What did you wear during labour? I have crossed the Rubicon of Things To Obsess About.

[Tortoiseonthehalfshell]

Last time I think I was just wearing a long skirt, mostly, until the last bit where I was...not wearing a long skirt. This time it is a home birth and for some reason I am consumed with anxiety that I have Nothing Suitable To Wear.

I know I'm an idiot, but let's assume I do not want to wander around in the nuddy, what does one wear?

Vest top and knickers - I had also bought a couple of cheap Primark nighties but we were experiencing a heat wave and my bedroom was really, really hot (a home birth). So vest was the only thing I wanted to wear. Really can not remember taking my pants of at any point but presume I did as baby was born!

Nothing. Had bra on for about half an hour then it irritated me so DH battled with row upon row of hook and eyes on maternity bras to get it off.

Thanks, all. From what I remember about last time, it just wasn't too much of an issue, but I think I'll go buy a couple of huge nighties anyway.

Naked homebirth... although, inbetween contractions, I pulled the 15tog king size duvet up over me. lol

With ds I obsessed about which duvet cover was going to be on our bed for our first night home!

Sorry- have I just given you something else to think about? Evil

Ha! No, that's way down there below "should I bake a range of savoury and sweet snacks for the midwife and DH" and decoupaging the baby's shelving unit.

Are you sure? You want it to be perfect......are you sure you've got just the right one? You'd love a little look in here wouldn't you?

Err, can I suggest a dark coloured duvet/sheet...!

One of DHs big and REALLY old t-shirts and some trackies until it was time to take them off. I puked all over the t-shirt and got all the lovely mucky grot on it too. So took it off and was naked by the end for DS2. Couldn;t have cared less what I was or wasn't wearing by then tbh. I was going to chuck it away but DH is so cheap he's still got it.

A long tee-shirt style nighty - whichever one happened to be past its best in my nighty drawer.

Comfy and easy-access, but protects your modesty (OK, what little shred of modesty you have left as you lie on your back screaming and swearing, waving your bits at all and sundry).

Each one got chucked out straight after the birth.

I wore a scraggy old vest from H&M and nothing else. Even when dragging my G&A down the corridor to go to the toilet oh the shame...

I'm surprised has mentioned an old man's shirt. Almost compulsory round here, all ante-natal classes say this it is de rigeur, lots of people I know did this. I had one of DH's, because this is what I was told to do. I don't think he was thrilled, but there you are, I didn't want to do the wrong thing!

I had about four different huge Matalan button down nighties. They were great for labour and bf afterwards but I do look completely minging in all the photos!

With DD I forgot to take anything, so the hospital gave me a spare scrub gown. It was really comfy, so am ordering one for my hb with DS!

DD1, wore DH's blue flowery shirt and running shorts (clean) until getting in pool which I was naked for, and then got back into DH's shirt to give birth on dry land.

DD2, wore maternity tankini (red and white strips) in pool and then got out and wore DH's pink shirt to push her out (you can see here:)

Both born at home.

Running shorts, good lord. That has to be the most random item of birth-wear yet.

All that lycra - if you didn't get them off quickly enough the baby would have just pinged back up.

DH's t-shirt. I had a maternity bra on too.

After about 16 hours I just wanted to rip the sodding lot off, however due to the drip stuck in my hand it was impossible to take anything off, and I didn't have the presence of mind to actually ask anyone to help me.

Complete mish mash of stuff. Maternity nightie - because I'd tried going to bed and ignoring contractions. Plus, I think, some jersey trousers and a bathrobe (or was it a cardie?). Then just a bikini top in the pool. In short, nothing either glamorous or pre-planned.

I remembered reading somewhere that you can get cold feet cos your blood flow is rather busy elsewhere than bothering to keep your feet warm, & as I get cold feet anyway I made sure to buy some warm socks & got a cheap three pack of thick nylon socks in hideous pastel shades. As I was leaking waters constantly I put paper towels around the ankles to stop the socks getting wet, which seemed like a great idea at the time but is so not a good look. There a couple of photos of DS when he was just out & it isn't my ragged messy bits that bother me but the hideous socks! Then I had to go to theatre to get the placenta out & when I came round the bloody socks were tied up in a bag on the end of my bed to take home. I was pretty poorly with blood loss but just felt mortified about the f-ing socks!

idlevice I was obsessed with my bloody socks too!

I couldn't stand to have anything actually covering my modesty much to the midwifes concern, who kept trying to cover me with a sheet, which did nothing but make me more shouty and angry.

But I refused to be parted with my pink, purple and black striped primark socks. I have a funny feeling I insisted on wearing them to surgery for dd's forceps delivery after 14 hours. Bet I looked a treat!

I had this amazing pair of maternity trousers from Next - black, stretchy, v comfy but also smart enough to wear to work (to begin with), OK with any size of bump. I wore them loads during my first 2 pregnancies and was wearing them in my second labour until I got to the point of wearing nothing on the bottom half (for me this was at the pushing stage).

Then I threw them out.

Best value purchase ever.

I accidentally ended up wearing a top I had borrowed from my sister. I had meant to change when I got to the hospital but forgot was in way too much of a panic by that point. I remember trying to push, looking down and wailing I can't give birth in my sisters top!

Boobz, is that you in the video ? Aw, it was lovely, and nearly made me cry.