So you have had the baby (go you … or me in this instance!) and you (well, me) are very appreciative and in awe of how amazing your body is at producing children and respect that it needs nurturing at this juncture of your life.
BUT you’re (I am) also REALLY looking forward to never wearing that maternity gear again!
If you are like me there is no slipping back into pre-pregnancy jeans within weeks – I pack on the weight when pregnant and then lose it slowly over the next 9 months … those 9 months are interesting as I don’t have much time (with an ever-increasing numbers of children to look after) I am tired and confused and NONE OF MY CLOTHES FIT – which is probably the thing I dislike the most. So I am trying to keep myself feeling fab this time by tackling things head on in a thrifty fashion!
So first up, I am not wanting to launch myself into a big “attack” on my baby weight. Yes I am bigger (ahem, a fair bit bigger) but apart from not fitting into my clothes (except the maternity stuff which I am sick of!) I don’t mind the curvier me. So my budget-friendly post baby makeover is consisting of:
New (to me) dresses
Easy to put on, breastfeeding friendly, hide my recovery pants. Stretchy man made fabrics and bold prints mean that baby sick isn’t noticeable and washes out well, also goes well with killer curves and enormous boobs. I have stocked my wardrobe now at around $8 (or less) a dress. Thanks to op-shops and other second hand sources. Much better than wearing pyjamas to the shops methinks.
New hair
I have long hair but I am playing with my fringe to soften in to better suit my rounder face – tutorials from YouTube so no cost there. Also going to go crazy and dye hair a lighter shade with naturalish dye at home – $16.95
New Shoes
A pair of leather mary janes – easy to wear running around with kiddies, cute with dresses – $10 from girlswear at a major discount department store (yes finally having short wide feet pays off!).
My focus is on looking after myself as best I can with a boobie monster who doesn’t like to be by herself so I have filled the pantry with bulk whole foods (bought online whilst breastfeeding – online shopping is great as can do it whilst feeding and resting, it gets delivered and you can get some serious bargains – I keep buying nappies and wipes online too!).
Exercise when I can (and make opportunities to do so)
Walking to the market gets exercise, healthy food and is great way to keep the kids busy (with no extra cost!) I have been borrowing postnatal exercise guides from the library and doing yoga to help calm the chaos and strengthen everything…
Hopefully a bit of low level creative thinking will save me from self-esteem crushing frumpdom.
As an aside I Googled some images for “tired mum” and Google kindly gave me a whole lot of pictures including Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham … thanks for that … not really what I was thinking of…