NURSING-FRIENDLY DRESSES FOR SUMMER

I’m realizing that my postpartum wardrobe needs some major help. I had Teddy in the fall when I could cozy up in sweaters and coats until I had lost most of the baby weight and this time I’m realizing I have very few warm weather outfits that feel comfortable and flattering at 6 weeks postpartum and also offer me the flexibility to breastfeed Peter while we’re out of the house (which I rarely did with Teddy because we laid low all winter and then Covid hit). So! I’m trying not to be too hard on myself when a pair of jeans I want to wear doesn’t fit quite yet and instead trying to find nursing-friendly dresses for summer that will work well for this postpartum/breastfeeding stage and beyond. I hope this will be helpful to any of you who are in the same phase!

While my favorite dresses during pregnancy are t-shirt dresses (see here, here, and here), they’re a terrible choice for breastfeeding because you have to pull the entire dress up over your chest. No thank you! For nursing-friendly dresses, I recommend shirt dresses that unbutton (maybe one size up if your chest is bigger than your pre-pregnancy size) and smocked dresses like this year’s ubiquitous nap dress (which actually satisfies tae very rare trifecta of looking good when you’re not pregnant, pregnant, and breastfeeding — no small feat!).

one (also love this)  //  two  //  three  //  four

five  //  six (also available in a stripe!)  //  seven (under $50!) //  eight

nine (more colors here) //  ten  //  eleven  //  twelve

P.S. A few favorite summer shoes to pair with nursing-friendly dresses: Castaner espadrilles, Jack Rogers, strappy K. Jacques sandals, Loeffler Randall knot mules, Supergas, Tretorns, or Vejas.

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