Mama Fashionista 

Thanks for hopping over from Odd socks and Lollipops and welcome to my post for the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt Day 3: Dress to Impress. Sponsors today include Milk and Mummy with a £50 voucher, Lorna Drew Maternity who are offering a beautiful set of nursing lingerie and Mummy Makes Milk who is offering a signed copy of her beautiful book for our Grand Prize winner. Over £700 worth of goodies are up for grabs entries via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

There will be 1 other post from myself after this one, in celebration of World breastfeeding week

I’ve never considered myself a follower of fashion, don’t get me wrong, I am sure to dress for my “body shape” (as the media so kindly put it) and there are certain things that hit the high street that I have so much love for, that I buy them in 5 different colours, but then you can guarantee that they will be worn for the next 10 years until they are threadbare and ready for the bin! 
When I was pregnant, my wardrobe consisted of a few bits I picked up In various sales, anything that would stretch over bump and two pairs of hand-me-down jeans from H&M, that I lived in for the last 10 weeks.  

 
  

Before pregnancy, I’d always been a dress/top and skirt kind of girl. Even in winter, favouring a wool dress and boots over jeans.

  Winter boots! 

Jeans only really became part of my wardrobe during pregnancy, and would be worn with simple vest top and cardigan or jacket. I didn’t really give much consideration to nursing specific clothing as most of my tops/dresses are relatively low cut or stretchy, and I figured I could just pop a boob out and feed that way. 
The day I left hospital with Sebastien, I donned a wrap dress, that provided easy boob access, and (hopefully) skimmed over my I’ve-just-had-a-baby wobbly tummy.  

 Wrap dresses would soon prove to be a firm favourite, with both myself and my hubby, and in the first few weeks after Sebastien was born, my collection grew steadily, mainly thanks to eBay, where I would spend hours trawling through for branded dresses, such as Hobbs, Phase 8, Whistles and Coast, and snapping them up for £10 each. 

    
Two more of my wrap dresses

I’m not ashamed to admit, that a lot of my wardrobe choices are not only “can I breastfeed in it” but also, “do I look slim/feel good” wrap dresses were definitely one of the wardrobe items that made me feel fabulous. (Darling) along with my maternity jeans (although, without the presence of a bump, they became too big pretty quickly.) I also love leotard style tops. The ones that popper on the crotch, meaning they stay tucked in to skirts/trousers at all times, never revealing your mummy tummy 🙂  

 Leotard tops stay tucked in

2 weeks after Sebastien was born, my husband and I had a wedding to attend. I felt under immense pressure to look good, as well as to be able to breastfeed easily in whichever outfit I chose. We were in the middle of a growth spurt, and I knew I would spend most of the day with Sebastien “plugged in” I trawled through my wardrobe, and finally decided on a dress that I had worn to a Christmas party a few years back. I donned heels and a fascinator to match, and squeezed myself in to it with the help of some magic knickers. 

    
Other than the addition of a few extra dresses, my pre baby, and breastfeeding wardrobes are pretty much the same. Winter is spent layering long sleeved, low cut tops or dresses with chunky knits, and summer is spent in simple vest tops and bandeau dresses. 

It is only recently upon joining the “can I breastfeed in it UK” Facebook page that I have discovered the one up one down method that a lot of ladies seem to favour, along with some gorgeous breastfeeding friendly outfits. (The page has made a serious dent in my bank balance!) notably with a boohoo obsession!   

  
The must have dress from boohoo

I think dressing to impress when breastfeeding is all about adapting your wardrobe slightly, to accommodate boob access, being a mama doesn’t mean that your sense of style should be forgotten, or that you should hide under baggy clothes. I will certainly never be someone who wears joggers and an oversized hoody. Nor do I spend the day in PJ’s.  

         

More wrap dresses and jeans/layers/boots. My staple wardrobe. 

I take pride in getting up and dressed every day, putting on my makeup and feeling a million dollars. Dressing to impress myself. No one else, but me! I can look in the mirror and say wit woo! Maybe a part of me feels under pressure to be what is termed as a “yummy mummy” although the term in itself seems somehow derogatory. 
Or maybe, I just expect to feel fantastic when I look in the mirror, because being a mama doesn’t mean you are no longer a woman, and as a woman, the right clothes and attitude can take your confidence in to the stratosphere. 

  
My wardrobe is full of dresses and cardigans. And shoes. 

You can find some more ideas on Dressing to Impress over on Milk and Mummy’s  blog along with another chance to gain some extra entry points to our grand prize giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway