Dressing the postpartum body - ideas?

[Anonymous]

I just had a baby on Sunday and am now faced with what to wear for the next few months until the regular clothes fit again.

What do people do? Continue to wear maternity clothes that now look droopy, or buy a bunch of yoga pants?

[Anonymous]

I didn't want to buy a whole new wardrobe for the postpartum period since I knew I would be losing weight so what I did was buy a few comfortable, inexpensive pieces. I bought a pair of jeans one size up and some yoga pants. I then just mixed in some maternity wear from my early pregnancy days. Longer cardigans, sweater coats, and shirts that were longer i length all work well. It is not ideal but beats buying a bunch of clothes that you may ony wear for a couple of weeks.

[Anonymous]

i've been having trouble myself. and i can't even wear some of my maternity pants because they are the underbelly fit and I had an unexpected c-section and still 5 weeks PP, they hurt too much to put on (and I still don't fit in my regular pants). I wear one pair of jeans that are a little bigger (maternity) only when company comes over or I have to go somewhere other than CVS or the grocery store, but its not comfortable. I've been in yoga pants and long, baggy shirts. though i must say i'm a bit depressed about it. my legs and arms don't seem too much bigger than before, but my midsection is still twice as big as before.

[Anonymous]

You may want to ask some friends who have kids if they have any post-pregnancy clothes they can lend you. One of my friends gave me two bins of clothes from her post partum year after I had my baby this springs.

Some maternity stuff was better than others--I had one pair of full panel jeans that worked well for several weeks pp and my long tshirts were good too.

[Anonymous]

I have been wearing yoga pants.

[Anonymous]

Lived in yoga pants, post-c-section, though it was summer. As a PP suggested, I bought one or two things a size up to get me through a stretch. Places like Banana Republic have some really great baggy sweaters and sweater-jackets right now that are long, open in the front (good for nursing!) and amply cover the mid-section and hips. I had a couple of those that pulled together an outfit over looser jeans.

[Anonymous]

I had a baby last October. The plus side of having a baby this time of year is that nobody really expects you to look "hot" until at least late spring. for the next few months, layers will be your friend. Unless your name is Heidi Klum, nobody expects you to be back to your old shape for months.

I had a few pairs of maternity pants that were pretty flattering. they had the full belly panel. I wore those for a few months until I could fit back into my regular pants. I had bought a few japanese weekend and gap maternity/nursing tops (ironic because i couldn't nurse) and those covered the belly of the pants. On weekends, I lived in yoga pants and workout pants with elastic or drawstring waists.

I've always had a good stomach - I'm a pear, not an apple - but I remember that it took a few months for my belly to go fully back to roughly where it was before. I think the uterus stays stretched for awhile, and the skin takes awhile to fully bounce back. It did happen, though. If you're self-conscious about your stomach, you could wear a belly band to keep things reined in a little so you don't look bulge-y under non-baggy shirts.

The last milestone for me was to fit back into my old jeans - that took me until january. I celebrated that!

good luck!

[Anonymous]

If you're planning to have more kids, just break down and buy some bigger clothes. You will be able to wear the bigger clothes in the first trimester of your next pregnancy, and postpartum next time. If this is your last, then yoga pants and a few long sweaters should do the trick.

[Anonymous]

damn Heidi Klum!

[Anonymous]

I bought some clothes at Old Navy (on-line) to get through the first year. The clothes are practically disposable (a ton on sale right now). T-shirts and big cardigans are great. I even bought Old Navy clothes for going back to work at my conservative office and they were fine -- wore out quickly, but I didn't feel bad about getting rid of them that way.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks so much for all the suggestions!

Happily I tried on some of my old pants this afternoon, and about half of them fit already! The others are jeans that have waists that fit across my still distended tummy, so those will have to wait. But I'm encouraged!

[Anonymous]

i bought cheap pants at TJ Maxx until i lost weight. Sounds like u are on the right path.