Friday 29 July 2016

style: what to wear when breastfeeding #2


Continuing the breastfeeding outfit series, here is number two! I've been raiding my wardrobe to find pieces that will work. This dress is from last summer, from one of my favourite brands, Hush. The buttons at the front make it work really well for breastfeeding. The loose fit is great when you still have a bit of a stomach - and also for when it's boiling hot (which it was when I wore this outfit).

I've been scouring the internet recently (usually whilst breastfeeding!) for outfit ideas - the Dorothy Perkins' sale has a lot of breastfeeding friendly options, including these:

breastfeeding friendly outfits

Shop the post (left to right): black dungaree jumpsuit; navy bandeau lace dress; utility shirt; and navy maxi shirt dress.

Thursday 28 July 2016

#3things: helping me to fake the 8 hours sleep look


The baby is sleeping really well - for a four week old. But the breastfeeding means that I'm up two or three times a night - and have been for the past month. So right about now, I'm not looking too fresh come the morning. So I've found a few things that help to fake it - and I thought I'd share them.

  1. Washing my hair (and even just showering) is proving difficult with a newborn who doesn't like to be left on his own for even a second while I jump in the shower! So I've been relying on dry shampoo A LOT. This Extreme Volume dry shampoo by CoLab (which comes from a collaboration with Ruth Crilly of A Model Recommends) is my newest find - it smells divine and helps to rejuvenate my hair - even after four days!
  2. Mascara is a must for making me look awake in the mornings. An eyelash curler really helps too. Right now I'm loving this Limited Edition Bourjois Tropical Festival Volume Clubbing mascara (which is on offer right now) - it really helps to curl my lashes and makes my eyes look wide awake (or a little awake!).
  3. Finally, this Rimmel London Sculpting Palette by Kate Moss is a new addition to my make up bag and I totally love it. I wanted to try it for a while and picked it up as a little treat earlier this week. I've not actually used it to contour yet (no time!) but I have been using the highlighter and blusher every day this week and both give me a lovely glow.

Any other tips for looking awake after a night of newborn feeds and nappy changes?

Monday 25 July 2016

style: what to wear when breastfeeding #1


If you're a breastfeeding mama, you'll know that finding outfits that work for feeding and don't make you feel like you've lost all sense of style can be a challenge. I'm taking up the challenge for my maternity leave and will be documenting my outfits here on the blog.

I spotted this Mango jumpsuit over on amothersedit the week before I was due to give birth and ordered it immediately, thinking that the button front would be ideal for breastfeeding. It took a week after giving birth for the jumpsuit to fit (despite it's baggier fit) but now I'm living in it!

Unfortunately this particular jumpsuit is out of stock now but I've found a few others in the sale at Mango which are breastfeeding friendly:

breastfeeding friendly jumpsuits

Shop the post: (left to right) long printed jumpsuit; flow long jumpsuit; and printed short jumpsuit.

Wednesday 20 July 2016

and then there were three


On 1 July, our little man arrived. After nine months of waiting, we met our son.

To say it didn't go to plan would be an understatement. I had never really intended to have a plan and had thought I'd try and go into the whole process with an open mind. But I did know that I wanted to give birth at our local midwife led unit in the town where we live and that I wanted to try the birthing pool. In the end, neither was an option.

After my waters broke (a trickle, not a gush!) in the early hours of Thursday morning, I was booked for induction at the consultant led unit at the main hospital in the next town for the Friday afternoon. I didn't make it to then, as in the early hours of Friday morning there was blood in my waters and I was told to come straight in for induction.

The induction process was daunting and I'm not sure that it was ever fully explained to us why or how it would happen. As such, within hours of being put on the drip to get my contractions going, I was exhausted and totally spaced out from the gas and air. Even the consultant told the midwife that I was in no state to give birth. Which was really encouraging!

After a shot of pethadine, which didn't do much, I opted for an epidural. This definitely helped me to rest and get some energy back. But the baby didn't like the strength of the contractions. It also turned out that after 10 hours, I had dilated no more. So late in the evening it was decided that a caesarean delivery would be the best option for the baby. I'll be honest, it was such a relief at that point!

The caesarean was actually the most positive part of the whole day. Everyone in the operating theatre was wonderful and supportive. They explained everything and were all very upbeat. In the end, the birth of our baby boy was a pretty positive experience. Even if I was left battered and bruised.

Unfortunately baby boy had to go to neonatal for his first night but I was lucky to spend most of it with him, nursing him and soothing him. The hospital provided an amazing service and the breastfeeding support was spot on. I knew before I had my baby that I wanted to try breastfeeding but was under no illusion that it would be easy or that it would work. But the nurses in neonatal and the postnatal wards were so supportive.

I'll confess now that even after nearly three weeks, I'm still processing the fact that my little boy's birth wasn't anything like I expected. I'll be sure to come back to this subject and my other thoughts on being a new mum soon.