Shirt / night dress for hospital - help please!

[Gingerandcocoa]

I have no idea what to get for giving birth. I haven't got anything old I can use (I have put on "some" weight and just moved house so had a clear out!). I want to buy something cheap and comfortable - which will fit me, it needs to be loose at the bottom as my hips are HUGE now.

Any ideas please???

[onestepbeyond]

I got mine from peacocks - long t-shirt style so roomy and comfy with buttons at the front for breast feeding. Think they still have them in!

[snickers251]

Primark. I was wearing a size 22 but am a 14/16

3 years later and a few stone lighter I'm still wearing it

[Gingerandcocoa]

Great suggestions, thank you both! I'm 34 weeks along and worried that if baby comes early I will have to wear some of my current nighties that barely cover my bum

[NeedaDiscoNap]

I got a shirt style one from Tesco for £10. Buttons down the front so good for bf and skin to skin.

[RedPony]

I was in peacocks yesterday and they still have night shirts with buttons at the top. I think they were about 6 pounds

[Darksideofthemoon88]

I got one off Ebay for £13 - couldn't find anything non-Grannyish anywhere else.

[BB01]

Got some brill ones from Primark

[schlafenfreude]

I have some M&S shirt style ones. Fab for BFing.

[JustAboutAdeqeuate]

Just bought a few from Primark, longish and button the whole way down, 7 pounds each. Bought some giant knickers while I was in there too. The teenage boy serving me didn't look too impressed

[StinkusMinkus]

I wouldn't worry too much about it; I took several choices of nighties and button down shirts to the hospital but ended up in a hospital gown as soon as I requested an epidural (open-backed for access to your spine).

[blushingmare]

I got mine from Primark - a good few sizes bigger. Did me really well for Breastfeeding and for pregnancy this time, but I have to say during the birth I could bear to have anything on and spent all of labour stark naked including when the consultant and a room full of junior doctors came round on their ward round

[Gingerandcocoa]

Stinkus good point. I'm definitely asking for an epidural. Might not bother to get anything after all... or just on, for after the birth if I have to stay over in hospital!

I ended up ordering some online from M&S, I'll see if they fit.....

[TondelayoSchwarzkopf]

I stocked up on Primark nighties both times but both times the midwives changed me into a hospital gown as soon as I got to the delivery room. Maybe some hospitals have this policy?

[StinkusMinkus]

Tondelayo - did you go into a consultant-led unit rather than mw? I was induced so had to use the consultant unit rather than the swanky new chilled mw one. Think it might be a policy on consultant wards to get you into a gown as soon as you move down there. I definitely remember being talked out of a growling curled up ball on the floor, to put in a hospital gown. Think I only agreed to it if they summoned the anaesthetist immediately.

Nighties were useful afterwards though. Although I would have killed for some baggy pyjama bottoms to cover up my elephant ankles - I had major swelling and water retention after my CS.

[Moonshine1]

I got a pack of two nighties from mothercare, which I loved. They have short sleeves and poppers down the front and are quite longish. They were about £25 for the pack I think. So comfy and lots of room in them. I wore one during labour until I changed into a gown for my epidural later on. I later wore the other one after my post birth shower. I continued to wear them both for ages post birth and right through this pregnancy so far too, and have just ordered another pack in different colours for my hospital bag.

In case I wasn't clear - I'd recommend these

[TransatlanticCityGirl]

I got a pack of 2 cotton nighties from M&S for a tenner. Ended up wearing the hospital gown. This time I've only bought some nursing pjs for afterwards. Still got the barely worn M&S nighties in case!

[cowbiscuits]

I had my old primark strappy stretch cotton nighties, wore one for the birth. I also packed a few plain dark coloured vest tops- I had planned to wear one (with no bottoms) if I'd got my pool birth, which I didn't get.


Then I had a clean nighty for later after I'd got showered, with a thin light cotton long-length cardie to throw on over the top afterwards. It's usually too hot for dressing gowns on the wards. We were in for about 24h afterwards. In my bag also had a pair of big VERY stretchy yoga pants type trousers. I wore these with a stretchy vest top and a soft loose checked shirt, which was a good and comfy combination for breastfeeding- I lived in that kind of thing for a couple of days post birth.

Breastfeeding- Cheap stretchy vest tops are your friend. The Mothercare nighties Moonshine describes- I got given some by a friend (they were a bit pricey for me) I loved them, they are nice and long and I still wear them now and I'm not even pregnant. Low necked things that are stretchy can just be pulled down quite easily too.

[Millie2013]

Echo primark! I didn't get to wear mine, as ended up in theatre gown, but I wore them after the birth and they were dead comfy!

[Littlef00t]

I got a nightie with v and buttons about 3sizes bigger than my usual size for labour and a pj set from primark with buttons all the way down for afterwards.