Postpartum Fashion

45 Comments

There was nothing that anyone could’ve told me that would’ve prepared me for the shock & negativity that I felt towards my postpartum body after I had Penelope. I hated my body. It’s not like I had a million pounds to lose, I’m just a pansy about any kind of physical change. I had never had negative feelings about my body before, and it was then that I started thinking about starving myself. I foolishly thought that that would be the remedy that my body needed in order to spring back to its former self.

Granted, I wasn’t myself. I’ve never done that – or thought that – before. I had postpartum depression. For about 3 days I ate hardly anything (and by hardly anything I mean a glass of water or two) & I didn’t tell a soul. Chris could tell that something was up and we talked about it. Deep down I knew that starving wasn’t the solution, but it was the support of Chris that helped me eat again & ignore my changed body. Undeservingly, my body eventually bounced back and I gained a new appreciation for my body that I’ll never take for granted.

This time around I knew what lie ahead, so mentally I prepared myself. I also prepared my closet. I hid all the clothes that I grew out of first; the ones that would take a good year (or forever) to fit back into. I won’t lie and tell you that I felt awesome about my body right away. Many of my favorite clothes are nowhere near fitting and I was mortified by the way my stomach looked & felt right after having Felix. However, I feel like I’m in a much better place now & I won’t be making the same mistake I did after having Penelope.

I’m feeling great about my body right now. Every day I think of it as an adventure to see what fits(or doesn’t). I’ve got a little muffin top, but I’m just thrilled to be able to shimmy into a few pairs of my old jeans and tops already!! You know what three things have made me feel good about my body? Pooch-hiders, high-waisted pants & heels. I call tops like the one above, pooch hiders. They have a blousy fit, then have a low waist band and conceal any muffin-top. The high-waisted pants also reduce muffin top considerably. It’s like wearing pants with built-in spanx. The heels? Well, I think heels look good always.

In my effort to stay positive about my body & the changes that have happened, I’m documenting my postpartum outfits over in my fashion section as often as I can. Click over for details on today’s outfit.

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    1. Nichole says:

      I just have to say I could never tell you just had a baby! (and I know post baby… I had my first little one in October and still don’t have any part of my body back. ;)
      You look beautiful and put together!

    2. Kimber says:

      I just love your fashion pictures :) and you’re absolutely adorable in anything! You already look wonderful after having felix! congrats again!

    3. Lori says:

      I think you look GREAT!!!!! It is so hard to looks weight after having a baby. Actually it’s hard to loose weight period!!!! I know your husband must be very proud of you. Keep up the good work.
      Blessings, Lori

    4. carol says:

      I’ve been hearing how hard postpartum is on my friends… but honestly you look amazing and I love your fashion sense! I’m totally tagging this for when I get pregnant :) I would be soo happy to look like that now before I have kids ^__^

    5. Emily says:

      Squishy post baby stomach isn’t pretty. I wish someone had told me that too. ha.

      You look fantastic!

    6. meredith says:

      I agree, after B I was a mess. I too thought not eating might be the way to go. I moved on and realized that wasn’t smart but the truth is my body will never be the same. Stretch marks, bread dough tummy; the weights gone but I’m forever changed. And I’m finally cool with that. Thanks for this post, you look amazing and your honesty rocks.

    7. Emily says:

      Thank you for your honesty! I didn’t know what to expect the first time either and I worked my butt off to get back into shape…just in time to be pregnant with number 2. I am really nervous this time about what changes are in store. Really nervous.

    8. Emily says:

      And I mean to add you look incredible. Congratulations on the baby!

    9. Diana Smith says:

      Are you kidding me? You look amazing! You look like you have never had a baby! Gosh, put me to shame! haha

    10. You look great! I know what you mean about the postpartum body, it’s such a shock. I was the same, I had never worried about my body before my pregnancy so when my son was born I really didn’t know what to think. Two years later I still haven’t gotten back to my pre-pregnancy size, but I’ve learned a lot about what really matters, and my muffin-top isn’t one of those things!

