Nursing tops

[ellesabe]

Hello all,

This is a question in advance really! I'm expecting my first baby in three weeks and plan to breastfeed my baby.

I have noticed a whole host of 'nursing/feeding tops' in the shops and wondered how necessary/useful these actually are. Do I need to buy these or can I just breastfeed wearing normal clothes?

Sorry if this is a really daft question

I like to have my tummy covered when feeding (for warmth and to hide the stretch marks) so I wear vests tops underneath my normal clothes. Outer layers go up, vest top and bra go down, easy discreet feeding!
I have a couple of nursing vest tops from H&M where the straps unclip like a nursing bra but you could prob use normal ones if they're stretchy enough to go below your boob

Good luck by the way :) and come and post on here if you have any problems. I've found it great for support and encouragement

Stretchy vest under whatever you wear, pull vest down and top up. M & S do good vests with elastic straps.
Good Luck

Another option is cardigan sweaters -- wear a normal top and just pull it up, but with the cardigan you won't feel as exposed. Good luck.

I don't normally wear any special clothes (not even a vest thingy)

I agree with the vest and normal top option - I found most feeding tops to be horrid shapeless things. And getting back in normal clothes made the whole thing feel more normal IYSWIM, rather than just something I was doing for a bit.

If you have a belly band now, it'll come in handy post baby to keep your tummy warm when feeding (I had DS in December and January winds on an exposed midriff is not nice).

I'm a big fan of H&M nursing tops. Yes they are plain and boring but they are reasonably cheap, practical and discreet. I've got quite a few and usually wear one of them with a long drapey cardigan and maybe a scarf, keeps everything pretty much covered.

I find the vest/normal top combo is ok, but in the summer I ended up getting too hot and now that it's getting colder it's tricky pulling up a jumper, too much thick material.

Thank you, that's really useful!
I'm not sure I can get away with pulling a vest-top down due to having outrageously huge boobs though
I like the idea of the bump band though, as I have a couple of those already, and might investigate the h&m options.

I have big boobs (which went up to K cup while breastfeeding) and the vest option worked fine - and it keeps your tummy warm/covered. I found having a top to pull up also meant it was more likely my boobs were covered.