Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)...

[Bella_mezzo]

Help!

I am 14 weeks pregnant and have pretty much exhausted the bras I can buy at a regular store. Before getting pregnant I was a 38DD, now I am busting out of 42DDD and still have a long way to go in this pregnancy. I know about online stores that carry larger sizes, as well as custom bra stores (I live in New York City and I think there are several) but I have limited funds and am just not sure what to expect.

-Should I start buying bras that will also work for nursing?
-My mom was a similar size as me before her pregnancies and went up to an H-I while pregnant and nursing, should I expect the same?
-Where are the most affordable places to buy comfortable, supportive bras to wear in these sizes?
-Do you have any tips for me?!?!?

 

[candy]

Re: Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)..

This is just my experience... but my chest was the first thing that grew in pregnancy. I went up a cup size at the very beginning and stayed there throughout pregnancy, and am still at the same size while breastfeeding (I have a six month old). I say don't break the bank on bras that you won't need for the long term -- just wait and see. Personally, I've never worn a special nursing bra. For the first few weeks post-partum I wore regular tank tops with a built in shelf bra, but then went back to my regular underwire bras. I know those are frowned upon during breastfeeding, but it's the most comfortable for me and I've never had a problem. I wish I could suggest bras in special sizes but I'm "only" a D cup now. My only tip for you is to take it one day at a time and do whatever is most comfortable for you

 

[CurlySue]

Re: Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)..

Hi, Bella!

I was a 36DD before pregnancy and had a similar experience to Candy in that mine grew early on in pregnancy and then pretty much stayed the same - I went up to a 38G. I was still wearing the same size the first few months after I delivered, and now that I've dropped a fair amount of pregnancy weight, I could probably go down to a 36G but the 38G still fits fairly well so I am sticking with it.

-Should I start buying bras that will also work for nursing?
As Candy said, you can get away without buying nursing bras if you want. I just thought they'd be easier to use when I went back to work, so I went with nursing bras. However, I held off on buying them until the very end of my pregnancy, mainly b/c I wanted to get as close as possible to the right size and I wasn't sure until the end that my size wasn't going to change too much more. Until then, I just got a few of my normal/favorite bras in a bigger size once I started getting the dreaded double-boob. I think I got those at the beginning of my second trimester and I was lucky in that I was able to wear those through the end of my pregnancy. I think I bought a nursing bra around 35 weeks, figuring I wouldn't grow much more after that. When I tried my nursing bra on, I made sure it fit well but that I had a slight bit of room to grow in case I was a little bigger when my milk came in.

-My mom was a similar size as me before her pregnancies and went up to an H-I while pregnant and nursing, should I expect the same?
My mom has a small chest, so I couldn't compare myself to her in that regard... and our pregnancies were pretty different. So... no idea. I do think it can be risky to try to guess how big you'll get. I actually thought I would end up in a much bigger size than I am now, so I'm glad I held off.

-Where are the most affordable places to buy comfortable, supportive bras to wear in these sizes?
I am a major online shopper. For my regular bras, I use Bare Necessities. For my nursing bras, I went with Amazon, because I figured it would be easy to return them if they didn't work out or I didn't end up using them. I am not sure I would say either site is terribly affordable though, because the bras I seem to like are still pretty expensive (though sometimes I have BN coupons or they have a sale). I haven't had a ton of luck finding a really good bra at a great price. I think I spent $50-ish per underwire nursing bra, which is on the lower end of the price range for ones that work for me.

-Do you have any tips for me?!?!?
If I were you, I would just try to buy one really good bra that fits you right now, maybe with a little bit of room to grow - just in case, and I'd wear the heck out of it. Then see where you stand as you get closer to the end of your pregnancy and decide then whether you want to invest in nursing bras. You might end up making your own out of sports bras or you might just wear nursing tanks. Everyone seems to have their own preference for what works best for them.

I like the Elomi brand for nursing and went with an underwire. I have a hard time finding non-underwire bras that actually give support and make me feel good about how I look. They say you need to be careful with underwire while nursing b/c it can lead to blocked ducts, but I'm 3+ months in and haven't had any issues... and I have worn underwires the entire time I have been nursing (man, I really hope I didn't just jinx myself!). I think you just need to make sure you don't wear them too tight. I wouldn't say it's super easy to unhook the cup, but I haven't found that to be a big deal. It's not the end of the world to me if I can't do it one-handed all the time.

