A New Mum's Guide to Still Feeling Glam

I've been on a quest recently to find a pair of jeans that actually FIT me. At first, I was happy just to be able to see my toes but then I decided I wanted a little more. I've been wearing dresses now for about 2 months and nothing else as my pre-pregnancy jeans have been shoved to the back of the wardrobe in horror, unable now to pull them past my thighs.

I finally found my saviour the other day, surprisingly in Sainsbury's. As I was leaving the house today and walking down the path, I realised I actually felt pretty good about myself despite having to go up two sizes as I'm now the proud owner of child bearing hips, so I thought I'd write a few quick tips down on what's helped me feel more 'me' these past few weeks.

I'm not going to lie, the first two weeks after having Oscar, I felt and looked like poop. I managed to step in the shower every day but that was pretty much where my efforts ceased. I lived in some comfy tracksuit bottoms and my maternity tops to hide my still inflated belly. No straighteners touched my hair nor a slick of makeup on my face. 

Then about 3 weeks in, I finally started to feel like putting a bit of effort back in. I got my boyfriend to be on baby watching duty whilst I took  hair dryer and some straighteners to my hair and applied some make up. I was only sitting about the house but I felt more like myself again. 

I'm fortunate enough to be a stay at home mum whilst my boyfriend goes out to work and even more fortunate enough to have my mum on hand whenever I need her. That's not the case for everyone though, so I'll try and make sure these tips can work for everyone whether you're surrounded by friends and family or doing it all on your own.

Tips

• Take advantage of the time when your baby is sleeping. You can fit in virtually anything you want to during their nap time, especially as newborns sleep most of the day.Whether or not that's getting some sleep, (I find that I can't sleep during the day no matter how tired I am, it's always early evening when I find myself wanting a rest and that usually isn't an option!) getting some cleaning and tidying done around the house, having a shower or keeping up your beauty regime. 

• Skater dresses have been the best thing for me. They skim straight over the top of your belly leaving you feeling slim and feeling feminine. Another bonus was that I managed to fit into quite a few of my pre-pregnancy skater dresses although a couple did become a little shorter due to my hips being wider.

• Floaty blouses have also been brilliant for everyday wear. I initially wore them over a pair of leggings but after wearing leggings for 7 months straight, I really wanted to find an alternative option.

• If you don't fancy floaty all the time, try a peplum top, they also skim nicely over your lower half. 

• Don't feel too bad if you can't fit into your pre pregnancy clothes as quick as you'd hoped. I had purchased a few items whilst pregnant that I thought would be nice to wear once I'd had Oscar but found that they didn't fit me quite as I'd imagined. I was disappointed at first, but then I decided to pick myself up as friends and family reminded me that it takes 9 month for your body to change and at least 9 months for it to go back (unless you're super lucky!)

• Accessories are your friend. If you don't want to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe to accommodate any extra pounds, make the most of what you've got in the clothes department and buy a few floaty scarves and some nice statement jewellery to perk up your outfits and hide any mum-tum you might have. 

• Keep it simple with your makeup. If my boyfriend's at home or my mum's round, I can afford to spend a bit more time on my makeup whilst they keep an eye on him but if I'm on my own or need to be out somewhere and making sure I'm fitting in around Oscar's feeding schedule then I switch up the products I'm using...

• You can simplify your makeup by swapping powder eye shadows for something like Maybelline's Color Tattoo's or my current favourite - Collection's Work The Colour Eyeshadow Pencil's. A quick slick across your eyelids and your good to go. 

• Instead of applying a full face of foundation, apply concealer to any blemishes and under eye circles to keep your face looking fresh.

• So you don't have to spend ages making sure you've applied your lipstick perfectly, grab a tinted balm like Revlon's Lip Butters to apply on the go and mirror free whilst still keeping your pout pretty. 

• I found that I struggled to find a pair of jeans that fit me how I wanted to or flattered my new figure. They all seemed to fit low around my hips and just made my belly pop out over the top. Not a good look. I went for jeggings instead, so I didn't quite manage to fully escape the leggings I now at least look like I've got jeans on, no one else needs to know it's an elasticated waist, right?

• Primark have some good jeggings in at the moment for less than £10 but I got mine from Sainsbury's TU range for £12.50. They do a range of colours and fit exactly how I wanted them to, high on the waist keeping my belly under control and still skinny on the leg without any bunching around the ankle.

• Get a quick drying top coat for your nails so that if your baby needs you suddenly, you can have your nails dried in a fraction of the time. 

• If your hair could do with a wash but you don't have the time, spray in some dry shampoo and try braiding it or tying it up in a cute bun. 

I think that about sums up everything I've managed to do to still find some 'me' time to fit around the hectic life of being a new mum! Let me know if you find any of these tips helpful or if you have any extra ones!

EDIT: I've just noticed that I've reached 100 followers on Bloglovin' and 150 on GFC, thank you to everyone who reads, I never thought I'd get even 20 people interested in my blog so it's great to have people commenting on here!