Comfortable sleepwear, good for nursing

[Eilly]

Hi,

I'm expecting my first baby in a couple of weeks and am trying to find comfortable sleepwear online that is suitable for nursing. Ideally I'd like a cotton (t-shirt material) nightgown with buttons down the front. Something that would be comfortable to wear after birth but which doesn't look too flowery or frumpy. Any ideas welcome! Thanks.

[MerRos]

Hi there - while this doesn't directly answer your question, I did just want to share some advice with you (if you don't mind). I just had my 1st baby July 28th (an adorable baby girl!!) and I am breast feeding. Well, until your body kinda settles down hormonally and gets on a regular feeding schedule, you might experience major body temperature fluctuations and major leakage (therefore you would want to sleep with a nursing bra and nursing pads). Until I realized needed pads at night I would wake up freezing and yet feeling like I was sweating and I couldn't figure out why - well I had leaked everywhere and had the major chills.

Anyway, I range in the day from wearing sweats (and I live in Phx. where it was 112 degrees yesterday) to tearing them off because I start sweating to putting on a t-shirt and either leggings or shorts, to only put the sweats back on again because I am freezing again.

Last night I went to bed in sweats as I was freezing and at my daughter's 1:30am feeding I woke up drenched in sweat and put on just a night shirt and then my husband took the next feeding and when I got up for the 5:30 feeding I was freezing again - go figure!

Anyway, in terms of clothing to sleep in, Motherhood had a couple of cute things, but I actually ended up getting a few things at Target as they had button down stuff and it was less expensive and not as frilly or frumpy looking. Hope this helps.

By the way, my fave nursing bra is Medela's seemless soft-cup.

[KathyO]

I also had the temperature-fluctuation thing happening. I didn't like nursing nightgowns because they tended to bunch up under my armpits as I moved around in bed, and then fishing the boob through the opening in front turned into a chore.

My best solution was a soft cotton nursing top, with track pants or pyjama shorts, depending on the temperature. If I didn't feel like fiddling with the front opening, I could just easily hike it up with one hand. Thyme Maternity/Shirley K (Canada only, unfortunately) sells matching nursing PJ sets like this, if you want to feel more presentable; I'm sure that other manufacturers in the States do similar stuff.

Cheers,

KathyO

[laura_winckler]

You'll probably need a sleep bra and nursing pads for a while, like everyone else said. I just wore a t-shirt and boxers or pajama pants. I found it much easier to deal with lifting the shirt in the middle of the night than coping with buttons. I also felt like nursing flaps on most nightshirts wore not very discrete when I was awake but not yet dressed - which could be half the morning with a newborn! Don't wear a huge oversized t-shirt; it's too much fabric wadded up under your chin.

If you want a nightgown, you might try Walmart or something for an inexpensive one. I had one from there with lots of little buttons down the front. Since it was cheap, I didn't care when I leaked on it or when I quit wearing it in favor of shirts with pants. I felt less naked when I nursed if I had pants on! I know, go ahead and laugh! ;-)

Good luck!

[MinnieMouse]

I actually have two pajama sets that have tank tops and they work beautifully! I just pull it up to feed my daughter..who is now 1yr. The advice you have already gotten I fully agree with. It was MONTHS before I could sleep without a nursing bra and pads. Also those first few weeks you sweat away all the extra fluid from pregnancy so half the time you don't know if are leaking or just sweating!

I totally concur that nightgowns are NOT the way to go. Dh got me a bunch when I was still preggo and they are sooo difficult to use while in bed. They bunch up in all the wrong places and you practically have to get out of bed in order to line everything up correctly to get your boob through the hole...and half the time they aren't big enough!

I will say though that the nightgowns were nice for lounging post partum.

Christine

[mamahill]

I just barely stopped having to wear a nursing bra and pads to bed at night -- dd is 4 months old now! Even once she started sleeping through the night, pads were necessary until just recently because I would be huge by morning and leaking all over. I have a nightshirt from Target and one from Motherhood, but I rarely wear them. When I was first home from the hospital, I wore a longer knit nightgown that buttoned because it was a pretty cool at night and the longer nightdown seemed to stay down around my legs easier. But I agree with the other posters that lifting a t-shirt is a lot easier than fiddling with an eager mouth, a slit in your night gown, a snap or hook, breastpads and nipple - all while trying to maintain proper breastfeeding technique at 4 am. :) Don't worry - you'll become a pro in no time!

