Breastfeeding clothes

[Newbie2016]

Hi
I'm breastfeeding my LO and am looking to invest in some clothes I can easily feed in. Can anyone recommended some good brands to buy from? How many items did people need and which styles of access worked well for you? I've had a look around and I'm finding lots of maternity/nursing tops and I don't really want to buy more maternity clothes as I am hoping they will not really fit well as time goes on. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance for any replies! X

Just get x5 Breast feeding vests. Then they just unclip at the top so you can easily just lift whatever top ontop up, and the vest part down. Can use a normal vest but these easier as open down ( a normal vest tricky for me as small boobs so they don't really go over!)

I had cheap primark standard vests under a t-shirt - primark vests have adjustable straps too.

They worked well enough for me (also small of boob). And lasted several years too!

It's all about the right layers for me - one thing that pulls down and the other to go up so that I don't have the whole boob showing. Eg a low cut vest (down) under a top/long sleeve t-shirt (up); or a bigger vest (up) under a shirt (open half way for access but still covers belly).
Sorry if this is obvious but dc1 was quite a few months old before I watched a friend an figured this out.
I wear a lot of shirts and cardigans. Wrap dresses are good too.

Came on to say exactly what the above posters have already said! Try the method described above whilst feeding the baby in front of a mirror at home - you will see that very little flesh or boob is displayed

Thanks for the replies, so nobody actually buys specific feeding tops? X

Spaghetti string vest... (Next, primark ) normal t-shirt over the top and a muslin is all you need.
Invest in good feeding Bra's !

Fed 3 and never bought a BF top!
Lift the tshirt, pull down vest from the neck... Pop out boob, pop on kid. Attach Muslin to shoulder of top or best, cover baby slightly!!!!

I bought breastfeeding tops from jojo, Isabella Oliver and seraphine. They are not as good for me as a button down shirt or a loose top that can be pulled up. Some have fiddly buttons which are difficult to refasten while toting a wriggling baby. Others which rely on draping have a tiny aperture for the nipple to poke through. My DS is an ostentatious breast feeder who likes a decent chunk of boob exposed so he objected to those. Most are pregnancy and breastfeeding tops so have a pouch in the front for ones tummy. Looks weird when flaccid. The only one I used a lot was a loose Breton from seraphine with poppers down the sides. Hope that helps.

Espirit have some.
Mamas and papas used to have some.
www.milkernursing.com/shop/frontpage.html
www.noppies.com/en-uk/home/

I have bought loads of things. They all tend to be pregnancy and breastfeeding. There used to be a lovely on line shop that was just breastfeeding but very expensive. They have moved to America now.
peaksoflondon.com/

A few other shops have closed.

I prefer to wear patterns as milk doesn't show on them. I prefer when there is either a modesty strip or a double panel (can't describe it really!!). As in part of the top is a V neck but there is another layer under the V neck.

shop.boobdesign.com/

At the moment I am mainly wearing breastfeeding dresses. I think it depends on how quickly you do your washing as to how much you buy. One problem is that a fair amount of the things I have don't go in the tumble drier.

Good luck. Post again if you find some new shops!

Also gap used to have some things on line.

If you want to wear a dress, specific breastfeeding dresses are worth it (I gave a nice one from Babes with Babies but they see to have gone very pricey of late).

But for normal tops to go with skirts or trousers I'd echo previous posters - vest under a top, top pulled up, vest pulled down over boob.

H&M and Mamas & Papas have some nice breastfeeding tops.

I found breastfeeding tops generally frumpy and overpriced TBH
I have some from seraphine and Isabella Oliver and they are hardly worn

Primark do great BF bras and vests (though you need to try on as sizing is all over the place)
I find I prefer a light tank top or BF vest under a think knit sweater (thicker sweaters are too clumpy when you pull it up, ) ir a wrap shirt or a button down shirt

I have invested in nice scarves though that I can drape over dd or myself too to hide any nipples flashes or if dd is getting tired or distracted and I also got a BF scarf in a lovely bamboo material from seraphine that o have worn lots as it works as a cape or scarf

I bought one breastfeeding top from mamafeelsgood.com, but honestly it's more faff than it's worth. I've always just worn a Primark vest under normal tops. In time you get very practiced at the one-up-one-down approach!

I bought quite a few breast feeding tops and dresses but actually ended up doing the vest under flowy top thing. I live in a hot country so was worried about the double layer being too hot but all the breast feeding specific clothes were heavy so I've barely worn them.

The problem with most breastfeeding specific stuff is its screams ' I'm breastfeeding', as most have either the same double v at the top or some wierd flap halfway down torso. This is annoying

Also mine breastfed until 3 years. I wouldn't have wanted to be restricted for that long ( more as have 2 children)

Best solution would be to try with less or what you have and buy anything as you go along if you feel you need it

I think I'm the only person who found breastfeeding specific tops useful in the early days. My baby was born in April 2014, and the summer was very hot, I would have roasted wearing 2 tops all the time. I got a few from Boob, jojo and mamas and papas. But once autumn came in I did switch to two top method!

I recommend the H&M breastfeeding vests (come in a 2-pack) if you need a bit of support (I'm a 34DD normally). I got given a set by my mum who originally bought them for my breastfeeding SIL but in the wrong size (I didn't have a baby!). They have lasted well, so much so that I went in and bought a couple of packs for when I give breastfeeding a try (very soon now, eek!).

I am one of the few who did buy several specific tops mainly because DS found any other arrangement too slow! They also allow a super quick cover up of my enormous knockers in public. The best ones I found were from ASOS with a more reasonably priced version from George at Asda if you can get them in your size. Sort of like curtains at the front with a central panel, marketed as maternity/nursing. Not the most glam but super practical. I also found I needed a couple of really stretching feeding bras (I got mine from boob design) as my size varied so much through the day and week to week...but that's another story! Best of luck with it all

"Sort of like curtains at the front with a central panel, marketed as maternity/nursing" - oh, I've just bought a top like that from ASOS (New Look, I think). It was dead cheap too!

I've got a couple of dedicated nursing t shirts too, but they're essentially the same as the vest/t shirt combo, so not really worth it in my book (they are nice though). Mama Feels Good - looks like they do maternity tops now too, and there's a sale on!

The issue I had with specific breastfeeding tops was forgetting to sort them out again afterwards and spending half the day with one or both norks out. The 2-top method is much safer in that regard! It's also a lot cheaper.

I just wear wrap-tops or low-cut dresses, with a muslin or scarf draped over one shoulder. I also have a BF cover for times when baby is very wriggly or if I'm afraid of spraying milk on people (like on bus or train!)
I had some nursing tops from Next but too fiddly trying to get breasts through holes!

I bought a pack of 3 belly bands from New Look to cover my bump when I was pregnant and I carried on wearing them while bf because they kept my stomach and back covered while feeding (although I just went with baggy tops in the summer). I'm wearing one today and my "baby" is 2 yo . They're useful when your trousers are too low cut!

There's a group on Facebook called "Can I breastfeed in it?" that's great for ideas, it has improved my wardrobe massively! Also good for finding stuff on sale.

I do like my boob design tops, they've lasted umpteen washes and look nice too. Quite pricey, though.

I have some lovely BF tops and dresses from Seraphine in particular and also a brand called purpless you could buy on amazon or directly, which were very good value.

I have a couple of feeding tops but they are useless.

I use the best-under-loose top strategy, works well.