Day 13: Priorities

I am back after a short break to take care of some sick kiddos.  I used to think there was nothing worse than a baby with a cold (or in this case RSV), until I discovered what life was like with a sick toddler.  I will take the sick baby any day over the terror my 20 month old became over the past week.  Thankfully everyone is healthy now and back to their normal happy little selves.

I took a break from my regular work clothes yesterday to help my school bring attention to a great campaign.  March 6, is National Spread the Word to End the Word Day.  The campaign hopes to bring awareness to how hurtful the use of the word retarded is when it is used in casual conversation. 

The department chair of the Special Needs students has gotten grant money the last few years to provide free t-shirts to any staff member who wants one.  She also does a fabulous job of organizing a petition for everyone in the building to sign saying they will not use the r-word.

This is an amazing campaign and we should all be aware of the way we talk and converse with others! 

Day 12: I Caved

I told myself no new clothes until I hit my pre-Ellis weight.  I am officially three pounds away and so I caved and bought a few new things!  I wore two of those items to school on Thursday.  A sailor stripe shirt that is made of a really nice thick material from Loft and some skinny black dress pants from JCrew.  I paired it with a chambre shirt that I bought in between pregnancies and some red flats that I have owned for a super long time. 

 

Hurray for a new found confidence and clothes that fit.  It is crazy to be almost back to my pre-Ellis weight, yet I am not the same clothing size i was before Ellis.  Still getting used to this new body but happy to have some new clothes!

Day 11: I Just Needed a Break

Most mornings on my way to work I am excited for a new day of teaching but also sad to leave my girls.  I look forward to going home and playing with them before bed, especially on Mondays when my husband is home and we can play as a whole family!  Yesterday was not one of those days.  Both my children have colds and the sound of their breathing along with my husbands snoring is keeping me awake.

I am exhausted and dealing with some sort of cold myself and all I want to do is get some rest.  I had visions of the old days where I would come home from school, flip on some Gilmore Girls and nap until 7pm.  Then I would get up and move myself into bed and sleep away.  I suppose I could still do that but my children would probably not appreciate it.  Since Matt was home last night I went in to lay down at around 5:30 and told him to come and get me when the baby was hungry.  Here I was exhausted and someone was telling me to go ahead and nap...hurray!!  I couldn't sleep. I could hear the kids out in the living room and Ellis kept wanting to come in and say hi to mommy.  I was admittedly crabby about it at the time because I was so exhausted  but in the light of day (or dark before my early bird class) I can survive tired and I look forward to playing with the kids tonight. 

 

The exhaustion led me to pick out my outfit in a dark haze between snooze button and breast pumping so it is rather ill fitting.  I chose a blue trapeze top that i got before the girls were born and it fits but is feeling really short.  I paired it with an open cardigan from the loft and some trouser jeans that have not fit me since I was 25.  How I managed to squeeze myself into them today I don't know.  I feel like I may be having a sisterhood of the traveling pants moment where magic pants fit all who try them on!  I am also wearing some cute tortoise print flats that i got in between my pregnancies.  I am generally feeling tired and weary today and the picture is not helping!

Day 10: A New Outlook

My brief absence from the blog, gave me some time to sort through my closet and truly get rid of things I will never wear again.  In the course of doing so I rediscovered some clothes that I am going to reincorporate into my wardrobe.  The green pants I have on today are one of those items.  I bought them 6 years ago when nobody was wearing colored pants and I never wore them because I was too nervous but I broke them out today along with my new glasses!  The picture is a bit blurry but it shows off the basics!

Day 9: Pants Without a Maternity Panel!

It is a joyous day for me because I am now 3 months post pardum and I managed to wear a pear of my old pants.  Granted these pants were from in-between my pregnancies so they are still 1 size up from my pre-pregnancy pants, but I am trying not to let that rain on my parade! 

The shirt is from JCrew.  I have had it for many years and only work it once or twice so today was its last chance to find its way into my wardrobe/  It has a really nice paisley print and a fun ruffled neckline.



I paired it with a cream colored sweater that I got at Banana Republic about 5 years ago.  I was very surprised that it fit this morning.  I finished off the outfit with some fun turquoise flats from the JCrew outlet that I bought after Ellis was born. 

