What to Wear: The Nursing Edition

Trying to find clothes that are cute and "transitional" (ie- I haven't lost all my baby weight yet) post-partum is not fun.  No one wants to buy a whole new wardrobe that won't be worn for long, and there are definitely occasions that you want to dress up for (ie- not wear yoga pants and a tshirt) during those weeks/months after giving birth.  This has been my life this summer.  I am now at the point wear I am fitting into more and more of my regular clothes (with about 7 lbs left to lose) but am now faced with another dressing dilemma. 

Nursing/pumping at work clothes

While the above shirt is labeled as nursing wear, it is not something I would wear (ever), nor is it appropriate for someone who has to work in an office and pump three times a day (for the next 9 months of my life).  I breastfed Spencer for approx 13 months (wanted to stop at 12 but the darn kid wouldn't drink whole milk at all and the pediatrician said he had to be drinking milk or formula before I could stop nursing), and I'd like to do the same for Peter.  I've also come to the point when it's time to head back into work and get out of the comfy yoga pants/maxi dress mode.  I don't know how many of you are in similar situations, but I thought I'd put together some ideas of what to wear when you/your precious babe needs access to your lady parts 5, 6, 7 times a day!!

The first thing you need are good nursing tanks.  I have some from Target, Old Navy, Gap and Motherhood. The pull down ones from Motherhood I like way more than I expected to, and since they don't have clasps anywhere, you don't have to wear anything layered overtop to avoid it looking like a nursing top.

I wear a tank a few days a week, layered under cardigans, sweaters, and blazers. They keep some modesty (I share an office with 4 other females and they're around while I'm pumping most of the time) and still help me to look pulled together when worn with dress pants and a blazer/sweater.  I highly recommend at least two black and two white tanks and then a few colored ones to go under your more neutral cardigans. I find I wear my black and white ones all the time so only having one of each is not enough. Finding time to do laundry mid-week when you are away from the house 45-50 hours a week and have a baby at home is hard, so just make it easier on yourself and have an extra!

Button downs, popovers, or wrap tops are great options when pumping at work or nursing in public. It's easy to be discreet when you only have to undo a few buttons, and the wrap tops allow you to just slide the fabric right under your bra. I actually have the wrap shirt above in two colors (navy and coral from Target) and it's been my go to shirt all summer. It was easy to dress up or down and looks great with accessories, and the ruching on the side helps to hide the post-partum belly. Now that I am almost back to my normal size, it still looks cute on and is completely appropriate for work. I wish they had it in a long sleeve version for this winter!

I love to wear dresses to work. I find that they are super easy in the morning to put on, comfortable to wear throughout the day, and always help me to look pulled together/polished. Many of my "normal" dresses don't work while I'm pumping b/c you can't exactly unzip an entire sheath dress and sit topless in the office, so I've had to find other options.  I find the easiest dresses to wear are vneck or crossover top dresses that are made of a modal or cotton/lycra fabric that has lots of stretch. 

I have the above maxi from Target in blue. I wear a nursing tank underneath (it's a pretty deep vneck) and it's perfect. While I wouldn't wear this to work (too casual), it's been perfect for maternity leave and weekends. It's really long, so if you are tall, this is definitely the dress to buy!!

While this dress is technically a maternity dress, it's got the stretchy vneck and a darling embellishment at the waist which would be perfect for the first few months of nursing when you are still trying to lose the baby weight. I actually have a maternity dress (Liz Lange, Target) that I bought after Peter was here that I have worn all summer. I just bought one size down and it's a very flowy maxi dress so you cannot tell AT ALL that it is a maternity dress. I love it! At the above price (29.99- Target's website), you can't beat this dress for something that looks pulled together (especially under a cardigan) but feels like you are wearing pjs. Certainly something I would wear post-partum!

The above dress by JCrew is one that I adore. I actually have an almost identical one from Land's End that I bought when I was doing this two years ago with Spencer. At work, I just unbutton a few buttons while pumping, and off I go. Easy peasy!!

Cute dress from the Loft that has the vneck. This would be adorable with a cardigan over top for work (white for now, navy or gray for fall).

Wrap dresses (above from Banana) are the ultimate nursing dress. I have two in my closet and am always on the lookout for more.  These are also great for moms who SAH but who need a great dress for church.

Other tips:

I try to keep a few extra nursing pads in my pumping bag. This way if I forget to put them under my tank or in my bra in the morning, I can deal with that at work.

I don't have a hands free pumping bra, but I have heard they are fantastic. I just use one hand to prop both and then type with my other hand. Most of the time while I am nursing, I tend to get onto my Google Reader anyway, so it's more about perusing than it is about typing. If you are actually needing to type while pumping, I would for sure recommend a hands free bra!

