Bras! Any help appreciated

[MB34]

I'm hoping someone can help, I'm so stressed out!

I've been wearing underwired bras up until now (24 weeks) and have already had to go from a 34D/36C to a 38DD, I'm now falling out of them and they are too tight.

I went bra shopping yesterday - the lady in Mothercare, my mum and my sister are pressurising me into wearing non-underwired, but I just cant get on with them - I end up with a mono-boob after half an hour and hate my boobs touching! Also, IMO they are hideous!

I tried underwires on in M&S and ended up in tears. I can't find the right size (I think I'm about a 40C/D) and they are so high between the underwire at the sides and the strap (and because I have an extra bit of flab at the top of my torso by my armpit) it digs in and hurts!

I'm not getting measured as when I went into a 38DD they were adamant that I was measuring as 34D and there was no way the 34 even fitted around me!

So, can anyone help with where I would get any underwire bras (or even non-underwire)

• in 40C/D
• with low sides
• doesn't create a mono-boob
• oh and with wired bras I can't have a large piece between my boobs as I have a tilted rib cage and anything higher than half a cm digs in and hurts!
• are pretty/plain and doesn't look like a granny bra!
• are not too expensive

Not asking for much am I!?lol!

Thanks

Bravissimo always get good reviews on here

Mother care & M&S get universally bad reviews on here when it comes to bras. I think John Lewis gets good reviews, Bravissimo gets great reviews, but if those fail, try to find a local independent lingerie shop.

I'm normally a 34GG, currently wearing a 36H while breastfeeding and I have an Anita underwired nursing bra. Seriously comfortable.

Good Luck!

Trouble with Bravissimo in my opinion is that I don't really know if I'm a C or a D cup & obviously they don't do a C cup. I'd be really embarrassed for some reason if I went in & they didn't have anything to fit me

Go to Bravissimo! They are really great at fitting you and I got two underwired bras at around 12 weeks that she ensured me had space for growth and sure enough they're just getting a little tight at 31 weeks! I actually got a relatively decent non wired from there at the weekend as I've got rib pain and needed the comfort, but even that still looks a million times better than an M&S non wired. Also, they measure you simply by looking, which is always spot on! I'm going back for a nursing bra closer to due date. Downside is each bra is around £30 but IMO it is well worth it.

If you are falling out of your bras then I'd go up in cup size not in back size unless you have also gained 6" across your back.

The back size might be a bit tight to start with so try going for a bra that fits well on the middle of the hooks so as the elastic can stretch but also so if your rib cage expands you have a few hooks to go up to.

Underwire isn't generally rec. in pg as your breast tissue is maturing and growing (esp in the 2nd-3rd trimester) so having an underwired bra may put pressure on growing ducts. This can cause problems whether or not you bf/plan on bfing as you can get mastitis (a breast infection/inflammation) even when not bfing. If you need an underwired bra then make sure the wire is fully out side all of your breast (including the <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=axillary+tail&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=pZ26dJpVxMpAdM:&imgrefurl=www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Breast-Lumps-and-Breast-Examination.htm&docid=stcH5edz3FePFM&imgurl=www.patient.co.uk/images/OUP260A.jpg&w=500&h=270&ei=NJ0XUKgCs43TBd-fgPAD&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=329&vpy=170&dur=691&hovh=165&hovw=306&tx=92&ty=38&sig=114178360909016639541&page=1&tbnh=107&tbnw=199&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:76" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">axillary tail section that extends up to the armpit).

Bras are my subject of the moment. I am 29 weeks and was down to 1 x underwired bra which I wore all of the time due to the fact it was very old and had stretched.

I went bra shopping this weekend and I ended up with 1 x nursing bra from mothercare - as Whitney would have said, it's not right but it's OK.

Must disagree on the M and S front too - best buy were 2 x M and S non wired lace style bras which came in a box, I am a 38 DD and they are not scaffold, are pretty ish and although not specifically maternity were £14 for 2. Comfy and frugal and you still have two boobs- excellent!!

Here's another vote for Bravissimo - and M&S, as others have said, were absolutely awful.

I was a 32FF pre-preg and went into M&S at about 16 weeks, when my bras were becoming very tight and uncomfortable. They measured me as a 38DD (??) which I knew wasn't going to be right, but tried one on anyway.
The saleswoman brought me a wireless maternity bra which was so huge on the back that my bosoms were somewhere around my bellybutton, and gave me a horrendous mono-boob. It couldn't have looked worse but, more importantly, there was just no support. I could't have even walked from my bedroom to the bathroom and back without giving myself a black eye.

Anyway, I then drove for an hour and a half to the nearest branch of Bravissimo, where the experience couldn't have been more different.
The woman there "measured" me by eye and asked how far along I was, so she could assess growth room. I ended up buying three 34Gs (two wired, one non-wired) which now, at 27 weeks, are still fitting very comfortably AND give me a lovely shape. There's a bit of space in them so I hope they'll do me for a few more weeks yet... I certainly don't want to get any bigger!

I loved these bras when breastfeeding. They gave me a nice, two-boob uplifted shape and no underwire. But boobs do touch. I had worn some hideous bras until I found these.

It really sounds wrong that you would have gone up that much round the back and only 1 size on the cups. Your ribcage does expand- a bit during pregnancy but apart from that it is the boobs themselves that get much bigger, not the ribcage they are sitting on. IYSWIM.

I'd definitely go to Bravissimo for measuring. However their range of non-wired bras is pretty limited so you could then try ordering in that size online.

I found the Freya non-wired bras absolutely brilliant, ESP the dotty nursing bra if you are planning to bf.

Grumpla - the Dotty nursing bra is the one I bought from Bravissimo and I also think it's fantastic.
I use it for sleeping in now, and hope it'll still fit me when I come to breastfeed. It's incredibly comfortable and gives a nice shape, despite not being wired. And it's pretty, too!

IME Debenhams are also great, and if you're well-endowed in the boob department like me, their Gorgeous range for the bigger-boobed woman is incredibly good value. They also have brands like Freya and Panache regularly in the sale (got 2 Panache bras for £7.50 each the other day). I haven't been measured since getting up the stick, but I'm a 34G usually. At 11w 6d I'm already back into my old 34GGs and using the last row of hooks.

Oops forgot to mention, they measured me by 'eye' too.

One thing I've found the hard way is that the maternity bras I bought from M&S have a seem through the front which rubs my nipples. Am either first-trimester-sore or frightfully 'chilly'. That's something I'd try to be aware of for my next purchase.

Slightly off topic, but HTH.

*seam

A friend has recommended Emma-Jane maternity/nursing bras - these are non underwired but she says they don't give a monoboob effect. If you are not sure of sizing, you could buy them from Figleaves in several sizes and easily return the ones that don't fit. Also they are v stretchy so will accommodate a bit of expansion over your pregnancy, unlike underwires. They are also seam free.