Hospital bag - er, which bra??

[Essie3]

Maybe this message should be in childbirth actually!

I've read that I need to pack a bra or two for the hospital, but how? I mean, I have some maternity ones which I'm wearing now, but do I need nursing bras, and how do I get the size right if my breasts are (by all accounts) going to become gigantic zeppelins?

Also, if I have to wait for the zeppelin effect, how do I manage, because I'm in a really rural area (nearest M&S is 40 miles away) and internet shopping is my best bet. Do I, what, go without?

God, I regularly feel like I need a PhD for pregnancy. I have one in medieval history - maybe that's the problem!

Avoid Royce bras if you can - I found they were so massive and grannyish that they could be seen at the neckline of a lot of my tops - and I don't particularly wear low cut tops - am a bit of a prude!!

I would get fitted as close to birth as poss once the baby has 'dropped' - when baby is still high, your ribcage is actually wider.

Also - I found that wearing a bikini top (with ties) great for the gigantic couple of days....

Now may be a daft question but at the moment my baby is breech with his head under my rib cage at my right boob! Could I just go bra free for a few days or wear my maternity tankini top which has a little support in it? I am a 36FF?

Hello ladies- am new here!!!

Why don't you try Crave maternity????

They are an online maternitywear company and are very good a providing clothes to suit our needs. I am currently 5 months pregnant and found them by accident. I think they design their own underwear and the support bra I bought when I had my first child was so good that I will be using it again!!! The web address is www.cravematernity.co.uk- they have a shop in London too... : )

I had exactly the same confusion in my first pregnancy! It was like an algebra equation if boobs are x and milk y, what is the increase of x to y...

I think my local M&S advised me to go a size up..

Blooming Marvellous are doing buy one get one half price on maternity/nursing lingerie at the moment - I was going to try a couple of Carriwell sleep/nursing bras as they're not sized exactly and will hopefully do the trick. Will treat myself to some nicer ones when things settle down - express delivery from Figleaves.

I just took some mothercare nursing sleep bras in my hospital bag, they dont have proper cups so you buy them depending on your back size.

The main thing to realise is that your boobs will be very gigantic for a max of a week when your milk first comes in and then they shrink down to just enormous, so it is a total waste of money to try and guess what size very gigantic is and to only wear said bra for that period of time. I think using anything you can get away with for a small number of days is going to be perfectly ok and won't damage you in any way and nursing sleep bras are a great idea.

Finallypregnant - I wouldn't go totally bra free - IME your boobs become incredibly tender when your milk starts coming in and if unfettered might be agony. I wore my bras 24 hours a day as even at night I couldn't bear them loose!

Having said that when mine were at their most humungous I wore a sleep bra, then wore proper feeding bras when they settled down. Mins stayed big (for me) for a long time, not as big as when your milk first comes in (I looked like Lola Ferrari for a few weeks!) but still pretty hefty (normally a 32C-D, was a 34 DD-E for ages) and didn't really go back down until I stopped breastfeeding at 9-13 months.

Now they look like two satsumas in a sock but that's a whole other thread...

the m&s basic cotton bras stretch well to cope with first few days and they are not expensive.

get measured a couple of weeks before and they stretch with you to an extent. I was lucky ballooned up but came back down to pregnancy size.

nursing bra essential if breastfeeding

Don't get express delivery from figleaves - everything comes straight away on regular delivery for me, they're great!

i just had sleep bras from mothercare which were totally invaluable as very comfy and easy to manage when learning to bf. then i ordered online a couple from m and s for nursing when i got home and needed a bra i could venture out in (with a top on)and lots of breast pads, and camamilosan (sp) for nipples-any rural chemist they sell them in packs of two. good luck!

Thanks for the tips. I live in the country so need to make a special trip to the city for fitting etc - I just can't pick up on off the shelf (unfortunately). Will try and get a fitting at about 38 weeks and take it from there.

Agree with Sidge - I wouldn't advise going bra free, as you'll need something to keep the breast pads in place. Where those are concerned I would definitely recommend the Tommee Tippee ones. They are expensive, but big enough to catch the majority of your milk and have adhesive strips to keep them in place. (Some other makes have those as well, but I've had the adhesive coming off and the found it stuck to baby's clothes when they came out of the wash.)

Even with those breast pads you'll need to check their position frequently as they tend to get "left behind" when your breasts expand between feeds. Especially before feeds it is vital to check the position of the pad on breast you're not going to be using straight away as that will start leaking for company.

If you're planning on breast-feeding do also get yourself some Lansinoh and start using it before you really need to - it'll help your breasts adjust.

I have a m&s black maternity bra going for free if anyone would like it - I hardly wore it - it is a 36b - CAT me if you would like it
On th breast pad front - I recommend the nature care ones - they are the most aborbant IMO

That should have read 38b - free maternity bra