My friend, Val, a mom of three told me that she’s no longer self-conscious about baring her upper chest while breastfeeding as long as nobody sees her gut. Alrightie then. Armed with this inspiring perspective, I got more serious about chasing down nursing tops than ever before. If you don’t love your postpartum belly — and who does? — then a nursing tank, tee, or singlet may be the easiest solution to public modesty.
I want to thank the universe, my friend Ann, boob, Yummie Tummie, and Bravado for providing me the nursing tops I tested.
And now let me present my very strong opinions:
Most discreet: Glamourmom.
Don’t want to show the pooch or much boobage? Then Glamourmom is the one for you. Additional fabric covers you for the least uhhh… exposure. Other styles have extra length or closures that don’t scream “nursing bra!” which is also nice. Comes in basic black and some patterns. I like the stripes. Retails for about $34.
Best for the bazongas: Bravado.
If you want your breasts to look their best (AKA, no uniboob), then Bravado seems to have the most respect for your chest. Sizing is a more complicated than the other models, but the “real bra” attention to detail shows. The essential nursing tank also works for pregnant chicks so YAY for versatility but BOO for making me look thinner. Finally, I found that the clasp requires me to use 1.5 hands to open and close. It comes in many colors. Retails for about $44.
Best for squeezing the baby fat: Yummie Tummie.
Of the models I tried, I liked the Yummie Tummie for smoothing the floppy post-partum belly. Unfortunately, the YT is guilty of causing a uniboob so you have to prioritize boobs or belly (I can’t believe I’m writing this but, for me, it depends on where I’m going). Available in basic neutral colors. Retails for about $80.
Cleverest: Boob tee.
Shana from Ain’t No Mom Jeans turned me on to the boob designs nursing tee shirt with her post about four perfect postpartum pooch hiding outfits (inspired by my very own dilemma). Brilliant! It’s quite comfortable and allows me to wear a real bra. I especially like it when the telltale line is hidden by a sweater or vest. Unfortunately, the two halves of the top do not lay flat (as pictured) after a spin through my washer and dryer. Available in many colors. Retails for about $60 (or about $75 after VAT and shipping from Sweden)
And the winner is… balancing price and features, I would buy the Bravado for best support and longest shelf-life if I were only going to buy one.
Now that I got all that off my chest, I really want to know: What do you think about nursing tanks and tees?
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Disclosure: I was sent products for testing and review in addition to ones that I received as hand-me-downs and gifts.
I love how the bravado tanks fit, and the support is good, however if you are a busty girl they show a lot of cleavage. More than I would leave the house with. And they have that stupid cute ruching which makes them crap under shirts. I live in them at home though (even after I stopped nursing as they are sooo very comfy).
I never bought specific nursing shirts though, they always looked odd to me.
I’m a busty girl and was worrying about finding discreet and attractive nursing tops – rightly so as it turned out, because I never found them.
I now wear a nursing bra, a cheap tank and a normal top (which is loose enough to pull up over my chest, or stretchy). I’ve cut holes into the cheap tanks and can nurse through the holes with my stomach completely covered. I look like something out of mean girls when just wearing the tank, but it works well and costs next to nothing if you pick up the tanks on sale.
When I first had my baby I stocked up on a bunch of nursing bras and tops but after nursing for a few months I ended up just using the bras and saving the tops for either sleeping or days when I just didn’t want to leave the house. I really got tired of the “nursing wardrobe” and eventually just stuck to tees and tops that I could either pull down or unbutton. That said, I love, love, love the Bravado nursing bras – definitely the most comfy and best fit.
Target has a nursing tank that served me well (I have it in black, grey, and white). Perfect for layering because it is flat (no ruching as the earlier commenter mentioned). I’m pretty petite and it worked well for me, as well as working well for a friend who has more curves. The styles/colors tend to vary depending on the season.
My vote is for Glamourmoms tank. I am a tall gal (6’1) and don’t have to worry about being too busty, so it works really well for me. The tanks are really long, thick and very slimming. I wear mine underneath layering tanks and tee shirts.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Glamourmom tops!!!
I had the Target nursing tanks while nursing #2. Lived in them while at home, but didn’t have enough support for my D’s for out and about w/o a regular bra.
Hated all my other nursing bras or tanks that I bought… UNTIL i got fitted after I had #3 for a Bravado bliss bra (it’s amazing, i kid you not, best bra i’ve ever worn ever!) So, now that the ladies have some proper support, I added a Flexee’s shapewear camisole (~30ish from Kohls) on top of it. Its stretchy so I yank it down to get a boob out, but it’s slimming in the tummy area (a must!) and i wear it under everything I own.
I just wore a regular Target long and lean tank top under everything while nursing. I would pull the outer layer up and the tank top down and nurse. It was simple, covered my chest and belly, and way more arrordable at $8 a tank!
Having said that, I never tried a real nursing tank, so maybe I was totally missing out and didn’t know it
For cold weather, I also did layers — pull the tank down, pull the outer layer up. For warm weather, I wore any top with elastic-waistband skirts that were long enough to pull up and cover my belly when I sat down to nurse. I would pull up both the top and the skirt. I don’t like my chest or my belly to be exposed.
Love this Heather!! I actually am just back to normal (yet veeery stretched out) tops. Half the time I’m showing lots and lots of cleavage….which is why I rely heavily on cute nursing bras. (Gotta be honest – as a previous AA girl, I’m l-o-v-i-n-g the size Ders now.)
But I’m still battling the pooch…and do hate the uni-boob as you mentioned. Have you tried this? I’m soooo curious: http://www.yummielife.com/lillie-bottom.html
Last time I loved the bravado ones. But now I’m in between sizes. And my old ones, well. Let’s just say those clasps loosen up and after 2 years of use they come undone when you least expect it.
This time I’m all over the yummie tummies. My boobs are big enough that I get uniboob anyway. It doesn’t pull in my belly much but definitely helps smooth out the muffin top.
I hate the glamormoms. I have two transition tanks that I bought on baby steals and only wear them because I might as well get something out of the money I spent. The boob holes are too far apart for me so I always have to adjust to find my nipples in them.
I wore the hell out of Momzelle tops (like the boob but the line is up a little higher so sometimes just looks like empire waist, though not really) last time too. Now I’m so sick of wearing anything that screams nursing that I just wear a lot of cowls neck shirts over the yummie tummie
LOVE this post. I bought a couple of the Gap nursing tanks and don’t recommend them. The clasps are not good and after just a couple months of wear one finally wore out. For a regular nursing bra, however, I do recommend the Bravada Basics line that Target has. I have one and absolutely love it. I wanted the “real” Bravada bra but this was much more affordable and soooo comfortable.
Found this Post-Bought both a Bravado Tank and a Glamourmom Full Busted Top. Returned the Bravado after trying on both. The adjustable band of the Glamourmom was the big difference.
@Julie,
Sounds great. The glamourmom tanks I have do not have that feature.
They are great. I bought Black to start but thinking of getting two more while still nursing. I really like the Grape but can’t make up my mind on the other color. I like the Dark Blue, the Chocolate, the Heather Grey, and the White. Can one of you rookie moms help me out? I’d get them all but my husband would kill me.
Hi Heather,
You owe it to your readers to check out and review the Glamourmom Full Bust Top. I don’t know any top that has an adjustable bra band. The reveiws on Amazon are right! It blows away the Bravado IMHO
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