How do I buy a nursing bra when I'm such a weird size?

[kingfisher657]

My pre-pregnancy bras were size 28FF. Now I'm 35 weeks and 30GG. This has been stable for a few months (thank god).

When my milk comes in, who knows how much bigger I will get! My longer-term plan for a nursing bra is to wait until my size stabilises, then ring Bravissimo and beg for advice, as usual.

However, all the hospital bag packing lists say to bring a few nursing bras. My friend suggested I buy something cheap just to get myself started, so I have somewhere to keep breast pads in place, etc. But the cheap bras tend to come in S/M/L size with a size chart which stops well before 30GG.

There is also the small matter that my boobs have never met a wire-free bra that they haven't slowly crushed over the course of a few hours...and buying something in a band size that's too large for me immediately rides up my back and provides zero support.

Help, what should I do?!

Get yourself a Molke bra. They come in ratings 1-3, don't get a 3 because they're sports bras, too stiff to use for nursing. A 2 will give you good support and you can pull the cups down.

I’ve bought 3 so far, two from ASOS and one from m and s and they’ve all come in proper bra sizes not s/m/l! Have you tried m and s?

I feel your pain!

The Luna bra by Royce is wire-free but very well made to keep your boobs from turning into a swamp. They do maternity and non-maternity ones. They start at back size 32 tho.

I had some Freya Pure ones that had wires, they were quite good. Bravissimo does them in 30 back size.

Also check out Hot Milk. Expensive but good!

If you don't mind secondhand, you often get good maternity bras on ebay that have seen minimal use, people buy them then find their size changes or whatever.

I wouldn't worry that much about hospital, I stayed in my nighty the whole time!

Molke didn't do much for me, but worth a try.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

@Definately - I took a look at the Molke bra - looks like a definite possibility, stretchy and they make whatever size I could plausibly grow to...

@Peaplant20 unfortunately M&S don't make anything close to my size!

@Crowsaregreat - thanks for all the good advice, these will be great to look at when my size stabilises. 30 in the back is sometimes okay but 32 is definitely too big (unless I cut out a bunch of fabric from the back and stitch it back together, as I did during my teenage years....) And good to know that I don't necessarily need anything at the start, maybe I'll just wait on it then.

I’m the same size as you, but my bump came up so high it made the band too tight and uncomfortable. Still only 32 weeks now!
I ended up going to bravissimo and explaining I needed something bigger, but if they could find something with a big of room to grow if I continue to after birth.
They were great, they found me bras with quite stretchy cups and left a little bit of space at the top, they still offer support but I m not worried I will need to shell out another £40 immediately after giving birth! It was a HotMilk bra - just checked! 😊

Molke, for sure! I was a 32H pre pregnancy, 38 weeks now and measuring at 36J. They’re super comfy throughout pregnancy, and because there’s some stretch and they cover multiple sizes, they’ll be great for nursing. They also resell extremely well, so even if you don’t get on with them, they retain most of their value.

Royce bras are labelled differently to other bras. They still use the add 4 or 5 inches. I bought my daughter a 28 back thinking it would measure 28” but it was actually 23 or 24”. It might be worth watching their video on their website on how to measure for their bras and buying accordingly.

Soft cup Twin bras by Rosa Fai are great.

I recommend Hot milk bras. Buy a couple that fit now then see how you change after baby arrives.

You can go to Bravissimo for a nursing bra fitting before the birth, say in a week or two. They will help you find one which allows for your boobs to get bigger with milk.

Underwired nursing bras are also more of a thing now. You actually can wear underwired nursing bras as long as they are properly fitted and the wire doesn't compress breast tissue.

I was also a 28FF pre birth and went up to 30GG nursing. (Back down to 28F now I've stopped!)

I was a 32F/FF pre DS and ended up a 34K whilst pregnant. Fortunately I didn't get any bigger whilst feeding.
Try Belle Lingerie for nursing bras. I managed with two, and didn't wear them at night. I leaked for the first few weeks anyway, pads or no pads, and the things were so damned uncomfortable in bed anyway and ended up crushing my breast tissue. Yes, I got mastitis.
On a more positive note I went back to a normal size again once DS was weaned and they're really no saggier than they were before.

Maybe for after your milk has settled a bit but upto 30JJ from these guys (which is where my nursing bras came from a decade ago)

I was pretty much identical to you in terms of size I started at and pregnancy size; I didn’t actually find that I went up a cup size when my milk came in. When I got fitted at bravissimo at around 25 weeks they said come back when I’m 37/38 weeks for a maternity bra fitting, in the end I gave birth beofre I could get back so just ordered maternity bras in the size I was. I got underwired for the day time as I’ve never not worn underwired ones and a non wired one for night as I found it comfier to sleep in one

Hotmilk Temptation is great. I've got it in 30HH. I bought two and they did 10 months of feeding my daughter and now 6 weeks into feeding my son and are still in great nick! Pricey as others have said - £45 - but have lasted so well. They have 6 sets of hooks at the back so you can tighten lots more. I'm on hook 3 now (1 being loosest), having started on 1. Not sure if that's due to my rib cage going back in or the elastic easing slightly.

I was 30GG before pregnancy. Went up to 32HH while pregnant then 30J when milk first came in then settled down at 30HH.

I'm a 32FF/32G and I've got M&S maternity / nursing bras in a medium

I was a 32G (possibly bigger) by the end of my pregnancy and when my milk came in. I went with a selection of size M and L from Asda (comfort nursing bras, the ones that kind of look like sports bras!) and they fit perfectly...I still wear them now £15 for 2 can’t really go wrong!

I am facing a very similar problem and the website Poinsettia Style seems to have lots of options for maternity bras. I’ve got about 5 in my online cart right now!

You might also find your back size increases, your rib cage can get bigger in pregnancy as your lungs get squashed up!

Brastop are excellent for stocking the larger sizes and have a brilliant returns policy.

Anita underwear nursing bras

Anita underwire nursing bras even

@Crowsaregreat

You might also find your back size increases, your rib cage can get bigger in pregnancy as your lungs get squashed up!

Oh the back extenders you get are brilliant for this. I woke up one day in my last pregnancy unable to hook up my bra and had to beg my grandmother to go to the haberdashery in a local department store to get me one.