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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

BFing Mums. Did you wear a nursing bra or not?

44 replies

mrsmo · 01/05/2007 18:22

I'm 29 wks pregnant with first baby and not sure whether I need to buy nursing bras of if they are yet another product designed for parents/babies that we don't actually need. I'll be feeding at home and out and about and not sure? What do/did you do?

OP posts:
dingolimpet · 01/05/2007 18:23

I'd get one for the early days, but after a couple of months, i just used a normal one.

popsycal · 01/05/2007 18:23

yes
much more convenient - at least in the early days

donnie · 01/05/2007 18:23

well I needed them as my boobs blew up to the size of zeppelins. Wait until as late as possible though.

Pixiefish · 01/05/2007 18:24

I bought some 4 weeks before dd was born but then they didn't fit so I had to get some more. I should have waited till I'd had the baby tbh but it's not always easy to get out to get one.

They are a necessity though

Blu · 01/05/2007 18:25

I resisted to begin with because I thought they were hideous contraptions, but that hook and extra strap arrangement really made bf in public much much easier.
And get measured, somewhere like John Lewis - they really can guage what size you will need once you are feeding.
Comfort is of ultimate oimportance in those first weeks - a few maternity bras will be invaluable. (you will need to wash then=m every day when you start because of the leaking that goes on) so buy 3 maybe?

Blu · 01/05/2007 18:26

But don't get them until about 2 weeks before you are due.

littlelapin · 01/05/2007 18:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PinkTulips · 01/05/2007 18:27

only for the early days, once things settled down i switched to normal underwired one and just pull the cup dow. much easier and nicer boobs!

luckylady74 · 01/05/2007 18:29

i have very little norks and never did [bfed 3 dc] i just lifted my bra cup up-a vest under your tshirt was my top tip for discreete feeding - shirt up and vest down means minimum jelly belly exposure - i did wear ones without underwiring because someone said it was dangerous - could cause mastitus - but then i wore whatever came out of the drawer with twins. if you have an ample bosom maybe it's different? good luck with bfeeding - i always found the first 8 weeks hard and then it was fine

PinkTulips · 01/05/2007 18:30

and my boobs are a 34dd now so not just coz i'm flat chested i can get away with it!

Clayhead · 01/05/2007 18:31

Same as Pinktulips (and almost the same bra size...)

PinkTulips · 01/05/2007 18:34

lol, i only earned the extra d recently, not sure why they're still growing but no doubt they'll deflate rapidly when i finish feeding!

moodlesoup · 01/05/2007 18:35

oh yes, i was a 34b and ballooned to 40F!!! but only after wasting tons of money on the wrong sizes did i finally get measured properly.
i found M&S the best for measuring once i was actually breastfeeding. i was told by mothercare what my predicted size would be but it was way out!
finished breastfeeding 6 months ago and i'm now a 38D.

JodieG1 · 01/05/2007 18:37

I wear a nursing bra and I'm a 34E, no way I could just pull a bra down to feed, far too uncomfortable and awkward. Wearing a nursing bra is easy and comfy imo and boobs still look nice

FrayedKnot · 01/05/2007 18:38

I wore the Bravado ones (can get from JoJo maman Bebe etc) I lived in them, they are supercomfy, you can sleep in them and not notice (essential in the early days, i found, as my breasts often leaked alot at night) and easy to get undone / done up again. They are also not cup size specific so you can be bursting one day and floppy the next with no problem. Breast pads fit nicely in them and they look good with v-neck tops.

Didn;t get on with any otehr sort I tried.

HTH!

Tutter · 01/05/2007 18:40

yes yes yes

i have several of a fabulous one by anita

pretty, comfortable and easy to clip

will link if you like

Blu · 01/05/2007 18:41

Get cotton, not synthetic.

Jacanne · 01/05/2007 18:42

I wear a nursing bra - I also have an Anita one - it's underwired which is very necessary for my boobs They're the best ones I have tried. NCT ones were the worst.

Pannacotta · 01/05/2007 18:51

Agree that you need them, not a waste of money at all IMHO!
I found the Bravado bras great for night time use. I like the Anita ones best for day. Figleaves has a good choice...

maxbear · 01/05/2007 21:11

The thought of using a normal bra, just much too fiddly and impossible. Definately steer clear of underwired, I wore one for a day just after I had stopped breastfeeding and that night I was very lumpy and uncomfortable. I was in mothercare the other day and they had some pretty ones the only problem was that they didn't have a great range of sizes so I wasn't able to get one.

sauce · 01/05/2007 21:13

If I hadn't worn a nursing bra (wired, btw), I would've needed verrrrry long arms, otherwise ds would have been feeding from the floor.

cece · 01/05/2007 21:14

yes they are essential and don't forget you will need to wear one at night initially due to leakage. (holds breast pads in place)

ChasingSquirrels · 01/05/2007 21:15

i still am at 15mo, i never wear underwired anyway, much easier than normal bras, i went back to normal after i went back to work with ds1 as was then only feeding him at night, but found having to manavour round the bra such a pain. wearing nursing bras despite being back at work now, i feed 3/4 times a day.

purplemonkeydishwasher · 01/05/2007 21:17

make sure the ones you get are easy to clip one-handed!

whomovedmychocolate · 01/05/2007 21:17

I do. My DD is six months and honestly they are a godsend. I've tried non-wired bras and it's such a faff undoing them AND what no-one tells you is that if the other boob is not firmly leashed in, it sprays milk sympathetically from the other side, which unless you have twins is a PITA!

On nursing bras, I got measured at 37 weeks and came out as a 34DD. Two months after I started I was remeasured (having lost two stone) as a 34F! So don't buy lots, buy two. Then buy two more after feeding for a while.

Also, don't buy those nasty breast pads. They wear out, clog your washing machine and above all, unless your leakage is minimal (in which case you don't need them) they are about as absorbant as sticking a tissue in your bra. I use washable soft terry nappy liners, cut in half (yeah I know that sounds weird but it works really well).