Nursing bras...

[bikerunski]

37+2, hospital bag packed apart from nursing bras, which I still need to get. I am currently wearing Mothercare maternity bras in a style which I really like, find comfortable and fit well. They do the same style as a nursing bra. Can I just order these off the website and go up a cup size and down a rib size, or do I have to go and go and be measured? When I was fitted for this set of maternity bras I saw they had a notice on the fitting room wall that told the fitters to do just that when fitting for nursing bras.

Thing is live in the countryside, and not sure if I can really face going into town now I have finished work. Also, I know lots of people on here sign the praises of big dept stores like John Lewis etc, but that's a good hour away.

i would get measured if i were you, my mat bras were 40B and my nursing bras were 38C then 2 when my milk came in properly i had to get new nursing bras 38DD so don't buy too many as sizes change again.

You could probably get away with ordering same bras, but be aware that bigger cup size + smaller back size = exactly the same cup size as you're wearing now, just with a smaller back.

Alternative is something like a Bravado bra, so you don't need to worry about mad changing cup sizes in early days and can order more attractive bras when your cup size has settled down...

I'm another fan of Bravado bras (I'm wearing one right now at 32+6 ). I'm really big-of-nork though, so I tend to buy something more supportive once I know what size I'll settle into (most women don't have this problem and are happy to stick with Bravado). You will change size a lot in the first couple of weeks as you establish breastfeeding and the milk comes in, plus as you already predicted, the baby won't be pushing up against your ribs, so you will likely go down a rib size.

Would also recommend Bravado bras as its difficult to predict bra size IME, definitely the comfiest.

does the rib cage size get smaller once you've given birth? I'm wearing the same bras and they fit the same exact way since pre pregnancy and I'm 33 weeks... 34B. I can't find nursing bras in a B - is this because they are going to get enormous??

Have just checked out Bravado bras, and I am on the borderline of two sizes , so I am going to have to go even further away to my nearest stockist to get really properly measured and advised.

Your rib size only decreases after birth if it's gone up during pregnancy. Most of us have the baby pushing up under the ribcage (or maybe that's just me as I'm a shorty ), and once the baby is out things go back to normal.

Re: cup size - I was an E cup pre-pregnancy, an F then a G when pregnant, but a generous H when breastfeeding. So they can definitely increase still!

I'm quite a way away from anyone I'd trust to fit a bra properly. However, having had a few good bra-fitting sessions, I'm fairly confident I can tell when a bra doesn't fit.

I ordered a range of bras in a range of sizes from www.figleaves.co.uk, had them all to try on once my milk came in and wound up with 2 (out of about a dozen) that actually fitted.

I was a 32F pre-pregnancy and needed a 36G nursing bra - I have shrunk back down again, but its taken over a year before I've felt a need to buy more bras (still BF DD).

btw - I bought 2 nursing bras pre-birth and neither of them fitted once DD was actually around (both too small).

My baby is definitely pushing on my ribs, but I wear the same underwired, well fitting bras that I wore pre pregnancy with no discomfort at all. I leak a bit at night time, leaving spots on my shirt... but looking at all of these posts... I'm never going to get that big I know everyone says you produce enough milk for your baby, but I'm just not so sure now.

No, you do produce enough, you do! It's just that those of us who are larger of nork talk about bras all the time because there are so few good ones around and it's really hard to find them. Everyone else just goes to Mothercare, picks up something with a drop-down cup and gets on with it.

I have small-norked friends who have breastfed just fine. Could you start a thread on the breastfeeding page for all the small-norked breastfeeders to reassure you?

Mine were 36B before both babies and gone up to 38DD/E now BFing - I have friends with little pert (perfect) breasts and they have no problems with milk supply - mine a larger than average and point towards the floor now (after 2 beautifully BF DS's but would def recommend being fitted about 1 week or two (as late as poss really) before you are due. Alternativey, get 2 for now and buy more when your milk comes in and you know what size you are.

