I don’t know what it is, but I am feeling frumpy. I’ve not lost all the pregnancy weight, but I can wear most of my pre-pregnancy clothes. You would think that would make me feel pretty good, but no…I still feel frumpy.
I imagine some of it is the fact that I’m losing hair now due to hormones. I never had that happen until my 3rd child. Since then, it’s been every single child and for months on end. I now perpetually live with “stickin’ up hair” as my 8 year old daughter calls it…little bitty hairs, many of them grey, that stick up all over my head!
Or maybe I need to drink more water. I’ve always needed to drink more water. After Emily was born, I tried to make a concerted effort to drink more water. I even started an accountability thread on MOMYS designed to encourage me to drink my quota for the day. It worked fairly well, but once again, I find I am lacking in that department.
Quite possibly, it is my lack of sleep. Many nights I just am not sleeping. This has been going on for about a month now. It’s worse when I’ve forgotten to take my B vitamins. I used to have serious sleep issues when I was younger, but hadn’t dealt with too much outside of pregnancy in years. My mind is working overtime, especially at night when I have the luxury of quiet solitude. I need to be diligent with my vitamins so I am prepared for my wake-up call the next morning (otherwise known as 5 talkative children climbing into bed with me!)
I’ve also considered the possibility that my clothes are just frumpy in and of themselves. It’s been a long time since I bought anything new because every time I consider it, a voice in the back of my head says, “But someone might spit up on you!” or, “You might get grease on it and ruin it!” And sadly, the voice is right. No matter how careful I am, I truly am a human napkin. Maybe I should invest in some high powered stain remover and get myself a few new outfits?
But that brings me to another thought…I don’t know how to dress my mama-shaped body. Someone somewhere needs to teach a class on such things. I’m surely not the only one in this world who can’t figure out how to put together an outfit that compliments (or hides) my new curves. Someone out there in blogland needs to blog about this, pretty please!
So, that’s my quest…find a way to stop feeling frumpy. I would welcome any thoughts, suggestions, blog posts, pictures, etc that would assist me on this quest! Thanks!
Kyle and Mandy says
I can completely sympathize with you Amy! I can’t help you with picking out clothes, but I can tell you what I did! I felt the same way after Ava was born! I decided to go ahead and buy the clothes to bless myself and my husband and started to wear aprons! I always felt that it was pointless to dress nicely because I was a wreck at the end of the day from grubby fingers, spit up, grease, – you name it, I wore it! 🙂 Aprons have kept my clothes looking nice! These are what I wear – http://www.shopnational.com/product.cfm/wc/601060/sgid/7965_ They aren’t the most beautiful aprons in the world, but they give me really good coverage. I always hated to wear aprons before, but I am so glad that I started! It has made a big difference for me!
Jim and Angi says
Amy,I just wanted to tell you that you have encouraged me greatly through you ebook The “Me Time” Myth. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! In regards to your feelin frumpy, here is my advice…Talk with your husband, and find out what he would like to see you wear. After all we should want to impress our husbands the most out of anyone we know. Then set up some kind of budget and if your husband will go with you clothes shopping great. Then you can show him the outfits you try on and he can give you his opinion. That way when you wear those outfits you will know through out the day that your husband likes the way you look in them. That is a great boost!! Also I like the advice others gave about aprons. Have fun shopping!
Fruitful Harvest says
I feel frumpy most of the time too!I went out last night to dinner and a play with a girl friend. I was so happy that I found something respectable to wear! I still mostly wear maternity clothes…my baby is 18 mo.I have found most of my favorite clothes at the Salvation Army…I can find quality clothes with nice fabrics and cut…name brands for 1/4 of the price.The fabric on the cheap clothes show all my rolls in the front and on my back! Yuck!!!Blessings,GeorgiannPSI pray you can get rest….I can get the same way at times…my mind goes into over drive! I want you to know all is good here with me….no worries!
MamaArcher says
I think you were reading my mind when you wrote this! I am right there with you! Maybe we should go shopping together.
