What’s Your Favorite Underwire Nursing Bra?

Comments

1. Philanthropy Girl says

   04/14/2015 at 10:09 am

   I’m an Elomi girl, too. I’d purchased a Motherhood Maternity while I was pregnant to accommodate for my increase bust size, but after my milk came in, MM no longer carried a size that fit properly. Same with Pea in the Pod. So I was fitted for an Elomi and it has been the best bra purchase. The wider straps are nice for my very busty self, I barley notice the underwires, and I thought the price was pretty reasonable. I’d buy it again for sure.

2. Stephanie says

   04/14/2015 at 10:10 am

   I have a few nursing bras from hotmilk and started wearing them when I was 8-9 months pregnant. They’ve held up very well over 11 months. They’re pretty and comfortable.

   For something less pretty, the Cake “cotton candy” nursing bra has served me well.

3. KJ says

   04/14/2015 at 10:15 am

   I got fitted at Nordstrom for a Freya nursing bra. It’s not the prettiest, but it’s a step up from the Bravado seamless (non-underwire) bras that I had been wearing exclusively before then. Nordstrom will also convert any bra to a nursing bra, but I didn’t try that service because I knew it would take me 6 months to find the time to get back to the store to pick them up.

4. Newly pregnant says

   04/14/2015 at 10:42 am

   This is so helpful! Pre-pregnancy I was fairly well-endowed and I can’t imagine wearing a seamless/non-underwire bra for months on end. At the bfeeding class I took this weekend the instructor recommended avoiding underwire bras due to concerns related to compression, clogged ducts, etc. Has anyone experienced anything like that and felt it was related to wearing an underwire bra?

   • Midwest Mom says

     04/14/2015 at 10:49 am

     I wore my regular bras (underwire) through my whole pregnancy. While on maternity leave, I wore cheap sports bras at home and then when I went back to work after 8 weeks, I wore regular (underwire) bras again but I did buy a couple in a bigger size. I breastfed for 15 months and had a problem with a clogged duct once or twice but nothing serious. I doubt it was related to wearing an underwire bra. When not pregnant, I’m a 34D.

   • JJ says

     04/14/2015 at 10:54 am

     I was an E/F pre-pregnancy and bigger when pregnant and then even bigger while nursing. I never found an underwire that I could wear while nursing that didn’t cause clogged ducts (a few of which led to mastitis…ugh). I had to wear Glamourmom’s nursing tanks (the large bust versions) as my bras if I wanted enough support without an underwire. Not saying this will be your experience, but that’s what happened for me.

   • Katarina says

     04/14/2015 at 10:57 am

     I wore underwire bras throughout my pregnancy and after I went back to work at 6 weeks postpartum, and I never had any clogged ducts.

   • KJ says

     04/14/2015 at 11:04 am

     I’m an F and wore the Bravado seamless (non-underwire) bra during the end of pregnancy and for most of the time I spent nursing – about 10 months. I felt like it was supportive enough to be comfortable, but I definitely didn’t look as nice in my clothes. Comfort won out over appearance, though. It was kind of a shock when I went back to underwire bras.

   • Manhattanite says

     04/14/2015 at 11:09 am

     If the bra fits, you won’t get a clogged duct from wearing an underwire. They were totally scaremongering. I had a couple no wire bras for wearing to sleep and when I was engorged that first week. Otherwise I always wore underwires. 11 months of b-feeding. For reference, I’m 30dd normally. Was between 32G/H/I? to 30F while nursing. (Wow, I hate my b**b size when I’m pregnant and nursing!)

     • Maddie Ross says

       04/14/2015 at 11:52 am

       I think that’s right. I only wore non-underwire bras while nursing and only went up to a C cup (from my normal barely B). And I had mastitis three times and had clogged ducts at least 3 or 4 other times. It’s about your supply (and mine was abundant), not your bra, I think.

     • Newly pregnant says

       04/14/2015 at 12:08 pm

       Good to know. I bought a Bravado for those early days and sleeping, but I’ll try to find a few underwire options as well. Thanks, everyone!

       • JEB says

         04/14/2015 at 12:29 pm

         I would wait and get fitted for a new underwire bra when you’re a few weeks post partum. You never know how your size will change once your supply regulates.

         I also haven’t had issues with clogs, and I’ve been wearing underwire since 6ish weeks postpartum.

     • Meg Murry says

       04/14/2015 at 12:48 pm

       The bra needs to fit when you are fully engorged though – because that’s when you are most likely to get a clogged duct. I’m pretty sure the “no-underwire” suggestions are mainly because it’s so hard to find a bra that fits properly above a D cup without paying lots of money, so for the average public who buys bras at Victoria’s Secret or Target, the no-underwire rule is probably a good one.

