Clothes for bf in public

[LIG1979]

I have a 2 week old DD and we are trying to get to grips with bf in public and practising at home. At the moment, trying to get her latched on without excessively exposing myself is very difficult and the only way to do it, seems to be with a very large shawl and us both underneath it.

Any reccomendations on the best clothes for bf? I have a few feeding tops but I seem to have problems with them.

Thanks in advance.

Wear a vest with a loose top over it. Lift up the top layer and pull the vest down under your boob. No need for feeding tops.

Thanks Jock I will give that a go.

I do that thing with a vest top too - but I just bought some nice t-shirts from Mama Feels Good. They were on sale, so not any more costly than a normal t-shirt, and the under-vest thingy is long enough to not have to worry about it rising up and showing my wibbly belly!

Hello LIG, I am wondering about this too. DS just over 3 weeks old and haven't yet done a public bf. trouble is I am s dresses wearer rather than a jeans/top wearer so am thinking dresses with buttons..? And also though am losing weight I will have to buy s couple of sizes up to accommodate my now huge breasts! I have a few materbity wrap dresses that are currently ok for the job but am so bored of these it's annoying.

Sorry about typos - on Iphone whilst breast feeding!

Practice in front of a mirror at home. You'd be surprised how much is actually "on show" when looking in the mirror (obviously when you look down you see lots!)

Of all places, matalan have some very cheap plain feeding tops which I used to begin with. I then moved on to what the others have posted: wear normal top with vest underneath. Primark have stretchy vests for about £2.50.

Take someone with you when you first go out. They'll be able to adjust any clothing for you or more than likely, reassure you that actually, you can't see anything.

I've found feeding tops more of a faff in my limited 5 month experience. But like others say what's worked best is a cami top underneath what I'm wearing. I can lower that on one side n lift my top layer up. If u practice Infrint of a mirror u see nothing as baby is covering u up.

LIG I do the vest and loose top thing too.

Also, while DD is tiny, feeding in a sling can be extremely discrete and also handy so you might even be able to use two hands to eat a meal out
(can say this as a veteran of ordering the salad instead of much-wanted hamburger because I need to be able to use one hand to eat and one to hold DS).

Another thing i sometimes do is a bit of a make-shift shawl: tuck the corner of a (large) muslin cloth under the strap of your feeding vest or bra and drape it to one side while you get DD latched, then drape it over her once she is latched and feeding. Then you have it at the ready for the over the shoulder burp. This can also be handy when DD is a bit older like my DS (4 months) and gets the tendency to latch, then randomly pull off the breast mid feed, several times, and gape around in a bit of a nosy and distractible "ooh whats going over there there* fashion, leaving me all of a sudden exposed!!

ThatringsaBelle you've just reminded me about the mid-feed scanning the room to see what's going on leaving you with a boob hanging out & milk spraying all over the place!

Vests from primark and a good idea to cover your belly is a smaller sized cheap boob tube top this can then be used with any top and does not expose you when you lift the top up x

From experience though... If you're using the vest-tshirt combo and you're feeding whilst walking around the supermarket, then don't forget to either pull the vest up or the tshirt down. Sainsburys staff training does not equip them for dealing with customers who are burping their baby on one shoulder whilst letting it all hang out on the other side...

I did the vest under a looser top too.

If you don't have vests with stretchy straps, maybe you have a few bump bands from pregnancy? I often wore a bump band under a normal top, and the band keeps your tummy tucked in warm while you lift the top to feed.

Hi lig I have a variety of clothes I feed in, although they are still pretty much my maternity clothes as that's all I can fit into. If I'm wearing a top or dress with buttons I obviously undo them then I drape a muslin over my shoulder tuck it into my clothing/bra where possible then drape it over DD. but if I'm just wearing a normal top I actually wear one of my maternity bump bands as well. This means I can pull up my top just enough to get some boob out but my jelly belly is not exposed. I will then use the muslin draped over the shoulder. Wearing the bump band also has the benefit of pushing some of my muffin top in! It needs to be one of the big bump bands though that comes up to just under your boobs, my ones from Next are good!

Oh crossed posts with another bump band wearer!!

Golemmings imagine if they used you as a mystery shopper to check the standard of their staff service ethic!

Boob tubes from H&M or primark are much cheaper than bump bands if you don't have one already £1.99 each.

Thanks - lots more things to practise. Golemmings - I think it is a while before I can feed and do supermarket shop but it is something to aspire to!

I have used Www.babeswithbabies.com the most. They have all sorts of different types of access. Loads of dresses and tops. But now my favorite is a brand called noppies. Also in the begining I did like a brand called boob. But the shop I go to doesn't have them anymore.

What didn't you like about the tops you have? I didn't like it when it was too Fiddly or showed too much.

Actually looked on the noppies website I have the top called hazel

I've also recently discovered strapless dresses/tops and boob tubes. Also from primark at the princely sum of £1. Im pulling the boob tube up and one Side of the dress down. It is more obvious your feeding I think but you can't see anymore then you do with top up and cami down

Can I suggest a bf apron? On eBay about £7 u jus put it on like an apron and folds in ur nappy changing bag all different colours etc good wen it's really hot and 2 layers is too much to wear?

I'm just near the end of BFing my second DC, and I have to say I never liked BF tops - the look or their practicality. I always just wore loose tops (maternity ones at first, then just bigger than usual ones) and pulled them up. As has been mentioned, you really can't see much of anything, and over a year of BFing (both DC) in public, no one has ever commented or looked twice at me. Wearing loose tops made me feel more like myself again, too.

Buy a big, pretty scarf (h&m do nice ones or about £8) and wear it all the time just draped around your neck.

That's what I did in the early days of breastfeeding Dd, it covers you up while feeding, and if you leak it's in the right place to cover up those awful damp patches!

gwlondon you can buy Boob stuff direct from them online >> boobdesign.com

Love all of their stuff, baby is not out yet but I can see how well it's designed for discreet/easy bfing and looking stylish. And as a plus most can be worn during pregnancy too!

With ds1 I never bothered with bf tops but this time I am embracing them! I would look on eBay if I was you, theres loads! Have bought a couple of vests and tops and they are much cheaper than new. Also have a look at the batwing style. My favourite combo is bf bra and batwing jumper, pull the sleeve over a bit and bob's your uncle!