[Aura_Kitten]

... i hate nursing bras.

they were one of the things i had difficulty with when i was first trying to nurse my son.

with that said...

is it ok to nurse in something like an open-tip / open-cup bra? i mean, i know it's not a "real" nursing bra, and they're pretty... uh... fancy... but if i nurse in one will it cause any lasting psychological harm to my little one? or is there a physical reason why "standard" nursing bras would be better?

 

[be11ydancer]

I hate nursing bras too. I can't find one small enough to fit me that's comfortable. I found some bras at Wal Mart that are made of a thin microfiber and are very stretchy. I can just pull down the "cup" and she nurses. I guess it looks similar to the nighttime nursing bras that don't actually have clasps or anything. I doubt these would work well for people larger than a b or c cup because they offer no support.

 

[captain optimism]

Open tip? Open cup? You mean, like, with holes where the nipples peep out? Won't that be uncomfortable when your breasts get full? I'm just imagining engorgement with the nipples kind of forced out of holes. Eek. Or do you mean a bra that is supposed to show a lot of cleavage, and then you pull your nipple out of the top of it?

I don't see why any bra is going to be psychologically damaging to your child! Even if it's something that supposed to be sexy. What does your baby care, they think your breast is the most beautiful thing no matter what bra you wear. The point is for you to be comfortable, both with how your breasts feel and with how they look.

Did you try the Bravado bras the first time through? The snaps are pretty easy to open and close, and they are not unattractive. Okay, they aren't the most supportive, but they aren't uncomfortable either. I really enjoyed getting the one with the leopard print, it was what I was wearing in the hospital when I learned to nurse.

If I had small breasts I might do be11ydancer suggests and get the thin stretchy ones. I've always liked them anyway, they are pretty. But I have the Grand Tetons over here, so I wear a very constructed, extremely ugly, quite supportive, white, nursing bra--not the Bravado, except around the house. I learned to work the hooks that attach the cups with one hand. I figure if I have another child, even if I have trouble at the beginning with sore nipples, at least I can now work bra cups one handed!

 

[Electra375]

Those micro fiber bras at wal-mart with the maternity and nursing bras and panites are great. There are no clasp, no true cups etc. I am a D cup and I don't seem to need the support people always say you need. (Bottom line, your boobs are going to sag when you get old whether you nurse or don't and whether you where a bra or don't.) The only draw back is the lack of shape. I like a bra that give definition to my breast.

Bravado are non-defining as well, but do give support if you need it.

I'd go braless if it weren't for the leaking breast. At night I just leak

So, a bra with holes would definitely show any leaking right onto your shirt as well as you nipples would be well defined on your shirt.

Try to go without an underwire. An underwire can lead to clogged ducts (ouch!)

 

[cdahlgrd]

I used the Lane Bryant cotton and spandex bras. They are on sale right now, by the way.

They have a wide variety of sizes, especially online. I bought them one size bigger around the chest and then just lifted them up and down. None of the other bras were supportive enough, cheap enough, and easy enough to nurse in except those. I have since found a few more nursing bras I like, but they are about $60 each!!

 

[ebethmom]

Do those open-tip bras expose enough of the aereola for a baby to nurse? I can't stand to have my nipples rub against anything, so I think those would drive me nuts.

I do like my Bravado bras, especially while I'm pregnant! I didn't know about them last pregnancy, and I don't see how I made it through in underwire bras. Not comfortably, I recall!

While ds was an infant, I liked the Bravado's and the Medela softcup. But once ds hit toddlerhood and I lost some weight, I liked the Fancy Free best.

I wonder what it will feel like NOT to wear a nursing bra! It has been three years already!

 

[Goldiemom]

Personally, I just used a normal sport bra when I was nursing. Mostly it was because I would have had to special order the 36 I bra that I would have needed. I always found Ihad an easier time of just lifting up the sport bra over one breast and letting ds nurse then I could tuck my t-shirt up into the sport bra. That is just me though. Since I didn't nurse him in public much {with breasts that big I was very self concious at 20} I figured anyone who was around me in my own home could just deal with my nursing quirks.

 

[Aura_Kitten]

the open-tip bra i was referring to is actually just like the nursing bra i have, but pretty, more lightweight and has no flap thing. so... it would have enough room for nipple tip + aerola.

i've seen a lot of ads for the bravado ones... are those actually pretty decent?

 

[wildfarmsmama]

One of my new favorite 'undergarments' is a top for yoga (I think?). I got it at walmart and it's so comfy , like a cammie with stretchy staps and a 'shelf bra'. Very light--NOt for running! but the staps let me pull it down from the top and the rest covers my belly...but I'm only a B cup....

 

[ebethmom]

I like my Bravado bras. They pull on, so there are no itchy fasteners in the back. The elastic band under the cups is also fairly wide - I like the way it fits over my hugely pregnant rib cage. This baby stretches all the way from my rib cage to my pubic bone already.

I liked the Bravados less once ds hit the toddler stage. I didn't have any more engorgement by then, and my other nursing bras had more support.

(It just occurred to me that I gave away my overnight nursing bra! What was I thinking?? I'm remembering now just how much I leaked overnight. I would stand up in the morning and drip all over my feet.)