It is difficult getting the right sized ones when you are larger than average isn't it?! Why is it they measure you but they never seen to have your size if you are larger than a C/D cup????

totally agree with tangle. Figleaves bras come in a box that will fit in the postbox for returns. I was fitted at 38 weeks but totally changed size when my milk came in. I found the undewired bras much more comfy than the soft: but like tangle, I started at 32f and ended as 34j ie I am big of nork

Yoo hoo!
Mothercare bra fitter here.
I normally advise women to buy back size which fits snug on the last notch now, (buy a bra extender from local habadasheres, or if you can't find one let me know and I'll send you one, £1.70 from my local old lady shop) - just in case your back gets bigger. Mine cracked open literally the week before baby arrived, other peoples rib cage cracks open earlier though.
Regarding the cup, some people go up one cup size when their milk comes in, otheres more. I personally went up from a pre pregnancy boob of 32 FF, mid pregnancy boob of 32 H and then up to a 34 K (OMG!!) when milk came in. I settled down at a 32 J after about a month/6 weeks of breast feeding though.
Basically, the cup should be big enough to allow for engorgement and for breast pads. You do not want a tight bra on sore boobs, or when you are wearing breast pads....they tend to pop out if the cup is too small!

If you are totally flummoxed by all this, and don't want to get fitted. Buy a couple of sizes, keep the lables on and then once you've had the baby, take back the ones which don't fit. Easy!

Hope that helps...its my favourite subject and I can waffle on this for ages....x

Well I made the effort to go off to my nearest (albeit an hour and a half away) Jojo Maman to seek out Bravado bras. They don't stock them at that branch, so got fitted for ordinary Emma Jane nursing ones. Glad I got measured, as bra sizing seems to be completely random between manufacturers!

At the moment - Mothercare "soft" maternity bra - 38DD. Waiting in the wings - Emma Jane nursing bras - 36C, yet "baggier". (Goodness, I habn't been a C cup since I was about 12).

I guess it is a bit like shoes, I think I have size 7 feet, but have shoes that all fit that are marked anywhere between 6 and 9.

I was advised recently not to buy underwired bras whilst pg, however I am (currently and rising) a 32F - so non-wired don't really do the job!! Tried on a non wired nursing bra in M&S and it was AWFUL and I mean AWFUL. It gave me a baggy, mono-boob, somewhere around my middle. I would honestly prefer to swing free than have the shape it gave me. Imagine the norkage equivalent of Nora Batty's ankles/stockings... if I said it looked like I had the cleavage of a 70 year old, it would be too flattering a description!

However, thank goodness for Blooming Marvellous who stock the Elle Macpherson range which are maternity and nursing bras, in bigger sizes, which are attractive and underwired!!!! Shame they cost £36 each but that's the price you pay for big bangers...

i got measured in m&s and came through as a 36c even though i get a spot of double boob in their 36c maternity bra. So i'm currently doing 36d, though the midwife put the fear of god in me when she started telling us how we'd have boobs down to our ankles if we didn't make sure that the cup size was right.

The one thing that's bothered me is the thick black/white/light pink straps that seem to go on all maternity bras. I know that they're supposed to give good support, but i really miss having nice bright coloured straps sticking out when i'm wearing a vest top out and about or whatever.

I've done a few searches looking for nice maternity bras and found pretty much only one - that Hot Milk Cherry Bomb Bra, which is quite pricey but I guess they all get a bit pricey when they're specialist. Can anyone recommend a place for nice coloured maternity and nursing bras?

Just thought I'd update this thread which I used for inspiration when searching for my first maternity bra.

I found this great shop, guessing its sorta newish, which stocks a huge range of pretty and practical nursing bras including some with 'soft' underwiring that seems to be designed to give support but not interfere with the milk.

www.nursingbra-shop.co.uk

Hope this helps anyone who, like me, searched mumsnet for inspiration when I couldn't find anything I liked in the 'normal' clothes shops.