The nearly ten months of pregnancy and the joy of birthing a baby easily overshadow the challenges of postpartum life as a new mom. This time comes with significant adjustments to your sleep schedule, increased responsibilities of caring for a newborn, and many physical changes.
Your emotional self may also be experiencing a rollercoaster with your newfound adoration of your child and your hormones adjusting to pre-pregnancy levels. When looking in the mirror, you want to feel confident, but you may still need to wait to wear your old wardrobe. Clothing plays a major role in your emotional and physical comfort after giving birth. You should look and feel great in outfits that flatter and support your healing body.
Check out our list of postpartum clothing ideas to ease you into your role as a new mom while also helping you look beautiful and stylish.
1. Go Casual in a Postpartum Dress
Whether it’s a welcoming party with close family a few weeks after bringing your child home or you want to get out of the house for a bit and enjoy brunch, wearing a modest dress that accentuates your new figure is important. There are many postpartum styles to choose from that can bring confidence through chic prints and a comfortable fit.
You don’t have to keep wearing your old maternity wear if it makes you feel frumpy or swimming in it because of its larger size. You aren’t pregnant anymore and don’t have to look like it with postpartum dress options.
2. Keeping Enjoying Relaxed-Fit Pants
While you may be sick of your maternity wear and can’t wait to enjoy more fitted options, your body has a lot of healing to do, including bringing down swelling and inflammation from the pregnancy and birth processes. While you can invest in some better-fitting options, hold onto your old ones.
You’ll find that struggling to get your leg into a tapered pant style is more of a struggle than you thought. This is an experience you don’t need if you’re one of the thousands of women each year who have undergone a c-section. Keep things loose and comfortable, especially at the waist and when trying to put them on.
3. Go with Unrestricting Tops
You’ve heard the saying ‘go with the flow, and you should keep this to heart when choosing your fashion options. For example, you may still be wearing loose maternity tops because your old clothes aren’t flattering to your changing figure. However, you might notice that your postpartum body isn’t met for the oversized front of these shirts and blouses.
Instead, look for tops that don’t have exaggerated fronts to display a pregnant stomach, and instead, go for flowing tops that give you 360-degree camouflage. This means you will only constantly pull your shirt out of awkward pinch points on your torso but not completely hide your figure under large amounts of additional fabric.
4. Nursing? They Make Shirts for That!
If you decide to nurse your baby, using an ordinary button-down shirt or larger tees and a privacy blanket may be enough. But, you’ll quickly find that buttons pop off at the worst possible moments, your nursing pads will leak, and tucking a baby under a tee shirt is more frustrating than convenient for latching.
Instead, check out the many stylish and multi-functional nursing clothing available for moms like yourself. These are smartly designed to avoid embarrassing breakage, provides support for nursing pumps and pads, and offer easy access for you and your child. Instead of fighting with buttons or stretching out your necklines to ensure your newborn has latched on correctly, convenient flaps and drop-down panels are built-in for ease. What a lifesaver, right?
5. Leggings are a Great Base Layer
When you think about leggings and jeggings, you probably imagine their lycra-based material clinging to all the wrong spots on your thighs and hips. This might be true if you’re wearing styles without the postpartum woman in mind. Your body could genuinely use the extra support that leggings provide, but go with maternity brands. These are made of heavier material, have ultra-comfortable, but supportive belly bands built into the waist, and are easily disguised with longer tops and layers.
Choose options with fun colors and designs to add a pop of style and personality to your look. And don’t be afraid to try them on in several sizes before buying so you can get the perfect fit for your body type.
6. Don’t Forget Loungewear
Even though you might be ready to get rid of the pajama bottoms and sweatpants forever after wearing them so much recently, remember, your body is still healing. You need comfortable loungewear that slips on and off easily, especially if you underwent a C-section procedure during your child’s birth.
Avoid adding to your discomfort and invest in a robe that is easy to put on if unexpected company comes. This minimizes additional stress when figuring out what to put on at the last minute. You’d be surprised how a light face of make-up, a hair tie, and a stylish robe can make all the difference in your look when caught off guard by a delivery or nosy neighbor.
7. Choose a Few Oversize Tops
While it’s nice to have a bit of a figure to show off, having a few oversized tops that you can accessorize with a belt and stylish flats can make you feel like a million bucks. Plus, you can also create a super casual look with just some leggings and sneakers to match if you feel like slumming it for a bit. The trick is to buy sweaters and shirts that are purposely cut to be oversized.
More than simply buying a regular top that’s two sizes larger won’t do. You’ll look big all over, and that’s not what you’re trying to achieve. Instead, ensure the sleeves, neckline, and bodice areas are flattering and fit well. You only want it bulky around areas you’re trying to compensate.
8. Accessories are Essential to Postpartum Wardrobes
When you’re considering new clothing to enhance your fashion sense after baby, remember that accessorizing will play a major role in your look. A broad belt around your upper waist can make an oversized shirt flatter your figure without highlighting your new curves.
Incorporating scarves can be a smart way to provide additional privacy when nursing your infant while out and about shopping with friends. You’ll also be glad you wore one if you spring a leak and your nursing pads can’t keep up. For many reasons, a well-placed scarf will prove a lifesaver and add a tasteful flair to your overall look.
If you can’t decide how to dress up, you’ll find that jewelry can add a simple elegance that doesn’t require a lot of fuss or glamour to pull off. This is a great approach when you still need an overly colorful wardrobe or you want to avoid wearing fabrics that could be easily damaged by baby spit-ups and drool. There will be plenty of messes to clean up, and the last thing you want to worry about is changing your clothes too.
Feel Confident in Your Skin with Postpartum Wear
Motherhood comes with a lot of expectations from the public, your friends and family, and from within yourself. Therefore, it’s important to make choices that are in the best interest of you and your child, not others’ opinions.
Choosing what to wear is about more than comfort and practicality, though. You deserve to feel confident and beautiful as you begin this new chapter in your life. So, take your time to heal and reclaim your style. You got this!
Florina Thomas
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