Nursing bras - what size for larger breasts?

[Borgonzola]

I'm 28+2 and am trying to think ahead with buying things like nursing bras for when baby arrives. I am normally as 34g but have gone up to 34gg and have probably gone a bit past that now; I've done two online measures and been given 34h (gulp) and 36ff.

My question is... where the hell do you get nursing bras for my size??? And how do you predict what size you will be? I've seen lots of lovely things in Seraphine and big standard nursing bras in M&S and Sainsburys etc, but often they are simply sized small medium and large, and I don't find that works for me at all outside pregnancy - even extra large is too small. Any larger chested women out there who can suggest how to size up for when the time comes, and where to go? I know boobs tend to go up and down in size throughout the day as you fill up on milk etc, but I don't really know how to provide for that.

I'm wondering if I should just go to M&S and ask for a pair of shopping bags

In addition I really need a new swimsuit but Bravissimo only has one maternity suit available at the moment which is born stupidly expensive, and out of stock in my size. Everywhere else is back to small medium and large which just does not help! I'm a size 12 in the body when not pregnant. can anyone suggest where to look?

Hi @Borgonzola I can't help with the bras, but I just got this swimsuit from Decathlon (I'm in Germany but they have in on the UK site too).
Not sure if you were wanting a less functional looking one, but I'm super happy with it. We'll be on hols abroad when I'm 30 weeks and I couldn't give a stuff about swimming fashion at that point! It's quite cheap and comes in proper sizes.

The link shows a turquoise one but the other option is black with a flattering coral band under the bust. That's the one I have.
Swimsuit

@Regenbogen22 thanks! Can I ask what size you are? I tried decathlon swimsuits before I was pregnant and had to give up - got up to size 22 UK/XXL European and the body was huge on me and flapped but the boob sections were tiny and could not contain me :( I came to the conclusion that French women must have very neat baps!

I hovered around size 10-12 before pregnancy, now whatever I buy is different depending on the brand! I would say I'm a 14 now, plus bump. Too much choccie. 😂I'm living in leggings and stretchy t-shirts at the mo.

For this swimsuit it appears I bought the UK14/FR44 according to the label, it has room left in the tummy (I'm 27 weeks now and will be 30 when we go away). But I do have smaller boobs....about a B cup now, although there's a wee bit of room there too.

Maybe now with a bump you might be successful?

I was just chuffed with the price to be honest, the prices of other brands are insane for something I wouldn't be able to wear without a big bump!!

Sorry, I meant bra size... as I'm quite gifted in the chestular dept, the usual small/medium/large isn't very helpful for me.

Ah, just saw you said b cup. But thanks!

Any ladies in the F+ dept who can help?

I had a nursing bras in a 36M that I got from a bra consultant at St Mary's in Manchester. It was in stretchy lace and zippée up thé middle of thé front. She had a shop at thé hospital and consulted for Bupa. No Idea if she'd still there.

Following as I have no idea where to get maternity bras from! I think I'm roughly 38H atm but possibly gone up a cup size. Lots of places don't seem to go up much past H 🙃 I'm going to try Bravissimo for a fitting I think and go from there.

PS I am 22 weeks so god help me 😂

I would advice if you can to go to bravissimo, I did and they can take your measurements now and advise what size you should go for.

It's a while since I wore a nursing bra, but I had success with getting measured by a local NCT rep who also had bras for sale. I then used the measurement to buy online from Bravissimo.

My standard size is 30H, I think one of my largest nursing bras was an M cup!

I also didn't buy bras until after DS arrived, as I wasn't really going out much in the first few days and was mostly sitting about in my PJs feeding constantly.

I'm a 34H and bought some fairly cheap nursing bras from Amazon in size L. They offer little support but do the job and are perfect for the first few weeks/months of feeding where you're advised to avoid underwire.
At about 11 weeks PP, I bought the Elomi Molly nursing bra from Bravissimo which I love. I've been meaning to extend my bra collection but honestly I live in the cheap bras - probably not ideal but they're comfortable. I'll treat myself once I'm done with nursing!

Lots of women swear by Molke bras but I didn't like them. You might get on better with them than I did though :)

I should add that I use the boob or bust guide for measuring. Not sure if that makes a difference.

From memory, I got my bras from Freya (they had a useful live chat). I started wearing nursing bras while still pregnant - allowed me to try them on in advance.

