Many pregnant women spend lots of time carefully planning their maternity wardrobes – for example daywear, 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 easy way to get a good night’s sleep when you are pregnant, high quality and comfortable clothing will help you relax a bit more while adding style to your maternity lounge wear wardrobe. Most maternity sleep wear is made with nursing access for wearing after you’ve had your baby and makes for a very good long-term investment. Here is my maternity sleep wear 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 experience 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 just as easily as casual wear for padding around the home for relaxing in. I personally prefer maternity pyjamas because of their double use as lounge wear and because they are warmer to wear during the night in cooler months if you are up and about. Watch out too for tops with built in support for extra comfort – some designs 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 dull nightclothes of yesteryear, todays maternity sleep wear adds fashion to comfort and is available in some fabulous designs. 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 summarise, look for maternity sleep wear in comfortable materials designed for use after the birth. Remember if you select pyjamas, they make good loungewear choices too. But remember to buy a style you love!
