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Why I wear this old nursing bra….
In my long and illustrious breastfeeding career I have experienced:
Cracked nipples,
Itching nipples,
Inverted nipples and
Mastitis not once but 5 times!
Once on my birthday.
Also itchy breasts.
As well as and probably pertaining to…
Poor positioning,
Poor latch,
High palates,
Colic
And these must be related to the
Excessive milk production
Which resulted in
A wee bit of post-partem depression and
Exuberant block nursing
And elimination diets,
Which proved inconclusive…
Also,
Been bitten
And both of my older girls weaned when I was pregnant.
I cried. A lot.
Yet still, I remain (possibly) the world biggest proponent of breastfeeding.
Because when it works it’s oh so good.
When nursing works for me I believe it is directly related to my lucky nursing bras.
I kid you not!
It is an underwire bra which holds my breasts up.
And it has top closure which means I don’t ever have to close it and it still works.
I buy it too many sizes too big so that when it is closed it creates a wrinkle of fabric which
never touches skin.
It is from target and they no longer sell that particular style.
I have two left.They are grey and forlorn. Oh, oh, lucky bras….
I just heard back from the designer who made the bras, they don’t make them at this time, either for their Target clients, or at their high-end boutique, but will note my ‘love’ and I should keep checking back. In the meantime she hopes I find a suitable replacement. sigh.
Love,
Heather
Excessive milk production and post-partum depression can be related? Seriously? You know, I’ve always had unusually heavy periods, extreme pregnancy sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum), and excessive milk production. Then with baby #2, also had some PPD in the first few weeks. I’ve always wondered if its all related, but I don’t know nearly enough about hormones and all that jazz to figure it out. But now you’ve got me curious, so off I go to google things!
HUGS!
When sis was born I got these great bras at (ok I know) Wal-Mart. I got them with ds#1 and 2 were born… but now they don’t make them anymore. WAAAAH!
For awhile Target had some pretty good bras that I used with ds#4, but they don’t carry them anymore either. SO upsetting.
Heather in Tucson
*(((((((hugs)))))*
i am currently suffereing from the same distress… i just had baby 2 and my breasts went from a 40F to much bigger. . .
since im tandum nursing a newborn and a 2yr old PLUS living in germany finding a place to size me let alone bras in my size is a huge delima. im wearing nursing tanks and by 3pm in the afternoon i can squeeze myself into a trusty bra.
ive about given up. i just hope my breast regulate the milk soon. because even the LLL’s website doesnt carry bras that can fit me.
Hmm… Rachele, are you my long-lost twin?
And Heather, ARGH! Mothercare stopped making the only nursing bra I’ve ever gotten on with too.
Try the YES! bra. I’m not kidding, I wear it even if I’m not going to be nursing… which isn’t all that often of course heh…
It’s like the Bravado bras but better designed. The bottom elastic is really wide and comfy and never rolls. It’s not underwire but still holds me up, better than any of my underwires do. The sizes are very flexible, each size is really a range of sizes so it can accommodate quite a bit of the growing and shrinking.
I’m not paid by them lol… They really are my favourite nursing bra since I found them.
My other favourite thing to do is wear a regular bra that’s stretchy with enough give that I can just pull it over, no need to unhook anything. So it doesn’t even have to be a specialty ‘nursing’ bra!
Good luck. I know what it’s like when your favourite bra goes out of production. >:(
I had significant oversupply with my older three children. With my younger two (second set of twins), I discovered baby-led latch (you can google it, or I can find link) at about 3 months and would let them pick which side they wanted to nurse on. They would both pick the same side sometimes for as long as 7 hours, and sometimes they would switch sides each feeding, but they completely controlled my supply much better than block nursing ever did!
I have since learned that in Europe, women who present with oversupply are recommended that they get tested for celiac disease. Apparently elevated prolactin is a symptom. I only learned this AFTER I was diagnosed celiac, but it may be related to other symptoms too, as celiac affects our body’s ability to absorb nutrients, so we tend to feel generally unwell. I didn’t think I had it, but was tested because my dad and sister were diagnosed, I didn’t realize how unwell i was until I started eating gluten free.
Also, there is amazing research on the impact of Omega 3 fatty acids and PPD. Better than anti-depressants! Vitamin D deficiency is also implicated.
