Stop, Drop and Blog

I’m three months postpartum. Tomorrow will mark 15 weeks since LittleBrother made his exit from my body and entered the world as we know it. I’ve let everyone know that I’ve reached my postpartum weight (but still have some weight to lose to hit my 2008 weight goal) but am still lamenting the fact that my pants simply do not fit. I’m learning to accept it basically because two kids keep me too busy to worry about it … all that much.

That said, I have learned how to dress for my body type during this transitional period. I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeves… and pant legs… and stuffed in various places. I thought I would share. I’m not all that great at taking pictures of myself as we do not have a full length mirror right now so I’ll save you some hassle and go shopping for you, links and all. (That said: I’m thrifty, especially for transitional clothes. You’re not going to find any high-end clothing options on this list.) Since Spring is (hopefully? It’s dumping snow right now…) on the horizon, I’ll be linking you to Spring options.

1. Embrace the long shirt. I’m thankful that this is not 1999 and we are not being inundated with the Britney Spears of Olden Day, belly shirts and all. The current style is something you can use to your benefit. It’s the long shirt. I currently prefer my shirts to hit, at minimum, past the belt loops on my jeans and really, really love when they make it all the way to my hips.  This benefits the postpartum shape in many ways. Longer shirts are less likely to ride up and expose muffin tops. The extra length provided by a longer shirt gives you a higher chance that your  muffin top can be covered if you are nursing in public. Go with the V-neck and, as such, embrace your bosom. Accentuating your neckline and chest will help take eyes off of the tummy area. Old Navy has a plethora of long shirts anymore, but these are a few of my favorites. For a dressier option, try a kimono shirt like this from Chadwicks.Scared about V-necks (or other lower cut necklines) and your newly inherited breastfeeding cleavage? See next.

2. Get a nice fitting tank and wear it under everything. If you can find a nursing tank that fits nicely, more power to you. Lately, I’ve just been wearing normal tanks. Some have a shelf bra while others are simply normal, everyday tanks. The important part? “Nice fitting.” If your tank fits slimly along your shape, it will help hide a lumps and bumps along the way. Another thing to look for in a tank is length as well. I like mine to be the same length as the shirt I’m wearing or just a smidgen longer! Old Navy has some nice long layering camis. Honestly? I wear a nice fitted tank/cami under all of my shirts. Even the ones that you can’t see because they are a crew neck shirt. Why? I like feeling fitted instead of floppy-flabby. I have a few colors that I wear often that go with basically anything and a few “fun” colors that go with a few specific outfits. If you’re being money-savvy, go with black, white and, if you need a third, gray.

3. Accept your size and buy pants that fit. Don’t splurge by any means. Find a sale. Find the clearance rack. Find a going-out-of-business sale. And don’t forget about the likes of eBay. But find a pair of jeans that fit. I have two pair in the size that I am currently wearing, a darker pair and a lighter pair. I dress up the darker pair and the lighter pair are for “whatever.” Then, after you have your pair or two of jeans so you can feel like a normal human being, invest in some yoga pants, formerly known as “stretch pants.” I have a pair of “khaki” colored ones, two pair of black, and one pair of brown. They are comfortable. The khaki ones are easy to dress up if need be. And, as I learned last time, they “shrink” with you better than your jeans will, meaning that while your jeans will eventually sag in your rear end area as your weight comes off, yoga pants just fit whatever shape you are. As for the butt sag? Avoid it. When you start to have butt sag, list the jeans on eBay and buy the next size down. Trust me. Butt sag is less flattering than Muffin Top.

4. I’ll be avoiding shorts until another ten pounds are gone. That’s why I’ll be making use of skirts,  capris and, well, maybe a pair or two of bermuda shorts. Skirts hide thighs rather nicely. As long as the bermuda shorts aren’t skin tight to the thighs and more of a wide leg variety, they’ll help hide thighs as well. Capris should also, if you’re attempting to hide thighs, be more of a straight legged, wide leg cut than a fit and flare cut.

5. Accentuate your hair with colorful scarves. Pull the look up and away from your trouble areas by really driving home your hair. Don’t like your current hair? Play with some dye. It was the summer after BigBrother was born that I dyed my hair bright! red!

6. Wear Confidence. Sure. You’ve got stretch marks. And an inner tube around your midsection. And your thighs are three times their normal size. And your breasts could take over small or medium or perhaps large sized countries. But, for the most part, all the other women you’ll encounter? Are too busy worrying about their stretch marks, their thighs and their own personal hang-up areas to notice your own. The ones that have the audacity to actually point out one of your flaws in public are probably trying to make up for their own physical short-comings by drawing attention to yours instead of theirs. And, besides, why are you hanging out with someone who points out your flaws? Get new friends while you’re at it.

You know what your trouble areas are and they may not be mine. The point of dressing in the postpartum weight loss phase is to be comfortable in your clothes. You don’t want anything too tight. You don’t want anything that’s so loose that you get lost in it. You can look nice and feel comfortable, both physically and emotionally.

Allow yourself time to lose the weight. I’m giving myself this entire year. Be thankful you’re not a celebrity. Tyra Banks had clauses in all of her contracts that said if she had a baby she only had ninety days to get back in shape. NINETY DAYS. I’d already be fired as I’m over that limit. Don’t put unreasonable time limits on  yourself. It took nine months for you to get in that shape (or less if you had a premature baby) and while some will lose it sooner than those nine months you shouldn’t hold yourself to someone else’s experience. Allow yourself to be unique in this. Celebrate your achievements but don’t “punish” yourself for setbacks.

If I could only take my own advice, I’d be swell!