       I never bought any underwire nursing bras, because my size would fluctuate so much between feedings and I was nervous about clogged ducts (and I still managed to have a few, even without underwire). I loved my Anita nursing bras though – so comfy, and relatively flattering even without underwire.

   • Burgher says

     04/14/2015 at 4:40 pm

     I also heard ahead of time not to wear underwires, so initially bought all my nursing bras without them and they were so uncomfortable. I ended up buying all new ones with underwires and felt so much better. I have never had a clogged duct or mastitis, and have been nursing pretty much continuously for almost 3 years now, wearing underwires the majority of the time.

5. Katarina says

   04/14/2015 at 10:54 am

   I liked Anita bras. I also got fitted at Nordstroms. I had some Motherhood Maternity bras which were pretty worthless.

6. Gaining Weight says

   04/14/2015 at 11:19 am

   Did anyone gain a considerable amount of weight during their last trimester? I am 35 weeks along and gaining weight at a rate of 6 lbs per week for the last three weeks!! I am not eating out (no milkshakes, french fries, fast food etc.) and thoigh not on a strict diet at home I am also not pigging out. I am now upto a 57 pound weight gain but the doctor is not too concerned since I am not showing signs of pre-E. I am feeling extremely huge and even my maternity shirts are feeling too tight. I go on a walk daily for 30 minutes but maybe I need to up the exercise? Not sure what I am doing that is contributing to the weight gain.

   • Jen says

     04/14/2015 at 12:00 pm

     I gained well over 50lbs while pregnant. After 50lbs, I asked my provider to simply not tell me what I weighed in at, and just tell me if it was unhealthy! Were I to guess, I’d guess I gained 55lbs. I am tall, so it didn’t look it and the providers were more or less in disbelief every time I weighed in. I believe I retained a TON of water in the last few weeks. I had no pre-E issues whatsoever. I was also 10 days late in delivering which didn’t help things.

     FWIW, it took a while, but I got back down to my pre preg weight without any work (other than time). Between the stress of a newborn, BFing, and just life, I was down to prepreg weight by about 6 months PP. It took until 5 months PP, however, until I could put a pair of my old PP jeans on. My hips took their sweet time getting back to their starting point! I wanted to throw this out there to give you hope that sometimes it really is all baby/water weight. I only dropped about 18lbs after delivering, so it was over 40lbs that came off in those 6 months….

   • NewMomAnon says

     04/14/2015 at 12:07 pm

     I gained a boatload of weight in the last trimester (maybe 30 pounds, mostly in the last 6 weeks) – a very kind OB told me it was water weight, and the good news was that it would come off easily. She was right; I sweated it off in the first month postpartum. I was swollen everywhere and bought bigger maternity tops. I restricted sodium, drank water, ate fruit, wore compression socks and compression gloves, and did a lot of yoga and chiropractor visits. It all felt proactive, but I’m not sure any of it helped the weight gain/swelling.

     Sorry I can’t offer any solutions. Just, there is a wide range of normal in pregnancy, and you shouldn’t feel personally guilty if you are outside the “average” range. The weight gain probably isn’t about exercise, diet, or anything else within your control; it’s a peculiarity about the way your baby is hanging out, and the hormones your body is generating, and who knows what else.

     I had an image that I would be on the smaller end of weight gain during pregnancy, that I would have a perfect little bump and be my normal size everywhere else. And instead I gained 60+ pounds that sat on my hips, chest, shoulders, cheeks, everywhere. And a year later, I’m a healthy weight and my kiddo is healthy and what I weighed during my pregnancy doesn’t matter at all. I say, do whatever you have to do to be comfortable these last few weeks, but don’t worry about the weight gain unless your OB is worried.

     • JW says

       04/14/2015 at 12:13 pm

       +1 that it is probably water weight. Were your numbers okay on the gestational diabetes test? I have had GD in two pregnancies and had some periods of rapid weight gain before I started eating a GD-approved diet and monitoring my blood sugar.

7. CPA Lady says

   04/14/2015 at 12:36 pm

   Just wanted to report on the Style & Co Ponte Knit pencil skirt that was on here last week (I think?). I ordered three of them, and I’m happy with them. I got the black, blue, and warm taupe, which looks camel in the picture on the website (which is what I was hoping for), but is more of a wet cement actual dark taupe color in real life. The black one could probably pass for suiting, but the taupe one definitely does not. It’s still a good weight and shape for a business casual type environment. With coupon codes I got them down to about $21 a skirt, which is awesome.

