How many nursing tanks do I need?

jellybean0110 · July 2011

I currently have 4 (2 white/2 black). I also have 2 nursing nighties. I hear in the beginning people live in these, but I also know I will be doing laundry frequently so I may have enough. So I have 2 questions: 1) how many nursing tanks do I really need and 2) do you wear these out in public or mostly just around the house?

TIA!

janecanadian · August 2011

I bought a bunch of nursing tanks but never ended up using any of them so don't go overboard until you are sure they will work for you! I have a larger chest and needed to always wear a bra for the support, the nursing tank alone didn't cut it. Plus I had so much pain in my nipples that the cotton rubbing on them was too painful. Oh and I was a leaker too so had to wear nursing pads for the first few months and those didn't work really well in nursing tanks. So it was a pain in the butt to have to open a nursing bra and a nursing tank, hold back all that fabric and try and get baby to latch! I just got a bunch of light tanks with stretchy straps to wear under my regular shirts so then I just had to lift my shirt, pull down the tank and undo my nursing bra. With regards to the nursing nighties, I didn't have a single one, nor could I have worn one without a nursing bra as DD slept through the night from the very beginning and I would wake up in a puddle of milk! So I would suggest that you have all you need for now, until you know what works and doesn't work for you!

janecanadian · August 2011

These were great too: https://undercovermama.com/

Loved them! Except that that wouldn't clip onto my bravado nursing bras so that was disappointing. They clipped fine into some other nursing bras I have, just not sure of the brand name. They are nice and long too.

cvl105 · August 2011

I have three and I live in them. I try not to wear them out of the house, but I do sometimes. I literally wear nothing else at home. Shorts and a nursing tank have become my everyday wear. I sleep in them too. If you're the type of person that will change every time you get spit up on, then you may want more. I pretty much leave the same one on all day because I know I'll just get spit up on again...and it doesn't bother me. I'm gross, I know. Haha

CarlaAndJames · August 2011

I wear one every single day, at least under my clothes so I can pull up my shirt to nurse in public without showing off my awesome PP belly.

I started out with 4 and bought 4 more. I am still washing them constantly, sometimes I go through several in a day if I leak!

bsktbllqt11 · August 2011

I had 2 nursing tanks and 1 nursing tank that was for nighttime. I was fine with these two while on maternity leave but I also had 4 nursing bras too. I only wore the nursing tanks in public on occasion and usually underneath of something.

katcarls · August 2011

It depends how often you're going to wear them and how often you do laundry. I had a lot (7 or 8) since I SAH and wore them all the time. I wore them out occasionally too, usually under a hoodie or sweater.

MissYouDietCoke · August 2011

I had 2 from target before I had DS. They worked until I was ready to spend more on more comfortable tanks.

Now I have 3 (one ea. in black, white and gray) Glamourmom Long Tanks. THey are soooooo much more comfortable than the target ones. I wear them every day under a t-shirt or tank, even out of the house. I also have a bravado nursing bra.

DS is 4.5 mo old.

karen_loy · August 2011

I had a couple but never used them much, I didn't like the way they looked and fit

I just got a bunch of V-neck sweters and used those (with a nursing bra underneath), much nicer

Nechie122 · August 2011

Four should be plenty for now. I have three and I wear them often but not everyday. I do wear them out of the house, but always layered under something else (you may find that a lot of your pre-pregnancy shirts seem a lot shorter after giving birth ... something about bigger boobs and wider hips.) And as a PP mentioned, they do help you nurse more discretely without flashing your gut.

I also had three sleep bras in my rotation after I came home from the hospital -- you may want to look into those as well since a nursing tank might not work under all your clothes.

Although it does take some time for your bra size to stabilize, once mine did around 12 weeks, I couldn't wait to get some pretty and "normal"-looking nursing bras. So don't get too crazy with tanks and sleep bras -- you may only wear them regularly for a short time.

(edited for clarity)

okate0213 · August 2011

I started out with four. 2 to sleep in and 2 for during the day. I lived in them, and they are much easier than a nursing bra, since you wont know what size you will be. I still wear them pretty much every day. Now I have 7 and like PP said they are great under your shirt. I wore nursing pads under them just fine, they helped the leaking and also the nipping. I didn't buy any night gown type things because I really needed something that would hold a pad, I did get some sleep bra's to we wear under nightgowns with a low neck line. HTH and congrats!

Corey-chick · August 2011

Don't go crazy buying ahead. I had bought 4 nursing tanks and 4 nursing bras and ended up hating all of them! I am large chested but went up to size F just after the baby came. Tanks were never enough support and didn't work well with pads. I was also a leaker. If the baby was nursing on one side the other side was pouring so I was always shoving a hand towel on the other side. It ended up just being more comfortable to have both breasts out while nursing at home, so what I ended up doing was wearing looser tanks all day, that I could easily pull down. I also found that nursing bra's weren't great either. I found that regular bra's that have the front closure instead were better for me. Next time around I am only buying the regular bra's with the front closure- even easier than the nursing bra's, and they still have support and held the pads in place.

But like I said, wait until the baby comes and then you'll know what will work for you.

jellybean0110 · August 2011

Ok thanks everyone! I have nursing bras too -- sleeping and daytime. I'll just stick with what I've got and I can always get more later if I need them

Megan.10.06 · August 2011

I LIVE in mine. I wear them everywhere. I am a heavy leaker and I wer a 36H and have never had these problems! When I lay down, I shift the pad over, no big deal.

The only problem I have come across is the full sling tanks vs the side sling tanks - I find the 'boob thong' of the full sling can ride up and stick out of the v neck ones. Not so nice!

CanuckFan03 · August 2011

I would say four is a good number. (unless you plan on buying zero nursing bras, then I would get more). I wore mine mostly at home, or under a hoodie if I went out.

I bought cheap ones from target, and pricier ones from Thyme, and I liked the target ones the best.

cwtmommy · August 2011

i personally wear my leading lady and target nursing tanks A LOT. i was one of the moms who wore one probably every day. i started out with a couple and then slowly bought more and more so i didn't have to keep doing laundry all the time. i think 4 is perfect to start out with. you just need to see how it goes and if you like what you bought. then just buy some more or try other brands if need be. i didn't actually try any nighties so i don't know if i missed out on that or not. i'm too stuck in my ways to try it now lol. and for your second question, i wore my out in public frequently too. just in case i needed to nursing in public, i wanted tummy coverage. but i also wore a nursing bra underneath of that most of the time too, to double up on the support.

How many nursing tanks do I need?

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