are nursing clothes necessary? - Page 2

[Earthylady]

I LOVE nursing shirts! At DH's grandmother of the year banquet dd was asleep at my breast while family photos were being taken and no one was the wiser. Plus, I buy the ones on clearance at Motherhood and are comfy, convenient, and pretty. If I don't like them and they don't fit my style, I don't buy them. But, I've nursed everywhere and most of the time, nobody knows the difference...even if they are staring at me or baby while it nurses. It's just that discreet. Plus, it makes me feel comfortable because my side or belly isn't showing. There are lots of different openings and styles, and some are better than others. I have lots of nursing shirts that you can't even tell are nursing shirts. They are just pretty. For the first year or so with dd, I always wore a nursing shirt if I was going to be in public. It made me feel confident and not afraid of offending someone.

Mandy

[eilonwy]

I found that I only needed a nursing top (dress, actually) once, but I never go anywhere or do anything. If I was, say, going to services regularly I'd like to have a few nice ones, but because I spend most of my time at home there's just no need for them. Nightgowns bothered me (my boobs are too big and the nightgowns never fit right in the front, besides which I had to wear a regular bra to sleep), and to get a decent nursing top would be expensive, so it just never happened.

I mean, I wouldn't say no if I found some nice, quality nursing tops in a thrift store in my size; I'd have a good excuse to start going to services again and such, but as it is I'm okay with my t-shirts.

[radicalmama]

popping in from May...

I had a black velvet motherwear dress that I LOVED. I wore it to a funeral and a bunch of high end parties and nursed away.

Other than that though, most nursing clothes just don't seem to look quite right...

[Mom2-4Gs]

A friend gave me a couple maternity nursing tops. But they looked so sloppy to wear for either. So I picked one apart and changed the sleeve (my first attempt ever) and cut off quite a bit from the sides. I did sew one sleeve on backwards!
I was going to try taking 2 shirts and making another attempt also. still need to do that. I did find a good nursing bra at the thrift store that fits! And a long black motherwear dress. Also you can always cut holes in wife beaters and wear under if you like layering or someone told me they did this with a turtle neck and had a shirt over it. I made one belly band and want to make a couple more. The really cute stuff is so high. I really didn't use a lot of nursing clothes but if I see some that looks good at the thrift store I'll get it. I hate the ones that make you still look PG.

Allison
Mom to 4 daughters and a ? due end of April

[tropicalmom]

Originally Posted by ktkb

Necessary? No.

Sometimes nice to have? Absolutely. If you are not sure about how you will feel re: nursing in public, it would be great to have a couple of tops, I think.

I started NIP the day after I came home from the hospital, and it helped me (psychologically speaking) to know that I wasn't flashing the entire restaurant/doctor's office/library.

My daughter hated to have anything (blanket, sling tail, etc.) over her head, so I loved having nursing clothes when I was at synagogue or eating at friends' houses. I never felt like I had to leave the room or "cover up" (I was already covered).

That being said, I only spent full price on one top (from Boob nursingwear); everything I bought from Motherwear or Expressiva was from the clearance section or end of season sales (when dd arrived in June I had 3 sweaters and a turtleneck, lol). And one very kind friend who ebf her kids gave me a gift certificate to Motherwear as a baby gift. I certainly don't have a full wardrobe (dresses, fancy tops, etc), but they definitely helped me feel comfortable in the first, say, 6-8 months of nursing. After that I didn't care quite as much.

What did you think of the Boob shirt? They seem like just what I'm looking for but interested in your opinion.

Julie

[lmonter]

Nope, never had any nursing clothes, probably never will. Well, unless you count the Bravado bras I have that I no longer use.

My typical uniform is a tank top and yoga pants (our wood stove keeps the house toasty during the winter) or shorts. I'd just pull my boob out the top of my shirt - I'm more shy about my flabby stretchmarked belly than I am about my boobs (hey, they look good when I'm nursing). I'd nurse ds that way when he wanted to and was in my pouch sling in the hip carry - the sling covered up most of what people could possibly find objectionable.

Although before ds and I really got the hang of nursing I'd use a thin blanket to cover up so when ds would unlatch every few seconds I wouldn't be completely flashing people (back when I had modesty).

Lanna

[ktkb]

Originally Posted by tropicalmom

What did you think of the Boob shirt? They seem like just what I'm looking for but interested in your opinion.

Julie

Pricey but nice. Definitely a fitted look, unlike most of my nursing clothes (I am an xs, but for many styles I resorted to small). Held up well in the wash. Once I got the hang of how the top "works," was able to nurse with the absolute minimum of skin showing. I have a short sleeve boob top, and the sleeves were a little too short for me to feel comfortable in at synagogue, but I loved to layer it with a (non-nursing/non-maternity) cardigan or a blouse. At the time I bought it (2 yrs ago), I only recall seeing solid colors, but now I think they have funky prints and patterns and such.

If I wasn't lusting over a Peanut Shell pouch, I'd probably want to spend the same money on another boob top