Get a great water bottle for work. Nursing drains me of fluid (literally!) and most people are constantly thirsty. It's easier to remember to drink when you have a cute water bottle at work that makes you happy when you see it.

Does anyone else have suggestions for ladies who are pumping at work? What are your favorite outfits to wear? I'm currently at work in a white VV button down and charcoal slacks, and my outfits this week include a button down dress, a cardigan and tank with capris, a navy wrap top with coral chinos, and a skirt and top (this top will be a little tricky but I'll keep my lab coat on when pumping).

Hopefully this helps someone out there!!

Lobster Party 2012

The best party of the summer was a bit different this year. Due to the fact that I can't eat dairy and I didn't have a ton of saved milk (so I didn't want to pump and dump), I decided it wasn't worth me staying for dinner and dancing. It was a tough decision to make as the party is seriously so fun, but I knew I didn't want to be drinking on an empty stomach, and literally everything served at the party has butter of some sort on it!

Instead, I brought the boys down to the beach for cocktails and appys and to socialize for a bit. We were able to snap a few pictures. It was out of control hot (above 90 and humid as all get out) but it wasn't sunny, so that helped a little bit. It is awful when it's that hot as everyone is dressed up and looks so cute and then is just standing around sweating through everything. Uggg.... You hate to be outside at one of the biggest social events of the summer and feel gross like that, you know?

Love these two!

Fake smile much, Spence??

This one is better, but I should have been holding Peter upright. Notice the hickey on my shoulder from my little baracuda!!

Spencer and his cousin. He is obsessed with her! They're really sweet together and we're hoping they always love each other like they do now!

I'm going to frame this one!

B's pants and his dad's shorts.

Spencer spent most of his time burying his shoes in the sand. It kept him quite occupied, so I was happy!!

Can't you just feel the humidity when you look at this picture? The air was so heavy.

The pretty grasses at the dunes

After we socialized sufficiently, I took the boys back to my mom's house and put them down. I then ate dinner and watched the Olympics until B called to have me come pick him up (I did not want him driving). He said the band was great (as they always are) and he had fun hanging out with his brother, sister in law, and his cousins. I'm just going to be counting down til next year!!

Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad(ly)

Peter turned 3 months old this week! I'm constantly amazed at how fast time is flying with him. He survived his first week of daycare better than I did! His two teachers both thought he was so chatty and such an easy, happy baby. I concur!!

He is taking 3 4.5-5 oz bottles while at daycare and took to the bottles like a champ. Prior to going this week, he had only ever had two bottles, but you'd never know it by watching him guzzle them down. Neither of my boys had trouble transitioning from nursing to bottles to pacifiers. We use the Tommee Tippee bottles because I think they are the most like nursing.  He did have one day where he needed the extra bottle we send- he was so fussy after his second bottle of the day that they gave him more and he sucked down 2.5 more oz for a total of 7 oz!!  Yikes, buddy!

He is sleeping well both at home and at daycare. He consistently needs a long afternoon nap (usually between 1.5-2 hours). I'm shocked he can sleep well at daycare- it took Spencer a long time to adjust to all the noise in the room. Peter does the best when bundled and put in the crib; however, the other day he took a 2.5 hour nap in the lofted area underneath the toy bar! His teacher said he looked so comfy, she didn't want to move him and apparently he loved it based on that nap time!!

He is still waking up overnight to eat. It's frustrating as Spencer was sleeping through the night by now, but I know I can't compare them. Some nights I'll go into the nursery to feed him in the rocker, but most nights I'll pull him into our bed and we'll both fall asleep while nursing. I'll usually wake 30ish min later and then put him back into his crib. He's a quick nighttime nurser, so I am thankful for that! He usually sleeps for a 5-6 hour stretch and then another 3-3.5 hour stretch. I'm just waiting for the day when he does 8 or 9 hours!!

I spent part of this evening putting away baby clothes that no longer fit him. He's over 15 lbs now!! It's been fun to put him into the same clothes that Spencer wore and remenisce about things we were doing when Spence wore that outfit. I've been REALLY good about not buying new things for Peter. There are times when I want to but I also know it would be silly to do so as we have everything he needs. I am looking for matching pumpkin tees for the boys for the fall. It's fun to put them in similar/matching outfits!

Such sweet feet!

Spencer just adores him and wants to kiss, hug, or hold him all the time. I hope he remains in love with him once Peter is old enough to crawl over and steal his toys :)

Love the wrist folds!

USA Women's Gymnastics!!

They made it look EASY!!!!  Congrats, girls.......you were absolutely amazing!!!

