It’s been a hectic seven months since the birth of my baby boy and boy has it flown! Time is now more precious than ever and finding time for yourself post-baby is a real challenge. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day, not helped by the lack of sleep and hormones all over the place! Helping busy mums with their wardrobes is something we have always done, however there’s nothing like first hand experience, especially when it comes to the life altering reality of being a new mum! I’m actually amazed at how much faster I can get myself ready for work now, what was I doing with all my time before?

So I really wanted to put together some tips when it comes to getting ready in a flash, and little ways to retain a sense of your own personal style post-baby…

The first thing I want to address is the very obvious one, changes in body shape and how we feel about our bodies post-baby. It’s inevitable and normal to experience changes in our shape, weight gain, baby belly, thinning hair and so on… It’s not ideal but it’s really important to be kind to ourselves and be patient, your body has done something amazing and deserves respect for that. So don’t expect to jump back into your favourite skinny jeans but have faith that one day it will happen and that day will come faster than you think. In the early days I went back to what I wore during early pregnancy including maternity jeans… looser tops and forgiving fabrics etc to disguise the tummy. I found myself grabbing anything that fitted (there wasn’t a lot) and trying to figure out how to deal with the practicalities of breastfeeding! So once I got the hang of things a little, here are a few things that I learned:

• When you’re short on time the last thing you want is to rummage through your wardrobe only to pull out something that doesn’t fit. If you can spare an hour or so for a quick tidy, make sure everything that you are currently wearing is within easy reach and move everything else to the back of your wardrobe for now (or take them out whatever’s easier for you). You want to be able to see what you have and be able to grab and go! This is also a good way to see what you might be missing.
• If you need to add a few new items to your wardrobe, make sure that they are comfortable and make you feel good. It’s really important to feel good now. If you’re worried about your shape changing stick with items that won’t really be affected by this such as jackets, relaxed tops and of course accessories.
• A cool new pair of trainers will update your look as well as being a practical mama essential!
• As a general rule clothes that flow and drape around the tummy area will be more flattering than figure hugging styles and clingy fabrics.
• Keep it simple. Have an everyday “go-to” style that involves no thinking! For me it was comfy jeans and a sweater of sorts and trainers.
• An easy solution for nursing is to wear a vest top with another looser top or sweater over, then you just lift the top up and pull the vest down to feed. I personally didn’t bother buying nursing tops!
• Avoid any clothes that require ironing.
• Get a low-maintenance hair cut (I’m not suggesting you get your hair cut off!) and have few simple hairstyles to hand to deal with bad hair days (such as messy bun, plait, ponytail etc). Dry shampoo is definitely handy to have!
• Invest in a few effective makeup items that can be applied easily and quickly, (basically anything that means you don’t have to try too hard). Good options would be an illuminating primer, under eye concealer, cream blush… anything that gives radiance! A slick of red lipstick in a flattering shade is a great pick-me-up.
• Keeping your eyebrows maintained for the same reason. Less to do in the morning and gives a more “groomed” appearance.

They’re all small things but they do make a difference and I really feel like I appreciate them all the more now. I’d love to hear if you have any good tips? Whatever it is that makes you feel good, we all deserve this… a happy mum means a happy baby! x