Real Moms Review Their Favorite Nursing Bras

I wanted to do a post that included a handful of women reviewing their favorite nursing bra(s). I went on Twitter and asked if anyone would be game. I received the perfect amount of interest. My thanks to everyone who was nice enough to do this for all of you who just want the real deal when it comes to choosing a nursing bra. This is also a nice follow up to my post Products Breastfeeding Moms Actually Need because breastfeeding moms really do need a good nursing bra. And if you would like some new designer nursing pads to go with a new nursing bra check out my post from yesterday Baby O’Really Designer Nursing Pads Giveaway.

Karie @KariewithaK from One Fish Two Fish Five Fish writes: When I had my oldest son in 2003 I was completely dumb to the whole breastfeeding ordeal. My mother-in-law so graciously wanted to take me bra shopping to which I felt I would be better served by my own mother or by myself. Nothing against my MIL, but she can be very pushy and doesn’t take NO for an answer very well either. So I went and bought a standard underwire nursing bra with pretty lace. Standard looking bra with the drop hatches for feeding. I hated this bra! Itchy, uncomfortable, no support and no where to put my leak pads as the bra for some reason was not a full coverage. So the next bra I bought was full coverage, 100% cotton and wonderful only the fit was terrible. I wasn’t about to go buy another! I suffered for months with these bras…..years until my twins were born in February 2008.

 

I pulled out the old barely used bras to my disdain to which I promptly threw in the trash and went and bought something more comfortable, breathable, wearable, and I didn’t feel like cow shoving her utters into a girdle. I found at Target these really great Gilligan & O’Malley nursing tanks. They provided me the support that I needed, were super soft and comfortable, and the best part was I didn’t have to attempt to guess my cup size and or chest size. Now this was fantastic because I was now a stay at home and was tandem feeding my twins. I was able to wear the tank itself around the house and not feel like I was in my underwear or I could wear it under a shirt if I wanted. I have to say that I went and bought more because I loved the nursing tank so much.

    

Tabitha @tabulous from Tabulously Me says: I kind of have two “favorite” nursing items. The first is one of my first nursing purchases — it’s a fold-down flap sports bra from Motherhood Maternity.  It has adjustable, racer-back straps and is lightly lined throughout the front for (less?) show-through.  It’s made out of a nylon-spandex mix that reminds me of t-shirt bras, but does wick sweat and give great support, which is essential with nursing boobs.  They have structure to them — reminiscent of Shock Absorber sports bras (which I love in my non-nursing life). I decided to try it because they were 2 for $15 ea. (or one at $20, still a good price for a good sports bra) and because they came in simple small, medium, or large (and I believe extra-large) sizes, which was important because as I neared the end of my pregnancy, I had no clue as to what actual size I would be while nursing, so there was some room for error.  I wore them all the time at the end of my pregnancy, and continue to do so now — I’ve bought four thus far, two in each of the available colors of black and white. They work fabulously under a fitted t-shirt or wide-strap tank, and have been gym-tested by me and they keep the girls under control without smashing them.  The only complaint I have is that on my older two the strap on the left side is starting to come unravelled — I don’t know if that’s because that’s the shoulder I carry my purse and diaper bag on, or because it’s too tight (I like my girls up and secure, no sag here) or what, but that’s the only complaint (other than they don’t come in colors).  Here’s a link.

    

The second isn’t s bra, per se, but a nursing tank from Gilligan & O’Malley at Target.  It’s a stretch cotton drop-flap tank with built-in bra and is FABULOUS.  I wear them all the time around the house, and they are perfect to sleep in.  I bought one towards the end of my pregnancy, and it fit just fine — not too tight or too short on my belly, and the stretch in the fabric helped it retain it’s shape for post-pregnancy.  I have six — two in each of black, white, and gray, which are the colors you can find in stores.  Online they seem to have pale blue, pale pink, and chocolate brown.  The straps are adjustable and sturdy, and the tank just looks like a regular bra-top tank, so they’re GREAT for layering under t-shirts or cardigans, with a perfect length for doing so.  The cotton they’re made of is a pretty good quality; the white tanks barely have any show-through (other than white nursing pads).  They’re $16.99 (also a darn decent price) and worth every penny.  Here’s the link.

Jenny, @quazydellasue on Twitter says: Before my daughter was born, I didn’t know what my bra size would be once my milk came in, and I didn’t want to spend much money on something that might not fit.  So I bought the cheapest nursing bra I could find, figuring I could replace it later.  What a mistake–the bra was so ill-fitting that I developed mastitis about one week after my milk came in.  And by then I was in NO position to go out and find a new bra.  So I looked around online and ordered a Bravado Body Silk Seamless bra–it looked like it would be comfortable enough to sleep in, which was my big priority in those early days (not that I did much sleeping…just a lot of attempting to sleep!).  In fact, the bra was awesome, and is still my favorite 14 months later.  And by now I have tried almost every nursing bra out there!  What I love about the Body Silk is how incredibly comfortable it is (every component is stretchy, so it never digs into me or chafes), how incredibly supportive it is (I can work out in it), and how adaptable it has been to my changing shape.  Since birth, I have gone through three band sizes and two cup sizes–and the same bra still fits (they come in S/M/L instead of exact sizes, which is so much better for a constantly changing shape).  Best of all, the bra has removable cup liners, which conceal any nursing pads you might need and also even out any, er, size discrepancy nursing might have created for you.  (My left side is a full cup size bigger than my right now!).  The bra really is seamless and looks great under clothes, except for the really low-cut stuff–and if anyone knows of a nursing bra that is not high-cut, let me know!  Some say the price on this bra is too high–around $45–but I think it’s a great value considering that it is extremely well made and versatile.  It’s such a relief to know that for future babies I will have the right bra on hand before I even go into labor!

