What to Wear after Giving Birth to Give Mommy Coziness, Tidiness and Prettiness

As your due date approaches you might start speculating what to wear after giving birth?

You must have planned and anticipated every possible need of the baby from the cot and crib to the car seat, stroller. In all your research about the baby and its needs, you might overlook your personal needs during your stay in the hospital while undergoing labor and also a new mom.

Pregnancy and delivering a child are not just life-altering processes but your body also undergoes lots of stressful changes. The process of giving birth is a strange blend of tiring, exhausting, and yet amazing feelings.

The first few days (or first few weeks to be realistic) of postpartum are most testing and it is of utmost importance to ensure these few weeks go smoothly and comfortably.

It is essential to plan your outfits during and after delivery as your body goes through a lot while giving birth and will be tired and exhausted. Choosing the right clothes for post-delivery recovery is important whether you had a vaginal delivery or C-section.

If you haven’t pondered over what basic clothing you would need in the hospital after giving birth, here’s a guide to help you choose the right post-pregnancy clothes to make your pot delivery journey a little easier.

Why Do You Need Special Clothes Postpartum?

There’s no debate on how a comfy dress can help a new mother who’s recovering from delivery cuts and stitches and nursing a newborn. Some of the obvious ways you would benefit by packing post-delivery wear in your hospital bag are:

What to “add to cart” when shopping for maternity wear

One obvious and key point to keep in mind when choosing the right maternity wear is “comfort”. You may want to get back to rock those skinny jeans or body-hugging dresses for a post-baby photo shoot.

But as alluring as this sounds hold on to your desires for some time. For what your neonatal body needs right now cozy and comfortable wear in which you can easily feed your baby and rest comfortably. In addition to that, it also should keep you warm as your post-delivery body is tired and hospitals are usually chilling.

If you’re scratching your head making a list of essential maternity wears and drawing a blank, fret not, here’s a list of must-haves in every new mama’s wardrobe that we have compiled for you:

Maternity gown:

The first thing to pick would undoubtedly be a comfortable gown. You would want to slip into something loose and easy after giving birth and a cozy maternity gown/ dress is just what you need.

Make sure you pack at least 2 gowns in your bag as 1 would mostly get dirty or stained after delivery. And it is always a good idea to keep a backup.

Keep in mind the following points while choosing your maternity gown:

• Pick a size bigger than your real size as it takes some time for swellings in limps and soreness to completely subside.
• You can pick it when you’re in your last trimester. This way you’ll get a size bigger than your pre-pregnancy size which will definitely prove a comfortable choice
• Pic k the gown which nursing friendly, which means it should be convenient to feed the baby in that gown. Most of the maternity dresses come with some or other mechanisms to make breastfeeding easier without pulling over the complete dress.
• Make sure it is made of soft and comfortable fabric
• No need to buy expensive ones as they usually get stained and are not used for a long time

Nursing bra:

A must-have for every new mother. You will notice that your breasts will be tender and swollen after delivery. That is very normal and generally caused due to post-delivery hormonal changes. It is of utmost importance to pick a bra that does not add to discomfort but rather.

Choose a bra that is made of good quality soft and tender fabric as your newly active breasts would need extra care. Choosing the right feeding bra helps in

• Giving much-needed support to delicate breasts
• Easy to flip open access for smoother breastfeeding
• Some of these come with the option of nipple pads or leak-absorbing pads which works best as in the initial few days when you’re getting used to breastfeeding, sore nipples, and leaking milk is the most common complaints that every new mom has to deal with.

Comfortable underwear

Another non-negotiable clothing to go to that bag is comfortable underwear. Almost every hospital provides mesh underwear which works best to support the extra-large pads needed for absorbing vaginal bleeding right after the delivery.

While these mesh underwear works efficiently and holds the larger pads to take care of excessive bleeding, they are not the most comfortable choice. Made of bandage net or mesh, it is not what your delicate vaginal region would like the touch of.

When picking the right underwear for post-delivery use, keep in mind that:

• First and foremost, and cannot emphasize this more – super soft and delicate fabric. Your vaginal region has been through tremendous stress and some gentle cloth-like soft cotton would be an ideal choice.
• If you’ve had C-section or got torn vaginally, the underwear has to protect the delicate and wounded skin. Make sure the fabric hypoallergenic to avoid chances of any infections and to help the healing
• It should be big enough as you would need some big diaper-like pads in the first few days and the underwear needs to be big enough to hold those without causing any discomfort.
• It should be able to support your post-pregnancy belly as well.

