What the hell do you do post-pregnancy?

[MoltenLasagne]

4 months since having my baby and I really truly have nothing to wear. I want to burn my maternity clothes because I'm sick of them. The few things I fit into are now totally bedraggled because baby is sick twenty times a day so everything is washed at least twice a week on fast rotation.

On top of that I'm breastfeeding so I've gone from completely flat chested to having boobs which I've now discovered are too big to fit in any of my jumpers or coats for autumn.

I don't want to spend megabucks on new clothes if I'm only going to wear them for a few months but I also want to get enough high quality stuff that I don't look constantly scruffy.

What would you / did you do? Is it likely my boobs will shrink back down once I'm done breastfeeding or do I need to start thinking about dressing a new shape? Help please!

In that in between state I’ve always stocked up at cheap places like H&M until back in my normal clothes. I can’t wear maternity clothes.. too depressing. So I make do with cheap stuff for a bit then give it all to charity once my original clothes fot

Ps yes your boobs will shrink down after breastfeeding. I usually wait until six months after stopping feeding then shop for new bras

@DGFB

In that in between state I’ve always stocked up at cheap places like H&M until back in my normal clothes. I can’t wear maternity clothes.. too depressing. So I make do with cheap stuff for a bit then give it all to charity once my original clothes fot

Thank you, that's such a good idea of giving to charity if when I get back to my original size and shape.

I bought nice quality items from charity shops until my normal clothes fit again.

I brought some clothes from Primark and Asda. Leggings and loose fitting long tshirts, cardigans and stuff. It wasn’t smart but I think I looked presentable and okay. And I remember feeling a bit better with some bee clothes too. It helped make me feel more myself!

I’m 8 months postpartum and still a dress size or so bigger. I wasn’t one of those lucky people who loses weight while breastfeeding, so hoping that I’ll lose the remaining weight when I stop.

I’m surviving on a couple of bigger pairs of shorts that I can belt next summer, a pair of jeans that I bought new and some of my oversized items from my previous wardrobe.

Vinted has been a good go to for me. I’ve ordered a few items from my normal shops to gauge size and then looked on Vinted for a few items that will get me through the next few months.

I’ll then look to resell them when I fit into my previous wardrobe.

Thanks I've been looking in the local charity shops but not been particularly inspired. Plus I underestimated how many dress sizes I'd gone up so bought a pair of shorts and then immediately redonated them as I could barely get them past my knees

I think one of my issues is that I've not only gained weight but gone from having a mostly boyish shape with big thighs to having hips and cleavage so I'm not really sure what to do with it!

May check Vinted too, thanks.

Just posting in solidarity - got an 8 month old and felt exactly the same a few months ago. I got some cheap bits to see me through but that's easier to do in the summer. I'm looking forward to buying new clothes next summer that I don't need breastfeeding access in!

Re boobs, I hate to say it but most people I know who breastfed for 6m+ actually found their boobs ended up smaller than they were to start with after stopping feeding. I definitely did last time round and wasn't at all prepared for it! Wouldn't have made any difference to what I did but it would have been better to have known what was ahead I think.

For me the boobs deflated after about baby was approx 18 months. DS2 is now 6 and I’m only just fitting back into pre baby clothes.

I got 2 pairs of nice jeans and cotton tops which I wore into the ground with babies and toddlers and needed replacing v fast. They work really hard so you will get your money’s worth

Buy new (new to you) things in charity shops or from eBay until you're back to a size you can stick at. Donate the interim clothes.

The advantage of buying in charity shops/online resale is that you don't fret over messed clothes, you can figure out what suits you without spending a fortune, and you are not committing to the clothes for years.

Thanks for the solidarity. On the plus side I don't think my boobs CAN get smaller than pre-pregnancy.

I think I'll get some new-to-me jeans and a looser fitting coat to start with and then build up some basic tops. At least my scarves still fit

I'm a big charity shop fan but when you need specific things and you (presumably) have a 4 month-old baby in tow then I would buy from Primark / supermarkets / H&M / wherever and not feel guilty - you've got enough on your plate. I'm afraid I can't remember much more about what I wore around that time - I probably just looked a sight for a while. The mojo came back though so hang on in there.

What about some oversized knitwear, now that we're moving into autumn? You could wear a stretchy vest top underneath for the one up, one down method and the knits will still fit if/when you lose more baby weight. I personally liked a capsule wardrobe/"uniform" for those early months when my body was still all over the place and I was constantly too exhausted to think about how to get dressed every day. I basically wore my under-bump maternity jeans with a rotating collection of tops for a while (either JoJo breastfeeding tops or looser tops with a vest top underneath) while I got my head above water again. Then I started wearing skirts and tops, and eventually my pre-pregnancy jeans fitted again. Admittedly a very vomit-y baby is a bummer for a capsule postpartum wardrobe! I assume you've tried the old muslin-over-the-shoulder trick? That definitely helped to keep my laundry pile down.

I loved a capsule wardrobe pre-pregnancy but, as you say, the sicky baby has kind of messed that up. I'm a bit wary of knitwear for the same reason - it's bad enough having to wash a cheap t-shirt three times in a week, but if I put jumpers through that they'll be dead in a month!

We're persevering with muslins but now he's got head control he's got a knack of aiming exactly where it isn't

I wore sweatshirts with my sicky baby and got a slim fitted fleece jacket. Was always a bit too cold but jumpers would have been destroyed.