This post has been rolling around in my head for weeks now. 
Some days the draft takes the shape of sharing how I dress my weird post baby body, some days it looks more like a list of all of the items I’ve had to buy to fit my new “shape” (new shoes, anyone?) and some days I think I should just avoid the topic all together. 
So I think I’m just going to have to tackle this in the best way that I know how: complete honesty. 
Brace yourselves. 
Here’s the deal: this whole body after baby thing is just plain rogue. 
It doesn’t matter what you looked like prior to incubating your offspring or how much baby weight you gained, you are going to have a moment (or, more likely, a million moments) when you stand in front of all of your clothes in your closet and think “oh, eff it.” 
I understand that my body somehow produced the miracle that is my fully formed human baby, but it seems that perhaps all of my better lady lumps were sacrificed to the cause. What used to be my favorite body parts have certainly seen better days and I’m not sure that they’ll ever fully bounce back. 
I can’t say that this realization pleases me. 
I was surprised to find that the most frustrating part of the post baby body is dressing it. I actually enjoyed getting dressed when I was pregnant. Even when only a few items of clothes fit, they were cute maxi dresses – and, let’s be honest, I loved that I never had to suck my tummy in. But now my go-to jeans that made me feel slender and tailored hit at just the wrong place on my midsection. My bras are all oddly too big or too small. My slouchy tees just add to the previously established bulk. 
Thanks to a zillion reruns of “What Not to Wear”, I know that the most important way to dress is to pick pieces that flatter the body that you have at this exact moment. I mean, that’s great and all, but this isn’t the body that I want to keep forever, so I resist purchasing new pieces that fit it. 
I think I may need to re-evaluate my strategy on that one. 
This past week I was honestly feeling really ugh about my exterior packaging.  Just all roly poly, broken out, un-maincured and sans a fun outfit to throw on. It occurred to me that while I can’t change the shape of my thighs over night, I can do a better job of keeping up with my appearances, which will make me feel better in the moment. It doesn’t take anything more than 5 minutes of light to moderate effort to strip off my old, chipped polish and buff my nails. A quick swipe of mascara wouldn’t hurt either. And don’t get me started on what a razor could do for the appearance of my legs. 
So here’s the plan for wading through the postpartum waters:
start taking better care of my physical self 
(the rest of my selves are super happy and well taken care of)
purchase a few key pieces that fit well, make me feel great and are classic in style
try to wipe all baby vomit off before it dries/stains
drink more water
I hate that I don’t have any advice for making it through the exhausting, draining, physically bizarre process that is the “fourth trimester”, but that’s what I have all of your for! For the love of all things holy, please share your post baby faves for getting dressed, feeling put together and rocking out the Fourth Tri. Love you, mean it! 
| jacket C. Wonder, old | similar | sunglasses |