Bras - I'm so depressed

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Am 18 weeks tomorrow. Big busted anyway (40E). I don't think they've really got much bigger (not popping out or anything) yet, but are feeling a little tight.

So went into M+S today and my god, the maternity bras she produced were awful. Really uncomfortable and almost up to my neck. I was depressed enough about my dwindling avaliable wardrobe (have resort to hair bobbles now to keep my jeans up). I'm just fat at the moment, not obviously pregnant and don't want to buy any maternity clothes til after 20 week scan, just in case. But really, is there no nice underwear? I always feel better in a nice bra, these made me feel like a 70 year old. Needless to say I didn't buy any of her recommendations!!

Anyone any ideas?

Im nearly 32 weeks and have been in underwired bras all the way through. Went to Rigby and Pellar spent a few quid on 2 decent bras that will last me!
The first time round I wasted so much money on non wired bras, so the money I spent in there is well worth it. I was a 32E to start, I think is definately harder if you have an bigger bust to start with!

estya, I ran into similar bra buying advice (maternity v nursing), and the only bit of sense I could see in it was that boobs tend to be bigger when milk comes in - so that a bra that fits well during pregnancy may be too small for breast feeding boobs.

I didn't see any sense in the 'lack of support' argument - there are so many different bras with different levels of support. I thought it was just a way of encouraging me to spend a ruinous amount on bras, tbh.

I'm currently wearing this - www.nursingbra-shop.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=174 and similar as maternity bras, at 29 weeks pregnant, and hoping that they might still fit as nursing bras later on....

Another vote for HotMilk here, I bought 3 of theirs from the nursingbra-shop.co.uk (or similar) who do free delivery, good returns policy etc. I'm hoping they'll be good for nursing too, I bought 3 different colours/styles and they're great.

M&S have measured me countless times over the years and always get it wrong. The put in a 36G whereas Bravissimo put in a 32H. No prizes for guessing which is more comfortable...

get fitted properly and then it is fine to stay in a normal bra.

I'm not particularly big busted but found that i went up 2 sizes when my milk came in. I was advised when pregnant w ds1 to buy bf bras while still pregnant but they never fitted properly. When pregnant with ds2 i wore a mixture of sports bras, non-underwired t-shirt bras and underwired. For the first week or so after he was born i wore a night time crop top all the time then got measured and bought bf bras that actually fitted. Saved me a few quid and i was comfortable.

I understand it is harder to get it right if you are bigger busted. I have bought from nursingbrashop.co.uk and figleaves with no problems with returns.

Marks and Spencer, don't even go there. I wore a 32F pre pregnancy, woman in M&S measured me as a 38E and fitted me into an unsupportive ugly bra, the strap at the back was so far up my back it was untrue.
I can totally recommend Bravissimo and still don't know why I went into M&S as have been a Bravissimo customer for years. I'm still in wires and intend to be for a while yet. I just pop in oncea month to get re fitted and buy new bras as and when my size changes.

I haven't gone near an M&S employee with a tape measure round her neck since one put me in a 38B ten years ago. She dismissed my 34D bra out of hand and tried to foist some hellish brown thing on me which gaped everywhere.

Told her to naff off. Thankfully I found Bravissimo and have bought most of my bras from there ever since. Not a massive fan of the clothes though; the shirts are good but the dresses are very expensive for what they are IMHO.

I did have a rather rotten experience in a stuffy lingerie shop in Edinburgh where the woman told me that if I lost weight I would fit her stock. I told her to naff off too.

I am however planning on going all seventies soon and burning the unwired contraption that I am currently in. I was not aware of wires being ok so the bra burning might be happening sooner rather than later. I bloody hate it! It's cut so high that you can see it above all my necklines. If it were one of my AP stunners on show then fine but this one ain't doing it for me.

HeHe,
I'm sooooo glad I am not alone with this issue. My mum simply retorted that it was much worse 32 years ago. Big help!!!

I've worn the bra (wired) I sneaked off and bought yesterday in M&S in a bigger size today and the it's not right either. I'm off to Bravissimo next week and if I can't get a from there due to back size I think figleaves have an actual shop in London so might treat myself to trip to the big city.

Hi, I have just had a look at the Hot Milk Nursing Bras and none of them seem to be underwired, can you get underwired ones? I am currently 29 weeks and in a 34G which I really hate, I have gone up from a 34E (which I didn't really like being anyway......) can anyone point me in the right direction of whether there are underwired nursing bras available and what size I should go for - don't know if I will get much bigger ! Thank you.

RubyReins, would that have been the little place on William St by any chance, or the extremely posh Boudiche? Had runs ins with both of them including one getting extremely stroppy when I said that as I had just been fitted and was borderline between a 28h and a 30gg, I would NOT try her 32f on!