    11. Emily says:

      I remember packing my pre-pregnancy pants in my overnight bag with my first…and wearing the pants I wore into the hospital on the way out because they didn’t fit (of course)! I think the post-partum body is a hard one to adjust too, even though you know it’s not permanent. I’ve had four kids and I still feel like I will never fit into my favorite jeans again, though I always do…eventually. You, my dear, look fabulous and I am super jealous you can already fit into pre-pregnancy pants. That is awesome! And every woman should have a good pooch hider!

    12. Katie H says:

      Oh my golly, did I ever need this. I had my first (& only) child in December & have been hating my body ever since. Thank you for being upbeat & giving me some ideas…

    13. Scissors says:

      Um, my youngest is two and I still don’t look that good!

    14. I think it’s totally normal to have these ups & downs about your body, especially after giving birth when things are crazy and hectic. And I think it’s important to be honest about these things, because there are SO many people who feel them. However, if I walked by you on the street, I wouldn’t even be able to tell you just had a baby. You’re not puffy. You don’t look especially exhausted. You look freakin’ awesome!

    15. Kristol says:

      Can I just say, that I love you, but you make me sick! Seriously, you JUST had a baby like last week and you look FAB-U-LOUS!! The key is to have your kids young. 3 years ago, I had twins at 39 and then another one at 41. My body will NEVER be the same. However, I do only have six pounds to go to be back to pre-twin weight. You look great and are an incredible inspiration!! You Go Momma!!

    16. Ruby Murray says:

      You look amazing, I’ve always been a skinny minnie but piled on the weight (60lbs!!) with my little fella I looked like a hippo and it took at least 6 months before I looked half as good as you do now and lost the baby weight. Admittedly I had to thank breast feeding for all my weight loss, too lazy to work it off!!

      Congrats!

    17. megan says:

      You are awesome!

    18. Nicia says:

      You rock Melissa! Can I tell you, after my second, my body must have known what it needed to do that time around, because my pre-pregnancy clothes were suddenly too BIG! Who does that? haha. It’s pretty obvious you are the same. You do look really awesome. :)

    19. Fran says:

      So glad you’re doing well. My baby is 3 months old, and I remember the post-partum shock well. I kept thinking: will I always look like this naked? I still have the remains of the dark belly line. But thankfully, am only about 5 lbs away from pre-pregnancy weight and can wear most of my (nursing friendly) clothes. I think it really helped that my (homebirth) Midwife had me doing special ab exercises 5 days after I gave birth; getting those muscles back helped me a lot.

      You look great and you’ll be back to normal in no time!

    20. amanda says:

      You look so freaking rad. Kudos to you for sharing your challenges & your successes so candidly… I think you are going to do great this time around!

    21. Katie says:

      I had really awful PPD with my first and I didn’t intentionally stop eating, I just couldn’t eat.

      I just had my second on the 7th and realized that breastfeeding makes me depressed. I was beginning to stop eating, food tasted like sawdust. As soon as we switched to formula, I felt like myself again. And could eat again!

      Only problem is, I haven’t gotten as skinny as quick! Luckily, I feel like the second pregnancy did less damage to my body than the first so I know I’ll get there.

    22. Bellesme says:

      You look great!! love the heels too!
      Bellesme

    23. rachel c says:

      Girl, you look fantastic!

    24. Ann says:

      First off, thank you for being honest. It’s not easy and it’s not something women talk about and like you, I was confused and depressed at first after having my son. I thought that women just bounced back immediately, and no one told me that my belly would be flabby, my thighs still big, and my ankles still swollen – 3 months after giving birth! I feared that this is the body I had to live with the rest of my life. And at first, I had no problems with my body, ignoring all mirrors in the house but it was the comments people gave me that made me so depressed, I cried every day. People I had seen once or twice before suddenly think that it’s their business to tell me I was fatter than before. Um… thanks?

      Giving birth is a beautiful experience, a wonderful journey and so much is going on in your life right now like appreciating and spending time with your husband, Penelope and Felix. And besides, I think you look amazing. I was nowhere like you now back then! LOL

    25. jo says:

      you look absolutely awesome!!!!

