maternity bras?

[Ms Ordinary]

You might also want to get a really comfy unstructured bra (or even a stretchy tank-top type bra if you don't need the support) to sleep in when you are night feeding.

Even if you don't want a bra to sleep in, you'll need it just to hold the breast pads on so you don't have to sleep in a soggy wet milk-drenched bed .

 

[Miscellaneous]

Isn't it funny how utterly varied our experiences all are? I was begging to go home! Mind you I'd had an epidural and for the next 12 hours frankly you could have drilled holes in my left leg and I wouldn't have noticed- it was completely paralysed! (I'd still do it again, mind ) They kept us there for 2 days. In the end I was desperate as it was Xmas Eve- otherwise it would have been longer!

Ahhh thats why, scary though how it differs hospital to hospital though. Id have given anything for an epidural though.

 

[felixthecat]

I have no idea what I went up to when pregnant - mit would have been something very very scary tho. I thought that maternity bras were measured by your pre-pregnant size? they used to be. Anyway I got mine from mothercare, many many moons ago. I second the button front nightie thing tho - you don't realise quite how important it is until you have to hoik your nightie up in front of an admiring audience I booughty some button front tee-shirt things from Littlewoods,..........and if you can't understand what I'm,on about its because I'm pissed - blame aqua for sending me virtual gin...........

 

[spanglechick]

I have no idea what I went up to when pregnant - mit would have been something very very scary tho. I thought that maternity bras were measured by your pre-pregnant size? they used to be. Anyway I got mine from mothercare, many many moons ago. I second the button front nightie thing tho - you don't realise quite how important it is until you have to hoik your nightie up in front of an admiring audience I booughty some button front tee-shirt things from Littlewoods,..........and if you can't understand what I'm,on about its because I'm pissed - blame aqua for sending me virtual gin...........

hmm - i used to work for mothercare (saturday girl 1990-1991) and at that stage maternity clothes were given at pre-maternity sizes, but we were trained to measure for bras (and support girdles - nice). Maybe it changed...

anyway - i've got the fear. i'm already a HH cup - wtf is going to happen if i have kids? they're already rugby balls... beach balls?

 

[felixthecat]

If I were pregnant now I'd hate to think of ewhat might happen to my boobs.

I'M a f cup now - I do not want to think what I would go up to

Thank god the chances of me getting pregnant are nil

 

[ice-is-forming]

just as long as you are comfortable and supported.

perhaps get a front opening breast feeding bra so you can reherse opening and closing it with one hand

i have heaps (as i am sure others do too) of experience about breast feeding.
both good and surprising things that in my day no one told you about.

feel free to pm me.

i breast fed all 4 of mine.

i allways found button fronts for feeding more exposing than t shirts.

i mean you gotta hoike a button front off yer shoulder, expose the top of yer boob etc...
if you lift up a t shirt you can tuck yer baby underneath, expose a small amount of midriff and alls sweet.
people won't even notice..

and believe me , you may not give a shit where you feed but other people will, so iether prepare for a life made hard by idiots and invest in slogan style t shirts to make your point or opt for a stress free easier life, after all its not your problem its theirs.

sorry feel ,like i'v gone off track but i was a militant breast feeder in the day...

also a mlitant birth giver....but thats another story.

 

[trashpony]

just as long as you are comfortable and supported.

perhaps get a front opening breast feeding bra so you can reherse opening and closing it with one hand

i have heaps (as i am sure others do too) of experience about breast feeding.
both good and surprising things that in my day no one told you about.

feel free to pm me.

i breast fed all 4 of mine.

Thanks - that's very kind. I'm some way off the breast feeding bit but I'm keen to have a go and experiences vary loads from what I've heard.

It's very weird - I looked down at myself last night in the bath and apart from my feet which are recognisable, the rest of my body looks like it belongs to someone else. Very strange.

 

[ice-is-forming]

thats cos at the moment it may as well belong to some one else

but honestly, as the day grows nearere, you have a show, some 'twinges' its so very hard to wrap your head around the fact that maybe by this time tomorrow that life in side yo will be in the bassinet on the other side of the room to you, totally doing it all independently + +

WHENS BABY DUE? BOY OR GIRL?

 

[trashpony]

thats cos at the moment it may as well belong to some one else

but honestly, as the day grows nearere, you have a show, some 'twinges' its so very hard to wrap your head around the fact that maybe by this time tomorrow that life in side yo will be in the bassinet on the other side of the room to you, totally doing it all independently + +

WHENS BABY DUE? BOY OR GIRL?

