The in-between clothing conundrum

My advice to all mothers who love both fashion and food: Have your baby in the fall.

That way, you can pile on the baggy sweatshirts and concealing pants while you wait for your body to assume its original form—and you won’t have to forego eating any of the things you love.

Since Chloe was born in the spring, I’m faced with the prospect of a long summer season stretched out before us … while my body remains stretched out under my clothes.

Having a baby in the spring always seemed like a great idea to me. It meant you could take your new baby on long walks outside. Play on picnic blankets on lazy summer afternoons. Dress your baby in a simple onesie without having to worry whether his or her toes were going to freeze.

All this is true, of course, and I’m fully enjoying taking Chloe out in the warm weather. We spend time in our vegetable garden every day, watering and looking for new babies to poke their heads up from under the soil.

What I never gave any thought to was what I would do with myself over the summer—in terms of clothing. It’s not that I’m a huge fashionista. I don’t take radical fashion risks or get caught up in trends. But I do like to be clad in something that’s at least a little flattering and not so out of fashion that people stare. Heck, I like to wear clothes that are comfortable—and ones that stay on!

Therein lies my problem. I’m at a strange in-between stage with clothes. There’s not a chance that any of my pre-pregnancy clothes could fit, even though we’re over six weeks out. Yet, my huge supply of colorful maternity clothing is no longer any good to me. Without my baby bump, things either don’t stay up or just don’t look right.

Don’t get me wrong—there’s still a bump where Chloe used to be. Except that now it’s a little misshapen and definitely very soft. Not exactly cute like a bump, you know?

Worse, all clothing with an elastic waistband that goes under the bump and therefore doesn’t rely on the bump will simply not stay up. I figure I can’t blame the pregnancy. The problem now is that my lack of hips and tiny booty-bump just can’t hold the clothes up since there’s no hint of a waistline to help out. I wind up tugging on my pants throughout every hour of every day. I have to be extra careful when we go out, because if Caden pulls on my pants in just the right way, they go flying down to my knees.

I guess I can at least be thankful for summer dresses at this point—especially the baby doll variety. No elastic is needed and nothing is ever skintight. Looks like I’ll be donning those throughout the rest of the summer. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to wear pants again by fall, otherwise I’m gonna have to find some leg warmers and cardigans to match my dresses.