Looking forward to seeing if someone has another suggestion for an affordable place to get bras in larger sizes... would love to have a better option!

 

[bobbin]

Re: Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)..

I was a DD before pregnancy. At 14 weeks I was an E-F depending on brand and I didn't really grow any more for the rest of the pregnancy.

After my milk came in, I went up to a G cup.

I am now still nursing at 15 months, and I went back down to a DD-E cup about 2 months ago (I lost about 10kg at the same time, so I think it was the weight loss and the decreasing frequency of nursing combined).

So my advice is that any bras you are buying during pregnancy in all likelihood won't be the bras you use whilst nursing, as your breasts will grow again when your milk comes in.

For me, I ended up really liking Hotmilk bras. Which was good, as I could only find bras in my size in Hotmilk, Cake and another brand I can't remember in the breastfeeding association shop (I'm in Aus). As an aside, I think it is absolutely ridiculous that many major lingerie brands only go up to a DD cup in their maternity ranges!

When looking for a nursing bra, I would recommend one that has the triangle sling type shape - just googled and it is called an 'A' frame - this supports your breasts whilst the front of the bra is down when you are nursing. This was my favourite bra when nursing: http://shop.hotmilklingerie.com/eclipse-black-nursing-bra/

I also bought some breastfeeding singlets with in built shelf bra to wear at night. I felt like I needed support and it made it easy to breastfeed at night. I bought Lovable brand ones, which were great (had magnetic clips which are super easy to close at night when sleepy) but I think they have changed their design now.

I couldn't tell you where is more affordable to buy as I bought mine from the Australian Breastfeeding Association as I got a discount! I would recommend going somewhere that specialises in maternity wear and/or breastfeeding to get fitted. I did that at 4 weeks post partum and they were great - they understood fluctuation in size due to being due for a feed/just feeding, when your milk settles down, what can damage breasts whilst breastfeeding etc.

However, I am now wearing the bras I bought when pregnant, as I am still nursing but my bra size has gone back down again. You need a soft cup bra whilst pregnant to prevent damage to the milk ducts anyway, so it is worthwhile buying nursing bras now for these reasons too.

 

[Rosebloom]

Re: Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)..

I haven't read the other responses so I apologies if this is duplicative (or contradictory!). I had almost the exact measurements you have. I strongly recommend getting nursing bras now. Bras are so pricey and I've been through several sizes while pregnant/nursing. You may end up needing to buy other nursing bras later but the ones you buy now will probably be useful for the initial time. Even though my size has settled down now (baby is 16 months and so nursing much less), I still wear the slightly too large nursing bras. (And for me, nursing with regular bras just stretches them out and wrecks them).

I've bought pretty much every brand nursing bra made. By far my favorite (by far!!!) is Anita. This style in particular is fantastic:

Anita Maternity Women's Underwire Nursing Bra #5041
http://amzn.com/B0011N3GZQ

Nordstroms carries them (sometimes they have to order them but they will) if you want to try one on.

ETA: for the past five years I've been either pregnant or nursing - so I've spent way too much time and money on this issue! When this phase of life is done I can't wait to buy a frivolous pretty non-nursing bra!

 

[pancake]

Re: Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)..

-Should I start buying bras that will also work for nursing?

It's hard to say, as it varies so much between women! For me, my chest did most of its growing during the first and early-second trimesters, but I just bought bigger "regular" bras until the 3rd tri, when I switched to nursing/maternity bras. But my chest size was a bit easier to cater for - during pregnancy I got up to a 36D (from a 34B).

-My mom was a similar size as me before her pregnancies and went up to an H-I while pregnant and nursing, should I expect the same?

Not necessarily, but again - depends! Hard to know. I was a "full" 36D at the end of pregnancy, was an E when my milk came in, settled back to a D and now at 18 months (and still nursing 2-3 times a day) I'm back to a B.

-Where are the most affordable places to buy comfortable, supportive bras to wear in these sizes?

I don't have any experiences in buying bras at that end of the size range, but I have been wearing Bravado Body Silk seamless nursing bras since my 3rd trimester and they have been amazing - SO comfortable, and cope with a big range of size fluctuations.

 

[Dandi]

Re: Let's talk about maternity bras (especially above DDD)..

I agree with bobbin, I love Hotmilk nursing bras!