Post-pregnancy wardrobe

[Philomena]

At 35 weeks pregnant I am heartily sick of my maternity clothes. Also suspect that pre-pregnancy clothes will be bit small and also soooooo last year!

I'd like to be a couple of things for after the birth that will a) be practical with a new born and b) make me feel less like a whale than I do now.

Can anyone recommend anything? I was quite big (size 16/18) pre pregnancy and have larger than average narks. I haven't shopped for clothes bigger than 3-6 months since March!

TIA

Honest answer

Grin and bear the mat wear for a couple of months. Lets face it for the first 6 weeks you won't much care what you look like anyway, which is just as well.

Then buy something nice in the January sales. Or the new Spring stock that will arrive around the same time.

Practicality with a newborn - ditch anything black, nothing shows baby sick more

Thanks marymillington.

Perhaps I'll just get my hair dyed instead!

Black does show up the sick, but it also hides the bulges! I went for stretchy trousers one size bigger than pre pregnancy, and wore them for about 5 weeks, then went into jeans one size bigger than pre preg (but low waisted , so in reality prob needed 2 sizes bigger). Now at 8 monthas on, I'm almost back in pre preg size... but pre ds2, def not pre ds1
Also, get things that need no ironing.

Dont buy shoes!!! My feet went up half a size!

Good idea - a good low-maintenance haircut, eyebrow pluck and lash tint and a facial or manicure is a good plan. Then at least you may feel groomed through the 6 week twilight zone. And the Monsoon sale is very good (70% off) for curvier ladies.

Message withdrawn

I agree don't buy shoes. I bought shoes just after DS2 was born and found I needed a half size bigger (loads of people said that was normal and I would find that my feet were now a half size bigger) and after a few months I found my feet had returned to their normal size and I had bought about three pairs of too big shoes.

Oooh, now, I don't agree. Get something nice. I really minded the fact I still looked enormous, as well as looking utterly knackered, after my first baby. Get a couple of nice tops if you reckon you're going to be b/fing.

I do agree about the haircut. I had one before DD2. Just before DD2, in fact, I didn't have time to dye it because I went into labour instead.

So weird that there should be a thread like this, I was having a right wobbly this weekend. DD2 is nrly 8 weeks and I sooooo wanna feel like me and dont , just a more blubbery aching version. Cant zip my boots up anymore, cant wear anything Ive got from pre dd2 and to small for maternity stuff.

Im going out this week to get sme nice jeans a size bigger for the winter , as I cant see me getting into my pre preggers size for some months yet. I think tunics , empire lines and dresses over trousers are the way to go with tummy bits right now!!!

agree with motherinferior , deffo got to get something new to get through the transition.

Right....

Looks like I'll need to make do with dying hair, some nice new (not black!) tops and perhaps I might splash out on some of those big slouchy man trousers. Might leave jeans until next year sometime when I've had the chance to stroll around with pram and lose weight.

Gutted about shoe advice. Have big collection of shoes which now may never fit again!

Also you're bound to know someone who's mincing around in their size 8 jeans again four days after giving birth, and that is so depressing. At least a new top will be, you know, faintly cheering.

if you are going to breastfeed get tops with patterns on them as if you leak the wet patches don't notices as much. smaller patterns work better than large ones.

Get a nice big handbag - doesn't matter how much extra weight you've been left with, how big your feet are, baby sick should go nowhere near it etc etc! If it is big enough to fit a couple of spare nappies and a babygro in it, so much the better, then you won't need to bother with one of those 'changing bags'. I wasted 50 quid on one and have never used it - I just carry the minimum and have it in my handbag. If you're planning on breastfeeding, make sure you get tops that are big enough to hoik up without revealing your entire belly at the same time. A nice (cheap!) pashmina type thing is useful for covering you/baby with if you are shy about breastfeeding in public (at the very least you can drape it over you whilst you put boob away, do bra up, wriggle top down etc). Get nice hair cut and colour done before the baby arrives - you won't have time afterwards, and you want to look nice in the photos.

I (don't hate me ) was back to pre-baby weight very quickly (mainly as I had lost a lot of weight with morning sickness I think, so didn't put on anything till about 6 months pregnant). EVEN SO, I still ended up wearing my maternity clothes for a couple of weeks after the birth, and it took me a while to get back into lots of my other clothes - I think because my shape was different for a while, rather than being fatter IYSWIM.

Also agree about the shoes - my feet were bigger for a while afterwards too.

Good luck - you can't have long to go now!!

go to happybags.co.uk and buy a bag - very cool ones that double as changing bags. Get haircut etc.

I would wait until the day that you want to put the new thing on to actually buy new clothes. It's a bit hard to judge what shape you'll be in advance so you might just waste loads of money. You can always take a newborn shopping - they don't mind at all. I went back to normal about 1 week after the baby was born, except for having huge boobs, which was cool as usually I have none (but have great legs ). If I'd bought a size bigger I would have had to go to the tailor and spend loads more money.

BTW my feet didn't grow despite 3 los.