On nursing wear

Hello everyone! Did you invest in nursing top and dresses when your children were born?

During my last trip to Apso Bibi before my son was born, I tried on and almost bought a couple of nursing tops. As the bill was already substantial due to the other stuff I had to buy for the end of my pregnancy, in the end I put them aside. I thought about most people I know, and realized that I have never seen virtually any of them wearing nursing tops when they were breastfeeding. Plus I was not even sure whether I was going to need them, because with my son I had to start pumping and bottle-feeding shortly after he was born.

Since this time breastfeeding went well from the beginning and I'd like to continue until my baby boy is at least six months old, this time I really pondered the issue more closely. I ended up in the "against nursing top" court. Two main reasons. First, I am already not a big fan of maternity wear, and the latter is ten times prettier than nursing wear. Second, something gotta give -- I have to already invest some money in regular clothing because it will be a while before I fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothing. Third, I preferred to invest into a good nursing bra.

If you ever nursed, you know that you need at least a couple of those. I purchased them while I was still pregnant, because they seemed such a good investment at the time. Nonetheless, of the six nursing bra I own, I discovered that none of them was comfortable to accommodate my engorged breast when I started breastfeeding. Plus, have you ever tried to hit the road without a camisole when it is minus 20 degrees Celsius outside?

This is why I did some research about nursing camisoles. Let me tell you, the options are limited. Camisoles without support keep your "stuff" way too lose. Those with a bralette can be too tight. (And stay away from this one by Molly Ades because the bralette is actually too small to fit the cup size it is intended for! Tried and tossed.) I ended up falling in love with Thyme Maternity's Nursing Cami with Shaping Liner (pictured above). At 40$ a pop, it is very reasonably priced. The material is thick and it really does slim the tummy area. Plus, it is almost waterproof -- a blessing for those occasional leaks. Totally recommended!

P.S. For the best of me I could not find any pretty nursing top, but if you are interested to go down this road you may want to check out the exhaustive feature in The Guardian...