Not till march and I don't know yet - I will hopefully find out in two weeks' time

 

[ice-is-forming]

they are very good ime, i didn't ask with the first one , but curiosity got the better of me on the other 3 and all predictions were correct.
3 boys first then a girl.

stay healthy babe, swisse womans 'pregnancy' supplements are cool, take the mental, emotional and physicall stuff into account

 

[Skim]

i was a militant breast feeder in the day...

They're called lactivists now

 

[Rollem]

Have you been fitted yet, coz if not can I just suggest that you DON’T go to mothercare, they sucked when I went. john lewis, however we ace and had all kinds of price ranges

as for breast feeding, play it by ear, it might afterall not be up to you in the long run

 

[trashpony]

Have you been fitted yet, coz if not can I just suggest that you DON’T go to mothercare, they sucked when I went. john lewis, however we ace and had all kinds of price ranges

as for breast feeding, play it by ear, it might afterall not be up to you in the long run

The people who staff my local mothercare are all bored and generally don't appear to give a shit. So no, I wasn't going to go there. I was thinking M&S or John Lewis but now I think of it, I went with a friend years ago and they were really nice.

I'm going to see what happens with the feeding thing - if I can do it/enjoy it/baby enjoys it, great, if not, no one's going to die.

I'll probably be weeping in a corner if the time comes but I'll bother you lot with that then

 

[twisted_angel]

First of i just want to say congratualtions trashy..i didnt realise you was pregnant! xxxxx

I got my maternity bras from john lewis...that was many years ago though, i dont think we even have one here now.... but when i became bigger i found that sports vests were most comfi, i couldnt get on with the breast feed thing, i had an infection after my daughter and one feed of my son and i was dry and produced no more milk....little pig! explains why hes 14 and almost 6 ft now i suppose...it will all be fine take it one step at a time.



Ohh im getting all excited for you

 

[trashpony]

First of i just want to say congratualtions trashy..i didnt realise you was pregnant! xxxxx

I got my maternity bras from john lewis...that was many years ago though, i dont think we even have one here now.... but when i became bigger i found that sports vests were most comfi, i couldnt get on with the breast feed thing, i had an infection after my daughter and one feed of my son and i was dry and produced no more milk....little pig! explains why hes 14 and almost 6 ft now i suppose...it will all be fine take it one step at a time.



Ohh im getting all excited for you

Yes well - if you will bugger off for months on end ...

Thanks honey Sports tops are a good idea. I've got a john lewis very near me so I'll go this weekend - I need comfort!

 

[twisted_angel]

Yes well - if you will bugger off for months on end ...

Thanks honey Sports tops are a good idea. I've got a john lewis very near me so I'll go this weekend - I need comfort!

Lol sorry...i was a grumpy cow and going through alot so thought id be better of leaving for a bit instead of inflicting you all with my misery.

The sports bras are great after the birth too, you get the need to compress them when your milk comes in ( well i did though some say they cant stand them being touched) they are a god send.

 

[Skim]

I'm going to see what happens with the feeding thing - if I can do it/enjoy it/baby enjoys it, great, if not, no one's going to die. [/SIZE]

Good attitude – do what feels right for you.

I haven't done as well with breastfeeding as I'd like to. He had problems latching on and it was incredibly painful for me to breastfeed. I ended up giving him formula on day three when he was screaming in the middle of the night and I didn't seem to be producing much colostrum. Unfortunately this introduced some confusion between teat and nipple, so I pumped milk into a bottle for two weeks and fed a mixture of formula and breastmilk before jacking in the breastfeeding.

There's a load of pressure to breastfeed, and for good reasons, but it's not easy for everyone. Good luck

 

[omlette]

so many women give up on breastfeeding BEFORE their milk comes in (which can take up to a week or even longer), the baby is designed to survive on colostrum (which is produced in small quantities) at the beginning and is expected to lose weight over the first week.

As a sometime lactation consultant (but by NO means a militant lactivist) it makes me so sad to see so many women give up before they even have any milk.

TP - if you want to breastfeed (and if you decide not to for whatever reason, fine), DO educate yourself a bit about it before you have the baby, because the knowledge of many midwives and doctors is so woefully inadequate and some of them will try to scare you into bottlefeeding after a day or two if you don't have your milk yet, which as Skim says can mess up nursing entirely or at least make it so much harder.

