Nursing tops and dresses

[FormerlyKnownAsPrincessChick]

Hi all,

I'm currently 35 weeks with my first and planning on breast feeding. I'd like to get a few nice tops and dresses suitable for nursing and have had a quick look on line but everything seems to be quite expensive. As I'll probably need several bits and pieces rather than one nice special thing I'm just wondering if there are any tips and hints about what to buy / where to buy / whether specialist nursing gear is really necessary or if there are any cheats versions of normal clothes?

Also a bit nervous as most friends who've planned to breast feed have ended up bottle feeding due to various problems (baby not gaining enough weight, problems with nipple tissue, pain issues etc) so I'm nervous about buying a whole tonne of stuff right now that I may not even be able to use if I can't breastfeed either.

An idea of what I need to get started from some of you more experienced ladies would be brill :)

I'd be interested too so marking my place. Sorry I can't help op.

No worries Ninja - I'm sure someone will be along soon with some helpful MN pearls of wisdom :)

Don't buy specialist clothes. They're a waste of money, generally quite uncomfortable, and a bit strange IMO.

I got the solution off MN three million years ago and now passing it onto you!

Two top. Stretchy vest (H&M are great) with a t-shirt / second vest / whatever over the top. T-shirt up, vest down over your boob. Bob's your uncle.

If you're a dress wearer, you can do this the other way too (so that you don't show your pants!). I wore a lot of wrap dresses when feeding. Dress down over boob, pull stretchy vest up. It's not quite so convenient but fine and to be honest, once you're in the swing of things you'll just pull the dress down and not worry too much about showing boob. Babies have big heads!

And finally because I'm boringly evangelical about this... you CAN wear underworked feeding bras. Get fitted properly, make sure your bras are not squishing any breast tissue and you're fine. The non-wired hankies I wore when feeding my first DC were the single most depressing thing I've ever worn!

HTH and good luck! You'll be fine!

Underwired not underworked! Stupid phone...

I'd wait to see if it all goes smoothly (as in your breastfeeding) before buying expensive tops and vests.

I did buy 2 nursing bra's prior to birth - I can't recall what the advice was on sizing as you will obviously be bigger than you would normally be.. 2 times normal size ?

As above says second the vest trick and normal clothes / shirts worked for me.

So yes, basically wait and see - you'll soon figure it out and for the first few weeks you may just be content with sitting at home and getting hang of it all first rather than being out and about in public (dressed!) feeding babe. I know some of my NCT friends went and purchased expensive items of clothing only to find they didn't get along with breast feeding.

Good luck

I'm 6 and a half weeks into breast feeding and the vest/top trick is working for me!
Personally I love the m&s stretchy jersey vests with thin straps (2 for £8, loads of colours) with a loose t shirt on top.
I would also recommend investing in cardigans, though a few vests mean most of my pre-preg tops can be worn, jumpers are impossible as pulling them up means bunching it up under my chin or covering baby's face.

I also haven't bothered with nursing nightwear, I find I end up sleeping in a nighttime bra (soft, pulls down, no clips) and a cardigan.

Good luck with breast feeding!

Thanks ladies. I like the sound of the double vest / vest and t-shirt up-and-down trick. This sounds much more practical and cheap than some of the tops / dresses I've seen with the special boob letterbox flap thing!

I have a couple of BF tops - there is a local shop to me that stocks "boob" tops. Not cheap! But I have 2 of the "before and after" vest tops which are very cosy. Otherwise I use the up down vest technique

I think other general tips that kept me going in the early weeks of BF my DS are:
Not all babies are instant feeders. DS was pretty good - luckily. But my friend's DD struggled until her MW advised mum & baby to strip off and let baby search for and find the nipple. Friend was amazed but it solved some of their problems. (I'm in Germany and have definitely benefited from the super support here)

Also allow yourself time. I read (probably on MN) to give yourself and baby 6 weeks to get used to breast feeding. The early weeks it hurts, it takes a long time and can be a bit boring if you're stuck to the sofa with a baby on your boob; but it will become easier and much faster.

DS is now 4 months and BF is really practical and much easier; but I think it was when he was about 10 weeks old that I realised that things had sped up and become easier for us both.

Best of luck!!