I'll add my vote for Bravissimo again- I've been walking around in the wrong size for years, and always thought I'd been correctly 'fitted' by m&s - how wrong I was! I thought it was normal to have bulges around the sides of the bra, when in fact it's breast tissue, now safely contained in a cup 3 sizes larger thanks to bravissimo and their properly trained fitters.

Twittle, i'm not sure you will find an underwired nursing bra as the wires will probably feel uncomfortable and you are much more likely to get blocked milk ducts if you wear one with wires, you really dont want blocked ducts its horrible.

I have worn mostly hotmilk this time and the thing i like about them is that they are shaped like an underwired bra, ie they have rounded cups but without the wire in so your breasts dont disappear under your arms.

I am a 36G when not pregnant and went up to a 38G just before birth. I have been wearing cheap Asda sports and non wired support bras. Not especially glam, but not hideous either and extremely comfortable, which just had to be a priority for me in the end.

Has anyone ordered bras from the Rigby & Peller website?

I'm in a depressingly frumpy bra atm, but I think it fits well - I got fitted at our local department store which is very good and having checked the Bravissimo guide to what a wrongly fitted bra looks like, I think the local store got it right. But they didn't have any pretty, supportive, non-wired bras so I'm stuck in something my gran would wear.

Unfortunately, as I'm a 40D (big shoulders, so the 40 makes sense sadly), I'm still too small a cup size atm for the more supportive Bravissimo non-wired bras. So I was wondering about ordering from R&P as I'm not sure when I could next get into London, but they're not cheap!

It's a bit worrying too as I'm still definitely growing - I don't want to spend £55 on a bra that I can only wear for 2 weeks.

Twittle Just google underwire nursing bras and see what you think.

As I started this thread I thought i would just update you on today's success.
Went to Bravissiomo. Told lovely fitting lady my M&S horror story. She took one look at me (fully dressed) and said "there's no way you're a 40E". Left with 2 very comfortable, room for growth, underwired, 38FF (gulp!!!!!!!) bras. Am very please and I'm sure hubby will be delighted!!

Another vote for Bravissimo.

M&S had told me that I was 34A. I'm actually 30D and don't get uncomfortable with my bras anymore.

I went to Bravissimo again when I was about 12 weeks. They said as well that underwired bras were fine, which is a good thing particularly as I am now 32E.

Japhrime - I would really recommend going to Bravissimo if you can. I thought a 40 was reasonable for my size. The fitter said that nearly everyone they see has been fitted with too big a back and to small a cup. Often because other stores don't have the range of cup sizes so increase the back size in order to get the breast in the cup.

The 38 they put me in is on the smallest hooks and she said I could go to a 36 but advised not because of pregnancy. I was proper surprised. You too might find you don't need the 40!

get a tape measure and measure your rib cage op/make sure you are a 40.

ex R+ P employee here.

Rigby & Peller were great if you want to splash out a bit. Bit militant about the underwiring thing but ok if you promise to refit them regularly and go for a generous fit. I did end up coming home with a D cup at 20 weeks though which I thought was hilarious having never filled a B cup in my life. Being properly fitted was great for shopping elsewhere though and avoiding taking a multitude of sizes into the changing rooms.

I think I might try and get into London to go to Bravissimo. I realised today that the cups on my current bra are starting to get tight, so I think I'll be a DD soon enough anyway.

Update - I went to Bravissimo and they were great! They said my old bra did fit, but as I was getting shoulder ache, I could go down a back size to get more support from the chest band. I hadn't realised how much you have to go up in cup sizes if you go down a back size - I went in wearing 40D and came out wearing 38FF!

Shoulder ache has now eased significantly so it was definitely the right thing to do, even if I have to buy more bras later on.

Tip for anyone thinking of getting fitted there, especially at the London stores - book! I had to book a time slot and come back 2 hours later as they were so busy.

I'll definitely go back there to get fitted next time.

Just wondering, I am 31 weeks now but will be hopefully be heading past Cardiff when I am 34 weeks and I believe they have a Bravissimo there so I thought I would pop in - is it too early at 34 weeks to be correctly measured for a nursing bra for when my milk comes in??? Thank you in advance!

35 weeks and underwired. Got myself measured at Rigby and Peller early on in the pregnancy, and they sold me the most comfortable bra I've ever worn, and quite pretty -- but non-underwired and therefore not great for special occasions when the only sexy thing about me at the moment is my mahoosive 36G cleavage (normally 34D!). So I toddled off to M&S with my new size and bought a couple of underwired bras, and they're still fine. Will definitely go back to Rigby and Peller just before the birth to get fitted for nursing bras.