We asked our friend Kristen Chase, aka The Mominatrix, to help us help new moms upgrade to at least one nursing bra that doesn’t look like it belongs to my grandmother.
The first few months of motherhood are far from sexy – that is unless you find leaky boobs, gigantic maxi pads, and under eye bags hot. But just because you’re wearing a shirt that could walk on its own doesn’t mean you should relegate yourself to a straight jacket nursing bra. Instead, here are five gorgeous, sexy alternatives that will give your boobs and your mood a hefty pick-me-up. Just be sure to keep them under wraps until that 6-week window is over. The last thing you need is someone else grabbing at your breasts.
Cake Lingerie – It’s bras like the beautiful ones from Cake Lingerie that will make you feel like a woman, you know, instead of a completely exhausted feeding machine.
Read a full review at Cool Mom Picks >
Find it on Amazon
HOTMilk
Read a full review on Cool Mom Picks >
Shop HOTMilk brand on Amazon >
Isabella Oliver – Known for their swanky maternity designs, Isabella Oliver’s Amoralia Nougatine Nursing Bra (and matching panty) are favorites of both celeb moms AND dads. Ahem.
Condessa – Condessa bras are simple, but definitely not subtle, however they could serve as a nice distraction when you’re nursing in public.
Find it on Amazon.com
Read the full review on Cool Mom Picks >
Agent Provocateur – You may actually have to sell your baby to be able to afford an Agent Provocateur bra, but from the looks of them, it might just be worth it.
Read the full review at Cool Mom Picks >
Order from Agent Provacateur >
Kristen Chase is a mom of 3, sex columnist, and author of The Mominatrix’s Guide to Sex
Just bookmarked this page — thank you! I wore the world’s cheapest and ugliest nursing bras during my first pregnancy but I’m going to do it right this time around! -Christine
I am a busty girl (already a 32G before I got pregnant) and it’s been a nightmare trying to get a good nursing bra. I ended up with an over $100 bra from royce only to have the seams split. Any advice for us busty (but small band) type girls?
Hanna -
I’m jealous.
Try Bella Materna.
http://www.coolmompicks.com/2007/10/nursing_bras_not_training_bras.php
i wore regular nursing bras with my first two kids and only found HotMilk when i was starting to wean baby no2, now pregnant with baby no3 and swear by hotMilk, i’ve been wearing them threw the pregnancy and they are sooooo comfortable and supportive. i will never go back to plain old nursing bras, its worth the bit of extra cash. i may have to try the others mentioned here now too as they are very pretty
I have the one from Agent Provocateur and while it’s pretty, it shapes my boobs into some weird, not boob shaped shape. Their maternity panties rock though!
And love all the stuff from Hot Milk. Totally sexy. I did sessions in hot milk until I was 8 months pregnant. (I’m a dominatrix.)
Will check out Bella! Thanks for the links!!
As a plus size girl, I never did find a good nursing bra, and a recent look at them shows that there still are little to no options. None of the ones I saw go above a 38 band size, and I was a 42. I nearly brought my favorite non nursing bras to a seamstress to have her modify them.
I just don’t understand when to buy these! I’ve been in the same bras my entire pregnancy (35 weeks tomorrow!) and I expect that to change when my milk comes in… but then I have to what…. measure myself and order from the internet rush delivery or something? And we have no stores around here that I know of to buy such things.
Emily -
Most likely, your circumference (heh) will not change, at least in the last 4-6 weeks, however, there’s a strong chance that your cup size will when your milk comes in – anywhere from 1-3 cup sizes, sometimes more.
I’d buy some cheapies for now and then wait. You don’t want to buy a nursing bra that’s too small because it can cause discomfort, possible mastitis and all kinds of not so fun stuff.
Honestly, I wore the not so pretty ones early on (first month or so) until my milk regulated and then wore the fancier ones when I had a better handle on my size. That usually happens after a good 4-6 weeks.
What did you do @AmeliaSprout? I bet those bra extenders would work only to a point? The seamstress sounds like a smart idea. Did you resort to duct tape?
Bravado makes some workable but ugly bras that worked. I eventually only nursed at home, because of a variety of reasons, so I just wore a regular bra, though one without under wire most of the time, and took it off when I got home. During the day, I pumped, so when I used the mother’s room (love that my company had that) I just stripped down topless and hoped that no one over scheduled.
thanks Mominatrix! That helps a lot – I hadn’t even thought about the ‘too small’ could cause problems aspect.
Finding nursing bras in plus sizes has to be one of the worst aspects of pregnancy so far. I developed a thyroid problem 2 months before getting pregnant, but didn’t know about it until 2 months into pregnancy… so I’ve already bought new bras 4 times since last October and the baby’s due next month. I was prepared for pregnancy weight gain and growth, but the thyroid thing took me completely by surprise…
Any ideas for nursing bras in the 46 DDD realm?!?
[...] the flip side, if we stick to nursing bras and maternity leave outings, we offer nothing to our peers with whom we entered the world of [...]
At http://www.nursingbrasnyc.com they can change any regualr bra to a nursing bra for you. You have all the selection
that you were used to before you started nursing. Give
them a visit, you’ll be happy you did.
I bought from Cake and could not be more thrilled!! They are a great quality with a good fit and I like that they actually offer underwire, unlike most of the other options on this list. I ffind I like the look and feel better with wire, and I have never had a single issue wearing one.
This is a great list, but can we get an updated version? One of these brands doesn’t seem to be in business anymore (Condessa hasn’t updated site or styles) and there have been some new companies that make cute nursing bras….thanks!!!!