Help with nursing bras for small chested woman!

[sharond101]

I am trying to get things organised for my hospital bag and had a look at nursing bras. I am very small chested, pre pregnancy barely a 32A and now at 32 weeks I am either a 32B or 32A depending where I buy the bra from, and only wear a bra to give the illusion of having something there rather than for support . How do I know which size to buy and am I better waiting until further on to see any growth?

I'd suggest buying a range of 32 and 34 B and C cups. You are likely to get bigger once the milk comes in, and going for a bigger cup size, even if it seems absurdly huge now, will allow room for growing and nursing pads.

I'd really recommend not going for bras with 'floppy' cups but instead choosing padded or moulded cups. That way you won't end up with loose fabric if the bra really is too big, plus you won't be able to see the outline of nursing pads through your top.
Hot milk is great. Cake lingerie is excellent from ca. 6 months or when your milk supply is established.

I had exactly this issue - 34A normally, boobs didn't go up in pregnancy at all. I bought a couple of nursing bras that were like crop tops - stretchy and covered a couple of sizes. They weren't brilliant, but ok until my milk came in. I kid you not, when that happened I went to a 36C overnight!! So I got measured in m&s when DS was a week old and normal nursing bras were find then. So personally I wouldn't go mad buying bras until your milk comes in as you just don't know how big you'll go. I still have to look back at pics of my feeding days to believe how big they actually were (sadly it's not permanent once baby stops feeding...)

Iv decided not to buy a nursing bra till baby comes & I no what size my ever changing boobs will be. I was in primark on sat and bought some strapless seamless bandeau bra things, they are £3, really soft & have little moulded cups but are in dress sizes rather than bra sizes. Because they are strapless it's easy enough to pull out a boob out when necessary - I live in maxi dresses in the summer so thinking if these work they will be perfect for breastfeeding & my dresses and at £3 I'll be saving a fortune. You should give them a try, @ £3 who cares if they don't work

I'm usually a 34A and have only really gone up to a B cup breastfeeding, I find Topshop good- they have really nice nursing bras, too- in a range of colours/ fabrics.

Unexpected - they were a tiny bit sore right at the start but it soon went. They didn't change at all appearance-wise - no colour change to my nipples etc. But it was all fine - I fed DS til he was 16 months with no problems, and had plenty of milk, so they did what theyre meant to do! I'm 8 weeks pg with dc2 now and no breast changes again now either - they're not even sore this time, I guess cos they're used to doing the job now (can still squeeze milk out!). Just waiting for my mega-boobs again once bubs arrives...

Once I was in mothercare and had managed to find the only pair that was my size as everything else started from D! While I was at the dressing room an assistant snatched the pair I had handed in to my husband as she expected me to grow bigger and this apparently would be small in a few weeks! Well I hadn't and I knew what was the best fit for me. Not everyone grows bigger.

But I don't think they do A's at mothercare as I've never seen one. And I won't be buying from them again as you can see them from the outer garments! I had a look once at Debenhams out of curiosity as I really didn't need them and they seem to have every size, nice designs with low/normal cuts! Obviously I didn't try anything on but they looked very nice and not even expensive.

My advice would be to buy a comfy nigh time nursing bra, as they normally cover several sizes in the one bra. Wait a couple of weeks after you have started breastfeeding for your milk to come in and them to settle a bit, and you should have your final size. It is always risky to try and buy nursing bras in advance as you never know if they will fit right, and they're not cheap.

I'd second NAR4 and wait til your milk comes in. I bought some cheap nursing stretchy nursing bras by Emma Jane at about 38 weeks. I'm usually a 34A/32B (at a push) and only went up to a 36B/C when pregnant. I then got fitted once milk had come in and I'm a 32F. Yes, F. So I would definitely wait to see what happens.

I would wait until your milk comes in too - you can't tell from pre-pg size what will happen when it does!!

Have you looked online for some stretchy sleep-bra type things? Emma-Jane and Carriwell both have soft bras that will provide support/somewhere to put a breast pad until your milk supply settles down and you can go shopping.

Mine went from about aa to b, but I never needed to wear anursing bra-like you I never needed bra for support so just shifted my usual tshirt bra up or down-it handily covers your boob and never seemed to bother my 3.

I also waited till milk came in & then got measured at M&S. it's worth getting properly measured as otherwise you'll probably end up with the wrong size.

I'm usually tiny too and they really haven't grown a massive amount yet. I'm expecting them to get much bigger once the milk comes in but found my usual underwired bra unbearable early on so bought two bras to see me through pregnancy. They're both the stretchy non-underwired nursing types and have been great as they've allowed for growing room. One is a plain Emma-Jane for under t-shirts etc and the other is a pretty hot milk one for when I'm wanting to feel more glamorous. I recommend both brands they're well worth it.

I am a 32B normally but probably only in the padded cup bras I wear from Boux, suspect I'd be an A cup in many other makes. In my first pregnancy I had a proper bra fitting at 36 weeks in a bra shop and the woman commented I was very small for a pregnant lady (she wasn't referring to my bump!) I wasn't too chuffed but bought a bra there anyway. This time though I bought a gorgeous bra from Seraphine (online) in a 32B - the first soft pretty bra I've ever been able to wear and fit! Can't remember the name but it is the beige one with grey lace edging on the website. Fits great and also stretches to accommodate Modela breast shields (which I could not have survived the first week of feeding without) and breast pads. And it looks really nice and feminine, unlike most nursing bras. I thoroughly recommend!