I'm generally doing the vest under t-shirt/top thing too but I did also buy these from H+M and they're really nice, I'd recommend them.

I am bigger boobed and I actually find nursing tops quite useful but it is a matter of personal preference. Some makes are useless though and the nursing openings show so much boob that you might as well have flopped one out over the top. H+M were the ones I preferred and they are cheap too.

Another thing I found useful was make your own vest with nursing openings by cutting a slit on each side of a cotton (not stretchy) vest just underneath the bottom of the breast. Then put another top, or wrap front dress over the top. When you want to feed, reach up through the hole to unclip your bra, pull your second top up or aside and you end up showing virtually nothing.

I brought lots of vest tops in lots of different colours. £2 in primark or £1 if you get them end of season. It's the cheaper option and it's easy to get your baps out. Then you don't have to buy a whole new waredrobe

I agree that most nursing clothes are pretty ugly & unflattering. Anyone who can design a range that doesn't make you look frumpy & still pregnant would be quids in.

I'm not a very good public feeder, even though I'm on second bf baby, but the 2 top thing works for me mostly. I have invested in few basic tops if going somewhere that I'm worried about feeding. Those H&M ones are the sort of thing I mean. Have also just discovered welovefrugi.com they have sale on at moment & great reviews. Waiting for my purchase to be delivered so we'll see!

I have been bf for 7 months and haven't got any bf tops. I feed anywhere - literally, anywhere, cathedrals, parks, benches on the high street etc. I have sort of worked out my own style which suits me.

I go with a reasonably loose top (and a proper underwired bra so I don't feel shapeless under it) and shorts/skirt/skinny jeans. I just sort of worked this out by trial and error going through my pre-preg wardrobe. So I unclip bra from the top , pull cup down and stick baby under top. Nice and discreet and comfy. If you had small boobs this might not work so well.

Another good tip is one of those long cardigans without buttons, you can just pull them round a bit to hide anything you want to.

I don't like the two top approach as I feel a bit shapeless and uncomfortable but lots of people love it.

Best bra I found is this one

anita nursing bra

Before having the baby I bought a couple of basic nursing bras from M&S that did the job (but were totally the wrong size) and also a comfy one for wearing in bed and around the house I can't remember the brand now - I think the popular bravado body silk one is similar but more expensive.

Get measured by somewhere decent a few weeks after your milk comes in. I went to bravissimo and was told I was a 30 F and since then everything has fitted brilliantly (M&S said 36E - they did not fit at all)

Another tip is I was given some beautiful patterned cloths which I use instead of muslins, I always have one in my bag so I can cover up any bits I need to or mop up milk (baby is at the age where she likes to demand milk then finds something more interesting to look at!!)

Early days are hard but I prioritised breastfeeding.... I told boyfriend he had to do everything else Lots of time in bed naked with baby, try to relax (cuddles are good), dont' time feeds just go with the flow, lots of food and drink!! Get help quick if you're struggling as the early days are important, and it seems to me that breastfeeding support workers are FAR more helpful than midwives (variable) and health visitors (who seem to suggest topping up with formula at the drop of a hat or a centile). See if you can get a number for a local one from your midwife so you can call them if you need to. Mumsnet is also really good for bf support.

Another vote for primary vests - they are 2 quid and also have support shelves so great for keeping breast pads in place while you sleep at night.

*Primark !

Mamaway is a reasonable brand, jojo too. You might want to try eBay.

Personally I preferred the specifically designed stuff but man, I was bored of my wardrobe by the end.

Seconding Anita underwired nursing bras. A revelation! I was actually quite sad to give mine up when I'd finished feeding. Instead of having slightly sad floppy udders, these wonderful bras meant that I had massive norks! Loved it!

Mamas and papas have quite a good range of nursing tops that I would be happy to wear even when I stop BF - they're also 3 for 2! Some of my maternity tops also had cunning nursing flaps so I could carry on wearing those (excellent for hiding the slightly wobbly tummy too!). I must admit I haven't tried the vest suggestions above though so will give that a go :)

I did splurge a bit on a nice dress for Dd's christening but again, it's nice enough I'd wear it again when not BF.

