Good sources for nursing tops?

[Rachels]

What are your favorite sources for nursing clothes? Everything I see seems so expensive, so I'd like to be sure I'm getting things that will be comfortable and will last. Thanks!

[momathome]

Personally, I was never all that crazy about nursing clothes. I nursed my oldest daughter for 10 months and my youngest daughter for 13 months (we just stopped this week!) and I always wore either button-down or large shirts that were easy for the baby to fit under. However when my youngest was 7 months old, I had to attend a wedding and bring my baby with me. I found a beautiful nursing dress at a reasonable price on the onehotmama.com website. They had both casual and dressy nursing clothes that were high quality and not overly expensive. The service was excellent and I would not hesitate to order from them again. They also carry maternity clothes, baby shoes,diaper bags, lingerie, and baby slings. They are a little preachy on the site about the benfits of nursing your baby until she is old enough to vote but, otherwise, I was quite pleased. Good luck!
-Lauren

[egoldber]

I agree with the above poster. I nursed my baby for 6 months, bought one nursing top, hated it and never used them. When I was home, I just wore a shirt that buttoned down the front. When I was out, I just wore large-ish shirts that I could pull up. Personally, I think that those are more comfortable and give better "coverage" than nursing tops. None of the women in my mommy group of 10-12 moms (who pretty much all breastfed at least for awhile, and many still are) used "nursing" clothes.

What is key, I think, is getting a nursing bra that is easy and comfortable to do one-handed. To be honest, I got my nursing bras at Target. They were the plain old Playtex bras, but I thought they were comfy, cheap and easy to use. There are a few different snap closure styles, so you may need to experiment to find what works best.

HTH,

[KathyO]

The store-bought nursing tops I wore came from Shirley K Maternity, which also sells as Thyme Maternity. I agree that they're not the most fashionable thing in the world, but they got me through the first period of feeding every couple of hours, and they're REALLY comfortable. They've been traded back and forth between multiple moms, and still look good.

If you want LOTS cheaper and somewhat less dowdy, and know someone who can sew, there is a VERY easy pattern at www.borntolove.com - the Sewfast Nursing Shirt (ignore the other weird fouffy patterns they sell). This way you get to choose flattering colours and interesting fabric patterns at least, and the shirt can be made up as a tank top or T-shirt, with a variety of necklines, to keep it interesting.

KathyO

[EricaS]

A friend of mine in California told me about Expressiva Nursingwear, its a relatively new company. She bought one of their cotton twinsets and raved about it. Their clothes seem really cute! They are a little pricey (maybe not for California!) but then they have a clearance center. www.expressiva.com Does anyone know where I can find a good nursing sports bra? Thanks! Erica

[Madelyn]

www.motherwear.com. They are a bit pricey regular price but they have weekly web specials and a clearance section. Ebay isn't a bad place either. I've gotten some new and gently used items there.

[TLC1994]

I must also put in my vote for Motherwear.com and Expressiva.com, although Motherwear has a much larger selection.

I've purchased about 6 tops from Motherwear and they've been great. And I just purchased a dress from Expressiva.com and it's so comfortable and looks great too. A friend of mind was very surprised to find out that it was a nursing dress! The style is the "Slimming Car Wash Dress" and sells for $119 which I know is not cheap, but if you have to dress up frequently like I do, it'll be worth every penny!

Personally I find it difficult to nurse discreetly in a regular button down shirt, so I've certainly benefitted from nursing clothes. It just took me a couple of tries with the different nursing openings to find which ones worked best for me.