It was a splurge but it's been a life saver. It's one size larger than my usual size (which as you can see in the picture was necessary even 3 months post partum). |
If you know a family is in the near future, you can start prepping by making your wardrobe more flexible. There are also a few key purchases and suggestions I have for all that baby gear so stay tuned for the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment