Nursing bra help

[Ninetales]

I'm looking to order my nursing bras pretty soon but I am having trouble with sizing. I technically wore a 42B pre-pregnancy, but that is a hard size to find outside specialty stores and since I was cheap and lazy I just wore 42Cs. The initial growth in my first trimester caused me to need another two inches or so of band and I ended up filling the C. So in the middle of my eighth month I'm a 44C.

*Side note - I don't trust bra fitters because I have never found one that gives me an accurate fit. They always either give me a band size that won't even go around me or tell me I should be wearing a huge cup size. Trust me, each one fits in a hand, they are not Ds or anything larger.

I don't want to wait until my milk comes in to order my bras but how am I supposed to guess how big I'll get? I mean, for me, there's a pretty big difference between 1 and 2 cup sizes, which will make the difference between one size and another. And I have barely grown at all through my pregnancy so I don't know what to expect.

[eeem]

Get a couple nursing sports bras for now- places like Target and Walmart have them, but definitely wait until your milk comes in to order real bras. Your boobs will thank you for getting a good fit. You would not BELIEVE the size changes that can happen when your milk comes in. I have found that bra sizing is a crap shoot at best- take your own measurements (using a cloth or paper tape, measure around your chest under your arms and above your boobs- that is your band size- then measure around your chest and across your nipples- the # of inches different from the band size is your cup size (ie. 1 inch=a 2inches=b, etc.) This has never given me a perfect fit, but it gets you in the ball park.
I HIGHLY recommend the website figleaves.com- they have the widest range of sizes in nursing bras I have ever come across (and I am a hard to fit 34/36I) and after the initial shipping charge ALL EXCHANGES AND RETURNS ARE FREE!!! I went through probably 20 bras, with 5 different shipments, before I got the one that was just right- all for about $4.00 shipping.
Having been nursing for over three years now, I am glad I got the best fit possible, and sorry I wasted so much time in the beginning wearing bras that weren't quite right.

[I'mAMama!]

You should definitely wait and go the sports bra/shelf tank route at first (my boobs were too big for anything at Target, but I got a couple nursing tank tops with shelf bras from motherhood maternity...not great support, but good enough at first).

There's no way to predict how you'll change....I went from a 36DD to a 36H, my sister went from 38C to a 40F, and my best friend only went up a cup size. breakoutbras.com also has a great range of sizes and low shipping (free I think, or close to it). Their customer service people are really helpful too. Also, measure yourself...I too have had bad luck with getting accurate measurements.

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

ITA w/the others. Get a nursing tank until you know what size you are when your milk comes in. I love Target nursing tanks. They are $17 and well worth it! And, I'm a DDD when nursing and the Target tanks fit really well.

[LDSmomma]

birthandbaby.com is owned by a former lll leader, and the shipping is only $1, and they have a great return policy, so you can buy 10 bras if you want, and pay little for shipping, then return as many as you need to.

The site also has great help as far as sizing.

[llwr]

yeah, start with some stretchy sports-type bras.

Here's another idea that worked for me. I hated my nursing bras. After the initial getting used to latching on and such, I just wore my regular bras and pushed the cup out of the way.

[MamaPhD]

Yeah, wait until milk comes in. I went from 36B to 40D and almost passed out from shock! I wear nursing tanks with shelf bra (from Target) pretty much daily. Much comfier/cheaper/easier to fit than nursing bras.