This Transitional Body

As of two days ago, when I planned on writing this post (whoops!), I had lost all but 1.5 pounds of  the weight I gained while pregnant.  That's 29 pounds - BOOM! - gone in three weeks despite eating like a freaking horse.  A rather indulgent horse, might I add.  Did I do anything special to make this happen?  As a matter of fact, I did.

I'm breastfeeding.

I pretty much had the same thing happen after my last pregnancy, for the same reason.  I had people tell, me it was a fluke, that it only worked that way because it was my first, that it would be much, much harder the next time with the next baby to lose the weight.  

I love when naysayers are wrong.   :)

Now, does this mean that I'm thin or at a healthy weight?  Um, no.  I started off trying to get pregnant at 195 lbs.  I started doing boot camp workouts with Boot Camp Babes in in two months I lost 10 pounds and over 13 (!!! - I'm a believer in boot camp!!!) inches, bringing my weight to 185 lbs.  I stopped working out and tracking my calories on My Fitness Pal when I got my positive test results.  So, while I can in all honesty say I've lost the pregnancy weight, I still have plenty to lose.

This is what I look like this week.

Also, I'd like to point out that just because I may be back at my pre-pregnancy weight, this in no way means that my body has returned to the way it looked before I got pregnant.  Check out the side view:

My belly did NOT stick out that far before!  This is with "scary pants" on under the dress too.  I can't really suck it in any farther either.  It's just this gross, squashy, extra skin that will sort of jiggle when I tap it.  SO GROSS and terribly unattractive, not to mention hard to dress!

I'm simply not big enough for maternity pants any longer.  They won't stay up.  Putting on regular pants is like giving myself a muffin top on steroids!  Sure, I could size up, but since that area is so soft and squashy it won't hold up a waistband so I'd be back to my original problem of having to hike up my pants every five minutes  No es bueno.

My solution?  Dresses and skirts.  I'm finding that skirts don't bind my flab as bad as pants, and they stay up better.  Also, they're a bit cooler and comfortable.  Now that I've learned about Body Glide from Lindsay, I don't have to worry about chub rub either.  For the first time since I was a kid I can wear a skirt without shorts underneath to prevent heat rash!  YES!

The problem is finding things I like, that look good on my short, still chubby body, and are both comfortable and affordable.  I just don't want to spend a lot of money on temporary clothes, you know?  The dress in the first two photos I bought last week on clearance for $30 at the Gap.  It's one of the few times I've ever tried on a maxi dress and not had it drag on the ground!  Also, this is a SMALL.  Wha?

In very timely fashion, I got invited to another blogger event at DownEast Basics this week.  I was excited for an opportunity to get out of the house and just be able to take my time trying on a bunch of different things.  They have really nice casual clothes that are perfect if you want to look put together but not over the top dressy, so I like to get things there occasionally.

At first, I was thinking I'd get some new tee shirts and tank tops.  The Wonder Camisole is seriously my favorite tank top ever.  I've been buying them for years, since before they even had store around here and were just a cart in the mall.  They're long, so you don't have to worry if you put your arms over your head you're gonna flash your belly, or worse, if you squat that your backside will be exposed.  They come in lots of colors and they're cheap so you can get tons of colors.

All my tee shirts are a few years old and have teeny mystery holes around the belly button area.  They've also been a bit stretched out by my pregnancy.  I figured they could use replacing too since that's what I wear most of the time.  After I thought about it though, I realized tee shirts could be a problem with my nursing tanks (I can't find a nursing bra I like) so I nixed that idea and began to browse around the store more.

I tried on a few dresses and quickly realized that, although cute and comfortable, most dresses wouldn't work for this period in my life.  I'd have to strip completely to have access for breast feeding! I wouldn't be able to wear them out anywhere, which would be lame. I decided to move on to skirts.  I figured they could be paired with tank tops and cardigans, right?  That would provide easy enough access.

I loved the print on this one.  The colors were gorgeous too.

I did not like how wide it made my bottom half look.  There were too many gathers for my hips and the length made me look stumpy.  I did, however, like how my chest looked in this tank top.  DANG.  Heh.

I liked this tank in theory... but on it wasn't very flattering on me.  Sad.  The mustard color was just right and I loved the little fabric flowers at the neckline.

This skirt is made out of jersey knit and is as comfortable as a tee shirt.  It looks just fine with a tank top for hanging out around the house, and when I leave the house I just toss a light cardigan on top.  Easy!  In fact, I liked it so much I went back a day later and bought another one in a pretty olive green color.  If I had been able to find a black one in my size (MEDIUM!  I think I was wearing my clothes too big before) I would have got one of those too.  Best part - they're on sale right now for only $25 each, which I think is pretty reasonable as I can wear them even as I lose a bit more weight (hopefully!) in the coming months.

I also considered the CUTEST yellow cardigan, but I already have two yellow cardigans, so I was strong and left it in the store... *sniff*

Oh, and please notice the difference in photo quality between my point and shoot in the first two photos and my iPhone in the last three.  *sigh*  I miss my old Canon point and shoot.

***Disclaimer - DownEast Basics did not ask me to write a review of their products or store; however I did receive a gift card for attending the blogger event.  All opinions are my own.