Is it really necessary to wear a nursing bra?

[northlondonchoclover]

Was hoping to go braless..

Braless is fine but if you are engorged you sometimes squirt, or leak and the bra holds the nursing pads. :)

SQUIRT??!??

Yeah, when I am really engorged and just get out of the bath or something it can go a good few yards. When in PJs (therefore braless) sometimes the whole of one side of a top gets soaked. It would only take a few drops to soak through a top without a bra (& pad)

Yep - when you try and dry your knees after your shower, you bend down and get your thighs all wet with milk. I could have got you in the eye with my boob milk if I so much as thought about my baby...

Why not get one before you have the baby, then if you need more go and get them after a couple of weeks (I needed 7 - clean ones for days and nights. Bra cheese anyone?)

Yes squirt would be the right phrase

My letdown happens (where I leak or squirt milk) everytime I think of my dd or hear her or any baby cry. Also when feeding from one side the other side leaks loads. Everytime i've been without breast pads I end up very wet as in my top could be wrung out not just a slight damp patch.

wow... never realised that could happen. could be rather embarassing i can see, generally really dislike wearing bras..

northlondon not to dampen your expectations even further , but honestly, I wore a bra 24/7 for about 4 or 5 months. The leaking was astonishing, and yes squirting sometimes, and also just very engorged and uncomfortable with very sensitive nipples which you would not want rubbing against your tshirt or whatever - in fact, having your nipples rubbing against your tshirt while you walk around will probably stimulate them into squirting even more than they would anyway. And your boobs might get enormous in which case you'll want a bra to stop them dropping round your knees... A friend of mine used to have to stick a nappy down her bra to handle the leakage and I don't know any bf-ing mother who has not at some point looked down to see that she's leaked all over her top even with a bra and breastpads. Breastpads and good nursing bras will be your friend I promise you and nursing bras are really very comfy I promise

God I loved my nursing bra so much I was still wearing it a year later

Agree with all the squirty issues too. I could hit the patio windows from the sofa if DD so much as whimpered in her moses basket.

I had to wear a disposable nappy cut in half as breast pads some days the leakiness was so bad.

I love Mumsnet. Nobody told me this before I had a baby. So good to be able to pass on the secrets.

my boobs are quite small though
so it might mean lower probability of squirting?!?!!?

mumsnet ladies are great... its amazing how much knowledge there is here!

You could perhaps get away with a nursing vest top or something to hold breast pads in. Also, once your supply settles down and leakage becomes less violent then look up lily padz, they stick to your skin and use pressure to keep the milk from leaking so no need for a bra to hold them in place.

Of course you could be lucky. A friend (and MNer) didn't leak at all, she bf twins so wasn't that she didn't produce much milk!

I don't think breast size is any indication of how much milk you'll have but some letdowns aren't as powerful as others I think so you might be lucky in that way. But you won't know what your letdowns like until your milk comes in.

I totally second everything elportodelgato has said (I also was never without a bra day or night.)

Also with nursing bras you can feed a bit more discreetly rather than trying to hoik your nips over the top of a bra that's not designed to give.

It's very brave to think about going without a bra, considering what pregnancy does to your boob shape! I'd recommend hotmilk bras, they are lovely and you can start wearing them when you are pregnant. I got mine from here. And yes, you can squirt, or leak a lot. I had to wear sleep bras for the first few months too otherwise you wake up to feed the baby and all your duvet is soaked :(. Not nice at all - especially for your DH!

arrgh I had forgotten that my sheets were covered in milk for months and months - can someone remind me why I am having another baby?! One other thing is that it's amazing how engorged and tender your boobs can get and you really want them to be enclosed in something large and supporting. I felt like Pamela Anderson but they were so sore, if DH got anywhere near me, they leaked like buggery. Oh and has anyone mentioned yet the lovely side effect of squirting milk when you orgasm? Not that you'll be wanting sex for a looooong time afterwards but when we did get down to it (finally) I definitely recall that the boobs were off-limits and I remained bra-ed throughout. No one said it was glamorous...

I used to leak everywhere too. You can get soft bras (sloggi do a good one)which are more comfortable and can hold breast pads in place.
@ elpoetodelgato

Oh, but do get properly measured. I was staggeringly out.

I have read this with interest as I am 36 weeks pregnant and still only a 34 AA - my boobs haven't grown at all - so no nursing / mat bras would fit me right now anyway. People keep telling me they will grow after my LO is born and my milk comes in, but have no idea how to go about buying a bra when I have no clue what size I will grow to, and I would have to grow a fair bit before they would fit anyway. What on earth to do???

I've gone up a couple of cup sizes since dd3 was born, much more than I did with previous dds. I also went up a couple in pg

Try stretchy sleep-type bras if you hate normal bras and can usually go without. They're like soft crop tops and you can just pull them to one side to feed.

I wear them already at night (with pads as am leaking colostrum at 33 weeks!) but they don't provide enough support for daytime...but then I'm a FF already!

@ elportodelgato, I cannot imagine...

Braless is fine. I would not recommend wearing any sort of normal bra and moving it aside to feed - this can result in minor compression to your boob, making ducts block and even leadingto mastitis.

I've had it happen a few times when I couldn't find a nursing bra or be bothered to wear one.

I agree hotmilk ones are great but very ££ unless you get them in a big sale.

First time I went from a 30E to a 38DD then to 34B (while still bfeeding)...you might be quite surprised by the changes you go through!

I could have gone braless after the first 9 months of bfing but not before due to the need to manage comfort, squirting, size etc

I hate wearing bras at night and get back ache if i wear them all day. However, as others have said, you cannot just wear nothing - you and all who live in your house will drown in milk - it is astounding how much comes out in the early days.

A good solution I have found is to use those lilypadz silicon breast pads that stick on your nipples instead of the cloth or disposable breast pads. You can wear them without a bra and they effectively stop all leakage, you just peel them off to feed. They do get less effective with time and you have to buy new ones after awhile but i have found them pretty good. I think the advice first time is to wait a few weeks til breast supply well established before using as they kind of seal off the flow which might cause problems? (i am using from day 1 this time with ds3 and have milk coming out of my ears!)

Agree about blocked ducts etc too although, again, at around 9 months (when I was doing fewer feeds) things settled down and I could get away with wearing normal bras.