Desperately seeking a pregnancy sleep bra for big boobs!

[salstars]

Due Apr 09 - ages away! I've known for a week that I'm pregnant and my boobs (normally 34H) are really really sore and I can't be without a bra at all.

I read somewhere about pregnancy sleep bras and have tried to find one on the net - only problem is, no one caters for big-boobed women whose boobs get even bigger when pregnant

Has anyone else found a good source of non-frumpy, non-underwired bras in larger sizes?

Salstars,

disappointed by bravissimo- - they are really missing out on a market opportunity here.

I was a similar size to you during my pregnancy and I did wear one of the mothercare soft tops in a size L and it was fine:

www.mothercare.com/gp/product/B000IVWVV2/sr=1-1/qid=1218490699/ref=sr_1_1/026-9037787-1310016?ie=UTF 8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=42796041&mcb=core

You will be changing size a lot so it is better to get something unstructured for sleeping.

As a MNetter with huge norks it is also my mission to spread the word that properly fitted underwired bras are fine through pregnancy, whatever the books tell you. And Anita do the most wonderful underwired nursing bra which has changed my life.

www.figleaves.com/uk/product.asp?product_id=ANT-5035&brand=Anita+Maternity&src=foukpu11082008&cookie d=11%2F08%2F2008+22%3A45%3A03

goes up to an H- hurrah!

i'm rather fascinated by bravissimo's response, I'm sure I read that the woman who set up the company did so because she couldn't find a bra to fit during pregnancy .

domesticslattern - thanks for your suggestions, maybe I will give the Mothercare top a try. Will let you know if it can accommodate my bozooms!

I stepped on the scales this morning and I've put on about 4 pounds in the last couple of weeks (and I am only 5.5 weeks). I'm sure that I'm not really eating differently to before, so I think it must be my boobs getting heavier. They certainly feel different.

Hello guys. Got my response this morning. Slightly different. here goes.

Thank you for your e-mail.

I am delighted to hear that you are such a fan of Bravissimo and that
you always receive excellent help. I hope you pregnancy is going well
but I can completely understand your concern as to finding a suitable
bra for maternity/nursing, as you are aware we only currently have a
small range of soft cup bras available up to a J cup and a nursing bra
up to an L cup and I am not aware of any styles we have found that go to
a larger cup size than this at the moment. I know our Product Team are
constantly working hard with our manufacturers to increase the range we
offer and I will definitely pass your request to them. One ray of hope
is that we have recently introduced a new range of nursing bras by Emily
B and although these only go up to a J cup, these bras are true J cups.
The Royce bra (Ref RO01) we currently feature does go up to an L,
however this can come up smaller in the cup when compared with other
styles, due to Royce only making this style in single cup sizes.
Therefore fingers crossed one of our suppliers will help in the future
and manage to grade a nursing bra to bigger than a J, unfortunately I
can't make any promises.

I am so sorry that at the moment I don't have much hope I can offer you,
I have done some searching on the internet and there really doesn't seem
to be anything out there at the moment. I am aware of a company called
Pamela Joseph (www.pamelajoseph.co.uk) that have just launched bras up
to an M cup but sadly they do not include nursing bras. The only
suggestion I could make would be to look into getting a bra made for
you, I understand this would be costly and not ideal but may be
possible? It also may be worth asking at the same time if any existing
bra could be adapted, although this could be a lot of work as would
include removing the wires and creating a drop cup. Just recently we
have had another customer requesting the same as you and she found
www.envie4u.co.uk that does 'made to measure' lingerie. Whilst we don't
have any experience of this company it might be a good starting point
for you.

Don't know if this helps anyone???
I tried debenhams on the off chance yesterday and although I can get wired bras they never have any in stock in my size!!!

They do royce but again not in the right size. I think they get snapped up quickly in bigger sizes and the unlucky ones have to go without.

In addition to lack of interest from bravissimo I got fitted at 6w pg there and they were not interested! Said that I was wearing right size but bra was old and just needed a new one. I said no I know they have got bigger even just slightly and the size I am wearing is not big enough. Next size up too big at that point. She was not interested in fitting me in soft cup bras or even letting me try one on as my doctor hadn't told me to swap to soft cup. I think she thought she was talking to a stupid person who would take everything she said as right even though it wasn't just because of where she worked. However I used to fit bras for a living so know what I'm talking about. When she realised she couldn.t fob me of she got a bit sulky with me.

However cant fault them over the phone with customer service!

