Dressed to Deliver Review

About Dressed to Deliver:

“A company committed to enhancing the way women experience birth."

Tracy is the WAHM behind Dressed to Deliver. She is the outgoing Mother to two children and three Australian Shepard's.  She is also the supporting wife to her amazing husband who is a Physiotherapist, marathon runner, philanthropist for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and since 2011, the founder of Dressed to Deliver.

Tracy loves being her own boss and having the time and flexibly to be with her children.  Her family is her greatest joy.  No day is a typical day for Tracy though. She owns her own business, has a home-based physiotherapy practice, and works her schedule around her very busy family.  She makes it all happen with the help of her entrepreneurial husband with a somewhat flexible schedule and a live-out nanny three days a week. People may think her life is crazy busy, but she says it is just her life.She has found balance and it works really well for her.

She is passionate about helping women feel and look their best on one of the most important days of their life…the day they deliver.  She believes that when you look good, you feel good, and she hopes that translates to women feeling confident and empowered during their birthing experience.

The idea behind Dressed to Deliver was born ten years before  Tracy took the plunge and started the company.  Her passion is physiotherapy, and it was at her first physiotherapy job at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto that she came up with her birthing gown design.  At the time she was dating her now husband, and was horrified at the thought of possibly wearing a hospital gown for the birth of any potential children they may have.  Ten years later (at her husband’s encouragement) she put her design into action.

Their birthing gown is the most unique on the market.  That’s because it’s elegant enough to be worn as a dress in the weeks leading up to delivery, on the day you deliver, and as a nursing gown in the weeks following the birth of your baby.  Their gown is available in six sizes to ensure the right fit for every pregnant woman.  They are also proud that our products are made in Canada.

Some other fun things about Tracy:

Her favorite outfit consist of True Religion jeans (she says she did splurge for herself... once! haha!) and a warm but stylish fleece.

One product that she can’t live without for her little ones is a Cloud B Twilight plush toy, it transforms into a starry night…easing a child’s fear of the dark, both her children have one.  When they wake at night and are scared, they turn the toy on and fall back asleep.  The starry night goes off within a half hour.

Advice she would give a Mom thinking of opening her own business:

"Keep your head up when the going gets tough.  There will be a lot of highs and lows in the first year. ..It’s a year full of learning.  Time and patience pays off!"

Her most valuable mom lesson:

"Live in the moment.  When you are with your children, be present, I mean really present.  This time is precious and you want to experience it to the fullest, without distraction."

Dressed to Deliver Products:

Birthing Gowns:

"Our soft jersey knit gown has front and back snaps, a reinforced bust, and empire waist.  This allows for easy access for epidurals, baby monitors, and breastfeeding while keep you supported and dignified."

Shrug:

“Our shrug is a great compliment to our beautiful birthing gowns. Whether you want more arm coverage or are concerned about being cold during the many stages of labor (it can take a while!) our shrug provides just enough coverage where you want and need it. The soft jersey knit fabric and stylish design adds a touch of elegance to our gowns…and like our Babe Wrap, our shrug can be worn anytime, anywhere, by any woman! We like that!”

Babe Wrap:

“Whether you wear it to cover your little babe while nursing, or to bring out the babe in you, you are sure to look fabulous in our Babe Wrap. We believe it’s the only nursing cover-up that lets you nurse discreetly yet stylishly, and that’s because our cover-up is an actual piece of clothing that you wear! Different than nursing tops or often flowery cover-ups that are draped over the shoulder(s), the Babe Wrap is a stylish wrap that closes. That’s our favorite thing about the Babe Wrap…it can be worn open for an elegant look, or closed for a sexy yet cozy feel. It’s the perfect addition to any woman’s wardrobe…young, gracefully aging, pregnant, laboring, nursing…you name it…we’ve got you covered!”

What I thought:

When I had my first daughter I wore a regular Hospital gown.  It was uncomfortable, unforgiving, and not so cute for all of my first pictures with Zoey.  I knew then that I wanted something different for my next experience!! 

I wore this gown the month before going into labor as a dress, and loved it.  It is super comfortable and breathable, and gave my tummy plenty of room.  The snaps were hardly noticeable, and they were super convenient during OB visits as my doctors could just unsnap a few tummy snaps for monitoring and tummy checks.  I wore it at least once a week in the weeks before my delivery. 

I am unfortunately unable to go into great detail about how amazing this gown would be for the laboring part.   I was only in labor for 3 or 4 hours this time as I had to have  a repeat C-section (a lot of damage was done during my first labor and C-section, and because of this and my small frame my OB was uncomfortable trying VBAC).  That being said I can say that I think it would be great for laboring because of its features.  It has snaps from the bottom up to the bust line in the front to make monitoring easy, and all the way up the back.  Your doctors and nurses will have just as good of access to you as they would in a hospital gown, but you will look 100 times better! 

After my C-section I wore the gown for the following day in the hospital.  It made the tummy checks and nursing so much easier.  And the best part is that I looked so much better for all of the pictures in the hospital.  I was able to eliminate some of the Hospital gown pictures.  The Hospital was going to put me into this after the C-section, however we had complications that resulted in my getting put to sleep, and closely monitored when I woke up.  Needless to say my nurses and doctors put my attire on the back burner while monitoring me the first few hours.  Most hospital will however change you into this instead of a hospital gown after any surgery, and of course most will let you labor in it as well.

I also still wear the gown regularly as a nursing gown. It has buttons for easy nursing, and is still just as comfortable as the first time I wore it.  It also covers all of my lumps and bumps as I am working on eventually getting my body back. 

I have probably worn the gown at least 20-30 times so far, and will be wearing it as a nightgown for my nursing duration, which hopefully will be a long while!
(Please excuse the bad pictures.  I had better ones, but had a camera mishap)

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