Am I the only one who HATES maternity bras?

[StrawberryFields]

Oh yes the itchiness! I only had them on in fitting rooms and was like 'ARGH GET IT OFF!' I might as well have been wearing wool berber carpeting!

Mrs P - Yep, but because of it being a soft cup I felt either completely unsupported in the bigger size, or squished wherever flesh would fit in when they tried a smaller size. Plus, it came up really high on my chest, which would mean I couldn't wear any of my clothes without the world seeing it (all I have is empire line, v-neck type summer dresses, you can get away with that here!) But I find triumph is just a bad brand on me anyway, so I wasn't too surprised.

[Glamourcide]

You don't have to wear maternity/BFing bras during pregnancy, or even while BFing - I have small boobs so found a cheap brand that fit me adequately (my pet hate was the wide straps - I'm in QLD too so spend the majority of my life in spaghetti-strap singlets and shorts), but I only wore them at night and when I first started BFing, once I got the hang of the whole deal I just learned how to squish a boob out the top of a padded underwire bra and fed just fine for 6 months. Before my babies arrived, I'd only wear them around the house for comfort, but if I was even popping out to the shops to grab a carton of milk I'd switch to a normal underwire because I never felt properly supported in them.
Don't panic too much about maternity bras, if you feel more comfortable in your usual bras (even buying the same stuff you normally wear in a larger size to allow for extra pregnancy boobage), then just wear them. I never had issues with my milk or mastitis etc from wearing underwire/padded bras so just take the post-pregnancy ordeal as it comes I hope you find something that works for you - the clips are really handy for convenient BFing but I totally understand how you feel about wire-free bras feeling itchy and unsupportive! x

[MrsBexie]

I HATE THEM... I hate how they seem to pull your boobs down so you have grandma cleavage!!!!! GRR! And hotmilk are too $$ for me (not that they seem any better!)

I went from 10A to now being a 12E but can't even show them off cause they just look saggy n gross... and EVERYTHING is uncomfortable! Bras always have been on me

[Gigi]

i was a 12DD from 8 weeks pregnant and for the first year of bf-ing. The only maternity bra that worked for me, was a Triumph really lacey number, that i hated the look of (so frumpy), but actually was the only bra that made my breasts and back stop hurting. So i ended up buying a few of those (resentfully, cos they looked gross on). but i begrudgingly had to admit the bra fitter was right, i was comfy in them.

As a 12DD, i had breastfeeding camisoles (shelf bras) for sleeping in.

As a 12DD, i didn't find that breastfeeding tops with so called "built in bras" helped me, i think they are for C's and B's. I much preferred to wear a proper maternity bra, then wear a bf-ing top (like Nuvo Maternity make), that open FROM THE BOTTOM (using double front, so your tum is still covered), rather than the ones that open FROM THE TOP (and expose more of you).

My LO is now 4yo, and i wish i had the money to replace all my mat. bras with normal bras. i'm still wearing the mat. bras, cos it's better than nothing. i'm wide set too.

i never thought i'd be able to produce milk, or breastfeed either. it was a complete miracle to me, that we were able to do it. having a midwife who was pro-bf-ing, and visited me for the first six weeks after bilby arrived, was such a help to that, having someone to show me what to do, spur me on when it all seemed too hard. other things went wrong with her arrival, but amazingly, in spite of all that other stuff, we managed the bf-ing. it was our silver lining. so i say, with stuff like this, you only really know, when you're in that exact situation. i wish you all the best of luck. Prepare for ANY eventuality LOL, cos with bubs, you never really know, until it's actually happening. all you can do, is try stuff. whatever works, you stick with, whatever doesn't work, you try something else. and there is support available.

1800 686 2 686 for free helpline (Australian Breastfeeding Association)
lactation consultants (there is a big difference in speaking to a private LC, i've met hospital LC's who get taught that bf-ing finishes at 3 months old!!!!!).
don't assume doctors know about bf-ing - it's not included in medical school.
the only people who actually are schooled up about breastfeeding, seem to be LC's and ABA people. (this shocked me).
i also good helpful bf-ing advice from private midwives

the stuff i got told by the midwives, on the labour ward (different ones every shift) - that was so confusing, so conflicting. i was glad i had ONE person i could turn to, one CONSISTENT person, my midwife. If all i had to go on was my GP, the labour ward middies, etc, i would have given up real fast.

bf-ing is a sharp learning curve
there are challenges
the difference is, most people you'll come into contact with at the time, will tell you to give up pretty quick
but the ABA, private LC's, don't tell you to give up, instead they tell you how normal it is, and provide you with things to try, to get over that challenge. Being given tools to work with e.g being shown how to hold your baby to facilitate easier latching, helped me so much. They were realistic, that it's a new skill, won't be learnt immed, takes practice.

i didn't assume i WOULD be breastfeeding. i just wanted to try it, just in case i could manage it. if you can, that's great. if you can't, your bub will still survive on formula. i figured, even if all i did, was give her the colustrum (first few days), even that would be a positive. All you can do is try, educate yourself as best you can whilst pregnant, so you know where to get help when you need it, ask for help when you need it and see what happens.