Stretchy pants / leggings / pajamas

As we talked about good, comfortable underwear, what you would need next is a few pairs of comfortable and stretchable leggings or pants. You can also go for easy to pull up sweat pants or casual pajamas whichever you find comfortable. The basic requirement is to keep you warm without causing any discomfort in the nether regions.

• Your bottoms need to be comfortable be it a pant or leggings
• As I mentioned above, your belly and thighs will most likely be swollen and tender, make sure you pick the pair of lowers that are loose and not the fitted ones
• Go for ones’ in comfortable, delicate, and soft fabric that does not rub against your skin.

Nursing tees/ tops

The next item to fall in your list of must-haves is a nursing tee/ top. Although any loose baggy tee shirt with good quality soft material is a good choice, if you can find room in your budget for a proper nursing tee-shirt, that would be best.

• It would be a good idea to pick a tee-shirt in one size up as you will find your breasts will be swollen and bigger in size.
• Most likely your tummy would also be still slightly big and puffy so pick tees that can be easy on you
• You can easily find good quality tops that come with easy nursing access with zip or flap in the front. This will help in making the process of initial breastfeeding a little less challenging.

Comfortable and warm robes

Another useful item to add to your list would be a warm robe. Most of the new mothers do not include it in essentials but once you are in hospital post-delivery in your pajamas or maternity gown and start to having friends or family coming over, you would like to have a pair of clean robes to slip into.

They not only look pretty and tidy but also covers your swollen tummy neatly without causing any discomfort.

• Pack at least 1 or 2 robes with you.
• Robes are a good choice when you are choosing to breastfeed as they open from the front and are thus convenient
• A good robe will help you keep warm as hospitals tend to be cold most of the time.
• You can pick a cute and pretty robe If you want and pull it over for a quick photo op. This will save from changing into a whole new set of clothes just for a picture.

Socks

A pair of warm socks would be a good addition too as I have mentioned a couple of times already that hospitals are usually cold and as your body is still recovering from birth-giving.

• Pick 2 to 3 pairs of socks as you would need them all the time.
• Go for non-skid socks for better grip while walking or pacifying the baby
• Pick the warmth of the socks depending on how cold it is in your city

Headwrap

This might not be an essential or must-have or many but I would highly recommend getting a nice headwrap for a new mother.

• A good quality fabric is undoubtedly needed to make a good wrap
• Any soft scarf or sarong would also do the job
• A good wrap helps the new mother keep warm
• Most of the mothers’ complaints of mild to strong headaches almost constantly.
• Constant fatigue and lack of sleep is the main reason for this nagging headache and a wrapping a scarf does help a bit there

Comfortable pair of shoes

You already must have put your high heels on rest for some time now as pregnancy does not like fancy shoes. If already have a pair of comfortable shoes pack them or wear those to the hospital so you can use those shoes in the hospital as well.

• Make sure your shoes are covered and not open from the front.
• Pick the ones with a good grip around your feet
• Go for shoes that come with sufficient cushion inside to make walking easier

Other than the above-mentioned essentials to make your delivery and post-delivery recovery a little easier, here are some of the other little things that might prove helpful during your stay in hospital:

• Hair ties: A bunch of them! once you are into the labor grooming your traces won’t happen for a few weeks. Buy yourself a bunch of hair ties to keep your hairs in place and out of your way. It is better to buy in advance as you won’t have time to run shopping last minute.
• Flip-flops: If you don’t have a pair of shoes and do not want to buy a new one, a pair of flip flops can be your next best option. Lots of doctors recommend wearing flip-flops to help you get on feet and moving again.
• Pack of towels: Some ladies do not prefer using hospital supplies. In that case, you can pack your own kit of towels big, small, face towels, and hand towels. You will be needing all kinds and sizes of towels at different times!

Things to Keep in Mind When Going Maternity Wear Shopping

• There’s no need to spend a fortune on maternity clothes as you only need for a few months until you get back to somewhat normal clothes
• Also, most of these clothes get stained with blood or discharge leaking milk and are not in a condition to be used over and over.
• If you want to save some money, check with your family or friends. If anyone has some of her clothes in good condition, she would most likely be happy to give them away.