Nursing Bras

[jazzbird]

I am planning on just buying one nursing bra now, and then waiting until after the baby is born to buy a few more when I know better how they will fit.

I'm just wondering whether you usually buy one cup size up from your pregnancy size, or whether it's safe to buy the same cup size. My breasts haven't gotten that much larger during pregnancy. They are fuller, but I am still wearing the same cup size as pre-pregnancy.

Do your breasts remain a lot larger the whole time you're nursing, or just the first weeks when you're dealing with engorgement?

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Mine got bigger but not that much bigger. I think I only went up one cup size from prepregnancy. My breasts stayed larger for about the first year of nursing I think while I was still nursing a lot as they would fill to compacity. They still stayed bigger overall though even after my daughter was weaned they just weren't as full.

 

[Leanna]

In my experience, nursing bras are nice and stretchy. I have two and I wore them for the last two months of pregnancy because I was already leaking They fit before my milk came in and after. The one I had that I liked better had different hooks you could use, thus if you are more milk filled you use the lower hook, you know? They are so comfy.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Some nursing bras have adjustable cups. I had those kind with my daughter though never needed to adjust them bigger. But it can be a useful feature.

 

[Athene]

I think nursing bras take into account that a womans boobs increase in size when she's pregnant and breastfeeding, when I bought mine I just got one in my regular size.

Don't leave it too long after baby is born to buy more nursing bras, once your milk comes in properly you'll probably find that you'll wash your bras much more often then you usually do . . like every day.

 

[HeatherJay]

I only nursed my oldest daughter for two weeks, but my boobs were flippin' enormous...and I had big boobs to start with. I definitely went up more than a cup size. Honestly, it was embarrassing how large they were. I personally would go up a size, but if you get a nursing bra that's fairly stretchy, you should be good. It seems as though my expansion isn't the norm, lol.

 

[RoseofLima]

Check out Bravado bras they rock! I would look at least one to two cup sizes above what you normally wear for any bra that has a real 'strict' sizing.

If you can find a 'sleep' bra for the first week that is really nice. It's not supportive enough to wear out and about, but it noce for just around the house.

With all but the first I more or less went braless for the first few weeks around my house-just because that worked better for me. But, I also try to stay in bed as long as humanly possible--to try to recover and to bond with the new bambino.

My breasts stay larger until well into the second year of nursing...but I seem to be nearly unable to lose any weight at all until my babies star eating solids around a year...so I am sure that is probably not the ordinary!

Ohhhh *hugs* I am so excited for you!!

 

[jazzbird]

Thanks ladies!

I ordered a bravado and a medela. The medela is sorta sports bra-ish, so I think it will be very comfortable for the beginning. Hopefully they'll both work out well and I can just get a few more in the same style.

 

[katelyn]

I was able to wear the same bras I wore in late pregnancy. I tried the Bravado since I'd heard good things about them, but I actually didn't like them. Even though I was at the lower end of the size range for the one I bought, it seemed like the elastic at the bottom was too tight.

This inexpensive bra from Motherhood was actually my favorite for late pregnancy and early breastfeeding:

http://www.motherhood.com/Product.asp?Product_Id=40011071

After a few months (i.e., after I lost some weight and my band size went down), I was able to use a less supportive (but IMO more comfortable) bra.

I also got this bra to throw in something a little prettier than the typical plain white nursing bra (it's pretty and comfy):

http://www.figleaves.com/us/product.asp?product_id=EMI-E71-196

 

[jgonz]

My favorite nursing bras were the Olga Christina (which I'm not sure is available anymore...). They have a lace overlay (similar to the bra in the above link) and snap in the middle! I could Never get the thing above the cup to latch properly one-handed. lol I'm also smaller busted though, and I've heard that the center snap variety of nursing bras don't work quite as well for larger busted women.

I bought a cup size up from my regular bras... Except for the initial engorgement time, where I had a bra that was really stretchy and 2 cups bigger (I only used it for about a week at the most I think).