Day 8: A Pop of Color

It's Monday again, and I feel like I might need a weekend to recover from my weekend.  My husband is the Chef de Cuisine at a new restaurant in town named Cobble Hill and they had their friends and family opening over the weekend.  Trust me this did not bode well for my maternity weight, but it was delicious!!  I woke up this morning extremely tired not only from the weekend but from a windy night that kept my children from sleeping soundly.  So I threw together something with a little pop of color to brighten my day. 

The shoes are from JCrew and the skinny jeans (there they are again) are maternity.  My polka dot peplum top is from JCrew outlet and the blazer is from Loft.  Everything was bought in between pregnancies.  The little pop of color is forcing me to be bright eyed this morning despite my lack of sleep this weekend.

Day 7: The Post Pregnancy Slump

I can't speak for all women but around the time both of my daughters hit 3 months old, I felt like I needed to change up my look.  When Ellis was three months old I cut all of my hair off (8 inches or so) and had a stylish inverted bob, which I loved, for about 1 day.  Thus starting the arduous process of growing out my hair.  I vowed to never make the same mistake again!

Now, here I am three months post pardom and I have been feeling the need again.  With a second birth has come wisdom; wisdom to not chop all of your hair off in a desperation for change and improved self confidence.  So, instead of cutting off my hair (which is still growing out), I colored it.  I am really digging my new ombre highlights, but I was so nervous that they were going to look bad that I underestimated how many we should have put it in.  Needless to say, I will go back in a few weeks and get some more because I am in love with them!!  Hopefully this new found love lasts longer than 1 day!


I also jumped for joy this morning when I was able to put on a nice trapeze top that I wore before my girls were born.  It was quite a squeeze in the chest department but I made it happen!  I am also wearing some skinny jeans (I really need to try out different styles of pants) that are maternity, but does maternity really count when they were designed by Heidi Klum?  I say no!  I topped it off with a nice cardigan from the Loft purchased who knows when and some grey suede ballet flats from JCrew.

Day 5 and 6: Spanx or no Spanx? That is the Question

I have two posts in one for you today.  Yesterday was a crazy day so I did not get around to posting.  I decided to wear leggings that I got at JCrew in between pregnancies and  Gap maternity top that I am now wearing as a dress/tunic.  My boots are Steve Madden and I have had them for about 3 years. 

I was really liking my outfit when I left the house but when I saw the picture I was not so pleased.  It became obvious that I was carrying more weight around the middle than I want to be.  I almost didn't want to post the picture because I am so self conscious about it, but that is what this blog is all about so here it is.

Looking at this picture made me realize I desperately need to break out the shape wear.  Have I mentioned I hate shape wear?  It feels like some sort of medieval torture device; but I broke it out anyway and I am now sitting at my desk squeezed into what feels like a sausage casing.  Is it helping?  Let's compare pictures.

The shape wear definitely made the pooch leftover from Betsy look significantly smaller!


















Today's outfit is a blue jersey dress that I bought at Banana Republic 5 years ago, along with some cheap Target leggings I got on sale who knows when.  I paired it with some Frye boots that are one of the most expensive things I own but I have had them for 8 years now and still love them. 

Day 4: Variety is the Spice of Life

I wear jeans to work too much.  In the four days of my challenge I have been in jeans in all of them.  I would love to wear more of a variety of clothing when more of my clothing fits me, but for now I am trying to make it work with what fits.  My students must think I wear the same pants everyday!

I had no time for individual pictures of items in my rush to get out the door this morning but I am pretty excited to have incorporated a leopard print shirt I bought in between my pregnancies that I have never worn.  I really thought I was going to put it into the donation pile until I discovered I could put it under a black cowl neck sweatshirt that I bought at the Loft before Ellis was born.  Day 4 complete!

Day 3: No Sleep

When  you hear of a new mom who got no sleep you probably think about crying babies.  Sadly, I got no sleep last night because of a snoring husband and stuffy baby.  Everyone slept through their own snoring and snuffling but they kept me awake.  This led to numerous snooze presses this morning and before I knew it, I was running late. 

I had originally planned on wearing some dark skinny jeans (maternity again, ugh) along with a simple v-neck top (also maternity) and a blazer I bought about 10 years ago at Fossil.  I even remembered to add accessories today which i am often neglectful of.  The shoes are the exact same pair as the black ones in my last post.

 My lack of sleep last night led to a less than stellar start to my morning.  I ended up really disliking the look of the orange blazer.  It felt boxy and as a new mom I certainly do not need to look any more boxy than I already do. I have never worn the blazer in all the years I have had it.  I think it is going to go into the donation pile.  I ended up switching it up and choosing a pink blazer I purchased about 5 years ago at Banana Republic.  The finished project looked much more put together.  Now, if only I had the time to brush my hair!  The hair was so unfortunate that I could not bring myself to show it to you.  Let this be a lesson to myslef...no snooze button!!!!

