Where can I get a good long nightie for giving birth in? And other nightwear questions...

[bohemianbint]

I ended up in hospital last week overnight and realised that at 35 wks pregnant most of my nightwear is either comfy, but unsightly, or impractical, or too small.

I really need something long, ideally for giving birth in that covers me up but allows access to business end and preferably with buttons so I can get the baby onto my chest afterwards.

But could also do with some half presentable pj's/nightwear for when people come and look at the baby so I don't look like crap.

Where can I get them from? I thought Next might be alright but there doesn't look like they have much, and certainly no long nighties. Dunno where else to try, please help!

I had some fab ones from mothercare - still my favourites 6 years on!

You don't need a good nightie to give birth in, you need an old t shirt!!

Does the hospital not make you wear a hospital gown? I'm curious... I hadn't even thought about delivery-wear! This is a great question - thanks for asking!!! bump!

Go for loose and cheap, at the time you will not care what it looks like and its not something you will ever wear again

I gave birth in a hospital gown so not much help there sorry I just whipped it down when ds was born to get him on my chest.
After the birth the girl in the next bed to me had got some lovely nightshirts with co-ordinating bottoms and when she was sat in her bed she pulled the nighty up so she wasn't sitting on it so that her bum was covered shen she stood up in case of any unsightly leaks.

I got some nice night shirts in matallan for post birth with button fronts and also some nice jammies with vest tops for feeding after birth also a lot of the shops have matching cardigan type things to match and I had a couple of those.

primark - £3

Actually when I think about it when I had dd I didn't give birth in the gown it was a matallan night shirt with buttons all the way down the front, was not the sexiest thing in the world but like foxy said you won't care. It was cotton light soft and comfortable.

Don't go for anything long! You will wee/poo/bleed/gush amniotic fluid all over it.
And certainly don't go for anything that isn't really cheap (see above ).

A lot of women get really funny about anything touching them and want to be naked. I can't even remember what I delivered in, to be honest. I think it was the old baggy T shirt, but I couldn't be sure.

I was naked - would think a long night dress would be a nightmare in labour.

If you want to be clothed an old baggy t-shirt is your best bet.

Are you sure you want to sit around in your pjs in hospital? IME I felt much better wearing loose clothes - in which case you don't need new pjs and can save the cash to treat youreslf with when you and the baby hits the shops Regarding giving birth - you definately don't want anything long - annex one of your partners t-shirts!

Oh and I wore a hospital gown for dd1 and an ancient nightshirt (short) that a friend at toddler group gave me for dd2 and dd3. all the bloods washed out nicely and it's good to go again - it's just me that's had enough

I bought a bundle of maternity nightshirts on Ebay - gave birth in one, wore them at night for a few months, and then gave them to a friend who also wore them for about 6 months. She's passed them on to someone else - I think I paid 4 quid for four, so it worked out really well.

I wore jogging bottoms and rugby shirts in hospital, but no fecker came to visit me anyway (OK, DH and a colleague did, but no family in the 6 days we were there)

I gave birth standing up (back to door this last time!) and so would have wanted my bum covered up!

I wore the same mothercare maternity nightie each time. It was very comfy and buttoned at the front for skin to skin (though with at least 2 of my babies I wanted it off by the time babe was put on my chest.

As for something for you to wear when people come to look at the baby, I always wanted to be in proper clothes (though this can be a mistake as can mean you end up doing too much and making them cups of tea rather than vice versa). The thing to remember is that IME the clothes that will fit you in the first 48 hours will most likely be the ones you cold fit into at about 24 weeks pregnant! I wore maternity clothes home from hospital each time.

Good luck!

Ineeda....
you spoke of someone in a bed next to you........ do you give birth in the hospital NEXT TO someone else in the hospital?????????

what's mlu?
I'm so freaked out about giving birth. I've come so far in 27 weeks but the smallest detail can just set me off lately!!!

i got two nighties from matalan, they were £6 each so not bothered if they ot ruined

they have loads of cheap and cheerful nightwear in

a MLU is a midwife led unit

you should not be labouring on a ward, if you are not in established labour, you will be advised to go home again.. unless you have been admitted for induction of labour or for some other reason

best place for latent stage and early labour is at home IMO

I wore one of DHs t-shirts for DS2, and some asda maternity nightshirts for DD. You really don't want to be tangled up in anything long.

I wore a hospital gown to give birth to DD1, with the fastener at the front, but by the time I was in active labour I was hitching it up over my bum and pushing without a thought for who was seeing it!

With DD2 (homebirth) I bought a mid lentgh t-short nightie with buttons nearly to the waist at the neck, however, I ended up totally naked as I just didn't want to be wearing anything when it came to it, I then put my dressing gown on after it was all done.

I found button front pyjamas the best for the first few weeks, easy to feed in and comfy, I got a few shorty sets from TK MAX!

Trust me, (and everyone else who has said it here) you won't want a long nightie getting in the way when you are pushing your baby out, you really, honestly, honestly won't care who sees you in what ever position!!

Cheap and comfy, with a front opening, thats what you need!

Monkies

Message withdrawn

Beautiful nightwear - but it's white! Could you really wear white/soft pink after you gave birth?

Ahhh.....should explain;

aiming for another home birth so hospital gown not an option!

Last time I gave birth in a long vest top, purely because it was what I had on when I went into labour and I didn't have time to change! It was really long as vest tops go, but still only a vest, and I was quite conscious of my bare arse hanging out the whole time, and maybe I'm a bit odd, but I was still bothered by this even in the throes of labour!

I want something that maybe covers a bit more arse, and the only nightie I have seems to have shrunk or sommat, it's now skimming the tops of my thighs in a very unglamourous way, so not much more use to me than the old vest top! I'm hoping for a waterbirth if I can get it together, so perhaps it won't be an issue but I'm really not keen on having my top half covered and my bottom half out, IYSWIM.

Re the afterwards pj's - I have decided I'm not getting out of bed for at least a week so that when hoards of people invade my house again they'll feel guilty and uncomfortable that I'm still in bed and bugger off after 20 mins, rather than expecting to be waited on, like last time. So would like to look slightly presentable, whilst still making guests uncomfortable. And a bit glam for photos.

youareamazing, that looks lovely! Very elegant!

I remember scooting around primark last time but not having much look. Will try again, maybe it wasn't the time of year for big shirts last time...

bb - can I be hugely boring and serious and suggest that you do get out of bed when the visitors aren't there. If you immobilise yourself and stay in bed really - you'll run the risk of a dvt.