five spring styles

Doing a complete 180 from this blog's usual stream of baby-centric posts, I thought I'd bring back a little bit of style this week.  

To be totally frank, I've been uninspired on the style front for the past year or so.  I had so much fun getting dressed while I was pregnant - really!  look! - but after the baby was born, well things got awkward.  Nursing boobs, that post-baby bump, the utter lack of clothing that fit.  Not fun!  And then all of a sudden it was winter, and leggings + a hoodie became my uniform.  

Finally, I'm back in my pre-baby size in almost every type of clothing and just in time for spring, I'm more excited than ever for this upcoming season.  I thought I would highlight a few of the trends I'm excited about for the next few months....

(Psst - these are "trends" I've found on Pinterest that will work for my life!  I'm not paying much attention to runway trends any more.) 

1) Cloth pom shorts!!! I think these are so stinking cute, not to mention extremely practical for my life - they look like the perfect thing for playing with Claire, no fuss, cute with a t shirt and the hot St. Louis summers.  I could dress them up with a blouse & some wedges for date night - easy peasy.  

 

2) Off the shoulder tops.  You might think that sounds impractical, but there's a certain amount of obvious convenient here with them being implicitly breastfeeding friendly!  Plus, so pretty.  

 

3) Straw hats!  It's been well documented that I love a good hat, and I have a pretty solid collection I look forward to breaking out - if only for the overly frequent days when I haven't gotten around to doing my hair because my tiny human required a bit too much attention.  

 

4) Midi dresses and skirts!  As someone with only 5 feet four inches south of my hair, I haven't traditionally been that drawn to midi length dresses, but when a baby is on your hip you run the risk of a mini becoming a non-existent covering at any moment, so I figure some extra length won't hurt!  I love the look of these styles, as well.  

 

5)  Clogs!  Truly, I wouldn't call this a trend, but rather a shoe I just love love love every spring and summer.  

 

(I'd also gladly take everything she's wearing in the above photo, thank you!)  

What are some things you're looking forward to wearing this spring?  

 

 

 

world breastfeeding week: nursing mama style

Ever since Claire's been born, I've been surprised by how many things I'm still limited by that were issues during pregnancy.  For example - you obviously can't drink while pregnant, but guess what?  You can't really drink if you're breastfeeding either.  Sure, there's the option to give a bottle, pump & dump, etc, but it's all so cumbersome & inconvenient that having more than a drink or two isn't really even fun anymore.  

Then during pregnancy, there's the challenge of dressing around the bump, and although it seems impossible at the time it's actually a piece of cake compared to the post-pregnancy challenge of dressing for nursing.  I'm not the kind of person who wants to seclude myself in the car every time Claire eats, #powertotheboobies, #normalizenursing, etc!, so finding outfits I can wear that provide easy & discreet access when she gets hungry has been a challenge I've tried to take on.  My uniform has been mostly jeans & a loose fitting top, with a baby wrapped on top of it all.  That way I can show as little as possible (like in the photo below.)  Not that it would matter if I didn't want to be discreet, because I think you should be able to feed your babies whenever, however you want to.

Fortunately these challenges don't feel like a struggle in the way that so many things during pregnancy do.  During pregnancy, you're just annoying with how limited your life is getting and oh-so-ready for that baby to arrive by the end.  Now, you have your babe's face to keep you going even when it seems really annoying that you're digging through your closet for a cocktail dress that works for networking and nursing (to which I say, get yourself a Sonnet James dress!)  

Then, you've got Pinterest to provide you with all the inspiration you could ever need for some great outfits that don't feel like a compromise at all. 

In conclusion, the magic equation for looking chic while nursing is: 

Drapey top + jeans + baby wrap + hat/sunglasses with: 

either birks, saltwater sandals, clogs, or ankle booties = 

The most perfect (and coolest) mom-ing outfit of all time.  

*ps - I'm going to do my best to bring back my own style posts (post baby body and all) for this purpose next week, so stay tuned!  

For more style inspiration (for mamas, or anyone!) you can follow me on Pinterest here.