Breastfeeding at a wedding - clothing advice

[Babyisaac]

Hi girls

This is the first time I've posted on MN but I've been stalking you all for a couple of weeks now!

My DS is 6 weeks old and we're going to a wedding in a few weeks time. I will be taking 1 bottle of expressed milk just in case he needs to feed in church/over dinner etc but the rest of the time I will be breastfeeding. My question is, have any of you lot been in this situation before? What did you wear and was it tricky fitting in feedings around a wedding?

Going shopping next week so any advice would be greatful!

Liz xx

Hi Babyisacc

Firstly congratulation on your baby.I was in the exact situation with my ds. However, I found that the hotel let me use a room for feeding him. If you are confident about feeding him in public you can always take a shawl to help cover you. There are some lovely pashmina a around at the moment.
I would avoid strapless or halterneck style outfits as if you do relax and want to feed in public you end up looking quite undressed. Also a two piece rather than a dress is a must.

Most importantly have fun and enjoy it. x

Ps Dont worry about fitting in the feeds. Just relax and go with the flow of what your baby wants. You will be surprised at how much hanging around there is at weddings anyway (ideal for fitting in a feed). You will be doing fantastic for just getting to the wedding after only six weeks so dont worry if you have to miss bits. People will totally understand xx

I would definitely go for a top that you can pull up rather than a buttoned up shirt. When you pull up a top the baby sort of covers your tummy and so you don't feel undressed but a shirt can make you feel a bit exposed.
Maybe trousers with floaty top and some kickass heels?

I have seen people do this in a wrap dress (just pull one part to the side) and then use a pashmina type thing to cover up the flesh this reveals

it might be chilly also so I think a wrap is a good idea

I had to do this last year. I wore a wrap dress with a coordinating vest top underneath. I pulled the dress to the side and lifted up the vest top (make sure it's a fine material) thus exposing very little flesh.

I feed my ds in church all the time - but it's my regular church and I'm well known by the congregation so feel comfortable with it.
I'm going to a Christening today at a different church, so decided to look for a breastfeeding top. Had a look in H&M they have stopped doing them!
However went into Peacocks and they had these cross over tops for a £5 each, so I bought 3 - one in red, one in black and one in white. They have cap sleeves, are fitted and thin enough to wear another top over. The idea is to put a top on that you can pull up (loose fitting blouse, for example) and then pull the fabric of cross over top down so you are only exposing the breast which will then be covered by baby. Main advantage of this is that very little flesh exposed to cold drafts some churches are notorious for them! I normally have just a top that I pull up, maybe wear a cardi over but sometimes felt a bit cold on my side where baby wasn't covering me.
HTH

Hi girls,

This is my first post too.

I know just how you feel, my sister's wedding was 6 weeks after I had my DD last year. I spent a long time fretting about what to wear that would allow for easy feeding access, be kind of "baby friendly" (ie not silk!), cover /disguise my postnatal tum but still be flattering and dressy enough for a wedding! In the end I found a lovely breastfeeding dress, and the day was great. I fed DD really easily, without having to virtually strip off or flash any ripply tum, and no-one batted an eyelid!

As mamamufin said there is so much hanging around at weddings that going with the flow and feeding whenever your baby wants is not a problem at all. A pashmina is always a great idea if you feel you want to cover up a bit more. I also got a really great spotty muslin cloth from Swaddle Designs so I felt slightly more glamour mama than I actually felt as a very new sleep deprived mum!

Anyway, after all that research into what to wear and stressing for so long, the utter lack of lovely nursing tops and dresses for new mums in the UK led to me setting up a little boutique selling gorgeous breastfeeding tops for new mums. Check it out here www.bellamama.co.uk

Hope you enjoy the wedding babyisaac

xx

Wear a skirt, loose top & cardi - plus wrap. I've done this no problems - bf is so easy just bf on demand & it'll be ok. Take some breastpads in case mil leaks. Plus change of outfit for baby in case of loads of poo

I wore a wrap dress the other day and when I fed DS3 my whole (enormous) boob was out for all to see

Stick to a loose top that can be lifted up - most people won't even realise you are feeding

With Dd I wore a two piece outfit and just lifted my top when needed (but she was No3 so I was fairly good at being discreet) We were at an outside restaurant for the reception with nowhere to actually go so I just sat at the opposite of the table to the dancing so I wouldn't get jostled and I wouldn't get accosted by drunken relatives wanting to coo

My friend used a nursing cover which may work for you like thesehere

Was going to suggest the wrap dress and vest combo too - you could even get one of those bfing vests with clips (where the bra clips are). Found those handy when I was bf DD and were good with all sort of tops, and could wear with dresses that were easy to pull down - also exposes less flesh in case of cold weather! That way you wouldn't have to tuck a vest back in under your dress aftewards.

Does anyone have any experience of using the nursing covers? I always steered clear of these as I think they draw so much more attention to what you are doing, rather than just feeding baby by lifting up your top. What do you think?

I think the feeding vests are great. Glamourmom's are really good and have a support shelf inside so you don't need to wear a bra either, minimising the faff factor. Then you can just wear a normal top or dress over the top - voila!

I tried the the whole covering thing and just found my little girl got too hot and it was really hard just trying to get her on with the fabric everywhere. I've since found www.feedingfashion.com and can't recommend them enough, I tell every mother I meet and find myself showing everyone the "secret" opening. No one knows it's a BF dress! Perfect for weddings or any kind of get together.

If you are a Bravissimo girl their tops/ dresses are great for feeding in as they tend to be cross over front.

I have a poncho that I got from M and S years ago that I use for breastfeeding. I fed DD with it on planes and people really don't realise what you are doing under there.

I think you could make one from a long, wide shawl by folding it in two and stitching up most of one edge - leaving a hole for your head. Mine is knitted which make it stretchy.