Buy New Clothes

Getting back to your pre pregnancy weight and body - it is on every mom's mind. Whether its conscious or subconscious - it is there. It is there when we look at magazines in the check out aisle while juggling our baby and hungry toddler. It is there when we get out of the shower and look at ourselves in the mirror. It is there when we see friends on Facebook and we compare our post baby body to theirs. And its there when we go to our closet to put on our clothes, especially during the summer months when shorts and swimsuits are everywhere.

I think one of the kindest things we can do as moms is buy clothes in our current size that help us feel beautiful. Of course health should be a priority and we should be working on eating well and exercising. In the pursuit of a healthy post pregnancy body, the first thing we need to shed is shame, guilt and comparison.

After my first child was born, I was back into my pre pregnancy clothes after 6 months. It has been 3 years since my second son was born and I have yet to fit back into those clothes. There are factors for that not related to pregnancy, but I am learning to embrace kindness with myself and where my body is right now. As moms this is a gift we can give to ourselves and our kids - kindness with our bodies.

A year ago we moved from Seattle to Minnesota. I brought with me a huge box labeled "pre pregnancy clothes." There were clothes in this box going all the way back to college. Every time I went into my closet I thought about them. It became a subconscious reminder of the weight I haven't lost. I didn't buy a lot of new clothes because I kept telling myself this was a temporary situation. Soon I will be back in those clothes. Instead of encouraging me, it just depressed me. So one day I decided to purge these clothes. I went through them, kept some things that I really wanted to have for the future, bagged up the remaining 80 percent and dropped it at goodwill. Since then I have been gradually buying clothes that fit me well that I really enjoy. I feel great and beautiful in these new clothes. It has been liberating!

There is no longer a box of pre pregnancy clothes starring at me every time I go into the closet. I am still working hard on being healthy, but I am embracing that healthy as a mom will likely not look like a college body. As moms, we can get back down to our pre pregnancy weight or size but our bodies have changed. They have gone through immense physical change. This is a beautiful thing! It is what our bodies were designed to do.

About a month ago I saw a wonderful thing happen on Facebook. A mom posted that she was looking for jeans recommendations - jeans that had some give but also were nice and presentable. There was a whole thread of comments with jean recommendations. I went through the list and wrote down every brand mentioned. Here it is: Eddie Bauer Jeans Lucky Jeans Democracy Jeans Paige Jeans Old Navy Jeans Denizen Jeans Cabi Jeans Loft Jeans Liverpool Jeans Not your Daughter’s Jeans Gloria Vanderbilts Jeans Kut from the Kloth Jeans

Some of these jeans are more expensive then others, but there are ways to find even the more expensive ones in your price range. I found a pair of Cabi Jeans that looked brand new at goodwill. These jeans are around $100 retail and I bought them for less than $10!

Also, since it is swimsuit season, I wanted to mention women's tankinis and skirts are a great option for post baby swimwear. They are flattering and can help with the summer swimsuit blues.

We are beautiful as moms and we can embrace our beauty. When we feel beautiful in our clothes we shift from health being a chore to health being a way to care for ourselves. We shift from a guilt mindset to a care mindset. We are caring for our body now and we will continue to care for our body into the future.