Hello

I'm trying to work out what are the best tops for breastfeeding and would appreciate any advice on what has worked for other people. Bubs is due in 5 weeks and I'm currently a 14E cup (eek!).

I've bought a few maternity t-shirts from Target that seem ok but I thought that maybe I should also get some maternity singlets that I could team with cardigans/wrap tops. Anyone have any views on bonds vs lovable (or any other brands).

Pre pregnancy I'm a size 10-12 (10 D bra size)

Hello,

Congrats! I found that wearing a normal t-shirt with a belly band underneath, so I could pull my top up and not shock onlookers with the flab, the most comfortable and flattering to my shape. Get a couple of tops and experiment. If you find a top that looks good and is comfortable get a couple.

Best of luck!

normal t-shirt for me too, except I didnt wear a belly band, I just shock any onlookers!

Have a trial with a doll - ideally with a friend whose a bfder to give you some tips.
But really hey who cares? YOU'RE the most important person in a bfing situation - be proud - be comfortable and know there are other women out there (like me) who think, I'd give anything to have another day to have have my little bubs all over again.....

enjoy and don't be spun out over it - australia has become an accepting society with Mum's feeding in public.

FWIW, I found patterned tops in the early weeks helped to conceal any leaking...

Have a great time - enjoy!

Yup, normal T-shirt. I never owned any special breastfeeding tops for my first... Didn't seem to need them and most of my friends who had them HATED them... Only difficulty is dresses... I basically didn't wear a dress for a whole year...

I tried a few breastfeeding tops and hated them, but maybe I was just the wrong shape (12F). They just seemed so complicated and annoying. Much easier (and more discreet, I found) to simply pull up a top. A bellyband underneath can be good if it's a cold day - keeps your tummy warm!

Top secret maternity does excellent bf tops. I love the sahara top, I own quite a few and they are practically my uniform during bf years with my boys

I just go with wide necks on normal tshirts and just pop my boob out the top. I hate showing my belly and this just feels more comfortable (and warm).

Wear stretchy spaghetti strap singlets under a normal shirt, singlet pulls down and shirt goes up. Tummy and chest stay nicely warm and hidden. Those singlets are pretty easy to find and cheap.

I really loved the bonds singlets, practically lived in them. Really comfy day and night. They are really small sizing though, so get at least one but probably 2 sizes bigger than you would normally for comfort.

I also second the bonds singlets - I wear them under regular tops/t-shirts. Only issue is that they aren't that cheap and if you have already bought maternity bras you'll need another option. I also agree that they are made small. They are a little bit cheaper at Trade Secret (near Brand Depot).

I also have a heap of cheap breastfeeding tank tops (which lift up from the middle) that I bought from K-mart for about $6 each in white/black/grey which also go fine under most regular tops. They still have them at Tuggeranong.

I am a similar size to you (14E when feeding, 12DD when not) and I really have never worried about proper breastfeeding tops - just lift up whatever Im wearing (obviously not a dress though!!). If you are worried about exposing bare skin, Id second the normal long tank top with spaghetti straps.

Good luck with your impending arrival

Yep. I did this. Keeps you warm in winter and you don't feel exposed at all. Has the added benifit of being an extra firming layer over the baby belly flab. I got mine from target. The straps get ruined fairly quickly, but you aren't showing the straps. They come in loads of colours too

kmart have breastfeeding singlets for $12 each that were great. Have a slit that runs across under the breast that you kind of split apart and can discreetly feed from. They also have wide straps so you can just wear your normal maternity bra underneath. I just had 3 black ones and wore them under my normal clothes or with a cardigan.

They're not the clingy sort with spaghetti straps - more like a sleeveless t-shirt singlet type thing. As a 14 F I found some of the spaghetti singlet tops just too small but these were perfect.

I found that the cheaper breastfeeding singlets from Kmart didn't quite have enough support, and I was only about a 14c when feeding (12a usually). Fine for around the house, but I felt very unsupported and like I was flapping in the breeze when walking around in public.
Breastfeeding boobs can hurt when the weight of them stretches the skin. (or I found this anyway... wasn't used to having boobs before then so maybe most girls are used to this)
I also found that the slits didn't line up with my nipples.