My attitude (not that you asked ) is feed however works for you and your baby, but if you're gonna give BF a shot, at least give it a real shot with all the information at your fingertips.

 

[ice-is-forming]

the biggest thing i found out about breast feeding was that after about 6-8 weeks it all sorts its self out big time.
doesn't hurt, and the milk only fills yer boobs up when needed iyswim.
but thats me perhaps?

and no disrespect to ladies who bottle feed either
i breast fed the 1st for 3 years, i was allmost allways onthe road.
the next one got about 1 year.
no 3 got ummmm 8 months?
and last one couldn't be breast fed cos of getting confused in hospital by a nurse with a bottle only one i stayed in hospital for, and then that was only 1 night

coughhomebirthcough

sports bras are great tho, forgot about them for being pregnant, i still like to wear these.

 

[trashpony]

The hospital I'm having the baby at have a a really well set up breastfeeding support thing with lactation consultants coming to visit you on the wards and at home so I'll get a lot of support.

One of my friends was made to feel terribly guilty when she couldn't do it and got very distressed but then had no problems with her second baby.

I am going to try and persevere but it really depends on how it goes and if it doesn't go well, how much I can take. Your experience sounds pretty hard skim

 

[moomoo]

I had real trouble getting a decent maternity bra as my boobs went off the scale!

In the end I had a bra advisor come out from the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and they sorted me out with some tent like contraptions

It's definately worth spending the extra money imo.

 

[Skim]

Initially I felt really bad about not getting the hang of nursing, but on the other hand, breastfeeding – combined with severe lack of sleep and not eating enough – really hindered my recovery in the first couple of weeks. I know the first weeks aren't meant to be easy, but stress about breastfeeding and not enjoying it turned me into a wreck. The two things I desperately need now are sleep and nutrients – with my son feeding every two hours lke clockwork, breastfeeding would completely drain me and further slow down recovery. There's no chance of sharing feeding with others if you're breastfeeding. Last weekend I handed over Skimboy to husband and sister for feeds and enjoyed my first stretch of sleep since the birth that lasted for more than three hours – essential for my health and sanity.

From my understanding, breastfeeding gets a lot easier after a few weeks. Unfortunately I won't see if that's the case, but I'm through beating myself up about it. He got some breastmilk in his first two weeks, that's better than nothing. Of course breast is best, but no one should be made to feel guilty if they turn to formula – it really isn't the end of the world.

 

[omlette]

Of course breast is best, but no one should be made to feel guilty if they turn to formula – it really isn't the end of the world.

Agree 110%.

The only time it's the end of the world is when the mum was REALLY determined to breastfeed, and ended up not doing so because of a lack of information that might have helped her be successful. The *kicking yourself* factor can be huge when that's the case...of course there are other scenarios when switching to the bottle can be the best thing all 'round, including when the mum just doesn't like it (although I'd seriously hope she'd give it at least a couple of weeks - what it's like on day 2 is SOOOOOO not representative of the experience of breastfeeding).

In my case (and this is what led to me to do a bit of training on it to help others) I was bullied and cajoled by ignorant nurses to bottlefeed because my milk hadn't come in on the first day after the birth - bloody ridiculous - and because my newborn wasn't producing the requisite number of wet nappies (which as I have since learned, they are not supposed to or expected to until AFTER the milk comes in).

TP - I am happy to hear that your hospital sounds like it's well equipped in this regard - so many are not.

 

[omlette]

rather OT - was just talking to a friend about this - there is a new category of new mums (in terms of breastfeeding), who really really don't want to breastfeed; their female relatives haven't breastfed, they find the idea somewhere between uncomfortable and downright disgusting, and they would really much rather bottlefeed from the start.

However, because of the massive pro-breastfeeding campaigns of recent years they now know that breast is best and they feel absolutely emotionally blackmailed into "giving it a try".

These are the most frustrating group to deal with from my end of things, because you can tell almost from the moment you talk to them that they have decided already that they don't want to breastfeed, that they are going to find the first excuse they possibly can to stop, but that they feel too guilty just to bottlefeed from birth, so they will pretend to try then stop after a day or two.