Day 2: The Dreaded Maternity Skinny Jean

Well it is day 2 of my no new clothes and a totally new body challenge.  I have discovered lots of clothes that i will never wear again the last few days and I am starting a donation pile to talk about in a future blog!  I had to break out the dreaded maternity clothes today.  That's right folks I am still wearing maternity pants!  It is embarrassing for me because they are practically falling off and take all kinds of contraptions to hold them up but my regular jeans wont quite button.  These Maternity jeans are from the gap because the gap is one of the few places that carries maternity clothes that fit my 5'1 frame and I could not go through pregnancy without skinny jeans I just love them too much!

My top is from the Loft.  I bought it in between pregnancies and is perfect for nursing because it is a trapeze top.  It eliminates the no top fitting over my chest problem.

 

!I selected some comfy flats that I bought at Target before Ellis was born.  They are kind of a squeeze because my feet became wider after Lou Lou was born but I am making them work.  I also added a nice black ruffle cardigan that I bought at old navy about 5 years ago on a sale rack for about two dollars!!  I also got my haircut yesterday so I am feeling full of confidence today!   No new clothes day 2 complete

 

Fashion in a Post-Pregnancy Body?

Starting a blog might be the silliest thing I have ever done.  I am not a great writer and I am a new mom two times over!  That's right I had two kids in a year and a half and I am now the proud (and slightly crazed) mother of two beautiful daughters.  Ellis is 19 months old and developing a very strong opinion about her daily life!  Yes, that is my kind way of saying she is stubborn; but honestly I think I like that she is such a spitfire.

 Betsy Lou, is almost three months old and is rolling all over the place.  I am convinced her hair is propelling her to early mobility!  She has a beautiful smile and is starting to giggle.  



 I was terrified to have two children this close together, but I have discovered that once you have entered toddler-hood it makes you laugh at how easy the baby stage really is.  I did,  however, luck out with an extremely easy going baby. 

For the better part of my my 8 year marriage I have been pregnant.  Ellis and Lou Lou were not as easy to come by as I would have liked.  Over the course of an 8 year period I suffered 4 miscarriages at various stages of pregnancy.  This led to countless surgeries and a slight reconstruction of my uterus followed by various injections and medications during my two pregnancies.  All of this and the very short time span in which I had both children has caused some changes in my body that I am struggling with.

I can admit my faults and I have many; shocking I know!  Let me start with just a few for this first post.  I did not appreciate my pre-baby body when I had it and I am struggling to accept my changing body and looks. I wish I could say I don't care how I look, but I do.   I had barely taken the weight off from kid number one when I got pregnant with number two.  The weight is gone but the body has forever been altered.  My maternity clothes are way too big but my regular pants wont button and the shirts wont fit over my new found nursing cleavage.  I love clothes and I love to shop but with my altered body and two children to feed I am stuck in a world where nothing fits right and there is no money to buy new clothes. I understand how moms get stuck in a rut fashion wise and I am trying to avoid it without spending too much.  So, the purpose of this blog is to document my attempt to stay fashionable in my new body while still using my old ill fitting clothes. Of course, I will also document my struggles as a working mom of two with a husband who works constantly!

Lets start with my less than perfect attempt at day 1.  I am a high school teacher and we had a snow day yesterday.  I spent the whole glorious day with my girls in our pajamas.  I was not about to waste a whole day with my girls worrying about my outfit!  Today, however, I am back at work and was trying to throw something together while simultaneously nursing Betsy Lou and singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" with Ellis.  It is also approximately 100 degrees below zero here today.  After nursing, singing, and bundling up my children with enough layers to survive Antarctica I focused on me. 

Everything I am wearing today was purchased in between the birth of Ellis and my pregnancy with Betsy Lou.  It all comes from either JCrew or the JCrew outlet.  The denim shirt is still ill fitting but I am trying to make it work. The leggings are my new go to because none of my jeans will button (must work out more, must work out more).  My hair (which I neglected to wash today because I am getting a haircut!) is pulled back and I have a bandanna from Target that I have had since high school. I have managed to squeeze my body back into old clothes but it was a squeeze!  I hope this blog makes me rethink my closet and come to terms with a changing and aging body.