Today’s post is in response to a reader request from new mum Kate:
“I recently had my first baby and was wondering if you could do a post on what to wear for the post pregnancy breastfeeding mumma? I had an unexpected and definitely not planned for caesarean and I’ve been a bit lost in my personal body image. Would love to have some ideas for what to wear to get me feeling like myself again.”
When I read Kate’s email, it took me back a decade.
Back to the excitement, thrill, joy and wonder of welcoming a newborn in to the world.
That delicious new born scent.
Their tiny hands and feet.
The exhaustion – physical and mental – of working out how to care for and feed a new baby.
That high pitched new born cry and the fear that you’ll never sleep through the night ever again.
The dawning revelation that things will never be the way the used to be.
In every respect.
Looking back, I was very fortunate to have a pretty smooth transition to parenthood, although it was still an enormous shock to my system.
My baby fed well from the get go and got the hang of the sleeping thing pretty quickly. (The same could not be said for his younger brothers though in later years – glad we had a soft start!).
He was healthy, beautiful and much, much longed for but at the same time, his arrival was like a grenade into our well ordered lives.
As the far reaching effects of having our first child became apparent (once the new routine – feeding – sleeping biz had settled down), one of the things I struggled with early on was finding my groove again in the fashion department. As you might have gathered, I love fashion and I’d always had confidence in choosing what to wear, what suited me and I had been able wear pretty much anything I wanted to.
Then there was Boob Gate.
All of a sudden my already generous bust was venturing into Foreign (with a capital F) territory. My once flat-ish stomach had gone AWOL, never to return, helped along thank you very much with two more pregnancies in the following years.
I developed bags under my eyes that have never left and then there’s the occasional but always unpleasant discovery of grey hair.
It was all a bit confronting.
I didn’t have a lot of headspace and energy to devote to my fashion crisis of course – caring for a baby was all consuming and then some – nevertheless I did feel like I’d lost my way not to mention my confidence.
Over time, however, I was able to work out how to dress my new bod and how to feel good in what I wore again.
So in this post, I’m sharing some of the things that helped me find my style mojo post baby. I’d love to hear what worked for you in the comments below …
1. A pants/top combo is the easiest in the early days – I should preface this by saying I had three winter babies (June/early July) so it was freaking cold when I brought my babies home from hospital.
In those early weeks and months when I was feeding pretty much all the time, I found the easiest thing to wear was a long sleeved tee or button up shirt, like (7) below, and jeans/yoga pants as I spent most of the time on the couch feeding with the odd walk in between feeds – I just threw on my runners as I left the house.
I loved that my yoga pants could be folded up to cover my belly if we had friends/family over during a feed and there were no zips or buckles digging in, particularly in those early days when you still feel tender and are spending more time than you ever knew possible sitting on the couch.
I also loved my Bonds breastfeeding singlets, (1) below, which were a bit firm and provided some stomach coverage – they were great for layering under shirts, tops and knits too. I didn’t mind breastfeeding in public but I wasn’t keen on showing my stomach.
Once I’d introduced solids and was breastfeeding less (and the weather was warming up too), a skirt and tee combo often worked and later on, dresses – more on that below.
2. Dresses can still work – Dresses that button or zip up are ideal when you’re feeding. I often felt pretty exposed though, so a cardy or a scarf draped over the top can provide a bit of extra coverage if that’s your preference.
In summer, strappy dresses with broad straps (to cover a maternity bra) which are easy to pull down were great too.
3. Balance out a bigger bust with fitted pants/jeans – Some people are quite happy with the changes in their bust size but not all of us are so thrilled – particularly those of us who had big boobs to begin with.
I felt enormous on top in those early months and working out what to wear that was easy to breastfeed in was tricky. I wanted something loose to skim over my ginormous boobs and tummy but didn’t want everything I wore to be baggy or voluminous.
Ultimately, I found that my bigger bust was often best countered and balanced with skinny jeans or fitted pants on my lower half.
So I stuck to loose tees and swing tops, like (4) below, over skinny jeans and jeggings and found this was comfortable and much more flattering.
4. High waisted anything and everything – from pants to jeans and skirts, look for high waisted options to keep things smooth and flattering. They’ll help flatten a post partum tummy too.
These days there are loads of high waisted styles around including these Jeans West jeans, (8), below.
As well as kissing my low slung hipster jeans farewell permanently, I also said sayonara to my hipster knickers, instead opting for high waisted, seamless undies (I wear these Bonds Invistails, (6), below) to prevent muffin top central.
ABOVE: 1. Maternity Support Singlet, $44.95 from Bonds; 2. Tahiti Necklace from Tiny and I, $39.95 from Hard to Find; 3. Colour Block Scarf, $39.95 from Sussan; 4. Melanie Swing Top by Betty Basics, $29.95 from Birdsnest; 5. New Balance Classics in Navy, $100 from The Iconic; 6. Invisitails undies, $17.95 (or 3 for $30) from Bonds; 7. Josie Pleated Blouse, $139 from Bohemian Traders; 8. Prima Bodhi High Waisted Curve Embracer Jeans, $139 from Jeans West.
