Monday, March 22, 2010

Pajama Dilemma

So my friend whose husband (also my friend) is an ob/gyn told me that her hubby is surprised by how many women wear the hospital gown throughout their entire stay in the hospital. We had this conversation post-Bub but pre-Little Bit and, frankly, I was unsettled. After I had Bub, I wore the gown (or possibly, a couple different clean ones?) my entire stay until the last thirty minutes when I mustered up the energy to shower and put Big Teal on for the trip home. Did I pack pajamas? I don't recall, but I can tell you that after birthing a 9 lb and 15 oz baby, hearing terms like "third degree" thrown about, passing out onto the floor of the bathroom, and everything else that you deal with after giving birth, the last thing on my mind was what I was wearing.

I had an easier time and recovery after Little Bit and did change into some pajama pants and shirt for part of my hospital stay with Little Bit. The ensemble was nothing special though -- not purchased especially for the event, not especially flattering, not especially anything.

With Sweet P's arrival coming in less than two weeks (!!!!), I have toyed with the idea of purchasing some pajamas to mark the occasion and wearing them at the hospital. I'm assuming that childbirth and recovery will be even better the third time around, and that I might be up to caring a little bit what I look like. That could be a big assumption. We shall see.

The pajamas would need to fulfill the following requirements: super soft and comfortable, non-binding, two piece, loose enough on top or somehow configured to make nursing easy, bottoms that are either intentionally cropped or long enough to not be floods. I brought home a pair of Vera Wang jammies from Kohl's (NTB?), but I am not at all convinced that I like them or that my wearing them will in any way improve my hospital stay or first few days as Sweet P's mama.

So, any suggestions on pajamas? If you've given birth, did you change or wear the gown?

Also, in case anyone is tempted to suggest otherwise, I just want to clarify that how I look in the hospital is not as important to me as a smooth delivery and healthy baby girl.

But I wouldn't mind looking, you know, decent.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Back in the day, people wore their own night gowns but not pajamas. I guess we must have bought the gowns special for the event. I do not know. I would go strictly for comfort, all the colors for spring are nice so anything that promises to be comfy and soft should do. m

dusty earth mother said...

Oh Lord, I know zippo about pajamas, particularly of the birthin' kind. But I did want to say--two weeks???? Holy cow! Congratulations in advance, because you never know when you're going to disappear from your site for a bit. You know, to pop a third baby. You rock. YSB (You Should Brag).

Unknown said...

Wear the gown. Less laundry... Buy something comfy for around the house when unexpected guests arrive. Wonderful wishes.

AAP

CaraBee said...

I wore the gown. Didn't even occur to me to do otherwise. I had 4th deg tears, so pants were out and with breastfeeding, the gown just seemed easiest. I think I brought a robe or long cardigan, though. I agree with the comment about not creating laundry. Everyone is going to be so focused on the new baby, I don't think anyone will notice if you decide to wear the gown.

I'm getting so excited for you!

Stacia said...

Like you and Big Teal, I find myself going for super-comfy-though-not-altogether-stylish things ... and wearing them, um, often. And in the hospital? I'm pretty sure I wore the hospital gowns. The whole time. With both kids. And a really ratty red robe of my husband's that for some reason brought me comfort. You go with your Vera Wang's, though. NTB for sure!

LAP said...

I wore the gown the first two times, like you, I was largely unaware there was another option. I did bring a tanker and a soft robe for baby #3 and was pleased with the results, from a comfort and from a photo perspective:) Maybe you could just get a cute like robe (a la Target, where my blue number was from...via my friend A) and cover up the gown underneath.

E... said...

I was a gown girl both times. Have often puzzled over the logistics of doing otherwise, with nursing and recovery both taken into account, so am interested to hear from others who did the pajama/nightgown thing successfully.

msh said...

wore the gown the first time, but the second time, my mom bought me 2 pairs of pajamas from motherhood--made especially for nursing--and i must say i was quite pleased. i couldn't imagine that i would have the energy to shower and wear them after what recovery was like the first time, but it was much easier second time around, and i quite enjoyed my made-for-mom pajamas--especially when visitors stopped by the hospital. and then, of course, i lived in them at home for weeks following! go shopping!

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

I wore the gown all 3 times. Why dirty my own clothing with the gushing blood and oozing boobs? Seriously. I had ENOUGH laundry to do when I got home. I didn't need to add several pairs of pajamas or nightgowns to the pile. Also? At the hospital you can change your gown as often as you want. AND when they need to do the post delivery checks, you don't have to hike your pants down. Somehow, that's just a bit more degrading than lifting the blanket and letting them have a go, you know?

