Maternity Clothes – How long is TOO long?

Maternity clothes - worn by women to accommodate changes in body size during pregnancy.
Key words there DURING PREGNANCY. So how long is too long to continue wearing maternity clothes after having a baby?

We all know our bodies don’t automatically return to our pre-pregnancy size the minute the baby is out, wouldn’t that be nice though! I’m sure some women never return to their pre-pregnancy size (and I’d like to think they don’t continue wearing maternity clothes forever), some women work hard excursing and watching what they eat in order to return to their pre-pregnancy size and then there are those women who do little to nothing to return to their original size. I have done nothing, and I'm still wearing the maternity clothes to prove it.

While I do still wear my maternity pants they don’t quite fit right anymore, they are borderline too big and if I put anything in my pocket I can feel them slowly sliding down AND baby is 10 weeks old now, is it acceptable to even admit that I’m still wearing them? Maybe if they weren’t so comfy I wouldn’t still be wearing them because I am able to just barely squeeze into my regular pants but they are a bit on the tight/uncomfortable side, oh and they don’t quite button yet either, but they are very close. I guess I could probably get away with using the belly band for a little while again (but lets remember the comfort the maternity pants offer, ahh). After all, I gradually started fitting into maternity clothes over the course of 9 months so it makes sense to gradually work my way out of them right, right?

So…how long did YOU wear your maternity clothes?

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it's BACK to work I go!

Back story: Last Friday marked my last official day of maternity leave, granted I had been doing some work from home here and there over the past 2 weeks, but still, I was HOME with the babies baby and 9 year old to be exact.

Alex was off the weekend before I had to go back which was nice because (well It’s always nice when he is home) we were able to spend time together doing things so I wasn’t sitting home thinking about the impending Monday to come.


The week: The dreaded Monday finally arrived, on Monday morning of all times (how about that). The alarm went off at 6:30, 6:45 and again at 7am so I finally decided that it was, in fact, MY alarm and that I needed to get up and get ready. So I did. I got up, got ready, gathered my 50 million 4 bags, cuddled the baby, passed out kisses and left the house. :(

Alex called during my 45 minute drive to work to make sure I wasn’t crying my eyes out, and I wasn’t, but it was nice that he called anyway. Once I finally arrived it was like I had never left. I mean sure people would stop by my office and say “welcome back” and ask how things were going but other than that it was business as usual. Mondays always seem to fly by so before I knew it the day was over and I was on my way back home to my 3 loves. Tuesday and Wednesday were status quo ante as well.


Final thoughts: So even though going back to work after being home for 10 weeks wasn’t as dreadfully awful as I worked it up in my mind to be I still liked being home when Alex was off, I liked not knowing what time of day, day of the week or even day of the month it was. There were no due dates, no meetings, no phone calls to make/receive, no audits to be done, it was nice. Very nice.

Wordless Wednesday

What's For Dinner?

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

1/2 c. butter

4 cloves garlic, minced (I used a couple spoonfuls of already minced garlic from a jar)

3/4 c. dried bread crumbs

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp. dry parsley

1/4 tsp. dry oregano

1/4 ground black pepper (I don't have any so I didn't add any)

1/8 tsp. salt

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves - pounded thin (I didn't pound them)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a pan and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Mix bread crumbs, cheeses, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl.

4. Dip chicken in garlic to coat, press into crumb mixture.

5. Arrange chicken in a 13x9 inch pan, pore butter mixture and crumb mixture on top.

5. Bake for 30 minutes.

We also had semi-mashed potatoes and corn with our chicken.

Time

Time is a mysterious thing. For much of ones life they wish it away wanting to be older and wiser.

When we are young we wish to be 16.
When we are 16 we wish to be 18.
When we are 18 we wish to be 21.
When we finally do get older we wish to go back to the “good old days”.

We should spend less time wishing and instead enjoy every single moment for what it’s worth because, after all, we can never go back.

Wordless Wednesday