[Zansu]

Another option is to get a stretchy sleeveless top several sizes too large, where the bottom of the armhole is even with the bottom of your breast. Then you can access your breast through the armhole. Sounds odd, but I find it very effective.

Although I wouldn't leave the house wearing one, they cover enough so that I don't feel as if I'm "flashing."

I've found most of mine in the Target plus-size department.

[lynnie_milano]

Just saw this so I thought I'd add my two cents. I'm pregnant with my second now and both during and after pregnancy I found the best sleepwear was my regular old Calvin Klein nightgown. It has spaghetti straps and is a stretch cotton that doesn't really give your breasts much support, but is stretchy enough to hold a breast pad in place. For night feedings I just pulled the the top down, so the rest of you stays covered. Last time I was nursing through the summer and fall (baby born in June) so I didn't need anything heavier to sleep in. Later on when it got cold I went back to my regular flannels (botton front top) and just wore a spaghetti-strap stretch top underneath. Again, it kept me warm while I slept, the top gave me enough support and held the breast pads in place and I could just pop my breast out the top for feedings.

Hope this helps.

Lynn

PS - I just got new CK nightgown at Marshall's for $14.99!

[cmcostain]

Just saw this post today- if you're still looking for something to sleep in and don't want to wear a bra to bed (but need the support) try these websites- www.mommygear.com and www.majamas.com
Both carry this top called the Original nursing top. I don't own it, but if you call Dawn at mommygear, she may be able to give you more personal info from her customers about it (it's kinda expensive). To me, it seems worth it as I cannot imagine wearing a bra ALL THE TIME!

Another resource for nursing wear is motherwear.com

Hope that helps!
Christina
10/6/02

[LAMom1120]

I'll have to reiterate the body temperature fluctuations. My ds was born around Thanksgiving......i am generally always cold, but I would go from sleeping in flannel PJs to a t-shirt. I also found some nursing PJs on Expressiva Nursingwear's website (www.expressiva.com). I'll definitely still wear them when i'm done nursing.

Good luck!!!!

Laurie

[sparkeze]

I've actually never tried any nursing clothing, but now that I've gotten good at nursing lying down (after a long, difficult 5 months!) I've noticed that I want something that I can pull down for access to my breast. Has anyone tried the Majamas nightgown or top? Even after 5 months I still leak on the other breast so I still need pads but I've found that it's more complicated to try and pull my shirt up, release the nursing cup, and get ds in the right position. Or would it work to just find something stretchy and low cut enough that it will just pull down far enough?

[spa]

I was only given long-sleeve nursing gowns (my baby was born in Feb.), so I started cutting slits in old T-shirts (I get a lot of freebie tees, too, from work). Of course, I would never wear these in the company of anyone other than my husband and baby son, but hey, they work. I still leak (and my son is 7 months, 3 weeks), but it's not a geyser like it was in the earlier months, so I go sans pads at night. The Majamas top looks great, but it's $50, which is much more than I ever spend on non-lingerie pajamas!

[spu]

I have 9 wk old twins and I'm nursing them both. I bought a 2 pc. nursing pajamas - a tank-top style shirt and matching shorts - at Motherhood. They're ok. They have 2 slits to nurse both babies at once or to alternate sides. For the middle of the night feedings, I actually found it easier to wear a pair of sweat shorts and a t-shirt. The gap had some really nice thin t's that were cool for the summer / night sweats.

It's too cumbersome to keep the baby latched on through the slits in traditional nursing bed clothes, esp. when you're half asleep. They never cut the slits exactly right for your own body. I also tried a regular night shirt with buttons and it was too drafty. Plus you had to either unbutton the whole front or twist it over to the side and it was too much work at midnight, 2 am, 4am,... With the t-shirt, you can just lift it up and stick the babies head right on.

tip : I kept a few nice fluffy bath towels on my bureau. For the night sweats, I'd put one down to sleep on top of, and change it half-way through the night (along with my pj's...)

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else