Dressing For Mummyhood

So, my little boy is 9 weeks old and we are slowly getting into the swing of things. I'm no longer walking around in a constant state of exhaustion, eyes hanging out of my head and tears constantly threatening to show. I don't think anything can prepare you for the first few weeks and how hard they are. It is worth it though and J is really thriving which makes me feel more confident about my skills as a mother.

Now that I'm more settled and getting out and about I've been starting to think about what I'm wearing and style for Autumn/Winter. One of the things I've found a big change is what I wear on a day to day basis. Previously, when I was working, it was a lot easier to decide what to wear, office attire is pretty straightforward and I lived in dresses - with tights and boots in the winter and sandals or flats in the summer. However, now I find it difficult to dress comfortably for life with a young baby without looking scruffy and un-put together (if that is even a phrase). Feeling like this just really makes my mood a lot lower in general. No matter how tired I am, I feel a spring in my step if I am wearing something that makes me feel good. I'm determined not to become a mum only living in trackie bottoms and covered in baby puke. (Although I do spend a lot of my days in pyjama bottoms with various bodily fluids on me)

Another issue is that I am breastfeeding which a) makes deciding what to wear for someone who lives in dresses pretty hard and b) means a lot of my current clothes make me look like a porn star (I'm currently sporting F cup norks on a size 8/10 frame- they are a sight to behold!) I've been looking around at mummy style blogs (which inspired me to start one of my own) and have come to the conclusion that jeans, comfy tops and scarves with flats are my new best friends.

Luckily I had a little bit of money put away to buy post birth clothes so was able to do a little bit of online shopping. I'm a sucker for a bargain and am always looking for affordable places to buy clothes. Times are tighter now with only one of us working as well so there's even more of a reason to be on the hunt for bargains. So based on my research I made some carefully planned out purchases.Planning what to buy is not my strong point. I have a tendancy to buy things without any thought as to what I will wear them with or how they will fit into my wardrobe. It's a bad habit I want to break.

Here are a few purchases that I'm loving:

First of all I paid a visit to Gap to buy some plain t-shirts and long sleeved tops. A problem I have with buying white tops is they are usually see-through, this problem is made worse at the moment as I am wearing massive nursing bras, the ability to get your boobs out easily being their strong point, not how discrete they are. The Gap ones are great and even thought I bought tops in a size small they are very roomy, great for covering the mummy tummy. I bought a few long sleeved and short sleeved t-shirt in basic colours so I could dress them up with scarves and other accessories. I was well chuffed with my thriftyness with these. If you order 3 or more of their basic tees you get 15% off each one. When I ordered online they were also having 25% off everything, plus if you sign up for their newsletter you get 15% off your first order, making these tops very bargainous! Two of the tops have already been thoroughly puked and drooled on and have held up very well.

I also bought two breton tops thinking they were a good mix of style and comfort. First of all this navy and green striped version from Boden for £15

and this blue and white Falmer Jersey stripe top from Matalan for £12

I don't think Matalan deliver to the Republic of Ireland but I ordered using Parcel Motel (my new favourite thing!) and my long-suffering husband had to pop in on the way to work to collect what he described as a massive package. I also found a promo code by searching online for 20% off my entire order. Bargain!

Also from Matalan was this spotted sweatshirt for £12. I have a bit of an addiction to stripes and spots, I just can't resist either, it's like a disease.

 Luckily for me I can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans and have a good stash built up so that was something I didn't really need to buy. I'm a big fan of the Topshop skinny jeans as they do the right length for me so they are getting worn to death at the moment.. Penneys also have a great range of coloured super skinny jeans and I recently bought an olive and a navy pair.  I figured that a pair of casual trouers would be useful though and got these ones from Boden in their sale for £29.40:

I am a right shortarse and hate buying trousers but these have a fab fit, it's lovely to have something to wear with flats.  Boden is not a store I'd heard of before this week and I really love their stuff. Casual but stylish and well made too.

On to scarves now - they are not something I wear that often usually, mainly because I don't know how to wear them without looking like an eejit. I see women who look so elegant in them and then I try it at home and look like a 5 year year old playing dress up in her mum's clothes! I decided to give it another try and spend some precious free time while J was asleep looking at youtube videos on how to tie scarves. So far, I'm doing a lot better with it. I bought quite a few but these two are my favourites:

First of all this cat snood from Matalan which was £6 . I am a bonefide crazy cat lady and things with cat print on them are irresistable to me (hence the name of this blog). It actually works well because the colours in go with nearly everything making it very versatile, plus the fact it is a snood means I don't have to worry about tying it.

Second is this lime scarf, also from Boden on sale for £9.50 down from £19 . You can't see very well in the picture but it's actually got little white polka dots on it which is of course, right up my street.

I went into Penneys in Dundrum over the weekend as well and they have a great selection of scarves, most of them only €4 so I stocked up on a variety of colours. Nice.

Two other fun purchases I couldn't resist due to my crazy cat ladyness are this shirt from Asda for £10

and this hat, also from Asda for £8. There were matching gloves which I didn't get thinking I was being sensible. Being sensible is boring and I have major regrets now, another order may be necessary! 

My final purchase to share is another item I couldn't resist. This little knitted romper suit for J. How cute is this? This is also from Matalan and was £7. It easily looks like it could come from babygap but for a third of the price. I can't wait to get him into it.

All I can say is thank god for online shopping!

N
xxx