Angela says
Even though I’ve always gotten back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, my clothes just don’t seem to look or feel as good as they used to. Maybe a few new outfits that feel and look good are the way to go. And if you find a really good stain remover, let me know!…
Amy @ Raising Arrows says
Awesome! I’m going to check into that for sure!And Mandy, I do wear an apron quite often these days…I should just go for it and invest in some nice clothes.
Julie says
someone does teach you how to dress for you figure and her name is “Miss SmartyPants”. Here is her link:http://www.missussmartypants.com/Go ahead and buy something nice to wear.It doesn’t have to be fancy to make you feel good. Even mama’s are worth it 😉
Amy @ Raising Arrows says
Julie, you are a gem!I talked to dh and signed up for Missus Smarty Pants. I only had time to glance through one section, but it was enough to give me a start. I went to my mom’s for the day and she and I took the girls to her little local thrift store. Since I knew exactly what I was looking for, I felt a lot more confidant looking through those racks of clothes. I found a few great items and am able to think in my head what goes with them so when I have a chance to go back out shopping again, I can get those things and not waste time looking for things I don’t really need!I am so excited about this! I’m also excited to be a little nicer dressed at home. It makes such a difference in how we go about our work! (and Mandy, I am definitely going to make sure I wear my apron!)Hopefully, I’ll have some pictures coming soon for all of you to check out and tell me what you think!
Susanna says
Amy, I recently went through the same thing! I have a good irl friend who has a definite gift for dressing with flair, and I asked her if she could help me out. She’s expecting #8 and they have even less money than we do and knows how to get the best from thrift stores. It took a couple of months for our schedules to coincide enough to actually go out together, but when we finally did, we went to the huge Salvation Army store and spent 4 or 5 hours finding things and having me try them on. I spent about $75. The next week she came to my house and looked at EVERYTHING I had to wear, and told me what to wear with what, down to shoes. I wrote it all down. Out of the little I already had, and what I bought on that one shopping trip, I had 25 different outfits, and by changing a few details (all written down!) I could get three times that many, from everyday to dressed-up! Shortly afterward, dh and I had an anniversary, and I got a new different haircut. We call it my makeover! (I need to schedule another trip with her for summer clothes now–I have NO idea what to look for!)I want to tell you one more thing–my dh has been SO energized by this change in me! For the first time since we’ve met, a few times we’ve been out in public, and he will see me briefly from a distance, turn his head away thinking he shouldn’t look at someone else’s woman, then realize, “That’s my wife!” I cannot begin to tell you how much that means to me, as I always felt like he didn’t get much reward for being virtuous with his eyes, since I looked like a frumpy middle-aged, hs mom! I do not have a wonderful figure, my friend just helped me learn to make the most of what is left of me at this point! I truly believe that God did this to minister to my dh during an especially difficult transition he is going through. Sorry this is so long! I want to encourage you to find a friend to help you and give you feedback, etc. It was loads of fun for both of us!
Regina says
Dearest Amy, the only thing I can say about the dressing part is that I wear skirts. Putting on a nice flowy (sp) skirt and a pretty blouse always makes me feel more womanly and the skirts cover a lot of the hinder parts lol!As far as the hair, I have bad news. Several years ago (about five), I noticed that my hair was falling out and I too had these little fine hairs coming in that were always grey! I asked a friend who is a hair dresser and she said that as we get older our hair thins and the new hairs that come in are grey, this is how people “turn grey-headed”! I was a little unsure of what she was saying but I started pulling out those little grey hairs until one day I noticed that if I pulled them all out, I would be about bald! Ah, isn’t life grand? Oh, that reminds me, I have tagged you to participate in a ‘Life is Grand’ blog. Come over to http://skeetercreekfarm.blogspot to find out more.Love, Regina
Julie says
Yea! Glad I could pass along the Miss Smartypants link! I can’t wait to see the pics of your new things 🙂 Blessings to you and your family.