10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Wear Real Clothes While Breastfeeding!

If you’re breastfeeding an infant, it doesn’t take much for your day to get away from you. One extra-long feeding or unexpected spit-up incident, and you’re no longer presentable — if you ever were in the first place.

It’s so much easier to stay in your pajamas — or, at best, a rumpled button down and yoga pants — for the foreseeable future, since there’s an eating machine attached to you at all times.

While it can feel impossible to get yourself dressed and pulled together in the morning, you might feel more like a human (and less like a dairy cow) if you did. It’s amazing what the smell of fresh laundry will do for your mood. And if you look decent enough to go outside? Well, you might actually get out of the house instead of feeling defeated before you even start.

Here are ten tips to get motivated to wear real clothes. It’s totally worth it!

1. Promise Yourself a Daily Walk

 Start small: just a walk around the block with the stroller or front pack. Then, you may even consider venturing out to your local park or playground so you and your bundle can observe the big kids engaging in play! Bonus: you can check out the other Mom’s wardrobe choices for inspiration! You’ll need to be dressed, of course, and getting exercise in public is a good motivator. Plus, your body needs help building backbone mass after you take a hit while lactating — not to mention how good fresh air will feel!

      2. Invite a Friend Over for Lunch

You’re completely forgiven if you’re not up for a trip out on the town yet, but you can probably manage to have a friend over for an afternoon of adult conversation. Order some yummy takeout and get caught up. Having a guest over is sure to get you to take a shower and get dressed for the occasion.

3. Do the Laundry

 When your laundry basket is overflowing, give your old standbys a break and clean them, lady. Wear something a little dressier around the house while all your stretchy stuff is in the washer — it will shake up your routine and remind you of all the other clothes you have waiting for you in your closet.

     4. Buy a Cute Nursing Top or Two, or Three or.....

 If you’ve been muddling through with your regular clothes, treat yourself to some specially-designed tops designed to let you whip out a boob without flashing the world. There’s nothing like some stylish new clothes to make you want to get dressed in the morning, and these are ultra-convenient for nursing. You're worth it. Just think about what you just spent on that adorable baby outfit.  Yeah. You're worth it.

5. Try a Candlelit Dinner

 If you’re not ready to head out on the town for date night with your spouse, you can still enjoy each other’s company at home. Dim the lights and light some candles for dinner to dress it up a bit — and dress yourself up at the same time. Take-out is still fine — it’s the connection that counts.

6. Pick Out an Outfit the Night Before

Remember when planning an outfit was a creative endeavor? Take five minutes before you go to bed to pick out something nice(r) for the next day. When you wake up and see it laid out and ready to go, you’re much more likely to actually put it on!

This is also a good way to make sure you never get caught off guard by the “I have nothing to wear” dilemma if an unexpected invitation or diaper run comes your way.

7. Build a New Habit With Cues

The secret to developing a new habit — or breaking an old one — is to give yourself a new cue that reminds you to try out your new behavior. For example, try getting dressed immediately after brushing your teeth in the morning. Eventually, your brain just responds to the sight of your toothbrush and you’ll find yourself getting dressed without thinking much about it.

8. Embrace Dressing in Dresses

Wearing a dress is the easiest thing in the world — it’s one-piece dressing, after all. You may have thought dresses were done for you for a while, but you do have options.

While you’re nursing splurge on some nursing dresses — you might love them enough to hang on to them for the future! If not, pass them on to a friend and replace them with regular-people dresses to take advantage of this easy style tip.

9. Try Selfie Culture on for Size

Thinking of starting an Instagram or blog to keep faraway family in the loop about your baby? Go for it! Once you do, you’ll probably be in lots of those photos, so this can be an excellent motivator for putting on some real clothes in the morning. A ponytail and sunglasses will help you look glam even when you’re exhausted, and filters are your friends!

10. Get Cute PJs

Okay, this is kind of as a last resort. If you just can’t make yourself see the point of getting dressed in the morning, at least make sure your loungewear looks nice. Invest in some comfy new pajama pants and some proper pajama tops — the kind that button down will make nursing easier, and something silky or super-soft will boost your mood even when you’re staying in all day.

So what are you waiting for? Try one or more of these motivators to kick your butt into gear for getting dressed in the morning, and you’ll be looking — and feeling — great!

Check out other tips from the MindfulnessMama.