It's a sort of contraindication of the breast is best campaigns, because IMO if you want to bottle feed and you don't want to breastfeed, then you should go for it and fuck what anyone else thinks, and not be made to feel guilty about it. Your baby will be fine, but you will also not be wasting the time of a lactation consultant who has too many clients and not enough time, is most likely not getting paid, and could be helping someone who actually wants to breastfeed, as opposed to someone who just wants to be able to say that she tried.

/OT rant

 

[LJo]

I was a 32DD, went up to 38DD when pregnant, have now been b/fing for nine months and am now around 34DD - I think!

I found Mothercare absolutely shit for maternity bras. They didn't bother to measure me properly. Went to the M&S in Marble Arch also and was fittted by a lovely lady. About a tenner per bra. Didn't bother with fancy ones as was fairly sure I wouldn't give a toss about how my bra looked when I was ver pregnant, and I was right!

I would have loved to have bought nursing bras before the birth but MiniLJo came early and I was unprepared. I did manage with the maternity ones for a couple of weeks but I was seriously bursting at the seams and yes, you do leak a helluva lot! I eventually bought two really, really comfy bras from www.gtexpectations.co.uk. They are called Bravados and they are designed to expand and shrink along with your enormous boobies. They are not particularly pretty but my God, they are comfy. Not cheap either, but I figured: sod it, I need comfort.

I also advise buying a million washable breast pads and a couple of boxes of disposable in case you end up spending longer in hospital than you thought. Another thing I wish I'd done!

Breastfeeding's a funny thing, isn't it? For the first three months I hated it more than anything. It was incredibly painful and I bitterly resented being a milk machine. Then it suddenly clicked. Now I'm trying to work out how to stop!

Good to hear that you're not beating yourself up over it, Skim - first few weeks are hard enough without all that malarkey.

 

[moomoo]

I really, really tried to breastfeed my firstborn but it was a disaster! She couldn't latch on properly and the evil health visitor kept insisting that I keep trying to feed her. All my baby did was scream and scream and her first six weeks were a nightmare But I was a new mum and did as I was told.

She wasn't putting on any weight and it all came to a head one day when she was floppy and unresponsive and ended up in hospital with dehydration From then on she was on a bottle and thrived. Unfortunately she kept the screaming habit

My two boys went straight onto a bottle and were real bonny babies. It makes me sad that my little girl had to go through that because it was presumed that 'breast is best'. Yes, in most cases it is but not in ours. I have a photo of her at 5 or 6 weeks old and she looks so skinny, even her cheeks are drawn - it is heartbreaking to see

Mind you, she is a hefty thing now so no lasting harm there

 

[omlette]

I really, really tried to breastfeed my firstborn but it was a disaster! She couldn't latch on properly and the evil health visitor kept insisting that I keep trying to feed her. All my baby did was scream and scream and her first six weeks were a nightmare But I was a new mum and did as I was told.

She wasn't putting on any weight and it all came to a head one day when she was floppy and unresponsive and ended up in hospital with dehydration From then on she was on a bottle and thrived.

That is such a maddening and sad story and I'm so glad she did better on a bottle. This is what I was trying to say about the "breast is best" campaign sometimes doing harm...I'm the first person to support breastfeeding and go on about the benefits of breastmilk to a baby's health, but there has to be a balance...how can someone who is clearly not having a good breastfeeding experience, after so long, not be encouraged to try the alternative? Grrr.

 

[rascal]

as an alternative to bra extenders, skinny hair bands. Thread them and loop them through your bra hooks. They are just great.

When it comes to having your baby. The greatest supprise to me was the constipation afterwards. After you have had bb eat some figs or prunes or have a small dose of califig just to losen the motions. Severe constipation is common after labour, and the last thing you want to is the stress of not having opened your bowels for a week, esp when you are so sore down there. Also get yourself a nice c shaped cushion to sit on in case you get any tears, pm me closer the time and i will lend you mine.

In regards to feeding.... mmmm.... my bb weighed 9 pounds 12 3 weeks ago and the hospital are really big on breast feeding. On day four my breasts were murdering me and I was in the corner of the bed sobbing cos i felt such a failure as my baby screamed and i could not feed him and was forced to watch as my partner gave him a bottle. I phoned the midwife from sure start who gave me a tip or two and came round the next day to help me. Since then things have been far from fair sailing, but, it was not like day 4 when it was terrible. For me it has been a learning roller coaster. I fed him in the bath today and he vomitted it back up onto me. Lovely.