I have no clothes to wear!

[BlessedMommy]

LOL, did any of you nursing moms have this problem? My problem is not that I can't fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes, the problem is that most of them are bad for nursing! (Such as dresses, jumpers, etc.) Guess I'm going to have to go clothes shopping with a newborn in tow!

[cjropher]

Ahhh, the days of button up shirts! That was a shock to me, excited to get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes and then nursing meant that I couldn't wear the shirts! When my first was 5 months old, I went to a wedding and really wanted to wear a dress that zipped up the back. When I had to nurse my son, I would put a coat on, unzip the dress, put a blanket in front, take my arms out of the dress and pull out a boob!!! It was quite the hassle and so not worth it! But I wore the dress!

t-shirts work because you can just pull them up, so if you are at home, that would work. Otherwise, button up is the way to go... though they do make these nursing shirts I've seen where they are like bands around you and you just seperate them. Like two layers of fabric would go over your breast and you would pull them apart. Might be nice, never tried any of those.

Shopping with a newborn's not that bad either. I much prefer it to shopping with a toddler! Get yourself all ready to go and then feed baby as much as she will eat. Then go. Don't answer the phone, don't do anything. You have a limited amount of time! But at least in the carriers, they can sleep and you can try on stuff. Good luck!

[~Tara~]

Mmm hmm it's 2 pc outfits for 2 yrs (or thereabouts in my case ;) ) sweetie LOL

You may be able to sneak in a one-piecer from time to time after a year, but don't count on it teehee

I live in t-shirts and the like...all my nice button-ups are now used solely for layering. The button-ups don't work for me otherwise. They bunch at the top and I just found it a hassle to unbutton from the bottom. So, button ups for layering over a cute tank/cami...or....anything else that has ample torso length and not clingy :)

[ChamomileFriend]

I bought 3 nursing shirts on clearance when I first started nursing to see if it really made it easier -the layered shirts provide more tummy and back coverage when nursing which is nice, but they don't really give you more boob coverage, which was my main concern and nursing shirts can be really expensive so i decided it wasn't worth it for us to buy more.
I just started wearing regular shirts that were pretty loose or long or stretchy so I could put the baby all the way under my shirt to nurse. I also got a nursing bib as back-up coverage, but Alex figured out how to kick that off pretty quickly.
Some of my public nursing experiences have been pretty hilarious/embarrasing, but it is all worth it!

[Kerina]

I haven't worn a dress in sooo long!!! It will become second nature soon enough. I'm so familiar with my body, sometimes I catch myself being inappropriate in public. (Like, checking to see if it's snapped, haha)


But, it's a better problem than it could be. The formula babies I know will get sooo sick when they catch something, and my kids get over everything so quickly or won't catch what they've been exposed to at all.

[BlessedMommy]

Yeah, you're so right about the health benefits, Kerina. I actually don't mind not having hardly any clothes to wear, because it gives me a good excuse to go clothes shopping. LOL.

Yesterday, I fed the baby a good long feed and left her with daddy while I went shopping. I found some really cute clothes. I'm a thrift store hound, so most of them came from Goodwill. I was worried that the baby would be screaming in hunger when I got back but she had a great time with my husband and was sleeping soundly.

[stephwhiz]

Ruth we women always like a good excuse to go shopping :wink: .

I remember those days of everything having to be buttoned down. Gee that seems like so long ago for me! Makes me kind of sad :cry: .

Stephanie :D

awww I was looking in my cupboard thinking the same thing after the baby is born (re no clothes suitable for nursing).

Have you looked on Ebay? I have noticed there are quite a lot of groovy nursing tops and if they are second hand it's much cheaper. :wink: and you won't have to take Hannah out if you don't feel up to it.

[7thHeaven]

Yeah, you're so right about the health benefits, Kerina. I actually don't mind not having hardly any clothes to wear, because it gives me a good excuse to go clothes shopping. LOL.

