Talk to me about fitting feeding bras!

[CbeebiesIsAboutToPop]

I've also posted this over in feeding, but with no response so I thought I'd try here!

I know how to measure properly for a normal bra, are feeding bras the same?

Ds is 5 days old and I'm feeling relatively normal in the boob department. I have 1 ill fitting feeding bra I bought before he was here (a stretchy sleeping one) Andover been wearing it for 5 days now! I really wanted to go and get some new ones today from Mothercare, but don't trust their fitting guides!

So do you measure for a bra how you would normally? Are my boobs going to reduce in size? Do I need to buy slightly smaller cups than what I measure now?

I measured using the normal lean forward method and ordered online a couple to try in sizes around that. It was fine. I still measure myself (DS is 8m) and manage to get a much better fit than seeing any of the local 'professionals'.

I didn't answer your questions... I'd say if your milks in then measure at a time you aren't overly full and just use it as a guide to try lots around that. If you buy nursing bras they have a but of give in them and extra hooks anyway.

I would hold out until about 2 weeks to see what size you'll be if you can. Personally I found things settled down by then for the next few months anyway. Then you use measuring guide as usual (the one from the better bra campaign) but make sure there is a bit of room for fluctuation if you're measuring after a feed. Soft cup bras don't fit quite the same, so the central gore won't sit flat for example. If your backsize has increased during pregnancy, you might want to fit bra on loosest back setting so you can tighten it as your back size decreases. I am not an expert by any means but this is what I found helpful.
Congratulations by the way!

Thanks this is really helpful, it's kind of what I thought too! I just need at least one more or now so I can feel a little bit cleaner!

I've got some in 3 sizes as I find you have massive boobs in the early weeks, then they settle down a bit, then from 6 months-ish you're back to your normal size.

I think the advice is to measure just before a feed. Agree with holding out a little bit longer if you can and fitting to the loosest hook.

I think I got back to normal back size pretty quickly but they were enormous until the dcs started dropping feeds.

I would buy them in a smaller back fitting and buy a cheap bra back extender. I got one from a market stall for 3 quid and found some cheap marks and Spencer's feeding bras in a 32 back in the sale and was able to make them fit me.
Small back size feeding bras always tend to be in the sale.

I mean buy them in your usual back size and use the extender until you get smaller if that makes sense.

Measure the same, but I always recommend not buying nursing bras. First, a soft cup bra will not give you the same support, and I was seriously fed up with the sweaty cleavage and clothes not fitting, because boobs were somewhere around my bellybutton.
Second, especially if you need a bit bigger cup sizes, nursing bras are horribly overpriced and there's very little to choose from.

So I just bought normal supportive underwired bras and conversion kits from ebay. Once DS was feeding less frequently, just normal bras and pulled the cup down. Much better!

Hazel all BF guidance says not to wear underwires.
Which is a pain as I need them for support, soft cups just cant handle above a C cup really

It's fine to wear underwires when breastfeeding, as long as they fit properly. The advice is there because so many women are in wrong sizes, and too small wire poking your breast tissue is indeed not great.

I've been wearing underwired bras I c

Converted myself since about 6 weeks. I make sure it fits properly and if I am at all engorged / lumpy I wear a soft cup instead. I was lucky not to suffer mastitis moth dc1 so saw no reason not to get my waist back this time around!

Agree with HazleNutt. The main reason that a lot of advice says not to wear wires is because ill fitting wires can put pressure on the milk ducts and cause issues with mastitis. The crucial thing there is ill fitting.

A bra which fits perfectly won't cause issues as the wires should not be resting on breast tissue at all. The problem is that most shops fit bras incorrectly with the cups being too small. That would cause problems,as the wires will not be in the right place.

Because so few places fit properly, it's safer to advise not to wear wires. But it's not the actual wires which are the problem

I was measured by these at a baby show. I had a hot milk brand bra that was really comfy and gave good support (I was about a G/H cup!!) I also had the Anita under wired bra but I could have done with a smaller size back so didn't wear much.

With my second, I converted 2 well fitting normal under wired bras using bits from old nursing bras. I saved these for "best" because it was difficult to get my boobs in and out of the cup discreetly because obviously the bra is designed to hold them in and not let them flap out!