From memory, my breasts did not change size or shape significantly between pregnancy and breastfeeding. In my case, they got bigger very early on, and then just stayed that way! With DC2 in fact, I didn't know I was pregnant and had bought new bras a few weeks before with a fancy personal shopper and everything and I spent days ranting about how I was going to write them a stinking letter of complaint because none of my bras now fitted!

Today I'm a 38G. I was probably something like 36F when I got pregnant. I'm pretty sure I had at least one or two bras that were H over that time period.

Bear in mind that when your milk comes in around day 3/4 postpartum your size will increase again before settling down.

I found HotMilk the best for nursing bras. I bought mine from Bravissimo, but I believe that now M&S also stock them. I find their wired bras very comfy and actually continued to wear them long after I had stopped feeding DD. They have an extra long back that can be adjusted as you gain/lose weight in pregnancy/ postpartum.

For around the house/ night time (i.e. when I don't mind monoboob) I prefer the basic M&S nursing bra. I am a 36GG and wear an XL. I find the L isn't big enough in the cup size.

I second PPs suggestion to go to your nearest Bravissimo if you can to get the best bra for you.

I went to John Lewis (closest shop that did fitting), they had a pretty decent range and not all £££, it was good to actually get fitted and be able to try a few on. Measuring myself I kept coming out with different sizes and the ones I'd seen and liked online turned out to be the most unsupportive things so it was good to get my hands on them and not have to faff around with sending them back. I went at 37 weeks which is the earliest they will measure you since boobs are going to increase. Might be worth getting some good fitting bras now and buy actual nursing ones closer to due date as your size will be a lot more accurate for the time you'll be needing them.

Bravissimo. You can't really predict what size you will be in advance though unfortunately so something stretchy that fits multiple sizes is what most people do initially until their supply is established and they will stay a fairly constant size from that point. E.g. Sugar Candy bras from Cake (Bravissimo sell these), or possibly Molke bras although for whatever reason I can't get a good fit in those.

You ideally want to let your supply settle down before getting a nursing bra (8-12 weeks). In the meantime I used a sleep bra and nursing vests from H&M both times. They give terrible shape but unless you have an event who cares for a few weeks PP and you're not risking blocked ducts (leading to agonising mastitis) from a poorly fitting bra.

When you're ready for a fitting I recommend Bravissimo for Hot Milk which are really nice & do your size. Or you can measure at home with boob or bust and buy online.

Thanks everyone - really great answers and I feel a bit less in the dark now. Thank you, you large boobed companions.

I like the idea of buying a few cheap things for now and then getting measured nearer the time or even afterwards. I used to go for more structured and wired things but for the last couple of years I've been living in the Sainsburys cotton wireless ones (see their website) which are brilliantly comfortable, so they're a big recommend from me for anyone looking for an everyday comfy bra outside pregnancy. And they're cheap!

@HaresHoping I know what you mean, when I was suggested an H cup recently I thought oh blimey, I remember thinking I was getting a bit big when I was an E

I had the royce blossom for the early days (unwired and covers a few cup sizes uo to a j) then moved on to the elomi molly bra which goes up to a kk. I'd definitely recommend waiting to buy until late as you can. My size didnt really change while pregnant but the cup size jumped up after I'd given birth!

Thanks for starting this thread OP. I’ll have to check out the sainsburys one you mentioned. I was a 28G before pregnancy and had to buy a 30HH in bravissimo the other day - I’m only just into the second trimester 😳. The bigger band was more for comfort than anything but shocked at the increase in cup size, reading this thread looks like I have another increase to look forward to (not!) nearer the end. So hard to know when to invest in more! At the moment I’m managing with the bravissimo bra and 2 x M&S ‘sleep bras’.

Hotmilk have their own website and are brilliant! Strongly recommend.

The speedo maternity suit is generous in the cup: I had a small as a size 10 with 30FF prepregnancy going up to around a 32GG at the end.

Feel your pain, I think I ended up as 32j last time 😁bravissimo only had one design that fit me. Good tip I heard from friends this time is that you don't really need nursing bras, just a wireless one you can flop down at the front. You can buy them everywhere but sadly not often in smaller band sizes with big cups. I saw Bra Stop had loads of wireless ones much cheaper than Bravissimo. Never ordered from there before but was going to give it a go