:lol: :lol: :lol: I love that!! I had to do the same thing after Sam was born and it is a really good excuse to go shopping!! :lol: :lol:

[kanaclark]

once you get to where you don't HAVE to wear a bra, if you make it there, I never did, LOL, those spaghetti strap tanks with the "built in bra" are great under button down shirts, I just wore them with the shirt unbuttoned except for church and things. You can just pop one out and feed and the other one stays well hid. Honestly, though, we had so many problems with the bf'ing that we didn't go many places until after we stopped bfing'

[Kensbev]

Normally, I don't worry about nursing. Tory sticks to a loose schedule, and I know that if I leave right after I nurse her, I've got a couple of free hours to get errands run. I typically just wear a t-shirt and jeans or a skirt, and that works fine for me.

But, I did make a discovery about wearing dresses to church. Most of my dresses are made so that I can slip one arm down and off, thus exposing my bra. This normally wouldn't be an option, but I bought a dress poncho just before I got pregnant with Tory. It was truly a moment of divine inspiration when I realized I could take the poncho to church and nurse there without freaking anyone out.

I just basically put the poncho over whatever I've got on, slip one arm out of the dress, get myself and Tory positioned with my head peeking down at her through the top of the ponch, then I kick back and relax. Also, I always make it a point to nurse in the nursery if I have to nurse. I volunteer there on Wednesdays, and most of the people who volunteer are parents who aren't freaked out by breastfeeding. Plus, there's a TV in there that shows what's happening in the sanctuary, so it's not like I miss out on anything. The reasong I go to the nursery is that I know (at least for my church) that there are too many people who would not really approve of this going on in the sanctuary, so I choose to not make anyone else feel uncomfortable during worship time.

Otherwise, I'm usually wearing a t-shirt or something loose. And I have a minivan with a DVD player. If I have to nurse while I'm out, I go to the van, pop in a DVD and sit there with my older daughter, watching TV while I nurse.

Kensbev

So you can definately just wear t-shirts etc? I don't intend on B/F in public as such (in a parents room at the mall, a bedroom, or a nursing cubical is fine for me).

The poncho idea is fantastic and since they are in fashion right now YAY!

I am not one for dresses as such but I can see this working over jeans and t-shirt too.

Did you ever use this method when out visiting? Like just put bub under the poncho and feed away without leaving the room? I certainly wouldn't do this in front of my family but all my friends have kids/babies - so in front of another mother I would.

[Rach]

I bought nursing shirts and loved them. I nursed anywhere and everywhere!!! Most people never had a clue. They would even get close, and just assume baby was sleeping. To me if you put a blanket or poncho over baby's head, that's too obvious. Just my opinion. Some of my bf friends don't like nursing shirts. Everyone has preferences.

Jumpers should be fine! you just undo whichever side strap, and pull your shirt up. Gives good coverage.
Twinsets are good too, you can cut slits in the underneath piece and the cardigan covers nicely.
Also you can get regular thin tshirts and make your own nursing camisoles. jersey doesn't fray so you just cut slits and wear it under a sweater of blouse.

check out motherwear.com for ideas. they are pricey but you can do a lot of that yourself for a fraction of the price.
there's also the bellyhugger. Google that. super easy to make yourself.

[BlessedMommy]

I did it finally! I nursed in front of 6 people! (Well 5 people if you don't count my DH) I pulled a blanket over us to get her latched and when she was comfortably latched, I just held her in football hold on my Boppy pillow (I love those things, I have two of them!) and covered up pretty well. It was quite a feat because my daughter has serious latch on issues, so it's even hard to get her to nurse in private! So I was thrilled! Looks like I'm getting the hang of it. It was nice to be able to stay and be part of the conversation.

Rachel - thanks for the tips, I sort of understood what you mean about being obvious with a poncho.

The twin set is a great idea!

Ruth was it friends or family? On ya!

One of my b/f friends told me it took her a long time for she and DS to learn to b/f (slow latcher) discreetly or quickly - so I am gathering it's quite a technique to learn.

[BlessedMommy]

It was my in-laws plus another set of friends.

The in-laws? You are well and truly brave LOL! :wink:

[Kensbev]

I don't think that the poncho is terribly obvious, but I'm a brave soul, lol. If I'm in the middle of a store and Tory needs to eat, I dig out my Maya pouch, put her in it, grab the poncho for covering up and go to it. I've nursed in the middle of Wal-Mart like this, lol, and no one even looked at me twice. And if you go to someplace you can sit, people passing by generally just see the cloth and have no idea that the baby is there.