5. Embrace Accessories – With a baby, I often felt so tired and didn’t have a lot of time or energy to devote to what I wore.
I did find though, that adding an accessory or two, such as a fun pair of earrings (nothing super dangly though) or a scarf, like (3) above, could really make a difference to a basic outfit and make me feel and look better.
When my youngest was a baby I also discovered these fab silicone necklaces from Tiny and I, (2) above. I love that you don’t have to be too precious with them as you can pop them in the dishwasher if they get grubby. Winning!
6. Introduce More Colour – One of the (many) changes of being at home with a baby for me was not having to wear a suit everyday.
Black and grey were synonymous with my corporate career, but all of a sudden I went from a predominantly corporate to a mostly casual wardrobe. This took a bit of getting used to, which you might also relate to if your pre baby work involved wearing a uniform or other specific work dress code.
With denim and yoga pants as my main staples, I found I could wear pretty much anything I liked colour wise.
And it was fun.
From tops to shoes, bags to scarves, I found that wearing my favourite colours (and some new ones) gave me a lift and added some variety to my every day wardrobe.
Coloured trainers like (5) above or Converse, were a fun place to start and suited my new predominantly casual lifestyle too.
7. Say Yes to Prints
Prints not only look great – they are super practical when you have a baby.
A print will hide baby vomit or other random bodily fluid or food item as your baby grows and starts solids.
8. Experiment
It took a while for me to build a functional casual wardrobe – pieces that were flattering, practical and comfortable for my “new job”.
Whenever I had the chance to hit the shops, I made the most of it and tried on heaps of different styles to figure out what suited my new shape.
Instead of hitting up my usual Witchery/Country Road/Cue trifecta where I’d shopped for much of my work wardrobe, I also made a point of going into different stores as a way to discover new brands that did great casual clothes that fitted my new budget (now we were down to one income) and lifestyle.
So next time you go to the shops, go into some different shops and discount department stores and try on things you’ve never tried on or worn before. You might be surprised with what you find.
9. If you can, keep up your hair and beauty routine – when you’ve got a new baby, taking time out to maintain your physical appearance can be a low priority and feel like an indulgence.
But it’s not.
A bit of time out for self care and personal maintenance can make us feel better and more like our former selves.
Of course this means different things to different people. It may simply mean washing your hair and painting your nails occasionally but for others, the full facial/spa experience.
For me, I found that maintaining my regular beauty routine – getting my hair coloured every 6 weeks, my legs/brows waxed and my toenails painted over the summer kept me feeling somewhat presentable, even when I spent a lot of time in tees and trackies.
In terms of the logistics, I either took my baby along to my appointment or found a new local place nearby to duck out to in between feeds while my Mum, MIL or Mr SnS cared for my baby.
The time out was an important benefit too.
10. Get some advice – if you genuinely have no idea what suits you anymore, ask a trusted friend or family member for some help. Ask them to help you do a wardrobe edit or to go shopping with you so you can try things on and get another opinion.
I’ve also had friends that were fortunate enough to score a session with a personal stylist to help them re-discover their style mojo and what suits their new shape. This is not essential of course, but can be a worthwhile exercise (and a great gift idea) if you’re looking for some fresh ideas or professional input. I’d like to think you’ll get plenty of style inspo by reading blogs like mine too!
11. Finally, be kind to yourself and accept the new you – it’s not breaking news that pregnancy and childbirth change your body forever.
Some people are able get pretty close to their pre baby body but most of us don’t.
And that’s perfectly OK.
I’m grateful for what my body has done and the beautiful babies it has miraculously produced and fed and I accept that this will have an impact on my body.
It must.
And it’s more than worth it.
I also try to remember that the process of ageing has an impact on our bodies and self image as well – I don’t just look like the way I do because I have kids. It’s natural and normal for our bodies to change over time.
It’s just taken a while to work out what my new body looks like (it keeps changing) and what works but we all get there eventually.
Where to Shop
Lastly, if you’re looking for places to shop for maternity and breastfeeding friendly clothing, it’s worth checking out Big W, Target, Jeans West, Bonds, Queen Bee and Pea in a Pod.
The new Dannii Minogue Maternity range at Target is great too.
At Birdsnest, they’ve styled a whole lot of breastfeeding outfits here to help you shop too.
For maternity clothing, check out Sussan, Ripe, Cotton On and this post at Styling You for an affordable winter maternity capsule wardrobe too.
This post contains some affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra and I earn a small commission. Read more in my Disclosure Policy here.
How did you find your post baby style mojo? Any tips you can share?