Many pregnant women spend a lot of time time carefully planning their maternity
clothing - for example workwear, evening wear, pregnancy dresses. However, they
often focus entirely on their daywear options and forget all about maternity
nightwear until suddenly they can no longer struggle into their pre-pregnancy
pyjamas and are left to spend the remainder of their pregnancy sleeping in
uncomfortable oversize t-shirts.
I think that it's time to put maternity
sleepwear first. While there's no quick way to get a good night's sleep when you
are having a baby, top quality and easy to wear clothing will help you relax a
little more while offering some fashion to your maternity loungewear wardrobe.
Most maternity sleepwear is made with nursing access for wearing after you've
had your baby and makes for a very good long-term investment. Here's my
maternity sleepwear checklist:
Size: Just like the rest of your maternity wardrobe, pyjamas and maternity
nighties should be bought in your pre-pregnancy size unless you have gained more
than the average 25-35 pounds. Also, if you are carrying twins or more, you may
need to go up a size (or two!).
Comfort: Many pregnant women have trouble sleeping at some point during their
pregnancy. While there in't anything you can do about an energetic baby who
likes to dance throughout the night, or the early days when you seem to be
always taking trips to the bathroom, you can choose to buy maternity sleep wear
with comfort in mind, so it's not your clothing which is giving you sleepless
nights!
Jersey cotton is a great fabric for comfortable nightwear and also for
pyjamas which can be worn as loungewear for padding around the house to relax
in. Personally I prefer to wear maternity pyjamas because of their double use as
loungewear and as they are cozier to wear during the night in colder months if
you are up and about. Watch out too for tops with built in support for extra
ease - some styles use built-in cups and others a fabric "shelf" both work well.
Multi-purpose: Maternity nightwear is intended to be used after birth and is
constructed to allow for easy nighttime feeding through the use of clever
designing. Look out for clever cross-over style pyjama tops. Another option is
to choose button through pyjama tops which also give fast access.
Style: Forget the unfashionable nightclothes of yesteryear, modern maternity
sleepwear adds style to comfort and is available in some beautiful patterns.
Look out for the glamourous designs from HotMilk, including camisole tops, wide
leg trousers and vibrant shades and patterns including duck egg blue and rich
plum.
So, to sum up, look for maternity sleepwear in comfortable fabric designed
for use after the birth. Remember if you select pyjamas, they make good
loungewear choices too. But don't forget to buy a style you adore!
