Maternity bra shopping

[mimpim]

I am 29 weeks pregnant and live very far away from anything, including shops to buy maternity gear in. I will be heading south in weeks 32-33, will this be a good time to buy maternity nursing bras.
The last time I went, I didn't find the assistant terribly helpful in Mothercare, I was about 15-16 weeks then. She just gave me one bra size up and said you will grow into it (admittedly, she was right, but I still felt unimportant and rushed).
How do you know what to buy, surely even at 32 weeks you don't know how big they may get?
And they are too bloomin expensive to get it wrong, especialy as I live too far away to easily return it. I don't want to get it over the internet as I would rather get it fitted by a profesional than guess myself.
Also, does it matter what size you get, don't your boobs inflate and deflate according to milk capacity
What do other people do?

[Kif]

I've heard Rigby and Peller are fab - very good fitting very good bras and not as snooty as you would imagine.

Not tried personally - in fact soon will as 20 wks preggers and starting to worry about sagging!

Will report back when i do.

Btw - I bought my last maternity bra from m'care and hated it - I think it was less supportive than my regular ones. The cotton streched and became baggy and horrible. Not to mention they were very ugly!

[Hopecat]

Don't know how far South our coming, but if you're coming to London go to Selfridges (Oxford Street). Best bra-fitting service (and range) I've found anywhere.

[Hopecat]

Don't know how far South our coming, but if you're coming to London go to Selfridges (Oxford Street). Best bra-fitting service (and range) I've found anywhere.

[mimpim]

South for me is Aberdeen in Scotland, and that is quite a way from home.
Will try to get into the centre to give John Lewis a go, but have to say, that place is so quiet in Aberdeen that is a bit intimidating. As you may be guessing by now, I am not a confident bra shopper!!

[FirstAtForty]

I personally love the crop top option for maternity - may not suit larger cup sizes (I started out as a B, am now a DD I think) but I've found these

sloggi sensual

to be a godsend - really cool, light, stretchy and supportive, and the straps look okay if they get exposed (unlike many maternity monsters!)

I've worn the same size throughout, as they are stretchy enough.

[shhhh]

can I ask...do maternity bras need to be so awful and non flattering....?? With dd I got bra's from m&s and now 10 weeks I have again gone to them. BUT the whole saga depresses me as the bra's are..I don't know how to put it..

Usually I wear underwired as I feel more "supported" but now once pregnant you have to wear non wired ones..and tbh I don't feel secure iykwim. My boobs seem to do what they want in the bras..Is this just the case with m&s and other high st store bras or is this in general or will somewhere like selfridges WOW me..????

I would love to feel fab when pregnant but always seem to feel frumpy ...

[lulu25]

I guess the argument against underwires is that the wires will dig into your boobs - but if your bra fits properly then they shouldn't do that anyway, pregnant or not. So I'm going to get fitted regularly, but have no intention of giving up underwires. I've only found one non wired bra that's big enough and while it's OK for sleeping I certainly wouldn't leave the house in it.

[mimpim]

I am still on the mainland waswondering, just.
15 miles from John O Groats.

I have read that at 36 weeks your boobs have reached the size they will stay until your milk comes in, have most people found this to be true?
And what does this really mean anyway, will I have to get new bras again, after my milk comes in?
How much do they shrink and grow as you feed your baby?
So should I put off getting nursing bras until 36 weeks?
is 32 weeks, too early?

[mimpim]

What kind of cost are we talking here, for a bra fron JL, I always thought that place was expensive?

[conni]

jojomamabebe and active birth centre - over the internet

[time4tea]

mimpim, I found John Lewis good and not necessarily expensive (although I'm always shocked at how expensive bras are generally) One thing to try to get are bra-extenders - basically a little strap with a series of bra hooks and eyes that links up between existing bra hooks. I found that one bf'ing, your breasts themselves swell up and go down quite noticeably between feeds - hence cups often being a bit saggy sometimes. the real difference between comfort and otherwise is the bra just being too tight - in the last weeks of pregnancy your ribs expand and this is a killer if your bra is too tight.

Also, you will end up needing more than one (the washing you get through!!!) so I would get measured, get one bra, then get some extra ones via mail order as you need them. I agree that Blooming Marvellous are good, they also seemed very reasonable about returns and I think they also do bra extenders....

a word of warning about crop tops, if you have big boobs (as I did) hitching the crop top over big swollen norks is really painful, an opening and shutting bra is really necessary!

good luck - ps another thing, I found no-one said how hard it can be bfing - try to find a clinic/drop in centre near your house/at your maternity hospital, so you can meet someone to go through it with you in case of difficulty - someone knowledgeable to share the proper technique in person is really helpful....

[Asur]

The only place near me that is good for fitting is M&S. I went in at 36wks (like the books say) and they told me to come back at 38wks as they wouldn't measure before then! Very helpful.
I just guessed my size and bought a couple of cheap bras on ebay that would do then went and got measured after baby arrived.
Got measured in M&S but didn't buy any of their horrible bras. Went to H&M - they have really pretty nursing bras and they're relatively cheap (start at £8!) Your boobs are constantly changing size when feeding though so you'll never have a perfect fit all the time. so long as it doesn't dig in anywhere when I get over-full and it has easy-to-open clips, then I'm happy

[ezridax]

Hi, I go to bravissimo, they are online and have shops dotted around the country.

They do larger cup sizes and start from around a 28/30 backsize so if your akward like me it's a good place to go. it is expensive but they seem to get it right every time.

They don't measure, they just look at you and bring you the right size

[eidsvold]

if you are going to be anywhere near Bluewater in Kent - I went to John Lewis and they were fab!!!! Mothercare were horrid too.

[accessorizequeen]

Ono 18 weeks (with no.2) & just bought some nice ones from M&S after a stint at M/care. I do think m/care bras are rubbish, bought 2 for sleeping only.
You could try bravado bras (available in bigger boots, so poss. not Aberdeen?) as they're v.stretchy & designed to cover a range of sizes so you wouldn't need to go back at 36-38 wks. I bought 2 with last pg which were fab & comfy & then used them for b/feeding as well. Too small sadly for them this time round. Bought them from Mothersbliss.com but prob. other places do them.

[sarahlou1uk]

Try figleaves.com and bravado bras. I have just bought one and it covers a range of sizes from 38E to 42G. It's very comfy! I've got a voucher code for £5 off and free delivery somewhere. Let me know if you need it!