I became a second time mami at the end of January. Already having had one child, I knew what body changes to expect and how I would feel after baby. I also knew during my pregnancy what I should and shouldn't buy–especially when it came to maternity clothes. This time around I invested in three pairs of jeans because I knew that is what I would wear the most. And I did!
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As most of you know, once the baby is born you feel like you've been run over by a truck–everything hurts and you can't even THINK of getting dressed. But eventually you take that first shower, wash your hair, te das una manito de gato and you try to wear something that isn't leggings or pajamas. But the reality is, no matter how much or how little weight you put on, you don't fit into your clothes, and the truth is you don't want anything tight around your middle.
I was getting a little desperate after the first month; I kept saying to my mamá, "¡Nada me queda bien!" I had been invited to a friend's birthday party and I wanted to dress up a bit. Desperate, I put on my cobalt maternity jeans, but of course they fell off. So I pulled them back up and folded them under and they stayed on better and felt tighter. So I thought of taking them in even more and securing them so that they wouldn't roll up. And like magic I looked and felt better–my tummy looked smooth and I didn't have that restricting feeling.
They really have helped me regain my confidence–not to mention, saved me tons of money! Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make your maternity jeans into slimming jeans and helping you look and feel bella.
What you need:
- Maternity jeans (or skirts/shorts)
- Glue gun
- Sewing machine OR thread and needle (depending on your sewing abilities!)
- Pins
First, take your maternity jeans and lay them flat on your kitchen table or on an ironing board. You need a firm surface for this.
Smooth out the wrinkles in the tummy panel in an upward direction making sure it is even–as much as you can, but with stretchy material it can be difficult.
Place one hand on the panel and with the other fold under bringing the top down to where the jean meets the stretch material. Make sure it is even front and back.
Use pins to hold in place to avoid it rolling back up.
Turn jeans over and grab a "handful" of the material on the back side–this is to give your new jeans a tighter feel and turning what was the tummy panel into a faja to help keep your tummy smooth and give appearance of a slimmer figure. Pin to keep in place.
Either sew with the machine, going over once and back, or by hand double stitching to keep in place.
Once that is sewn, take glue gun and glue along the edges of the material. This is going to prevent the faja from rolling up. This holds everything together and it's super resistant! I have worn and washed my new jeans for months and the glue stays in place.
Let glue settle.
Wear and feel amazing!
Remember: You have to take in the stretch material otherwise they will fall off of your waist and not provide a slimming effect. Wearing a faja helps your confidence post baby and by using the same jeans saves you money. My daughter will be 4 months next week and although I haven't lost all of the baby weight, it felt good to wear nice jeans and not have that feeling of "nothing fits." Besides, the belly area is very sensitive for the first few months, so having the smooth and tight panel has helped me ease back to regular jeans.
¡Buena suerte and stay stylish!
__Images via María José Ovalle
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