If you’ve spent a while being either pregnant or breastfeeding with one or two small children, you’ll probably wear mostly old, ill-fitting or nursing bras. After years or months of fluctuations, leaking, stretch marks, bites, mastitis, clogged ducts, oversupply, overactive letdown, breast pads, and stained clothes, you’ll want to treat yourself to some real bras.
For some reason, this is not a widely talked about topic in terms of making moms feel good about themselves. So this article is about the steps to feeling great in your amazing mama-bod. Maybe you’re going back to work. Maybe you want to go on a date once in a while and feel like an individual, not a mother-baby unit. Maybe you just want to feel yourself in your t-shirt at the playground. No matter your reason, you deserve to feel good about your bra and yourself in it.
1. Be patient
To maximize your investment, we would suggest waiting until you’ve finished breastfeeding for 6 or even 9 months as breast changes can happen for months after you wean. Some women leak months after they believe they stopped producing. Also, your body produces prolactin for up to six months after breastfeeding, so your rib size (and ring size and shoe size and pant size) could fluctuate during that time. Finally, your weight may fluctuate due to hormones or different exercise options now that you’re not breastfeeding which may affect bra size.
Comfortable and gorgeous bras do exist. For the transition from breastfeeding, we recommend:
A. AIRLITE COMFORT LIGHT PADDED WIREFREE BRA
B. CARMEN LIGHT PADDED WIREFREE BRA
2. Size correctly.
You can follow our guide on measuring your bra size online. Then, later, confirm in person when you visit our store for a fitting. Consultations are free! We highly recommend trying sister sizes too. Not only will your comfort-level be different now that you’re postpartum, but your breast size and shape could be very different from what you had before. Unfortunately, having two different cup sizes is not uncommon after breastfeeding. Based on our experiences, the bigger breast “makes the rules.” You may need to alter your old style to accommodate what you’ve got.
3. Be gentle with yourself.
I don’t know if it’s personal sensitivity, hormones, or that our tolerance level for being bound becomes low, but most women don’t like underwire bras even when they are long past breastfeeding. Of course, the look of them and the lift is beautiful, but, within minutes of wearing them, you feel like crawling out of your skin. So, you may want to go for wireless or a supportive bralette. I really love the KESLEY UNDERWIRE LONGLINE BRA. It has enough support to wear everyday or to work and the pattern is sexier than a simple t-shirt bra. Bralettes can be your go-to when you want to be comfortable but still feel good about yourself. Even let them peek out from tank-tops in the summer and it still looks luxurious because of the lacy fabric.
4. Consider the nipple.
Nipples have a personality post-breastfeeding. They may choose to show up when you don’t want them to. The problem with gorgeous, ephemeral bras is that, if it was even a little chilly, your nipples would be very much visible through your clothes. A thicker, more padded bra may be the right choice for you if you go for lighter layers or work somewhere with varying temperatures.
5. Try, try again.
Besides investigating your sister size, check out different brands and different sizes in different brands. Try your shirt on over the bras. Move around because you now lead an active life as the mom of a toddler or two. Try more coverage than you had before. Try more or less padding. Try a racerback. They look great and help with lift. I can’t tell you exactly where you’ll end up because you need to choose what is right for your life, comfort, and style. Do not compromise your breast health and style because you had kids. Search for bra unicorns. You can have a mom-bod and still embrace lingerie in your life.
