Being a mum and dressing stylishly can be a challenge. You are time poor, your body shape has changed. And if you are breastfeeding, you have the added challenge of trying to find feeding friendly clothes. Luckily, these days there are many more high street retailers that offer postnatal wardrobe solutions. However, it is possible to create a breastfeeding-friendly closet with just a few essential items and your existing wardrobe, ensuring that you look and feel like you again. Breastfeeding with style is feasible.
Invest in a good nursing bra
A good nursing bra is essential if you want to be breastfeeding with style. If you buy nothing else to help build a breastfeeding-friendly wardrobe this one item will make all the difference. When I had my first child, I just went for a basic practical bra from M&S. This served me well, but it did nothing for my self-confidence and left me feeling frumpy and middle-aged.
What we wear under our clothes can have as much an impact on how we feel about ourselves. When I had my second, I made sure I did the research and found a nursing bra that was pretty, had a bit of lace. It was much more stylish.
There are a number of brands that do ‘sexier’ nursing bras, including Freya, Panache, Hotmilk. It is important to make sure that you get yourself measured by a professional. This is to ensure that you get the right fit. It is also recommended that you get measured very late in your pregnancy, or even wait until your milk has come in. This is because your boobs can get even bigger once you are feeding.
Look for easy access details
If you don’t want to spend a huge amount of money on nursing clothes, one way of making your wardrobe work for you is to look for items that open up at the front to make it easier to feed. Button and zip through fronts are the most obvious styles, but there are other alternatives including, tie front detail or straps that can be undone when needed, shirred bodice details or stretchy cross front style tops that can be pulled aside for easy feeding or look for wrap tops and dresses that can be undone when needed.
If you are buying new things, think about whether you will wear them after you have finished feeding, as this will give you a good indication as to whether the items suit your natural style personality and help in creating a more sustainable and hardworking wardrobe.
Layer a simple camisole underneath
If you are feeding in a top or dress that does not have easy access to feed, then you will most likely be lifting your top-up to a nurse. Whilst this is fine at home or with family and friends, you might not feel quite so comfortable doing this in public and exposing your tummy. This is where a stretchy camisole or nursing vest comes in handy. All you need to do is simply pull down or unclip the neckline and you can feed easily without flashing the flesh. This is one of my favourite and simplest tips for breastfeeding with style.
Accessorise with a lightweight scarf or nursing jewellery
Breastfeeding in public can be daunting so if you would rather cover up, then try adding light weight scarf to your outfit. This will not only elevate your overall look, but you can use it to conceal baby feeding by simply draping over to one side when you are nursing.
If you have a wriggly feeder, you could also try adding some nursing jewellery to help keep them focused with the job in hand! This used to work for my nosy firstborn, who used to bob on and off the boob, pull off any cover I had on him or turn his head whilst still having my nipple in his mouth! Ouch!
Have fun with fashion
Remember, just because you have this added requirement from your clothes, don’t make it your only focus. Get creative with clothes. Could you wear that top with the zip-back, the other way round? Could that cross-front dress stretch enough at the neckline to allow you to feed? If you layer up an item with a camisole underneath do you have more outfit options?
Most importantly, think about whether you actually like the item? Would you wear it if you weren’t breastfeeding, and does it go with other pieces in your wardrobe? If the answer is no, then move on and look for something better. As a mum, it is all too easy to lose your style identity and slip into a rut. Remember just because you are a mother, doesn’t mean that you have to forgo looking stylish and feeling confident for practicality. You are still the same fabulous women, just a little more tired and exhausted
I have put together a breast feeding friendly style board at Moonsift
I hope that you have found these simple tips helpful and you feel more capable of reviewing your wardrobe and seeing how you can dress for breastfeeding with style.
If you would like any more advice on creating a postpartum wardrobe , I offer personal shopping both online and in person across Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire and West Sussex. Why not take advantage of my free initial style consultation, simply book via the website, call me on 07764996596 or send me an email.
Orginal article posted on Momthinks.co.uk