Bra /braless talk/breast questions « Back to Group Discussions

[here we are]

Hi everyone. I am a braless person, size Bish?, and i dress to hide them. I never had positive experiences with bras, squeezing at my ribcage.Anyone do pregnancy braless? If there was only the right one out there. I personally cant tolerate synthetic materials, and would think many would be in a similar situation. I was thinking of a boob tube kind of thing although I dont think it is very physically supportive . Bring on the bra wisdom, who else wants to prepare?

[skycheattraffic]

Ever since I had DD (and a big chunk of the third trimester too) I switched to sportsbras. I find them comfortable and practical - great for nursing. I just have a bunch of really cheap ones and I replace them as they get worn out. it'll be tough to go back to underwires after the kiddos are older and I'll be looking for a job.

[talldarkeyes]

I liked the nursing sports bras they sold at Motherhood maternity. They are a cotton blend. Just wear regular bras at this point though much of the day I also go bra-less.

[heyitskalista]

I like sports bras too.  I've not been blessed in the booby department though...so I don't need much in the way of support! ;) 
 

[dayiscoming2006]

I'm wearing something like a sport's bra right now. It's stretchy and not tight. I can't wear anything else because it's way too uncomfortable. 

[mamagnome]

Ha!  After my second child stopped nursing, there wasn't much of anything left of my poor girls.  I usually wear a snug camisole or a sports bra type bra.  Motherwear makes these great night time nursing bras that are super comfy, I wore mine until I wore it out.  Planning on getting another one for this time around.  Plus, they're very flexible.  In my own experience, I tend to go from about an AA cup to a D cup once the baby is born and nursing!  Because of this, I just found it too uncomfortable to go bra-less.  I guess I'll enjoy having boobies again though, at least for a while! 

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by mamagnome 

In my own experience, I tend to go from about an AA cup to a D cup once the baby is born and nursing!  

I have the same thing happen to me. I go from an A to a DD. LOL It's insane. 

[coldinaugust]

Oh my goodness, YES. Thank you for starting this thread! I am also a braless person, and wondering if it's going to work being a braless pregnant person/nursing mom. I have fibromyalgia & also can't stand that feeling of being choked around the ribcage--and it really doesn't matter how comfy the bra is supposed to be. I think it's a matter of my sensory nerves being on overload rather than the actual bra. I recently bought a "sleep" maternity bra that looks a lot like this one at Motherwear, and I lasted 2 hours before tearing it off and throwing it across the room. 

I've had minor success with jury-rigging my own. I take a camisole-style undershirt (I was wearing a little girl's size large until I got pregnant, LOL), and cut it off under the ribcage, leaving room to sew a hem for elastic. Then I make the hem, and insert a very loose, thin elastic-- 1/4" braided that's barely smaller than my actual ribcage. I don't get any support out of it, but I was small enough to not need support, just nipple coverage. Which also requires a modification---I take the rest of the undershirt that I cut off (below the ribcage) and use it to sew a two-layered rectangle, which I then sew into the boob area. It comes out kind of lumpy, sometimes visible under tighter shirts, but it's the only thing that I've ever found that even comes close to working. 

I think I might try to make a pattern out of the nursing one I couldn't wear, but use my 1/4" elastic that's barely larger than my ribcage instead of the tighter, thicker kind that comes on store bras. I'm super interested to hear what works for other bra haters ;-) 
 

[skycheattraffic]

I'm on the other end of the scale. I'm a plus size mom and chesty to begin with but in late pregnancy/nursing, my 42H bras get too small! The sports bras really don't offer all the support I need but a) they are comfortable b) make nursing easy and c) make me reasonably presentable. I just go with them and I'll think about reviving my "nice" bras once this second kiddo starts JK and I'll be in the job market. Until then, I'll get by with comfy clothes and sneakers

[InLove2009]

I an a double d now, and I hate sports bras! They make me look like a have a uni boob. I go bra less at night, for now, and during the day I wear one with underwires. I work at a back, do the uni boob look really wouldn't work. But it is starting to get very uncomfortable in there

[here we are]

Originally Posted by coldinaugust 

Oh my goodness, YES. Thank you for starting this thread! I am also a braless person, and wondering if it's going to work being a braless pregnant person/nursing mom. I have fibromyalgia & also can't stand that feeling of being choked around the ribcage--and it really doesn't matter how comfy the bra is supposed to be. I think it's a matter of my sensory nerves being on overload rather than the actual bra. I recently bought a "sleep" maternity bra that looks a lot like this one at Motherwear, and I lasted 2 hours before tearing it off and throwing it across the room. 

I've had minor success with jury-rigging my own. I take a camisole-style undershirt (I was wearing a little girl's size large until I got pregnant, LOL), and cut it off under the ribcage, leaving room to sew a hem for elastic. Then I make the hem, and insert a very loose, thin elastic-- 1/4" braided that's barely smaller than my actual ribcage. I don't get any support out of it, but I was small enough to not need support, just nipple coverage. Which also requires a modification---I take the rest of the undershirt that I cut off (below the ribcage) and use it to sew a two-layered rectangle, which I then sew into the boob area. It comes out kind of lumpy, sometimes visible under tighter shirts, but it's the only thing that I've ever found that even comes close to working. 

