Well here I am. My baby is almost 3 months old now, so my 12 weeks maternity leave is up. And I’ve made a major decision to stay home with my sweet kiddos.
Along with a myriad of emotions over resigning from my job of over a decade (which I’m still exploring, supressing, whathaveyou – thought I would retire from there, did I really quit my job?), I’m finding myself with two major problems: 1. I don’t know what my littles and I should do with ourselves all day, and 2. I don’t know what to wear.
Problem number one is a pretty fun one to solve. I have two cuties to carry on adventures throughout our fair Cowtown, and since I’ve worked in Dallas for the past 11 years, there are a ton of day time activities over here that I’ve never even heard of. Thanks to the FWMB, I know all about Little Sprouts at BRIT, Bella’s Storytime, free children’s concerts in Arlington, and so many other fun events I never knew were available.
If you haven’t checked out our calendar, it’s located right here, and I’m telling you, it’s a wealth of fun (and many free!) things for your family. On a more daily basis, our Co-Founders are hard at work posting events as they hear of them on our Facebook page. You’ll find discounts, special events, and usually some entertaining mommy discussion. So, please, go like us!
So this leaves me with problem number two: wardrobe. This is a major first world problem, clearly. Last week, several folks asked me if I was heading to work as I dropped my son off for Mother’s Day Out. I had on what I thought was casual wear: a sundress and sandals. Now it IS something I would’ve worn to work, but I worked in a casual-dress office. I’m probably making this into a bigger deal than it ought to be, but when three or more people say something, I start to pay attention.
I guess I’m trying to decide what my new mom uniform will be. I ditched my dry clean only goods when I had my firstborn so I’m good there. But now? Must I also give up my beloved dresses for yoga pants? Should I find a 50-50 balance? How much time should I spend in athletic wear outside of the gym?
Are you a put-yourself-together-first-thing mama, or are you a fresh-from-yoga mom? We’d love to know what your “mom-wardrobe” is!
I never stayed in athletic clothes after my morning workout with #1 baby, now I do more often. I try to look cute 65% of the time! Haha!
Yoga pants are God’s gift to mothers. Embrace it. 🙂
That’s funny!!! 🙂
Amen, sister!
That’s a good balance, I think!
Well, I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in a few years so I don’t have to worry about changing out of exercise clothes! Ha! Most days I get up, shower, dress and do my hair and makeup before my kids wake up. If I have a day I want to stay in pajamas or lounge clothes, I do it and don’t think twice about it!
Agree with Brandi. I kind of have days I just decide (and hope) no one from the outside world will see me. I had severe reflux kids so for the first year of each of their lives we all changed outfits multiple times and day and if you are nursing as well, well that just is a whole other wardrobe restrictor. My advice is to go thru and separate out your closet – I used to wear suits everyday and they filled my closet for MONTHS after I started staying at home. They day I moved them all to the guest closet (couldn’t get rid of them immediately) was a freeing symbolic day of accepting the next stage in my life. Gotta get down to the casual clothes you have and then see what you are working with 😉
I sport workout clothes all day, every day since I work from home. I have the opposite complex where I worry people at T’s school think I don’t work and am off for a leisurely day with my non-existent personal trainer! The days I get dressed his teachers look at me funny – ha ha! And, welcome to CMBN!!!
I try to be dressed and ready to leave the house pretty early in the morning, usually before my kids get up, even if we have no plans to go anywhere. I find that it gives me more freedom to take the day as it comes. But what I wear varies greatly. Some days it feels like a victory if I’m wearing clean yoga pants and a clean t-shirt. During the summer, though, I wear lots of flow-y skirts and dresses. My 5 month postpartum hips and thighs find them to be much more forgiving than pants. 🙂
I am one of those people who think wearing lululemon clothing should be acceptable everywhere you go. It’s flattering and comfortable. It also happens to be my work attire, so it all works! I do like dressing up every once and while but mostly because I want my husband to know I haven’t let myself go.
I love this post. I recently left my day job as well, but still work two nights a week. I’m having MAJOR first world problems because i’m not a yoga-pants fanatic. I have them, and I understand the attraction, but for me it’s always jeans and a cute top or dresses/skirts. I understand what you said; people often ask if I’m off to work, when all I’m really doing is playing with my kids in the backyard all day. And then on the nights I work, I think “it’s one less piece of laundry, I’ll just wear my work clothes all day”. Glad you posted about this, I think tons of moms can relate!
We will figure this out together! 🙂
I never wear athletic clothes (partly because I don’t exercise ?). I wear skirts and a nice tshirt or top every day. Nothing fancy but I like looking nice. if you like wearing dresses and such, go for it! Oh and being a stay at home mom is a job… So yes, you’re headed to work!
One of my friends once put a post on facebook about being dressed in a jean skirt when the cable guy came to do an installation. He commented about how “dressed up” she was, and her reply was thought-provoking to me. She told him that it’s her JOB to be a mom, so she gets up and gets ready for work in the home every day just like she were working away from home. If you have cute clothes that you enjoy wearing and they happen to be things you used to wear when you were working, wear them! I’ve found that what I wear impacts the way I view the day. So, if I “get ready,” I’m likely to be more productive, etc. I’m just now transitioning from full-time work to part-time work, but I think I’ll embrace my friend’s idea that being a mom IS my job, and I should get ready for that (most days) just like I would get ready for work. Worth a thought…. 🙂
I completely agree, Lauren! That’s definitely why I am wrestling with this a little bit! My office dresscode was casual–as in, flip flops and shorts casual–but I was always dressed at least business casual because I knew it affected my outlook for the day.
Hey hi , so I don’t live in FW but I really like you and I think you should wear what you feel good wearing. Your style is cute so what if its more formal than the standard stroller set. Rock it! Xo from the far east 🙂
Your sense of style shows your personality little lady! You were an individual at work and you are an individual now. Always as cute as a button!