Gabby is so adorable and performed as an all around contender should, and Jordyn's floor routine could not have been any more perfect.  Overall, though, I do have to give complete and utter props to Mckayla Maroney. I have never, ever seen a vault as good as hers. She just flies. I'm so glad she gets to compete for the vault individual medel just so that I can see her perform two more times.

I love the Olympics and am going to bed WAYYYYY too late to catch it all.  Not so good with work starting next week!  Should have talked my work into one more week of maternity leave just to be able to stay up next week too!!

Only one week left......

Next Monday, I have to leave this face. I cannot believe it's already been 12 weeks since his (very terrifying) birth. I'm glad that I've gotten to spend 12.5 weeks home with him, but I'm wishing for a few more months of strictly mom time!!

He has grown and changed so much in the past 12 weeks. He's already over 14 lbs, has grown more than 4 inches since birth, his head control is amazing lately (tummy time IS worth it!), and he is cooing and talking all the time. He loves to be on a schedule and his cues are really easy to read. God has certainly blessed B and I with this boy!

Hi Mommy!!!

We do love our daycare, and I was more than happy about our infant room, so I can't complain about the care he is going to get. I know his teachers will love him to death- they're already SO excited to have him full time.  It's just hard to know that the first time he rolls over will probably be there and that we'll miss some of his wonderful milestones. I love, love, love that SYT has great friends at daycare and is learning so much more than I would have taught him at this point, but the baby stage has been so wonderful with Peter that I'm definitely going to miss every day with him.

I have asked my work if going to part time is a possibility but I haven't gotten an answer on that yet. I know it wouldn't happen for a few months (due to scheduling and getting a new team member that needs training), but I am really, really hoping that my boss can make it work. I really think that a day home during the week with my boys would make a huge difference in my heart!!

I am excited to see my coworkers and my favorite patients, and I really do LOVE my job.  I am only sad to miss my sweet boy's smile in the middle of the day and the awesome cuddle sessions we have. We have already given him a bottle which he has taken to like a champ, so that is one worry off my plate. I already have a freezer stash of breastmilk, so as long as I can continue to keep up my milk supply daily at work, Peter should be set! I just pray he is as easy and loving for them as he is for us at home. Sweet boy, I will miss you!!!!

Pink and Green Party

Back in the day (early 80s), my aunt would always make fun of the tourists who came up to Harbor Springs for vacation as they always wore pink and green and would eat nothing but fudge and ice cream for a week straight.  My aunt complained about this enough that my mom and dad decided it would be hilarious to throw a surprise pink and green party and not tell her about it.  So they invited family and friends to come to the cottage in their best pink and green attire for the party.  My aunt showed up before most of the guests in her red pants and white shirt and finally realized the joke was on her when everyone else was in pink and green (as well as the plates, napkins, jelly bellys, etc).  The party became a yearly ritual while my parents owned the cottage, and it was a really fun party (so I hear- I was still very young and often didn't attend).

Since those years, whenever my entire family is together, we have held a family pink and green party.  Everyone loves dressing up for it, and it always makes the best family pictures!  This year just happened to be one of the years that almost everyone was up north for vacation, so the party was on!! 

Haley's pink sparkle Toms.  The perfect shoe for the party!

H, A, &B

Spencer in his helmet (it's rare that he doesn't have it on for something) and two of the three boy cousins that he hung out with all week.  Even though they are 12, 10, and 8, they really were great with both my boys and played with them constantly.

In the driveway as people were arriving.

Aunt MA and my mom wear Lilly well, don't they?

E- he is 3 and has the BEST hair!!

Sweaty Spence after riding his tricycle forever in the driveway.

The best family photo we took- blurry and horribly weird faces.  Again, this is NOT easy!!

The watermelon shark.  My cousin made this for the fruit salad.  It was amazing.  L (E's twin) thought it was hilarious and kept eating the eyes off it, sticking her hand and head in the teeth and then screaming as people would pretend to eat her.  Hysterical.

My brother and his girlfriend.  They're adorable together.

Cousin K.

B, E, and Spence

Yep, JFK Jr look alike.  J is my cousin's husband and he's just as sweet and smart as he is good looking.  They have a fabulous relationship and an adorable almost 1 year old.

K, S, and I

After dinner, drinks, croquet, and ladder golf, the family went down to Gram's beach to have a skipping stone contest.

Spence in his jammies throwing stones

My brother and uncle paddleboarding

Sweet L gets all wet in the lake.

The croquet champ of the night

The whole family.  Literally, this is my mom's entire family minus three cousins.  We were so lucky to all be there to play together, spend time together, eat together, and learn more and more about each other and how amazing it is to have a family like this.  I love my family even more than I love this party!!