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When you’re pregnant, as excited as you might be for the new addition that will soon be in your life, there’s a lot you have to give up. And among the things you find yourself missing (dirty martinis, $1 oyster happy hours, lying on your stomach), wearing your non-maternity clothing again might be near the top of the list. After all, maternity clothes kind of suck. So it makes sense you’d look forward to getting back into your regular stuff as soon as the tiny human inside of you gets evicted.
BAD NEWS. It turns out, if you’re breastfeeding, having a baby means just as many wardrobe adjustments as getting pregnant, and I am not talking about weight or even spit up — although you’re definitely going to want to steer clear of dry-clean-only items for a while. A nursing mom spends literal hours each day with a small person attached to her chest (according to my baby-bodily-functions app, it was about seven hours a day for me at first), and that can get really cumbersome if you’re wearing “normal” pieces.
If you’ve recently given birth (or are about to), you’re likely seeing a whole lot of targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram trying to sell you fairly hideous nursing clothes. This well-intentioned but overpriced garb tends to be grandmotherly in shape, and either tacky or questionable in color (you’ll see everything from yellow chevron to the medium-tan color of ice skating tights). Hey, if you find them non-hideous, go for it. But I’m here to tell you that you can look at least reasonably put-together, feel comfortable, feed your child, and also not spend a ton of money. Ahead, you’ll find the essentials I added to my wardrobe that fit all of the above.
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