What To Wear Clothes Shopping (With A Baby In Tow)

This time last year I was pregnant, with an expected 6 weeks left of my pregnancy. My husband and I hadn’t even started our Christmas shopping, as we had just purchased our first home and that was taking up all of our time – packing, moving, cleaning, painting. Fast forward a couple of weeks and there we were with a newborn (Hannah was born three weeks’ early and we’d been in our home two nights!). So, on 23 December we finally thought we had better do some Christmas shopping. Now, where to go? We live on the inner west side of Brisbane, and at that point as we had a two-week old baby the city was ruled too hard. Indooroopilly Shopping Centre was undergoing a major reno so that was ruled out. We didn’t have the time to stuff around, or shop for hours. So off we trotted to the DFO at Jindalee. We managed to do 90% of our Chritmas shopping in one day (two hours, to be correct) and at a budget of $50 per person. I know, right!

When DFO Jindalee contacted me recently to rediscover the centre, I was all ‘YEAH SURE!’. So this morning I thought I’d go check it out again. I had an hour before I had to be home again for Hannah’s nap (we CANNOT miss her afternoon nap time, lest we risk a super-cranky baby!). I have a Christmas party to shop for, and the outfit for such I’m hoping will do double duty this Saturday when I’m attending a girls lunch. (Outfit blog post series to come!)

So, what did I wear shopping? I have a few little tips to pass on, which I’ve picked up on my numerous, speedy shopping trips with Hannah. You often need to be in and out in record time – there’s so little time to faff about when you have a little one in tow (I do miss faffing though!). I’m finding especially now Hannah is closing in on one year, she’s even less enthralled by time in the pram, no matter how many toys or snacks I keep her occupied with. So, here’s my top tips:

• Wear separates. Separates mean you can try on a skirt or pants or top without being naked in the change rooms! You might not be able to fit the pram in the change room so be prepared to park it and dress with the door open. Before having a baby this would have been ridiculous to me, and OMG HOW EMBARRASSING. Now, not so much.
• Wear easy-fitting bottoms with no fastenings or buttons or zips. We’re looking for speed here people. A cool pair of shorts, a jersey skirt, a pair of comfy harem pants. All good options.
• Wear a top that doesn’t wrinkle too much. You’ll be pulling it on and off like a crazy woman so a non-crinkly top is your friend.
• Wear slip on shoes. Luckily, slides are totally in fashion, because they’re perfect for clothes shopping. Your child is not going to sit patiently while you unhook clasps or buckles or undo and do-up laces repeatedly.
• This might seem strange, but I always do my hair neatly and put on some light makeup when going shopping. This is a good tip especially if you’re buying an outfit for a dressy occasion. It’s easier to imagine how something will look when dressed up.
• If you’re buying an outfit to match a certain pair of shoes, or vice versa, bring them along and slip on in the change rooms. Might seem obvious but it’s easy to forget.

Here’s what I wore today:

(Gifted) St Frock As You Wish top in cream AUD$39 {I’m wearing the size 8 and I’m 158cm tall}

Sportsgirl shorts AUD$69.95

Sandelles slides, buy here

Do you have any tips for what to wear or bring while shopping with a baby or small child in tow?