Some questions on breastfeeding and tops to wear

Sparky100

I would like to have a few pieces bought for when I come home from hospital and want to breastfeed discreetly amongst others.

1. I am 33 weeks, Is it too early to get measured for nursing bra?

2. Where is best place to buy a nursing bra?

3. What tops are easy to wear and allow breastfeeding to take place as discreetly as possible? I want to be comfortable breastfeeding and I want others to feel comfortable in my company too.

4. I've heard of gel pads -Do mothers wear these inside their bras mainly to cool and relieve nipples?

5. Can I be doing anything now to prepare breasts/nipples for breastfeeding??? care with cream etc?????

Sorry about all questions but if anyone has any advice on any of my questions, I would really appreciate it, Thanks

Terpsichore

I have bought a few very comfortable nursing bras with an irish company called OnceBorn, www.onceborn.com . I remember getting very good customer service too from the lady in charge there.
They have some good looking nursing tops too, and scarfs to breastfeed in public discretely.
Hope this helps.

mom2b

Rule of thumb for nursing bras is get measured at 38 weeks or 2 weeks before you give birth if you are being sectioned before etc etc.
Mothercare have a pretty good selection of nursing and support bras and they're pretty comfy, they will also measure you and help you find a size and sytle that suits you best.

How Strange

I got my bras in m&s in wk38; I got 2 initially and bought another 2 after as they get soiled very quickly between leaking and baby puke.

I wear ordinary cotton tops with a vest top underneath; lift up the top, pull the vest top down and unclip your bra and you're ready to go. Specific breastfeeding tops are expensive.

I didn't use gel pads but found frozen cabbage leaves great for first few days especially when you got engorged. Lansiloh lanolin cream, breast pads and breast shells for inside your bra at night to collect your milk are all invaluable and it's a good idea to get them beforehand as you won't have time when babs arrives.

No need to do anything in preparation although if you have time I'd look up your local la leche or ciudiu group and go to a meeting just so you have that support network for afterwards.

Moonbeam

m&s do decent nursing bras.
h&m do a range of nursing tops and I got some from thecottoncloset.ie too and
sometimes they have excellent special offers
I find best time to get measured is when baby is 1 week old and try the moulded and non moulded cups as one can be a lot more comfortable then the other.

Das Kitty

I got a few breastfeeding tops, I didn't wear them much. I got a whole load of €3 string tops in Dunnes and wore them under normal tops, that way I could pull up the top without a load of gut flapping out. Found this an easier solution to the designed for purpose tops personally. Got my bras in M&S.

I found nipple shells invaluable for letting pinky and perky have a rest to heal between feeds, that and Lansinoh.

Moonbeam

nipple shields are a savior! I find the medela ones the best.

Nicki123

Don't spend too much on nursing bra's beforehand. Get one or 2 to get you going and then after 2 - 3 weeks get measured properly.
I have to endorse the Hot Milk range. When I got mine I bought online as couldn't find stockist here in Dublin so used their directions to measure myself and it worked a charm for me. They were great bra's and I wore them for a year. I never found the m&S or mothercare ones supportive at all and tbh, they were a total waste of money. Although i did sleep in them initially but I could have used a cheap bra top from penney's or Dunnes for that.
There's a lingerie shop in Ranelagh now that stocks the HotMilk range.

3) I adopted a "uniform" of vest top ( pennys/dunnes) and cardigans or tops so that I could pull up the cardi/top and pull down the vest so that my belly was covered. It's very easy to feed discreetly without showing off boob but I really wouldn't have been comfortable flashing my belly. I also went through my wardrobe and pulled out things that were button down - dead handy to unbutton and pull to one side when feeding. You'll find what works for you quite quickly and you can practice at home in front of a mirror before venturing out if you're in any way anxious about feeding in public.

4) I didn't use gel pads but I did find that I used a lot of breast pads and the ones that I really liked (Johnsons) had indentations for the nipples which were great in the early days as I couldn't stand anything rubbing against them.

5) nothing you can do for the time being but make sure you have some Lansinoh cream for when you start feeding and don't be afraid to use it.

Best of luck and don't be afraid to ask anything else that occurs to you - you'll be an expert in no time