I like the suggestion to practice with a doll! I preferred to have singlets that you could "flap-down", but my SIL felt exposed this way and preferred the larget T-shirt that she could lift slightly and put the baby under. I tried her way and didn't like it at all - felt more exposed that way.

I wore the bonds singlets every day with a loose top/cardie/shirt over the top. If the top over wasn't breast-feeding friendly then I just took it off and wrapped it around my shoulders to keep me warm and give a bit of cover. The baby keeps your belly warm - so it's just your back and chest that need the cover.

I had a winter baby & wore spaghetti strap singlets under shirts or button up shirts so I could just undo the top few buttons. I layer clothing a lot anyway so it wasn't really all that different for me except that I had to buy a whole new bunch of tops & dresses purely because I couldn't squeeze my enormous breastfeeding boobs into anything I already owned!!

I'm another who loves the Bonds maternity singlets, bras & the bump boylegs which I wore throughout pg and still wear coz they're so comfy! They're pricey but worth it IMO.

I found that a singlet underneath and a regular top worked the best. However, any proper bra-like singlet, especially Bonds were just too small in cup size for me (14E). I liked the loveable ones, with just a 'shelf' support best and wore my normal (slightly more) supportive maternity bra underneath. They were also good for sleeping and night feeds. Otherwise cheaper normal singlet with stretchy straps worked too.

I did this too, but got a nursing wrap from Bebe Au Lait for breastfeeding in public. There were times where I felt comfortable to not use it, but in the early days when we weren't quite used to things and in the later months when DS would be easily distracted (and pop off displaying my FFcups to the world, lol!) it came in very handy!

This is me too. I just didn't feel comfortable pulling up my top and found it easier to pop the boob out over top. I've found that V neck or cowl necks are easier to use. I'm now a 16E (was a 14B) so don't find spagetti straps supportive enough, and the Bonds singlets only go to DD or D sizing
I was was very lucky to find a Bub2Bub singlet at a store that looked a bit like this singlet, only was $20 and with slightly thicker straps.

I've used it so much over summer as the top half just lifts up when needed, and the bottom part has an additional foldover layer on the bra, which gives two layers of clothing (great if there's any inadvertant leakage or to stop nursing pads from showing through).

I think Kmart, Target & BigW stock that brand so maybe check them all? I can only remember that the store was in Northland during the NY sales, so it could have been any of those 3. (It's all hazy through the filter of sleep deprivation back then)

I also bought a couple of tops from Angel Maternity, when they were running specials but to be frank, the tops are nice but their X/ XL sizing is fairly small fitting and just doesn't really fit my 16E size even though the site measurements said they would. For example this one would work well on someone who was smaller than me, as the XL is too small with the cross-pattern not lining up properly on me.

For autumn and winter I'm planning to invest in a few cardi type tops over my v neck shirts that I can use as blinker for DD (so distractible right now) and these will act as a sort-of discreet shield, particularly as I'm popping the boob out, and not lifting a shirt up. And I usually wear a pashima scarf in winter, and think they'll also be helpful this year for keeping everything warm.

ETA: Oops, didn't realise this was an ACT thread. Sorry. Northland Shopping Centre in Melb is probably too far away. The online stores could still be helpful though.

I think it depends on what size boobs you have.... i ended up with 14G

i found when i was out in public the easiest was to wear a normal top with the maternity pants that fold up!! So they cover almost everything and then bubs head covers your boob or if your wearing a loose top you can pull it down to cover any 'bits' still exposed.

Enjoy!!

I'm also a 14E and I second the PPs re: spaghetti strap singlet under any top. THat way you can pull up your top and pull down the singlet, and reveal only a minimal amount of flesh.

I was 14DD pre-preg, and 14E throughout preg, and 14F now BF.

I agree with spagetti strapped singlets under tops (top up, singlet down) but wouldn't bother with those Bonds ones. They don't tend to cater to big busts like ours. Just cheapies in size 14 or 16 from Best n Less worked for me. (Found some for $2.30 each!!)

When it was too hot in summer to wear two layers I went with floaty caftan style tops and no singlet underneath, but the extra fabric of the loose style provided enough tummy cover.