Priscilla, @EJmommy shares a little bit about the Anita bra.  I really, really do love mine, in fact I just got a new one in the mail today.  I’ve always been larger busted and had a hard time finding well-fitting supportive bras.  During my pregnancy though I became miserable with some cheaper nursing/maternity bras I picked up at a store in the mall.  They were ill-fitting and the wires were cutting into my ribs and stomach.  So I e-mailed another large breasted friend of mine who recommended that I try ordering an Anita.  I usually won’t order clothes online but I took a leap of faith and I’ve been thankful ever since.

 

I have had three Anita bras.  All are full coverage bras, with wider straps in the larger cup sizes, two have underwires and one does not.  They are all comfortable and supportive, but the most of the cups are still stretchy enough to compensate for the fluctation in size that nursing mothers often experience.  The two with underwires are my favorites as I have never felt fully supported without wires.  The wires are perfect though, they don’t cut into my ribs or my breasts like others I have had.  I originally ordered the softcup bra for nighttime sleeping, early on when I had serious leakage problems.  Now I wear it on days when my other is in the wash.  It’s definitely supportive enough that I can wear it out in public.  I am so happy with my Anita bras that I can’t bring myself to try any other kind.  It’s important to know that they run small, so if you wear a D cup in most brands, you’ll probably want to get an E.  I think the only con to the Anita may be durability (but I’m not sure how it compares to how other bras hold up).  After wearing my Anita every day (literally because it was my only one) for at least 8 months and enough washings to make that possible, one of the wires worked it’s way out of a tiny hole.  I am not sure if it’s repairable yet, but it’s such a small hole that I would think it would be.

    

Rebecca from A Little Bit of Momsense says: The biggest mistake I made when I was nursing my son was not investing in a great nursing bra.  I didn’t know how long I would nurse for and figured that from a fashion point of view, I didn’t need much, something to hold nursing pads right? Wrong!  I ended up nursing my son for 20 months while extremely lopsided.  As a result, some clothes and outfits were just not possible to wear.  Most of the bras I bought did nothing to help support my once A cup breasts which now, well at least one, was a whopping D at my nursing height.  With my daughter, I vowed not to be a fool and decided to invest in a good nursing bra.  After some research, I found the Bravado Body Silk Seamless Bra.  Let me tell you, I love it!  With the same lopsided issues as before, this bra offers support to each side, is extremely comfortable (no underwire) and there are removable liners to hide the inevitable nipple after a feeding!  Hooray for a great bra.

Judy from Mommy News @MommyNews and the owner of the Mother’s Boutique is also a fan of the Body Silk Seamless Bravado Bra. (That’s three recommendations if you’ve been counting!)

1) Body Silk Seamless Bra from Bravado
(http://www.mothersboutique.com/bosisenubra.html): This bra is one of my
best selling bras. It doesn’t have underwire or specific cup sizes, but moms
love this bra – even if they normally wear an underwire bra. It has thick
ribbing that goes under the bust. This ribbing also goes up on the side of
the bust giving the same type of support and “lift” that you would get with
an underwire. It is also one of those bras sized S, M, L so it is designed
to grow with you and fit your breasts over multiple cup sizes. This means,
you can buy it when you are pregnant, and continue to wear it after your
milk comes in – even if your breasts change in size!  It also means it will
still fit you 3 months down the road when your breasts change size again.
It also has removable padding, so you can take it out if you don’t like it
or replace it with a nursing pad if needed. It comes in 4 fabulous colors -
black, butterscotch, ivory and cherry.  It is a little pricey at $49, but
most moms who buy it usually come back for more since they like it so much!

2) Tee-Shirt Underwire Bra from MelindaG
(http://www.mothersboutique.com/teunnubra.html) : This bra is my personal
favorite (I wear it and so does my mother! – and she isn’t nursing!). It is
the most comfortable underwire bra that I have ever worn. It has padding
around the underwire, so it is super comfy. It also has 3 nursing clips on
the straps which mean you can adjust the size of the cup. So when you milk
comes in, if you breasts get larger, you can actually go up a full cup size
just by adjusting where you connect the nursing opening – making this bra
another great choice for new moms. It only comes in nude and the only
downside to this bra is that the cups have absolutely no padding
what-so-ever. This is another one of those bras that moms try and come back
for more because it is so comfy. NOTE: This bra runs large in the band, so
if you normally wear a 36D, then you will wear this bra in the 34D.            

3) Molded Cup Nursing Bra from Dynabelly
(http://mothersboutique.com/mocupnubra.html): This is a bra that I only
recently started carrying.  I ordered a sample of it because it was so
inexpensive and I wanted to bring on some great bras that everyone could
afford.  Well when I tried on my sample bra, I was pleasantly surprised!
This bra is so comfortable and supportive! I was really amazed that a bra
that costs only $18 could be so great!!  The fit is wonderful, the design is
great and it’s affordable – what more can a mom ask for!!