I think I might try to make a pattern out of the nursing one I couldn't wear, but use my 1/4" elastic that's barely larger than my ribcage instead of the tighter, thicker kind that comes on store bras. I'm super interested to hear what works for other bra haters ;-) 

 

yes, yes and yes! Cant stand the choking feeling at ALL. I am feeling "heavy" especially down the stairs or if moving fast, but for some reason when i do my walking around the block i just feel energized from all the circulation or something. I am hoping i t stays that way. I have been pregnant more times than i can count on my hand so i used to be like AAtotally "flat" & have since changed to a B ish size. Let us hear, does ANYONe go totally braless forever, irrelevant of size? I hope it doesnt get the point of heaviness outweighing the negativity of the squeezing ribcage. My friend always had big breast, probably bigger than what normal stores sell, she had stretch marks on her shoudersr and couldnt run without hitting herself in the face, a, always had backpain nd finally got surgery. We women have so much todeal with. I think i am getting a boob tube like the one mentioned with loose elastic, but i think the boob tube is just supposed to hold on on its own? Maybe it has spandex, which i can sometimes tolerate in small amounts, other times it makesme sweaty.. I wish i wasnt so picky, my mom called me princess and the pea when i was little, but it was really all those synthetics! I am on the search for a squeezeless bra, something adjustable. This phone keyboard is frustating, im tired. You all are awesome, i love coming to read your inputs, i just get so fed up writing back on this device.

[here we are]

Since this i am begginning to feel so comfortable here,,how about nipple hair? I have been dealing with PCOS, so i have lots dark thick hair, will it get in the way nuresing i dont like plucking it makes it worse. Sorry this keyboard is not allowing me to spell, or edit very easily.

[wrenmoon]

I am another bra hater. I'm a...how do you say it, C with no internal structure left not pregnant and what feels like a JKLMNOP when nursing. But I don't know what size they actually get to cause I hate bras so much I've never gone to get fitted for one. I really dislike the caged feeling of bras. So I usually go without unless I'm going to be in public and then I wear a shelf bra camisole thing with a safety pin to gather the middle to avoid the total uniboob look. I have bought simple sports bras and gathered and sewn the center and used those for nursing too.
I really only wear bras for other people's sake cause let's face it they are already laying down on my chest and wearing a bra will not really change that. I wish they were smaller so I could do without entirely, sagging be darned.

Here we are: I have friends with lots of nipple hair. It didn't interfere with nursing. Your little one won't mind, not one bit.

Speaking of pregnant breasts, I feel like mine are going to break off. It is intense how much they are hurting. (With a bra or without) Anyone else experiencing this?

[dayiscoming2006]

I bought the target gilligan and omalley sleep nursing bras last time and they were very comfortable. I hate a regular structured bra, but appreciate light support. If I don't wear a bra during nursing, I get clogged milk ducts. I have to wear a bra 24/7 during that time. 

For new moms, don't ever wear an underwire bra if you are nursing because it's known to cause clogged ducts. In case you haven't heard that before.

[coldinaugust]

I only wear a bra for other people's sake too. It just occurred to me that if I'm planning on wearing my baby a lot (in the front), then maybe I won't need to wear a bra for nipple coverage, since there will be a baby blocking the view! Oh, that would be great...
 

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by coldinaugust 

I only wear a bra for other people's sake too. It just occurred to me that if I'm planning on wearing my baby a lot (in the front), then maybe I won't need to wear a bra for nipple coverage, since there will be a baby blocking the view! Oh, that would be great...
 

Well, that may depend how much you leak with nursing.

[wrenmoon]

Originally Posted by dayiscoming2006 

Well, that may depend how much you leak with nursing.

Well. THAT is true.
I'll never forget going to a show with another nursing mom friend of mine and we were dancing all night long and young men (22-23 yrs old) were hitting on us (we are in our mid thirties) and then all at once both of us started leaking like crazy cause we'd been away from our kids for so long, and we got no more pretend disbelief when we told them to buzz off, we're mamas and we have five children between us. The look on their faces was priceless. We kept dancing cause really, how often does one get to go dancing anymore? Those poor guys are probably still talking about us.
Sorry, back to the topic at hand. Bras with pads are sometimes good.

[coldinaugust]

Bummer. I guess I'd need somewhere to stash the...leak guards? Is that what those round pieces of pad/cloth are called?
 

[cynthiamoon]

LOL, wrenmoon!

[Ruheling]

As someone who is currently overflowing 36-DDD cups, all I can suggest is heading somewhere like Nordstrom and getting fitted for 1-2 good bras. Yes, they cost a ton (though the lady I used last time helped me find some appropriately-sized stuff on the clearance rack), but it was totally worth it for me. Now that I know what to look for, I can shop at The Rack or discount stores. My bras are technically tighter than they were before, but so much more comfortable (was able to get natural fabrics too) and I don't get any weird rubbing or chafing.