Top Maternity Nightwear Tips
Many pregnant women spend a lots 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 believe that it’s time to prioritise maternity sleep wear. 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 sleepwear is made with nursing access for use after you’ve had your baby and makes for a 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 having twins or even more, you will need to go up a size (or two!).
Comfort: Many pregnant women have problems sleeping at some point during their pregnancy. While there's nothing you can do about an energetic baby who likes to kick throughout the night, or the early days when you seem to be always taking trips to the bathroom, you can opt to buy maternity nightwear 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 easily as lounge wear for padding around the home to relax in. I personally prefer to wear maternity pyjamas because of their double use as loungewear and because they are warmer to wear during the night in colder months if you are up and about. Look out too for tops with built in support for extra comfort - some styles use a fabric “shelf” and others built-in cups both work well.
Multi-purpose:
Maternity nightwear is intended to be used after birth and is made to allow for easy nighttime feeding through the use of clever designing. Watch out for cute wrap-over style pyjama tops. Another alternative is to pick button through pyjama tops which again give fast access.
Style:
Forget the frumpy nightclothes of yesteryear, todays 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 summarise, look for maternity sleep wear in comfortable materials designed for use after the birth. Remember if you pick pyjamas, they make good loungewear alternatives too. But remember to buy a design you love!