   In terms of sizing, the XS is comparable to a 4/6. I’m 5’3 and very hourglass shaped, so any pencil skirt migrates up to my natural waist. With it at my natural waist, it hits me right above the top of the knee. If it sat lower down on my hips, it would be long enough for someone taller.

8. Party supplies says

   04/14/2015 at 1:04 pm

   Does anyone have recommendations for an online party supply store? I am looking for a ballet theme and I’m not finding anything I like at Amazon. Also, any tips or ideas for easy Baby Shower decorations?

   • Maddie Ross says

     04/14/2015 at 1:06 pm

     I had great luck with Etsy for baby shower invites and decorations.

   • NewMomAnon says

     04/14/2015 at 1:18 pm

     I ordered from a seller on Etsy called BigDotofHappiness for my daughter’s first birthday. Their stuff is very cute. I don’t know if they have ballet theme, but they might; they definitely have baby shower decorations, and non-theme (single color/color theme) decorations like polka dots and chevrons that could coordinate with a ballet theme.

   • Jdubs says

     04/14/2015 at 3:12 pm

     maybe Oriental Trading ?

9. Nonny says

   04/14/2015 at 1:12 pm

   Hi ladies! I’m looking for ideas re how to encourage my very stubborn 15-month-old to drink milk from a sippy cup. She’s been drinking cow’s milk (from a bottle) for about 3 months (and formula from a bottle before that), and knows how to use a sippy cup very well, but convincing her that milk can actually be drunk from a cup is proving to be quite a chore. She is still nursing morning and night, but until now has been having 2 bottles of milk during the day as well. She really likes having a bottle before her nap (we’re pretty much down to one nap per day now) but I want to at the very least get her to take her other milk from a cup, and ideally get rid of the pre-nap bottle as well (though not at the expense of the nap….she is not a great napper to begin with). I’m not concerned about her liquid intake but do want her to drink milk as well as water. Does anyone else have a stubborn LO who needed some extra encouragement to make this transition? What worked for you?

   • mascot says

     04/14/2015 at 1:37 pm

     Have you tried straw cups? My son really liked the Munchkin ones. Maybe the novelty will help. Also, were you or daycare/nanny heating her bottles? It could be she’s developed a preference for warm(er) milk, but not water.

   • Carrie M says

     04/14/2015 at 1:39 pm

     Have you tried serving it warm in the sippy cup? That helped us with the transition. She also initially preferred sippy cups with soft spouts (we got one by Nuk) since it was more bottle-like.

     I also treated the cup just like a bottle, following our normal routine – we would sit in her chair, I would “cradle” her (as much as you can cradle a wiggling toddler), and she’d hold the cup while I read her a book.

     If you’ve already tried a bunch of things, what about trying a straw cup instead of a sippy?

   • EB0220 says

     04/14/2015 at 1:41 pm

     I agree with both of the above points. You may try warming the milk to see if that’s an issue. We probably tried 10 kind of cups before my daughter successfully drank from one (Zoli Bot). We also had good luck eventually with the Lollacup.

   • Nonny says

     04/14/2015 at 1:47 pm

     Thanks! Warming the milk is not the issue….she will take cold milk from a bottle, no problem. So maybe I will try some different kinds of cups, and send different ones to daycare, too. Argh, toddlers. Particular little souls.

     Carrie M, your idea about treating the cup just like a bottle is a good one – I hadn’t thought of that.

   • JMDS says

     04/14/2015 at 2:19 pm

     You are not alone. We just easily switched my one year old to milk, but he only wants it warm and only in the bottle. We tried it warm in a straw sippy but he just spits it out. He will swallow juice from a straw sippy (we give him a little for constipation), but spits out water too. I’m hoping perseverance will work!

   • Jdubs says

     04/14/2015 at 3:15 pm

     We used the Gerber Nuk cup with the Ladybug on it… I called it the transition bottle since technically it was a sippy cup but it looked awfully similar to a bottle with the clear silicone top. Our stubborn bottle drinker took right too it… then after a few months of that she was totally fine with regular sippy cups.

     • Ciao, pues says

       04/14/2015 at 4:41 pm

       when you (or anyone) say “regular sippy cup,” what are you referring to? there are so many out there…

     • Burgher says

       04/14/2015 at 4:46 pm

       Those nuk cups with the clear silicone tops were the only way we could get ours to transition to a sippy cup, too. We just had to try out a bunch of different cups until we found one he liked.