I'd get a couple of tops and nighties with buttons down the front (definitely at least two nighties as you'll spend quite some time in them for the first few days and they can end up drenched in milk!) for the first few weeks when latching on can be tricky, as it is a lot easier to see what you're doing if you can get your whole boob out. The top up vest down trick is great once bfing is established and baby can latch themselves on easily but the top bunches over the top of your boob making it harder to see what's going on.

The Primark £4.50 nightshirts with buttons down the front are brill. I have bought some second hand nursing tops from ebay, and I found a pack of two nursing tops in Asda for £10. I'm tempted by the underwired bra, my boobs are like spaniel ears .

I struggled to establish bf with DD1 as I had a crash section at 37 weeks and she was small and sleepy. I stuck with it though and was given support to establish. The best thing was skin to skin for us. It took a week for DD1 to feed properly, but we got there in the end. If you find you need extra help to feed, ask and keep asking.

You might have an easy time, it's not always hard - with DD2 (now 13 wo) she took to it straight away, no additional support needed and I've never suffered any pain with bf ever.

Yes, I don't say this often for fear of upsetting people, but I didn't find breastfeeding difficult - baby latched immediately and her first feed was 45 minutes - never hurt at all though the latch was a rather toe-curling sensation for the first few weeks - and we never had any problem with weight gain, she regained birth weight in 5 days. Hopefully it will be really straightforward for you too!

Thanks for all of your kind words re breast feeding. It's actually really nice to hear some positive stories because I've been surrounded by loads of people who've basically said it's a painful nightmare and implied that I won't be able to (yet my mum had no problems) and I'd never even questioned whether or not I would be able to or not! Obviously I'm not going to beat myself up if I can't but it's still reassuring to hear that it can be done and it's a case of perseverance!

Back to the theme of the thread - I'm going on a boob top mission tomorrow. First call, H&M for some of the breast feeding tops and then M&S for some vests and maybe some other treats in between . I can then finish packing my hospital bag. Yay!

I'm going to leave nursing bras for a while. I like the sound / look of those underwired ones and am going to take myself to Bravissimo when the time comes. I'm sick of saggy maternity bras.

The underwired nursing bras are great but I would wait till 3 months after the birth till you buy one. by then your boobs ought to have settled down and you will be able to be measured for your new cup size. Some non-wired ones are useful too though as I found underwired + baby in sling not to be the best.

Immediately after the birth I found Bravado soft bras to be the best. Your boobs will be up and down all over the place so wires not suitable for when you get engorgement. If you are not especially large of nork, the carriwell bra top is ok but I found the Bravado++ better for me. After a few weeks I was wearing ordinary soft cup nursing bras from Bravissimo - the ones I got from Mothercare before the birth ended up being two sizes too small!! And then a few months later I got an underwired one too.

Milkchic is a good website that shows you how you can wear normal clothes and breastfeed and also how to make your own nursing vest type things similar to what I mentioned above.

Breastfeeding has been great and I am so glad I stuck at it through the tiring early days. I'm nearly done with it now and I know I will miss cuddling up on the rocking chair breastfeeding a sleepy baby. It definitely can be done - if it is a painful nightmare then get help if you don't want to give up. There is loads of help out there but nobody tells you beforehand where to get it. La Leche League have a great helpline and a network of local leaders and groups. Many sure start centres have a bf support group - pop along before the birth to have a chat about things. Lots of towns have a Baby Cafe where you can drop in for support with a specialist - look at the baby cafe website to see if there is one near you. You don't even have to need support, you can go to any of the above facilities just to meet other bf mums for a chat. If it hadn't have been for my Sure Start bf group I am not at all sure I would have made anywhere near the 13 months and counting I am at now.

I haven't bought anything specifically for bf, other than a couple of the vest tops with the clip straps. I do the tshirt up/vest down thing, or if it's a top that I can't really wear a vest under I use my maternity belly support bands to cover my wobbly bits. Also, I have 3 lovely maternity layer tops that I have converted to breast feeding tops by cutting strategically placed slots in the underneath layer meaning I can move the top layer over/up and the underneath layer out of the way and get my boob out that way rather than lifting the whole thing up. Im quite smug about this as you can probably tell, it means I'm getting a lot more wear out of my maternity stuff!

Some great stuff at www.hotmama.co.uk
Stylish, not mumsy and not maternity either xx