Back to normal programming…sort of! Nowadays, some of my outfit photos are likely to be photobombed by a small human…and apparently also a robot lawnmower. You know, normal life.
Figuring out what to wear after giving birth is no easy business. During my 3 nights in hospital after birth, I wore a nightie for two whole days, then swapped to leggings and vest tops for the other two days, so that was easy enough. The hospital was SO hot though that I wished I had a pair of stretchy, comfortable shorts to wear with the vest tops!
When I arrived home is when things got a bit more confusing. The first few days, I wore my maternity jeans, tights or leggings with stretchy tops, but I quickly realised a couple of issues. First, my bump had stretched out those bottoms so that, even though my tummy wasn’t yet back to normal, the maternity clothes were a bit too big now. Secondly, I’m breastfeeding Emmy so I need easy access tops, and it turned out that a lot of my clothes don’t work for this – I hadn’t really thought about the fact I’d want to be in and out of my tops up to 10 times a day!
So a shopping trip was necessary! Our first time out with the pram, Ben and I went to Matalan so I could pick up some button up or V neck tops so that I could have more options for nursing. I picked up a few items, but it turned out when I got home that one of the tops had fake buttons so wasn’t even useful! I’m still able to lift it up to feed as it’s slightly cropped, but that wasn’t what I planned! I also grabbed a pair of fairly stretchy jeans in a size 12 – one size up from my pre-pregnancy size – and these fit me perfectly and were really comfortable.
But since I’d failed a little bit at buying clothes that were actually functional on that trip, I had to make another couple of trips. The next two weeks, I joined my mum on her weekly supermarket trips and popped into Primark and H&M on these to find more clothes – this time with real buttons!
And here’s where this outfit comes into play – not that you can really see the outfit! I’ve been very lucky to be able to get back into my old jeans since about 3 weeks postpartum. Apparently I had a “tall” bump rather than a “sticky out” one, as a few midwives told me, so it meant my tummy returned to its usual size quite quickly – the only issue I’m having is that my already sizeable chest is even more sizeable now! So these jeans are my old Hollister ones, but I grabbed this flouncy white button up blouse in H&M, and I really like it. It’s pretty enough to make a “nice” outfit, but it’s also functional with real buttons. I’m a little concerned about the white colour with the various potential stains from baby bodily functions going on right now, but you know, I’ll take what I can!
And the final piece of the outfit – the baby carrier! Before Emmy was born, I’d read a bit about babywearing and liked the idea. I bought this wrap style sling, but trying this both before and after birth, I’m still not very confident with it. So as we approached due date, I also ordered this Infantino Carrier, and I’m so pleased I did – I use it all the time.
At first, Emmy was a sleepy baby – a lot of newborns are sleepier than you expect babies to be, but because of her jaundice, she was so sleepy that she would remain asleep anywhere you put her. This meant she would stay asleep in the Moses basket, her Baby Box or in anyone’s arms, being passed around the room. Nowadays, she’s a lot more awake and alert, but also isn’t a big fan of naps anywhere that isn’t my body in the day time. I can put her down for a little while, but I know that she sleeps better and longer when she’s on me. On top of that, I’ve been moving around a lot – whether that’s out and about (we’ve done quite a bit of walking) or just around the house. As we have 3 floors and our washing machine is in the garage, and we have a lot of washing to do right now, that means if I put her down, I might be on a different floor to her while I put away washing or even in (technically) a different building if I’m putting washing on.
So, baby carrier it is! This one has been wonderful. It feels safe and secure, and is comfortable to wear. I bought it when it was on offer, so I got it for almost half the price it seems to be listed at right now. It has 4 different ways to wear it, right from newborn (8lb) up to 32lb, with facing in, facing out and back carrying, so it should last us a while.
I’ll admit, it did take a bit of figuring out (and a few YouTube tutorials!) at first, but now I’ve got the hang of it, I’m in love. I now take this out more often than I take the pram – the only problem is that I can’t really carry my nappy bag, which is backpack style, at the same time as wearing Emmy, so it could do with some pockets for me to store a few things – I just need to figure out another bag to go with it, or get another carrier that’s a bit more convenient!
Hopefully I’ll get the chance to take some more outfit photos soon too. I do have another set ready that I got Ben to snap as Emmy waited patiently in her car seat the other day, but it’s not so easy with a newborn baby in tow! Let me know if you have any tips aside from involving a (usually unwilling!) husband!
Outfit Details
Baby Carrier: Infantino via Amazon | Top: H&M | Jeans: Hollister | Shoes: Primark
