A Professional Wardrobe

What, exactly, is a professional wardrobe? Here in breezy SoCal, it's more about fashion and Ferragamos than pumps and pantsuits. And I can tell you exactly what it is NOT when you are hauling around gobs of baby weight: easy. It is the opposite of easy. I have never been a "full-figured" gal, and I can you one thing: it is hard to lose this baby weight. When your identity has always been a little tied into your body image, (potentially NOT the healthiest thing in the world, but I am putting it out there anyway) there are days when you feel like shouting from the rooftops, "UNIVERSE! Please, I get it! I will, from this day forward, appreciate the body that God so graciously gave me!"

(I suppose I am being a bit liberal with the use of the universal "you." I should probably use the correct pronoun, "I.")

I work in a highly fashionable area. Geography alone pretty much dictates it. (Last year I worked in Newport Beach; this year, Laguna Beach.) You can imagine what I see everyday...this is not your average American crowd.

Enter Brook, at her "healthy" new mom size, trying to be creative on so many levels. I can squeeze into some of my pants and skinny jeans. (Not saying it looks good, just saying I'M IN!) So I am trying to make those work with a variety of pre-pregnancy, maternity, and nursing clothes. Oh the nursing clothes. It is incredibly difficult to wear something EVERY DAY that allows me to pump and nurse without actually taking off my top. (How appropriate would that be at the office? There's a visual for you.) And I'm trying to pull this off without really buying new clothes. Doing so would signal defeat. There is no way I want to go up a size (or three). And then there is the issue of trying to stay on a budget...

On the upside, there is an element of fun when I get dressed for work. I get to wear big earrings, fun necklaces and bright lipstick: all things that are nearly impossible to wear when I home with the baby. (Unless I want to risk Paolo ripping the jewelry from my ears and throat. And the lipstick would end up all over him from my constant kisses.) At least I can still accessorize.