bras

[Miffster]

I'm 6 weeks pg, 1st timer, and none of my bras fit.
Normally I just stroll into M&S and grab something in my size, but as my boobs are very tender and swollen and keep growing, I assume I need to be fitted properly. And presumably, that they will continue to get bigger and I will have to keep going back for more bras. Which is going to be pricey...

Please can someone more experienced tell me
a) do your boobs grow all the time or just the first 12 weeks?
b) How many times over your pregnancy did you need to get new bras?
c) where in London is good to get fitted? (I live in North London but can go central as well)

ta.

[catbus]

Go to good ole M&S. Your boobs can grow throughout; everyone is different! I only got new bras once in last pg; mind you I'd gone up 2 sizes so REALLY needed to! M&S are good as they measure you; usually some mad old lady IME. Good luck!

[ThisCharmingFlan]

I'd recommend John Lewis for fitting if you can, M&S got mine way wrong. The JL ladies (in my town at least) told me they were specifically trained in maternity and nursing fitting.

My boobs stayed the same from about 8 weeks onwards until the last couple of weeks where they got lots bigger and I went into nursing bras

[Anifersgirl]

I went to M&S and there were two other pg ladies there too!

I'm 27 weeks now and they're still growing - I've been through two new bras so far (gone from B to D cup!) so I'd advise only getting a couple of new bras now, and just washing them a lot..

I've also found I now need to wear support in bed too - something I've never had to do before -and am wearing Sluggi vest top thingies which are comfy and seem to do the job for me.

It's SO nice when you get a bra that fits again, after squeezing yourself into something too small for a couple of weeks.

Good luck!

[cardamomginger]

Mine shot up in size during early pregnancy (B cup to E) but haven't really changed for the last 5 weeks or so (am now at week 17). But I haven't put on much weight so that could be something to do with it. This is my first pregnancy so I have no idea just how big my boobs are going to end up . I went to Bravissimo to be fitted and found the service excellent. They have branches in Covent Garden and just near Oxford Circus. I believe they only stock underwired bras. So if you prefer not to wear them during pregnancy (in light of the whole debate about the wires damaging your milk glands/ducts) then this is probably not the shop for you. Although you could still go and find out what your size is and then buy non-under-wired from another shop. Personally I think if the bra fits correctly and the wiring lies under the breast tissue, which it should do, then there isn't going to be a problem. But I know others disagree.

[Pepsiginn]

I haven't been measured and have gone up 2 sizes progressively and i am currently 19+4 pregnant.
I go to M&S and get their non-underwired comfy own brand range (very reasonably priced - quite ugly) and just take a whole lotta different sizes in with me.
I have gone up one cup size and two back sizes since being pregnant and feel i am almost at going back for the next back size up again.
I won't be breastfeeding, but have opted for non-underwired as it's simply more comfortable for me.

[stuffedmk]

M&S are crap!!
Sorry but I used to work fitting bras and most of the fits I saw coming in from M&S were horrendous (might just be my local though)
The amount of growth varies from person to person I'm afraid. I unfortunately tend to stay rather petite throughout barely increasing at all but others need to buy 2 or 3 lots.
It is advised that you wear non-wired but I believe you can wear wired it is just that these are more likely to interfere with the milk ducts. Wired need to fit quite precisely to avoid the wire digging in or moving about so if you choose wired ones you will probably need to buy more often. Non-wired bras can be fitted with a little room for growth and so are generally more cost effective (if often a bit unnattractive)
I always recommend John Lewis as I know what their training programme is like but I have heard very good reports of Bravissimo if you are big enough (I think they go from a D cup?)

[stuffedmk]

Also be aware that if you have never been fitted before you may have been in the wrong size (most women tend to over estimate back size and under estimate cup size) so the size they put you in may seem a bit alarming lol.

Don't just get measured and buy any old bra in that size as bras vary greatly even within the same brand....get the full fitting!!

[Miffster]

Thanks everyone. I'm normally 36B or 38A and all my bras are pretty underwired lacey things with thin straps, and most uncomfortable now, although one sport bra is still ok.

I will head off to John Lewis in Oxford St.

[1pregheadpumpkin]

well i went to but bras at 12 weeks because my bras made me look like i had 4 boobs instead of the customary 2. im 20 weeks now and these still fit and are looking like they will for the foreeable. so comfy i sleep in them.

mothercare was where i got them, BUT, they are 16 quid a go, and you really need at least 2.

and go for the ones on ahngers as opposed to the boxed ones as the boxed ones make you look like you're sporting outwards facing cones, the ones on hangers are prettier and look like t-shirt bras under your clothes.

and they're all underwired

[DomesticG0ddess]

John Lewis definitely, they sorted me out after DS. I went to M&S the other day and asked to be measured (was about 10 weeks pg) and asked to be measured (it was the M&S at Clapham Junction mind, not a big one), and she measured me at 34B. I was like, I'm a 32D normally and now my boobs are bigger, how can that be right? She just shrugged and said 34C then, without even remeasuring!