But, I'm not the type to be too bothered if others know that I'm feeding my baby. As long as I'm not exposing anything. I don't understand why it makes anyone at my church uncomfortable, but I've been told that it does by another mother there. I wouldn't nurse in the sanctuary, anyway, since my baby is always in the nursery. It's all about location, lol. When I have my poncho on, you see less of my body than a mother who is feeding her baby with a bottle, and you don't see anyone being worried about being too obvious with that. Same difference to me.

[~Tara~]

OH good for you Ruth!!

I've never been one to hesitate much about nursing in front of others. Though I have had a couple kids with some 'issues' that would make things, well, difficult to stay discreet hehe I have discovered my bra can be a huge factor in this as well. Argh! When my bebe was just born, I wore the bra I had previously (uh, nursing bra from last child I mean) but I couldn't nurse him with that. It, apparently, exposed too little of my breast and he didn't take to that well at all. The cup kept slipping in his way, I'd situate that where it needed to be then the connecting strap would be too far down and he didn't want to open wide enough and and and and Argh! hehehe

So I found a new bra and all was well. Then his only 'issue' was wanting everything to be AWAY from his face. Pushing my shirt up to MY neck. Then...oh then you get to that lovely distracted stage...where they pop off without a moments notice to whip their head around to investigate a sound on the other side of the room. Doesn't matter if it's in the middle of let down. :roll: LOL

Anywho, LOL sorry to ramble...good job on nursing 'in public'

OH and back to the original topic...I think...I wear lots of jeans and t-shirts and nurse just fine. Though, I hear this isn't as easy or discreet for gals bigger than me. I'm a size 6 and not very busty either haha So, shirts with any kind of length..meaning, average length, not these short cropped deals, work fine..lift up the one side the back is long enough to keep things covered..for stretchy fabrics that want to creep up, I just tuck the end in my pants for a moment, then there's still enough shirt in front to cover my belly...what isn't covered by the baby :)
And layering is a wonderful thing. Well, not like turtlenecks and sweaters kind of layering..too much bulk there, but tanks or tees under a button up. The button up shirt on it's own never worked for me. But layering with one is great!

Tara - I am tiny too!. People gasp with awe when they find out I carried twins LOL - I always get this shocked look and the question "How? Where did you put them?" ROTF.

To be honest, I am not so worried about actual malls and nursing (there are mothers rooms, and discreet ways) - but supermarkets and nursing - LOL - in between trying to stop the twins from doing their own "shopping" (by placing stuff into the cart etc LOL LOL).

I think the biggest thing is I would be embaressed in front of our respective families.

In my family, we weren't even allowed to use the word "PERIOD" we had a code word for that (absolutely purile IMO), let alone me B/F in front of them.

On DH's side, I can just imagine MADAME barking orders at me if she was in the same room LOL.

Friends, I probably wouldn't care less

[danou]

I too plan on public feedings- I refuse to be house bound fro the next year. The big test for me will be bf-ing at family bible study with pastor and hubby's in room. My friend did it and I so admired her for it. I am selfish, I don't want to miss out on the action and be closed away in a bedroom or closet. I suppose my bravery will depend somewhat on "poppage".

[BlessedMommy]

Yeehaw! I did it! I breastfeed in Target today. I was shopping and the baby was fussy so I pulled my shirt up and latched her on and covered up with a blanket. So I was pacing up the aisles nursing the baby. She calmed down, so it was worth it.

[Rach]

yay Ruth!

for everyone that hasn't NIP (nurse in public), it it weird at first maybe but you totally get more comfortable. you find what rorks, and get pretty good at it!

I nursed EVERYWHERE :lol:

[BlessedMommy]

ITA, Rach! NIP gets more natural over time. Last night my DH, my PIL, and my mom and I went out to Pizza Hut. She got fussy and hadn't eaten in awhile so I nursed her right in the restaurant.

[cre8tivemommie]

What a wonderful time to bond with you baby and also a time to realize that you are now a woman! I went to Motherhood Maternity and purchased 3 nursing tops and also a nursing tank that way if I did want to wear some of my old clothed I could put the tank underneath. 3 tops seemed to be plenty for me, as I didn't leave the house very much. While nursing if you have to wear the same one twice in a week the baby won't mind!!

Good Luck and God Bless