Breastfeeding Clothes

[ConfusedAndStressed]

Hi,

I have a bit of a silly question. I already have one DD(3) who I bottle fed from birth. However this time I think I am going to try breastfeeding. As I didn't with DD, I have no idea where to buy breastfeeding clothes! I need them to be cheap clothes, I can't go spending £30-£40 on a dress for example. So any ideas as to where to buy cheap, nice breastfeeding clothes would be great.

Thanks

I always found H&M good, I really liked (and found easy to use) their t-shirts which have a concealed opening.

If you don't mind second hand, there's always loads on eBay.

I never bought any breastfeeding specific clothes - I found them a bit fiddly with all the panels etc.

I usually wore a loose ish T shirt (that can be easily pulled up) over a low cut vest (that can be easily pulled down). So only the relevant boob gets exposed iyswim, the chest and tummy are still covered.

Basic cotton vests from topshop were great - I bought a couple of sizes larger than my usual so I could easily pull the neckline down.

Dresses are a bit more difficult, wrapover styles with stretchy vest under are the best bet.

I too don't bother with breastfeeding clothes. When I'm just at home, I wear off the shoulder jumpers so I can pull the whole boob out the top when I need to feed. So so convenient. Obviously when in public I do the thing minipie describes.

You don't need special clothes.

Do what minipie suggests. Cheap as chips vest tops with stretchy straps under your normal clothes camisole style. You can pull the vest down under your boob on one side, the top and viola, fully covered but easy to feed.

I also did as minipie suggested.

Arh thank you all so much, that sounds so much better, and cheaper To be honest I found some breastfeeding tops online, and they are very expensive and not very nice.

Off to topshop/new look to order vests and some nice baggy jumpers and tops!

I am looking for cheap maternity stuff, there's an EBay shop called "Purpless" that sells BF/Maternity dresses and t-shirts for £99. Just plain t-shirt fabric.

DOH £9.99!!! As in under £10.

All you need to do is check for stretchy straps (or that they can otherwise be yanked under your boob).

I have breastfed 2 children until 2 (though for the second year of each that was mostly at home evenings and mornings) and am about to embark on no.3 . I have never owned a breastfeeding top and don't plan to start now. As you say, they are expensive, and mostly pretty ugly. Plus it must be so dull wearing the same limited wardrobe all the time, especially after the limitation of maternity clothes.

I also wear underwired nursing bras after the first week or two. So I get to look and feel pretty normal. I'd say that was quite a big contributing factor to me continuing to bf as long as I did.

I've been ebf for almost 7 months and I understand! I'm a naturally warm person so when people said to me "just wear two layers and pull one up and one down"
.. In addition to hormones I freaked out and got all sweaty and stressed. Mother care sell feeding vest topswith clippy straps and the other great invention is the breast vest (Google it). I now don't find every day clothes an issue but special occasions are harder.

I got a lovely bf dress from mama feels good - saw the sit recommended on here somewhere. 20quid very wearable and easy to feed in, so useful for smarter occasions
But I've got a wedding to go to in June and no idea what I'll wear...need something a bit dressier for that

With DS1 I was a bit shyer and did the vests under baggy clothes at first, but actually I find wrap dresses/tops or button down tops easier - you can always drape a scarf/muslin over your shoulder if you feel exposed.

I found it possible to breastfeed in most normal clothes :)

You just need to make sure they are either stretchy or loose and have access without stretching the pattern or material. I remember my mum in the 80s just sticking my sister up her jumper, most people now seem to go for pulling clothes down rather than pushing up. In my experience it depends how self conscious you are about your tummy.

Those long sleeved skin tight tops with poppers halfway down the front were my favourite thing to wear, just remember to do them back up

I have never bought breastfeeding clothes or bras. ime they look frumpy and are overpriced. I get cheap sports bra's from primark in a large size. Very easy to flop a boob out, comfortable, 3 quid and no full boob cup bulge. Must be a generous size up though as tightness can cause blocked ducts eg I'm a size 10/12 with c cup boobs but I have a size large. most cheap scoop neck tops can be pulled down far enough.

I mostly just wore loose-ish jumpers and tops - there are lots of nice, stylish ones around, you don't have to just wear men's tshirts or sizes too big for you or anything - never bothered with the vest underneath bit.

In a pinch, I have also bf in much tighter clothes! Though that was later on when my body didn't feel quite so post-natal.

A long line cardi is a nice simple flattering bit of clothing that goes with most things and you can use to hide any exposed bits behind when feeding.

I never bought any breastfeeding clothes, but I did buy a good underwired nursing bra (and I switched back to my normal bras as soon as the feeds were infrequent - around 10 months)

I bought quite a few bf tops, always felt much more exposed in them. The vest and top (and it's pretty much any top you would normally wear) combo is the winner.
I since discovered peek a boo style bf bras, unclip the cup but there's still material above the nipple. Again means I feel slightly less exposed. Also helps hold me in place when I forget to re-clip.

Thank you for all the replies. I'm definitely going to go the vest and top route, it sounds much better. The breastvests look great, and I know have one on the way! Also some bf bras and stretchy vests. I feel relieved that I'm not limited to bf tops. Fingers crossed!

Re Vests, I have found the h&m longer length spaghetti strap Vests for 3.99 to be a godsend. They are really easy to pull down and the longer length means that there is no fear of them riding up and showing my belly whilst feeding. IHave about a million of them in all different colours to wear with cardi's and would highly recommend them!

I might just be a dreadful tart, but I found that many if my clothes would pull down. I have a couple of bf tops (jojomaman sale, h&m and mamafeelsgood), and these are great for discreet feeding. You can sometimes pick up some good stuff in sales. The rest of the time, I tend to stick a scarf over me and pull down my top.

I like wearing leggings with tops/dresses and have still been wearing my maternity leggings even though I don't need them. There over the bump style so now when I need to feed and pull my top up the leggings still cover my belly. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable!

I just wear my normal clothes - I was surprised at how much of what I already owned was already bf friendly!

Another great tip - vest top underneath normal top then it's just a case of lift top up and pull vest down. I do this using maternity vests from my pregnancy and it's saved me a fortune on buying bf tops.