my thoughts on Pretty Pushers gowns

As y'all know I win a lot of giveaways. Well, I win a lot because I ENTER a lot of them, and I try to find ones with less entries to up my odds (uh oh, my secret is out!). Anyway, while I was pregnant, I was intrigued by the idea of a cute labor gown made by Pretty Pushers that I had seen around the internet. I knew I probably wouldn't pay out of pocket for it, and I wasn't sure if anyone I know would give me one as a shower gift, but I ended up winning one!  I always think that's the best way to try something out.  And I'll say it right here that Pretty Pushers did not convince me in any way to review their product--I just wanted to.

Now when I was looking at these, I was reading some of the Amazon reviews.  Everyone loved them, but hardly any of the comments were from the actual user AFTER the birth.  Most comments were something along the lines of "I can't wait to wear this in labor--so cute!" or "I just gave this to my niece who is about to have a baby and she loved receiving it!"

Well, I definitely loved receiving it, too.  Along with the "I dream of Sushi" Pretty Pushers gown, my winnings also included a headband and two pairs of post-partum underwear.  The first thing I noticed was that the cotton was super soft!  The company tells you to dispose of everything instead of washing it afterward since it's cotton and will break down easily (they say that's more eco-friendly since labor goo is hard to get out).

I was actually looking forward to wearing this in labor.  It's basically a halter gown with a low back for an epidural with a few ties in the front for the fetal monitors or whatever.  However, if you read my birth story, you'll see that I was in the standard-issue hospital gown during labor and right after delivery.  When they had me suit up in the gown, the Pretty Pushers was still in the bag in the car.  I think it worked out though because I was actually pretty cold most of the time and the sleeves on the hospital gown kept me at a really good temperature.  However, I did actually wear the headband, and it helped a lot.

Even though I didn't wear the gown during labor and delivery, I did wear it for the next two days of my hospital stay!  After they helped me take off the hospital gown that was covered in who-knows-what (they really did put the baby on top of me and my gown immediately after delivery), I had B fish out my Pushers gown and I put that on.  It was actually really awesome for post-partum recovery!  People tell you to bring an old nightgown for that, but I actually don't wear nightgowns, so I definitely didn't have an old one sitting around and I didn't want to buy something just for this.

You may be wondering how I breast-fed in that, but I think it was probably easier than the hospital gowns.  Since it's a halter top, I just yanked the neck over my head each time I fed her and then pulled it back when I was done.  It was really comfortable that way.  It was also super-easy to go to the bathroom in, since it's a dress.  (If I had gone the "old nightgown" route, it would have been old boxer shorts which would be way more difficult.)  I also got a ton of compliments from the nurses once whenever I got a wave of energy to walk the hallways!  I unfortunately don't have any pictures of me during those two days I was wearing the gown.  Actually, it's probably fortunate because I'm pretty sure I looked like crap!  I had a really rough recovery, so at least I felt pretty good wearing my gown.

As for the post-partum "disposable" underwear, I only used one of the two pairs.  The hospital had that mesh disposable underwear, so I mostly used that.  But at one point, I just didn't want to wear medical supplies any more, so I opted for these.  They were nice, and they have a drawstring.  They have a place to put an ice pack, but I never used them that way.  My only issue was that when I won the contest, I was in denial about my true size--so I probably would have loved them more if I had gone a size up.

And did I dispose of any of this stuff?  Actually, no.  Since I wore it during my recovery, it didn't get all too gross.  I just tossed it in the wash with my other clothes when I got home, and it came out fine!  I currently have it tucked away for the next pregnancy.  Maybe then I'll actually wear it during labor!