Nursing Mamas,
Do you use nursing shirts, and if so, where do you buy them?
I have a couple nursing shirts from mothernood maternity, but they tend to have about 3 shirts to choose from at any given time. I have also used nursing tanks under a regular shirt. If I had little breasts, I would just go with this method (nursing tank + normal shirt) but I am rocking a M cup with my milk in (prepregancy I was an H cup, big boobs are annoying!!) and nursing tank tops really are not built to support that. Basically, wearing the tank instead of a bra leaves me sore for lack of support and I need more than 2 nursing shirts unless I do laundry every night which seems inefficient.
I have tried simply switching to a nursing cover, but my infant jerks away from me at every sound when she can't see what is going on and my 2 year old thinks it is an invitation to play peek-a-boo with the baby. Both of which lead to distracted and somewhat painful nursing sessions.
Maternity tops seem easy to come by, but nursing tops not so much. Anyone have any good solutions to the nursing shirt delema?
Thanks ladies!!
Motherwear.com is really good, but pricey. The quality makes it worth getting a few basics, though. Their stuff holds up really well, and they have a HUGE selection: bras, tops, sleepwear, dresses, sweaters, swimsuits, you name it!
I bought a bunch of ribbed tank tops at goodwill and cut slits in the front and wore them under my regular shirts with a nursing bra. This worked great for me and was very cheap.
I got nursing pajamas I love from Motherwear, but their stuff is a bit out of my price range for everyday. I ended up pairing shirts so I could pull one down and the other up for nursing. I also wore my belly band under shirts when two shirts wouldn't work. Good luck.
I bought a good nursing bra to support me, one with drop down cups. It was a little pricey, but wow do I love it. I wear it with nursing pads inserted (so that I can get more than one days wear out of it), underneath shirts that have cross-over fronts or button downs. When I need more modesty (like when my existing top fits fine, but won't button over the boobs), I just wear a regular stretchy tank underneath to give me coverage. With that combo, I get the support that I need and also the access that the babe needs. Plus, I'll be able to wear my tops after weaning so I'm not spending a bunch of money on something that I won't be able to wear in a year. All together, the cost of the nursing bra was much less than the cost of getting specialized tops for nursing, because I could use a lot of my existing tops.
I sympathize with you. I could never really find good nursing shirts to work for me. Nursing tanks are okay, but they don't give me enough support either. I wear the ones that I have to sleep in anymore. If I got a re-do, I wouldn't have bothered with them.
If you can, check out the nursing bras at Nordstrom. They don't stock them on the floor, but they have them in the back room. The ladies there are the absolute best when it comes to fitting bras. The bras aren't cheap, but you only need one or maybe two. Buying a bra and being able to use your existing wardrobe is a huge cost savings versus buying a whole new set of tops. Good luck!
Oops, I didn't notice the part you had written about wearing tanks ... bummer. I would still check out the site because I know they have lots of cute nursing shirts too. Glamourmom.com.
I was close to your boat (although not quite an M - holy!!), and I found some nursing shirts and tanks through JC Penney online and at Motherwear (motherwear.com) that were more supportive than Motherhood. I also found some GREAT nursing night-time tops that were fantastic - a couple of those I even wore as normal shirts. You couldn't tell they were PJ's without the pants. Good Luck!!
get a nusing shawl or cover up thing. I got one at target with my son. It drapes over your entire shirt. Then you can just pull the bottom of the shirt up and baby can go to town.
And an M cup!!!! OMG!!! I can't imagine! My girlfriend is an H while pregnant and I thought that was big. I feel for you. lol
I used a nursing bra with regular shirts that were billowy/looser on the bottom.
Motherwear is great, but pricey. You can often find new ones, though, even sold by the factory, on ebay. That's where I got most of mine. In fact, I have some I was getting ready to list. If you want, let me know what kind of shirts and size and maybe I can go ahead and list them for you if you are interested!
My son didn't like the nursing covers at all. I used motherwear.com and expressiva.com. I could nurse him with these shirts in the sling. Shirts were fantastic!!
I've used, sports bras.
Under my shirts.
Don't know if this will work for you, but I liked this MUCH better, than a nursing bra or shirt.
Hi there
You may want to check out the website: http://hadleystilwell.com/ They have clothes specifically for nursing moms and in particular those who need something that is a bit nicer if you are back at work and still need to pump.
Yikes, and I thought H cups were horrible! I was so happy to be done with nursing because you're right, big boobs suck! Anyway, I remember seeing more nursing shirts online at Motherhood maternity and a few other places. If you google nursing shirts I'm sure you'll find some. I never went with tanks during the day for the same reason - no support. I think diapers.com does some. Wish I could remember the other site I was thinking of. Hope that helps!
I too got a couple from motherhood but expensive and I didn't really like them that much.
I agree with the person who said you could cut slits in cheap tank tops to wear under regular shirts with a nursing bra. I actually cut the fronts of tank tops way down under the boobs. Pull up the shirt on top from the bottom and undo the nursing bra as usual. Have to toss the tanks when done but at least your tummy will be covered and warm. Good luck...
I found this website called 'figure 8 maternity'. I ordered several nursing shirts because I only had nursing tanks from my first child, and having a second I knew I would have to nurse in restaurants, parks, etc.... I am in love with the shirts I got from this website because they are actually cute! and really innovative when it comes to design.... you should check it out (I looked for nursing things online for weeks before I stumbled upon this website). It's not the cheapest, but I've liked the quality of the things I purchased. And I practically wear them around the clock! good luck :)
Hi Lucy,
I received some Motherwear gift certificates as shower gifts for my second, and I've been pleased with my purchases so far. They have many different options for nursing openings--my favorite is the "all-around" style. It basically has an undershirt attached to the shoulder seams of the shirt with slits at the top. It offers the most coverage. "Cross-wrap" is the most flattering, but needs a little tugging to pull back into place. I also feel a little more exposed at the top of the shirt because there's not much fabric to pull down to baby's face. "Empire" is my second choice for coverage, but it might not work for your cup size, because I don't have a lot of extra room at only a DD without buying a bigger size. I HATED (and returned) the "front-only" tops because they didn't keep my sides or back covered when I lifted the hem of the top. (mini-rant...Why do these exist? The only part of me that was covered was my belly, which is mostly covered by baby...Why buy a special shirt...Sorry. Rant over).
I agree that their regular prices are too high to buy enough tops to wear daily. But I don't need to wear them every day. I save them for them when I'm likely to need to nurse my little one away from the house. At home, I don't have to worry about modesty. :)
Good luck with shopping!