    26. Laura chavous says:

      Its wonderful how open you are about something we all have struggled with! you look great! It just takes patience. :)

    27. Jessica says:

      Thank you for sharing your struggles. Honestly, the thought of how my body will change after I’m pregnant has always freaked me out. I appreciate your honesty in sharing what it’s really like on the other side, and your dedication to changing your attitude towards your body.

    28. This post brought tears to my eyes. You are so beautiful! I’m so glad you feel better this time around. None of us should ever take ourselves (and our wonderful, quirky, imperfect-but-still-beautiful) bodies for granted. Thanks for the reminder. :)

    29. AmyK says:

      This is my favorite outfit post (and outfit) that you’ve done.

      Also, it seems that generally, you are pretty kick ass.

      Have a great weekend!

    30. CK says:

      You look great, Melissa! I remember LOVING my heels right after a birth. I don’t usually wear them but it feels good to put them on right after birth JUST because you CAN!
      Feel good and eat plenty! Get some rest, chica!
      -CK

    31. Julia says:

      Meliss, I think you’re a superstar. You look awesome, have an awesome attitude, and make me want to be better. No joke.

    32. Rebecca says:

      You look beautiful. I love pooch-hiders, too. But just for regular fat days. Good for you for taking such good care of yourself. You deserve it. Best wishes!

    33. Morgan says:

      I wanted to leave a comment on your tumblr, but then I realized you can’t. Or maybe I just couldn’t figure it out. :)

      I haven’t read all of the other comments, but I’m sure I’m echoing everyone else when I say, you look AMAZING! Seriously, 8 days? My baby is 14 months and I wish I looked that good. I agree with the three things you love- high-waisted jeans are a recent find for me and I am in love. They are the best jeans in the whole world!

      Can’t wait to see more of your post-partum style. You are gorgeous!

    34. Chelsea says:

      A couple days after I had Vincente, my husbands grandmother looked at me and said…”I thought you already gave birth.” !!! Can you imagine? Such a body shock…tactless people don’t help…haha.

    35. Tamara says:

      Like others, I took pre-pregnancy jeans to the hospital when I had my first and left there in my jammies. Funny thing is I was so amused by my Jell-O Belly that I made my sisters touch it! I can’t believe they still want to have kids after that!!

    36. Kasey says:

      You look amazing!

    37. tara says:

      thank you for sharing this!

      p.s. i used your blog kit for my blog a while back and STILL love it. thanks!

    38. Natalie says:

      You do look awesome. Read (and re-read) these comments as often as you feel like to keep your head in the game! I’m almost 7 weeks postpartum and my big thing is finding tops I can nurse in and pants that are gentle on my stitches. .. all while being cute. This is my first so I’m trying to be nice to myself. it always seems like everyone else has it all together, but posts like this one help me realize we’re all in this together. thanks and good luck!

    39. marissa says:

      you are gorgeous and your body will be back sooner than you know it. me, i’m still trying to get back to my body 3 babies ago – hahahaha!

    40. Laine says:

      I am catching up on my google and I must say, you look like Jane Birkin. Misha Lulu posted these pics: http://www.mishalulu.com/blog/?p=4803

    41. hailey says:

      thankyou for your candid thoughts! i’m hoping to have my first baby in the near future and it’s thanks to the honesty of people like you that will make the transition for others much easier! i appreciate your fashion page, too – keep it up! your baby is beautiful, and so are you!

    42. Gretchen says:

      Yay, you! No starving yourself this time!! :) Hope the postpartum blues aren’t hanging around too bad for you this time, either. I had some pretty major blues with my little girl 2 years ago (not enough for counseling or scary thoughts or anything, just mega tears all the time), and I’m hoping this time around I’ll be able to skip that un-fun part to welcoming a new little one into my life!

      I love your outfit, and I’m SUPER stoked you’re sharing your postpartum fashions!

    43. Gretchen says:

      Oh, side note — I finally got me some jeggings! WOO HOO!

    44. Christi says:

      Good lord, baby, no one but you could EVER tell you’d ever been pregnant with a body like yours. Love the skinny jeans, know that you look foxy!

    45. Liz says:

      All I have to say is if I look that good after my little guy comes out I’ll be skipping for joy!!! This is my first and I’ve already gained 25 pounds at 24 weeks goodbye size xs and size 27 waist!!!

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