I bought one from a shop called Pretty Pregnant on Northcote Road. It cost £30, but I see it lasting me for many months because it is very supportive, but also stretchy, has loads of hooks on the back, and also has removable padding, which means it can get even bigger (plus I like the padding, don't really want my nipples poking out anymore now than when I am not pg tbh!). In a sec I'll go upstairs and find the brand name, you can prob get it elsewhere, maybe in JL.

[DomesticG0ddess]

Hello again, the bra make is Bravado. Forgot to say that it is so supportive it could double as a sports bra, and if it is your first pregnancy your boobs will grow quite a lot throughout.

[beanlet]

I went to Rigby and Peller, and though the bras were indeed expensive, R & P totally lived up to the hype, and the bras are the most comfortable I have ever worn. Once I knew the size (I had gone up from a 34 D to a 36 F by the 12 week mark!) I went to M&S and bought a couple more. The fitters in Rigby and Peller said I should come back two weeks before the baby was born to be fitted for maternity bras. I'm definitely doing it.

[bloomingbex]

I'm 16 weeks pg and was measured at around 9 weeks at my local underwear specialists. I bought a fantasic Prima Donna maternity bra which is pretty and lacy but not cheap!! It does have underwire as I'm a 34F now (gone up 2 cup sizes and 1 back size) and hate not feeling supported but they have advised me to get the size checked approx once a month to make sure the wire doesn't start digging in to my breast tissue. The fitter said that eventually I will have to start wearing non underwired but for now it's ok.

I also bought a non underwired t-shirt bra from Mothercare which I am wearing for the first time today. I'm afraid to say it is doing my head in There seem to be 2 support struts built into the back to compensate for the lack of underwire but they really dig in to my back. I've got 3 hours left at work and I can't wait to get home and take it off!

[TaurielTest]

M&S not good IME, John Lewis or Bravissimo better. And another vote for that Bravado original nursing bra (not well named, it's great for pg as well) - they're 10% off with free delivery from fromheretomaternity.co.uk (just ordered one myself).
When it comes to end of pregnancy/buying nursing bras, I found the local NCT fitter lady to be uncannily good at guessing how much boobs might expand and ribcage might shrink down.

[mavies]

Agree with majority of comments that M&S were totally rubbish, and for bigger bosomed girls, not supportive enough. Comfy soft - yes, hold yer boobs up - no!

I gave in and went to my local Triumph store, where a very helpful and clearly well informed assistant helped me. I ended up getting a non-maternity bra, but non-wired. Very comfy, very supportive, but as these things often are, not in the slightest bit sexy!

Best of luck with the bra-hunting!

[hophophippidtyhop]

Mine don't change much during pregnancy - both last time and this time, I just look more 'buxom wench', but can still fit comfortably in the same size (34h),I fill out at the top rather than the bottom of my boobs! My first pregnancy they then went up about 2 1/2 sizes when my milk came in.`
I wore an underwired throughout pregnancy, and tried to go no wires, but just wasn't supported enough. As long as you get fitted and know how to tell if you need a different size, underwires are fine.

[YoMoJo]

I got bigger quite early on & then stayed the same for ages. The women in the shop persuaded me to buy a bigger bra than i needed as i "would grow into it" but i never did.

I got measured at a decent independent store after that & then just bought some cheap pack of 2 sports bras from M&S - they just seemed to be more comfortable & supportive for my very generous norks.

If you want lovely nursing/maternity bras - try hotmilk, I bought a couple from here at the baby show, if you are local, they will come to your house for fittings. But get yourself fitted properly before ordering.

[Gherkinsmummy]

I went to Bravissimo, and found that I'd gone up one size and 2 cup sizes. They sold me some sturdy but pretty underwired bras that are a bit big in the cups, the idea being that they will last through the whole pregnancy as I have room to grow. M&S are rubbish; the one time I went there to be measured they did it over my clothes and got it completely wrong - they said 36C and I was more like 36E!

[Gherkinsmummy]

Oh Bravissimo do stock non-wired bras - they have a maternity and nursing range.

[Miffster]

Just went to John Lewis, and I got 2 minging ten quid bras - one black , one white. She suggested I took flesh colour but that really would have made me cry.

OMG, I've gone from 36B/38A to 36 DD!

Double D, FFS! And I'm only 6.5 weeks!



DH thinks it is hilarious.

[Miffster]

I think I will wait before buying a nicer one from Bravissimo or similar, if I am going to keep growing like this.

My poor underwear drawer full of lovely lacey frilly things, now closed to me for at least a year. And instead I am strapped and hoisted into these matronly overshoulderboulderholders, divide and conquer truly unsexeeeee monster chest carapaces. I feel older, wiser and sadder.

[pinchmeimustbedreaming]

i am now 13 weeks preganant with second child. i have changed bra sizes twice already. believe me when your boobs are 36GG then it gets pricey! i dont rate m&s at all as they tend to give you a bigger back size first which isnt always what you need, check out bravissimo website they will show you how your bra should sit. but at 30 quid a pop this is pricey. wish i had a choice. really hope i dont grow much more too!!! i was 32DD when i got pregnant 1st time round and they havnt stopped growing, even in the 3yrs between pregnancies. good luck to you though