Please help re maternity bras!

[Loopylouu]

I've got myself into a right state about them.

I have large boobs, I was in my underwired 34f bra until last week. My ribs have expanded and it was killing me. I can't really do non underwired/heavily shaped cup bras as I just end up wih my bloods in a sort of hammock and it's so uncomfortable.

Anyway, after reading a thread on here about fig leaves, I ordered a couple of (I think) emma jane (?? Name is escaping me now) bras from there. Mainly because the were cheap.

At the weekend I was in kiddicare and I noticed they had them there. As I was in so much pain in my usual bra, I bought one, a 36 bb-f stretchy feeding one (biggest I could find, but I suspect I am more a g cup now). Anyway, so I put it on and a while later, the the bottom had gone under my boobs and I had a mono boob in a hammock.

I've cancilled my online order, but now I'm stuck. I really don't have £30 odd pounds to spend on a bra. Any recommendations?

Also, very embarrassingly, my breasts are hard to measure as when out of a bra they are empty and saggy and horrible

Hi I am an f and found Miriam Stoppard by debenhams quite good. The mono boob thing might be a bit inevitable due to the size but they are pretty comfortable and don't look hideous

Hi, I finally founds one I liked in m&s . it is massive and not pretty but sooooooooo comfy?!!

Another M&S vote here - I have sports bras but they have separate cups for a defined two-boob look

These, in fact

£29.50 - but this is for 2. I'm a 36DD normally and bought these at about 12 weeks and they are still going strong and comfy at 29+6. I would never have dreamed I'd be ok giving up underwires but these are great.

How do you stop non underwired bras from slipping up under your breasts though?

The one I bought at the weekend just seems to slip up and under after a few minuets, no matter which fastening I use.

I think what I actually need to look into is scaffolding.

My boobs are bigger than yours and changed very little during pregnancy but like you, my rib cage expanded. I just wore my normal bra with an extender. They are a few quid from the haberdashery section of John Lewis and well worth a try before spending a lot on new bras when you may need a different size again after the birth if you plan to bf.

Why not just get re-measured and buy a nice underwired bra that fits you?

My bump is quite painful at the top and under my ribs. I tried extenders but the underwire was still sitting in the wrong place and it was so painful.

Yes, I am planning on breastfeeding. God help me trying to be discrete!

So you definitely need non wired? I am afraid I never found one that didn't give mono boob hammock on large boobs.

I'll go and try and get measured somewhere and try and find worse feeding bras.

The top of my bump and my ribs are so tender, the underwire was just really hurting.

I have never been able to wear non wired bras, they just don't work for me.

I'll wait to shake off this horrendous cold I have picked up and then go to m and a I guess and get measured.

I wouldn't focus too much on feeding bras - I was much bigger in the rib cage and smaller in the cup when pregnant compared to feeding. If I'd had my late pregnancy bras for feeding they would have been massively too big in the rib cage. Everyone is different, but it's quite a common experience.

I ended up buying a sadie bra by Royce (I was fitted in an independent shop but I think bravissimo do them). I had to compromise on some support but it was worth it to be pain free again!

Best thing to do is go to Mothercare or M&S and have someone measure and fit you for a proper one - a well fitting support bra won't slip under your boobs regardless of how big they are.

I don't know how or why so many women carry on wearing their normal underwired bras through pregnancy - so uncomfortable and bad for your boobs as well!

p.s. if you plan to breastfeed you will need to be fitted/measured again just before your due date or after baby has arrived

It isn't bad for your boobs to wear underwired bras in pregnancy. That's a myth. Some women find them uncomfortable if they press into the top of the bump, but only a badly fitting underwired bra is a problem, not a well fitted one that doesn't press on breast tissue. Rigby and Peller did my huge pregnant boobs proud with two good bras when I was pregnant with no. 1 (back when I worked and could afford such things...)

NOOOO don't go to Mothercare or M&S, they use the old "add 4 inches" measuring method and will stick you in wildly wrong sizes. Go to Bravissimo. or Rigby. Or check out the bra interventions threads here on Style and Beauty.

But your underwire was hurting because you had simply outgrown it. If you get properly measured and get an underwired bra in your correct size, it should not hurt any more. I have been wearing underwires both during pregnancy and breastfeeding without any problems, don't love the droopy bra-hammock look either.

I would avoid M&S, just don't think their bras work for big boobs (36E and horribly saggy here, too) and they will be concerned about the size you measure rather than whether it actually fits. I haven't tried mothercare though generally I tend to steer clear of places that aren't bra specialists - again I think big boobs that really need support need a specialist! I know they're not cheap but I'd try Bravissimo and maybe opt for something that will hopefully see you through feeding so at least you don't have to buy more. Good luck - I know how frustrating it is when you can't get the right fit.

Oh and I'm still wearing underwired at 36 weeks. Had to up a back size and a cup size at about 20 weeks, though. Haven't worn a bra without underwire since I was about 16!

There is a bravissimo in my town, so I will pop down there this week and get measured.

In my entire life I think I have only ever found one or two really good fitting bras. So frustrating.

The M&S ones I mentioned above have a broad enough band underneath and the cups are defined enough that on me there's just no way it'd slip up over my boobs. I'd have a go at forcing it, except I'm at my desk

I didn't get measured, just tried a load on - and I have extenders as well, mine were £2 each from a haberdashery. I have real issues finding comfortable bras and am obsessed with having loads of support so that they don't jiggle(!) about - and I have had no issues with these.

dats, have you seen the bra intervention threads? Jiggling usually means you're in a wrong size.

Absolutely don't go anywhere near M&S or Mothercare.

Bravissimo will get you in a comfortable, well fitting wired ta to see you through until baby is born. They can size you while fully dressed. It's like magic. You can then get fitted for a non wired nursing bra at 38 ish weeks if you want to breastfeed. Once your supply has settled you can then look at wired nursing bras or converting your wired bras.

I'll repeat, don't go anywhere near M&S or Mothercare.

Definitely recommend Bravissimo here, I'm 35 weeks, usually a 32 FF and have gone up to a 34 G this pregnancy. I'm still in under wires and will be until I absolutely have to stop, hate the mono boob look more than anything! I got measure at 14 weeks and again at 22 weeks in Bravissimo and have had no issues with discomfort or digging in

I noticed maternity/feeding bras in Aldi a couple of days ago. They were £6 or £7. I am not pg/bf so didn't get one, but for that price got yo be worth trying.

I, too, recommend Bravissimo. I've got huge boobs (34H pre-pregnancy, I'm bigger now and need to go and get re-measured) and they are the only ones who have been able to fit me properly.

The ones I find most comfortable have the smallest 'band' bit under the bra. Plunge bras are especially comfy I find (don't worry, they don't all shove your boobs up and under your chin!). For me, these two Panache ones are most comfortable because the band at the bottom is barely there:
www.bravissimo.com/products/lingerie/sensational-sets/tango-plunge-bra/lemon-sorbet/pnb5ls/?show=all
www.bravissimo.com/products/lingerie/t-shirt-bras/porcelain-plunge-bra/black/pnn1bl/?show=all

I second the Panache bras - I've been living in them!

I am usually a 34GG by the end of pregnancy, I wear my normal bras but in a larger size until the birth then a sports bra, as it happens I find breast feeding very difficult so I never progress long enough to need an actual feeding bar. How ever I had always planed to get an anita feeding bra because they are under-wired.

Unfortunately I've never been able to get away with cheap bras, they just don't do what I need them too, debenhams sometimes have freya and other good makes on really good offers, I'm not sure what their fitting service is like but I used the fitting guide on the bravissimo website and fitted myself if I am buying in there.