   • TBK says

     04/14/2015 at 5:21 pm

     Watching this thread. My boys are the same. Water from a sippy cup = fine. Cow’s milk from a sippy cup = WORST THING EVER AHH AHH YOU’RE POISONING ME AND WHERE’S MY MILK!!! Sigh. We’re still doing bottles for milk for now. My one little guy — the one who always lets us know how he feels about everything every second — is a bottle fiend. They’re only just 12 months so I’m not pushing it yet.

     • Nonny says

       04/14/2015 at 5:25 pm

       Hah! That’s exactly my LO’s reaction. She takes one sip, thinking it’s water, and then you should see her expression change when she finds out it’s not. It’s actually pretty funny.

       I bought one of those Nuk cups at lunch so we’ll try that next….

10. lucy stone says

    04/14/2015 at 2:35 pm

    I found out Friday at my 12 week appointment that I had a missed miscarriage. I had a surgical D&C yesterday (Monday) and am planning on going to work next week. Is this enough time? I know everyone is different and I’m feeling physically okay but not that emotionally stable.

    • Newly pregnant says

      04/14/2015 at 2:44 pm

      I’m so sorry. I haven’t been in your shoes, but I would wait to determine that as it gets closer to the weekend or over the weekend. For me I guess the question would be, “can I get through a day of work without sobbing at my desk?” In my mind, a few tears here and there would be one thing, but if I couldn’t stop crying I would take more time.

    • JJ says

      04/14/2015 at 2:57 pm

      I’m so sorry for your loss. I went through the exact same thing with my first pregnancy. I had my D&C on the Friday before Memorial Day, and went back to work the following Wednesday. I was still pretty emotionally volatile, but well enough that I could hold it together in meetings, phone calls, etc.

      Unsolicited advice: time will eventually start to heal this wound. But there will be bad days, and never feel guilty for how long it takes you, personally, to mourn this loss.

    • Momata says

      04/14/2015 at 3:05 pm

      So sorry for your loss. I also went through the exact same thing. I had my procedure on a Thursday and was back to work on Tuesday – I had planned to go in on Monday but couldn’t do it. I was still emotional but could hold it together when necessary. Be good to yourself.

    • Famouscait says

      04/14/2015 at 3:16 pm

      I’m so sorry for your loss. The same thing happened to me. I took less time away from work than what you’ve laid out here. I also felt physically fine – the emotional toll truly didn’t hit me until a few weeks later. I wish I’d had the kind of boss that I could have told privately what was going on. Give yourself ample time and space to recover. My fog of grief and hormones drifted in and out for 4 months.

    • MomAnon4This says

      04/14/2015 at 4:05 pm

      For my missed miscarriage & D&E — the 3rd day afterward was the worst. I had the D&E on Saturday, I think, and I felt ok to take it easy and go back to work even on Monday but Tuesday, as I recall, was bad, and the advice from my mom was that the 3rd day was the worst! Not sure if it’s like that for everyone.

      Agree on the emotional recovery taking longer – for me, there was a lot of transition & change & dissatisfaction in my life at that time, so the miscarriage was more like “the last straw” or even the least of my problems, but it’s a good catalyst to take care of yourself, whatever that means to you.

    • anon says

      04/14/2015 at 5:33 pm

      so sorry to hear this. When it happened to me, I found out on a Friday, had the d&c on Tuesday, and returned to work on Thursday– it was really hard, but sitting around alone at home wasn’t helping either. I think it is different for everyone and there is no one right way to grieve (or not). Hugs.

    • Maddie Ross says

      04/14/2015 at 5:55 pm

      I am so sorry for your loss. I didn’t have to have surgery with my missed miscarriage, so I cannot comment on the physical, but for me, emotionally, the worst part was the waiting between finding out and it actually being “over.” Not to say there weren’t low points in the days/weeks following, but I felt likeI was better able to move on than I could in the interim period. I say this only to point out that everyone is different, there is no “right” way to handle this, and you need to do you. Go back and distract yourself if necessary. Or don’t and baby yourself if that’s you.

    • ChiSquared says

      04/14/2015 at 10:24 pm

      I am so very sorry for your loss. I had a D&E at 15 weeks due to Trisomy 18 last fall. The procedure was Mon-Tues, and I took the rest of the week off. I did a little work from home later that week. It was a welcome distraction. Do what is best for you, and be kind to yourself – give yourself permission to do what you need/want to do, especially these next few days.

    • KJ says

      04/15/2015 at 7:55 am

      No advice, but I’m so sorry to hear this. Please take good care of yourself during this tough time.