I DID bring some of my own underwear that I was willing to sacrifice, though. Much better than that mesh stuff they offer you.

Amy said...

I wore the gown the entire time, brought a robe, but never wore it. The gowns were perfect for having the c-section constantly checked the first few days and for the nursing. So it's not very attractive in pictures, but I was in too much pain or too drugged up to care as evidenced by the look on my face.

sarah d said...

I wore the gown, didn't really dawn on me not to. I did bring a robe so my rear wouldn't be hanging out the back. I like was your sis and MSH are saying... since you have time to plan ahead- why not?!

Sharon Byrne said...

I wore the gown the first day and my own jammies (do sweats count as jammies?) the second- and third with the littlest Monkey. I found that even with 4th degree in ahem, areas, and c-sections my own stuff was just as easy to wear as the hideous gowns. Once the IV was out and the shower done I was ready to feel like a normal human in normal human sweatpants!

Maggie said...

Brought tanker jammies (thanks LAP for using "tanker" I haven't said that for long time!) and wore one of those sleep bras that motherhood maternity sells, it was a favorite item during those months prior and post arrival.

And I just want to add, I have my fingers crossed for a guest blogger by the name of PITA to grace us with her thoughts, possibly while you are otherwise detained in your hospital jammies! Good luck!

Regan said...

I am sure the scientologists have some ideas.

melissa said...

I wore the gown for a day, then switched to sweat pants and a motherhood maternity shirt for breastfeeding, which I liked because you could breastfeed without your stomach hanging out. Made me feel less huge...

I think the most important thing is comfort! No one will remember what you're wearing anyway. They just want to see your cute little baby.

2 weeks!!!How exciting!

dusty earth mother said...

Mep, hopefully you're not in the hospital yet. Check out my blog http://dustyearthmother.blogspot.com/
because I gave you an award.

Miss Welcome said...

I wore the gown AND the disposable underwear throughout the stay. Seriously???

Okay, okay, each birth did get easier, but the first one - bed rest for 24 hours, huge amount of blood loss, baby in NICU. I was not (for once) thinking about clothing.

Good luck on your upcoming joy.

Actchy said...

I opted for the gown, though my over-excited hubby brought me almost every item in my closet, including a non-maternity dress that snapped all the way up the front, which was funny because (a) there was no way in hell it would fit and (b) I hadn't actually had the strength to put on a dress in months, so why I'd do so 24 hours after giving birth is lost on me somewhat. I was so taken aback by the whole recovery that I even continued to put on the horrible hospital-proffered undees. Shudder.

Alexandra said...

The gown and some lipstick. Comb couldn't hurt.

Of course you wouldn't mind looking decent...especially if the danger exists of a MIL scrapbooking the heck out of this baby's birth with pictures *starring* you (oops, I think I'm projecting here..)

You are funny!

Heather said...

Honestly, with all the stuff happening after birthing a baby, who cares what you're wearing?

Wear the gown, relish in the fact that someone else is doing the washing of the gown, and save the cute pj's for when you get home.

I brought a cute new nursing gown to the hospital, then had second thoughts and never wore it. So glad. No one is paying attention to the mom, anyway; it's all about the baby...you know that!

I can't wait to see pictures of her!

cake said...

i know i am way late on this one, but i have a couple of things to say. one, the mention of 'big teal' sends me into squeals of laughter (the self-recognition kind).
second, wearing a hospital gown was something i wanted to avoid when i was giving birth to cosmo. i spent way too much time and money searching for the perfect thing to wear to GIVE BIRTH IN, and spent too little thought on what i would wear for the rest of the stay. so, the really nice sort of night shirt/gown that i got from pajama gram was off to be laundered the next day, when all the photos were being taken. and i was stuck wearing some junky old plaid flannel thing, that was not nearly as comfortable as it sounds. i remembered seeing a beautiful photo of one of my friends holding her new born in the hospital, and she had such a nice comfy looking pajama shirt on. but, alas, i didn't manage to pull that off. oh well, as you mentioned, there are more important things going on than one's outfit!

Sara G said...

Oh, I took new jammies for J's delivery, and they, um, didn't fit. I was way too optimistic. I recently gave them to charity.

For Sam, I was a gown-girl, I think, until right before I left. Oh man, I don't even remember.

 
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