nursing gear

I know this post won't help a lot of you out there in blogland, but maybe just a few of you will find it worthwhile to read. At the end of my pregnancy, one of the things on my To-Do list was to find good nursing apparel because I knew I didn't want to shop for it after baby Truman arrived. Lucky for me, Hannah sent me a great email with links to good choices that worked for her and I totally went off of that for the most part. I ended up packing a few bras and a tank along with some nursing tops in my hospital bag to use right after delivery and I was glad I did. I wouldn't have been comfortable in my maternity clothes but regular clothes weren't the answer either. So here is what I have so far.

First come my tank tops. I love layering clothes anyway so these are totally my style. I like having my tummy covered up, too, since it's not quite back to it's former state of being yet.

This tank from Target is a little scary when you pull down the outer layer:) But for $17 I like it well enough. Try not to scream at this picture...



My big splurge was this nursing tank from Pea in the Pod, which was $38 but worth every penny.
I love it because it's stretchy and sucks in the tummy a bit, has removable formed cups to hide nippage, and straps that can be arranged into different styles depending on your outfit. I wish I had 4 more of them.


Onto the bras!!

This one was another splurge from Pea in the Pod at $32. I have it in the nude color and it's super soft.


And then I bought two of these cheaper bras from Motherhood Maternity, only $15 each. I have one in black and one in white.
For nursing tops I had to get a little creative because I found a lot of the stuff out there to be completely hideous. When adjusting to your postpartum body, you want to feel as pretty as possible and not like a giant blob in ugly clothes, you know? Maternity tops look frumpy but form-fitting regular tops aren't the answer, either. I really like being able to pull my boob out from the top of shirts instead of lifting up the whole thing because it's easier and then you don't have to stare down at your belly while nursing, either. I'm not to the point where I like wearing a regular top for nursing just because of the extra step of pulling it up to my chin...call me lazy, I guess but when you nurse 12 times a day it's all about ease! Here is what works for me:

This one came highly recommended by Hannah and I just wish there were more colors to choose from because I like it so much. It's from Gap and is now on sale, of course, but I think I paid $19 for it?
Note that it's not a maternity shirt, and not a 'nursing' top but it just has a lower V-neck with buttons that allow for easy boob access. This is KEY when looking for nursing tops, in my opinion. I got it in a size bigger than I normally would just to let the tummy breathe a bit and I am glad I did but probably could have just gotten my usual size and it would have been fine since it's not a tight fitting shirt anyway.

Going with this theme of non-maternity, non-nursing, but easy access, I found this little bugger in size TALL at Gap. Whoo hoo for the tall ladies of the world!
It was $15 and I love how lightweight it is. Again, I probably could have gotten my regular size but went one size up just in case. I might order a few more of these now that I'm looking at it...

My favorite top is probably this one, which is also in a size TALL and it's from Old Navy. For just $20 you can't beat it and of course, it just has those buttons which makes it a 'nursing top' for me:)

My least favorite top is this one from Old Navy, a true 'nursing top' for $15. It's just way too big for me around the tummy and makes me feel too frumpy. Maybe with a smaller size I'd like it more but it's just sort of odd on me.

I also wear my fave pre-pregnancy zip up hoodies over a bra or tank and then just zip it down for boobie time. It's so nice to be able to zip up my hoodies again!

So that's that. Hope it helped someone out there!

13 comments:

  1. I have those Target tanks and really like them. I've also got a couple tanks from Kohls that aren't nursing tanks, but they are stretchy enough to be able to pull the top down under my boob, plus they are tight so they suck in my tummy - those have been a big staple for me.

    Those bras look incredibly comfortable, but the problem I have with bras like that is that they aren't nearly supportive enough. I now have porn boobs and they need some serious support. :(

    And I love all those tops! Off to order some of them...

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  2. do you have one of those 30% off friends and fam gap coupons? if not, let me know and I can send you one!

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  3. Great info! I don't think I would like "nursing" tops, either. I totally see what you mean about wanting to feel pretty!

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  4. I totally skipped over nursing gear lol and skipped right to regular bras and hoodies with tank tops. These looks like great options though!

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  5. I have that hoddie from Old Navy - not for nursing of course, just regular use - and I LOVE it. It's comfy and great for bumming around the house.

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  6. I have a friend and family coupon for Gap, Old Navy & Banana Republic... if you send me your email address I'll send you a coupon! It's this thursday-Sunday. (18-21)

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  7. Thanks, girls. I do have a coupon and totally plan on using it this weekend! Love Gap and ON equally:)

    And Kristal, I have porn boobs myself right now but these bras are actually somewhat supportive. I bought 'smalls' which was probably a mistake, but it does hold the boulders down pretty well for me:)

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  8. Thanks for all the suggestions! I have the target tank, but totally might splurge for the pea pod one! I found some awesome nursing bras at the Hanes outlet store if you have one near by...$18 and more supportive and workable than the $50 bra which was similiar to your pea pod one. Have you manged to find a way to conceal the goods while prepping to feed? That's my one discomfort with going out in public is the raw footage I'm sharing with the world!
    Sunshinequeen.wordpress.com

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  9. Oh my...thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew I had to research nursing bras in the near future but I never considered the shirts! Good call :)

    I'll probably ask you a million more questions about nursing gear before now and May though so be prepared. Glad boobyfeeding is going well for you :)

    P.S. I really should have taken a picture of Jim's face when he saw that Target tank. Hilarious!

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  10. Great recommendations! I really need some nice nursing bras.

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  11. thank you for this post!!! great stuff, very helpful!

    nicky

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  12. great post! i ended up getting one of the gap shirts and one of the old navy shirts and they are working out really well for me. thanks for the suggestions!

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