Ive been to bravissimo during both my pregnancies and was advised that it is fine to continue wearing an underwire as long as it is correctly fitted so that thte wire does not sit on the actual boob flesh at all.

I wore underwires during both pregs, day and night with no trouble at all. For nursing bras i had an elle macpherson one and some royce ones, they didnt really fit properly but TBH i think that a soft cup will never fit right on big boobs as there is no structure to it so it sags down over the day.

I agree that it is fine to wear underwires in pregnancy. I did this last time as bravissimo did not have a soft cup range at that stage and high street did not do my size. However I cannot sleep in underwires as I find it really uncomfortable pg or not. And would like to have one for the days when boobs too sore for underwires as they do force them into a place that tbh they dont naturally sit!

This bra is quite comfortable and I wore it often in last weeks of pg. I'm 32-34DD normally, and went up to 34G in pg and 34J when milk came in.

I had to buy that Royce bra, too, and it is so disappointing to be handed the bra that they make in your size. Think I've found my new business idea: big boobed maternity and nursing bras!

Also, was at Blooming Marvellous this wknd and saw Anita underwire maternity bras for £5!!! They are fantastic. Just remember to order up a cup size in Anita, so if you are G, order H, etc. Anita underwire nursing bras are good, too, and I wore them at the end of pg as well.

More helpful there babyinbelly, thanks for posting.
That website is quite good... it seems the Royce bras are confusing sizes, so while I was horrified to be a K cup, maybe I would have been in an HH or I by another manufacturer?
Will hope by the time I get pregnant and am feeding again there is more choice.
Hope you've found something suitable salstars.

The problem that I find is to stop boobs going south you need it quite tight in the back but then by the end of the day it is really uncomfortable. End up sitting in my pj's most of the day to avoid wearing a bra!

In addition I found unclipping nursing bras really difficult last time and I needed 2 hands for it. Anyone else find this?

Sorry if this ones already been mentioned as only scanned replies. I'm a 38GG when NOT pregnant. Now I'm at 18 weeks have got to buy an interim bra as even with extenders, they're a little snug now . I'm NOT looking forward to having to sleep in one though
I usually get fitted in John Lewis and also buy from a site called AMPLE BOSOM as places like M&S, Bravissimo etc. don't seem to be sized right. I haven't tried FREYA yet.
N.B. M&S tried to tell me I needed a 44E, probably because they actually sold that size, and the cups were cutting across my nipples (sorry!) and the back was sagging!
ps - Congratulations!

Squarebear1973 - thanks for the tip-off about amplebosom - I hadn't come across that website before. I had a quick look just now though and seems to stock the same kind of suppliers as Bravissimo - e.g. Fantasie, Royce, Freya.

I've now got a soft cup bra to sleep in which will do for sleeping - but certainly not for stepping outside my front door!

I looked at my boobs today and they have definitely grown - so now I'm thinking that I will have to start shopping for a larger underwired bra - 34J or K.

The quest is never ending...!

salstars - Where was soft cup from? Am bra shopping next week, so a recommendation would be great! Current bra is 38GG, so will prob. need 2 sails sewn together now

Squarebear1973 it's the Candy Soft Cup by Royce which I bought through Bravissimo. I need a structured bra for bed because my boobs are so sore, so this is a better option than a bra top. I wouldn't wear it outside the house, though, as it offers far less support than an underwired bra.

booksgalore - thanks for the suggestion but I already tried one of these a couple of months before I became pregnant. Unfortunately it is nowhere near adequate to take the weight of my boobs!!

I was thinking that the soreness was subsiding, but had a very painful shower this morning and am still thinking that I need to dig out my bikini top to wear in the shower. Will it always be like this?!

I'm not alone, thankyou, took my bra off a few days ago and burst into tears, gravity! Only 6 weeks gone and a 32f, the only way is up. Very disapointed with bravissiomo. I just bought myself an overlocker last week thinking I could make lots of maternity and baby clothes much quicker, now my first project will be to make myself a sleep bra, can't do any worse than the shops by the sounds of it.

At Simply Yours we sell a nursing bra and maternity bra both up to H cup

If you are looking for a soft bra to sleep in we have 3 styles available up to L cup (packs of 2 for £22). We also have a good selection of underwired bras available to K cup

Hope this has been helpful and you don't mind me posting, I just stumbled across the thread and it does seem terrible that there is not a better choice out there.

Good luck finding the bras you need! x

i wore a 'crop top' type thing which was soft and held my breast pads in place at night and was easy for feeding too. i got it in Evans but it was a while ago now.