Well that’s more than enough from me!
You have nursing bras from years ago? Wow! Mine never seemed to last me more than a few months of active use! Sigh. Even my non-nursing bras rarely last more than a few months- something about having to hold up the weight of 2 boulders makes them wear out faster.
I don’t know if it’ll help, but a friend just shared this website with me:
http://www.birthandbaby.com/
Apparently, they have about the best selection of nursing bras around. Sigh. My old reliable just went out of service, too. The little strip of fabric between the cups finally frayed away to nothing and snapped.
You know, it’s really easy to make your own out of a non-nursing bra. You just need two bikini clips, or you can even use press studs or velcro of whatever fastening method takes your fancy. Oh and some elastic.
Cut both bra straps near the bra.
Sew bikini clip (or press stud / velcro) onto both ends.
Now the elastic you sew from the bra onto the top strap on each side (this is to stop you “losing” the bottom part of the strap – like on a usual nursing bra) – I tend to go from the top strap right down to the bottom of the bra.
Voila!
Heather! I love reading your comics!
Your comics are very special to me so I would like to do something special for you.
I own an online store and I would love to offer you a discount (30%) on a *NEW* nursing bra for you! Check them out here:
http://www.sparrowstail.com/women/jane-39-s-plus-cup/prod_311.html
http://www.sparrowstail.com/women/jane-39-s-bra-top/prod_259.html
http://www.sparrowstail.com/women/jill-39-s-bra-top/prod_302.html
They are made out of organic cotton. As soon as I started wearing these I have never returned to the other styles.
I would extend the 30% off discount for anything that you want to buy in my store. Just contact me and I’ll give you a code.
Best wishes,
Sarah
Oh, good luck finding a replacement style – I know that’s tough!
Have you tried searching on eBay for your old one? If they don’t have any right now, you can do an ongoing search and you’ll receive a daily email if any come up for sale. It’s amazing what you can find there.
Heather, if you’re not eBay proficient, let me know and I’ll do it for you. Among my friends, I am known as “The eBay Whiz”! I’ve found things after everyone else has given up, lol!
You have my email address.
Good luck!
The “other” Kathleen
Heather, if the model number you gave in the comic is the real one, here it is! Don’t know if it’s your size though. Just copy and past the long, long URL into your address bar.
http://cgi.ebay.com/LIZ-LANGE-MATERNITY-SEAMLESS-COTTON-40C-STYLE-M701-BNIP_W0QQitemZ220284525806QQihZ012QQcategoryZ11517QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247
Oh wait! Here are 30 more in various sizes and colors. IF your M701 was the right model number…
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=Lange+%28nursing%2C+maternity%29+bra
But do you really need a bra at all? I found an interesting website several months ago about bras and breast health:
http://brafree.org/0~index.html
Prior to reading the article, I had been wearing a really tight bra because I felt self conscious about my breasts. Now, I’ve greatly reduced my bra wearing. My breasts feel better, and I feel better about them. They don’t look fashionably perky, but they work the way they’re supposed to work!
Yay for Ruth for a do-it-yourself solution!
I very much preferred my spandex sports bra over any of my nursing bras. It held me tight which kept me from leaking. I had over supply and OALD and in the beginning. Anytime my breasts were “relaxed,” I’d leak. Before having a kid I didn’t do bras much at all, but I learned after a couple embarrassing leaks. I also liked the sports bra because it didn’t put any pressure on certain points the way under-wire and some other kinds tend to do to me. Which is uncomfortable and I believe can encourage clogged ducts. With the sports bra, I’d just pull it up with the shirt. No need to undo anything to get started and nothing to put back together when done. If I were to do it again, I don’t think I’d do nursing bras at all. Plus I didn’t need a different size for a sports bra. So no special purchase is necessary. (I’m wary of “special” stuff marketed to parents. From cribs to nursing wear.) But then, I’m typically quite small, so maybe it doesn’t work the same for other women.
If that style of bra is the only thing that works for you, try taking it to a competant seamstress! Most of them can copy just about anything from an original… or at least help you to modify a pattern and make it the way you want it.
I was also going to suggest eBay (aka “The World’s Yard Sale”) but someone beat me to it. I found my mother’s discontinued china pattern on there, gave her cups for Mother’s Day, and made her cry!