My Own Hospital Gown

I don't know why I feel like I need a cute hospital gown to deliver this baby in, but here's my thinking:
-The one the gave me to wear with Clara was so thin, it wouldn't stay buttoned up at the sleeve, it was huge and it was just overall icky feeling.
-I know that no one really cares to see you naked in the hospital... They've seen it all before... But I'd like to retain some kind of dignity!
-As miserable and traumatic as birth is, I'm also a fan of happy, bright colors. Who knows if pretty prints will actually make me feel any better, but it couldn't hurt right?
-I know that it's going to get messy... Hence why I spent less than $10 on the entire project (a big improvement from the ones I've seen online for $90. Yikes!) If I can salvage it for the next hospital visit, great. If not, no big loss... Don't they reuse the hospital ones over and over though?
-And... Last but certainly not least... I'm always thinking about pictures. Won't a cute gown make for a million times better pictures? Haha

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this idea, but this is the post that originally got me thinking about making my own hospital gown. I searched for other designs and patterns, but I really liked how hers looked (and how little ink and paper her pattern used! Haha) I did change quite a few things after going shopping for my fabric... I had a hard time finding 3 yards of the cheap cotton (I didn't want to spend too much on something that was just going to get icky anyway!) I brought up like four bolts to the table and each were just about 2 1/2 yards. Curses! Anyway, then I finally found this fabric and it ended up being $8 something (still more than I'd like to spend but not too bad) I looked for snaps or snap tape and about died when I saw how much the snap tape was. I also didn't want to spend $4 on hammer on snaps when I had velcro already at home so I skipped the snaps. That also means I didn't make the nursing access in the front like the pattern calls for and I opted to make the more traditional entire sleeve opening at the top using 3 pieces of velcro. I also overlapped the back for more coverage and to close up the neck opening (which I already shortened the pattern pieces for, but it still just felt too big for my comfort). I think I'll add a tie at the waist rather than velcro so that it can be adjusted a little bit tighter or looser depending on how I feel.

The front:

The sleeve opening: (It can be completely undone if needed)

The back:

In retrospect I should've "splurged" and used the snaps. The velcro stays together just fine, and I was sure to use the soft side for the front pieces, but I'm noticing that the corners of the velcro squares are a little scratchy. Oh well... I plan on wearing this one for labor (if they'll even let me) and maybe make a more nursing friendly one for post-partum. Most likely I'll just wear the hospital issue gown (since that's when I remember things really getting messy) and throw on this shrug if I get cold or if visitors come. Plus, by then the pictures are all of the baby and visitors, not with me. ;-)

Better belly angle. ;-) Geesh I carry high!

Oh, and look! I had some fabric left over for a camera strap. It even matches my orange camera bag. Won't Dennis be so excited to borrow my camera now? Hehe... I didn't think about that.