Breast feeding moms....

nicant11 · June 2013

This may be an odd question, and possibly all ready discussed.... but are nursing tanks necessary? I obviously have nursing bras all ready but I haven't gotten any tanks. I do not wear tank tops any other time. And honestly, I'm kind of done spending money on maternity clothes. So will a regular shirt be that annoying? Kind of the same question for nursing pjs. If I'm home and nursing I'm not going to care if I even have a shirt on to nurse. Thanks a bunch.

Abeille · June 2013

Nursing tanks aren't necessary. It's just personal preference. You may be better off waiting anyway...once you're in the thick of things you can figure out what works best for you.

iriscarmendiaz · June 2013

I'm a FTM, but I actually only own two nursing tanks right now (and they are packed in my hospital bag).

I don't plan on buying more nursing bras until my milk comes in (because the couple I have now don't fit all that well since I keep growing out of them. I figured the tanks were a good compromise since they had more room to grow in between now and the first week or two post-partum.

I also just opted for one oversized night gown that buttoned halfway down, so I would have easy access to my breasts for feeding.

Tara*N*Chris · June 2013

They are not necessary, but it is nice to be able to nurse and not have your stomach exposed.

Cookies2013 · June 2013

Abeille:
Nursing tanks aren't necessary. It's just personal preference. You may be better off waiting anyway...once you're in the thick of things you can figure out what works best for you.

I agree. I actually never spent a lot on nursing bras bc I could never find ones I liked. Depending on how big you are I wore the nursing tanks under everything instead of bras bc it worked better for me. I just bought the ones atcTarget. Also Target had these cami nightgowns with support I just bought bc for me as long as I could whip out a boob easily in the night it worked to sleep....and def cool in the summer! And I woukd totalky sleep in when not nursing!

Kitten80 · June 2013

I liked having them, especially so my stomach wasn't showing. It was easier than the bras for me. If your not sure, maybe get one or two to test it out. I prefer slleep bras/nursing tanks or ts to nursing jammies, but that's just more my speed anyhow.

je2161 · June 2013

I never owned nursing pjs. Never saw the need. I slept in nursing sleep bras and they were very comfy.

During the day I lived in nursing tanks. Around the house I wore those ALL the time. And when out and about, I would sometimes wear a nursing tank under a regular shirt. Other times I would wear one of my nursing bras under a stretchy top or low cut top. I hardly owned any true nursing tops because I had trouble finding ones I liked. And I nursed DD until she was 21 or 22 months and we nursed in public plenty of times early on. We made it work.

My suggestion is get one or two reasonably priced nursing tanks and nursing bras. Then as you get the hang of things and figure out what you like you could always invest in higher quantity and higher quality.

kathleen02 · June 2013

Nope, not really. Some provide support and that can be nice but I find them a little clingy and I don't know if I'll like that in the heat of summer. I think vneck t-shirts or henleys where there is a button down are just as easy. I don't wear a nursing bra around the house so just a top that's easy access works fine.

mittensonkittens · June 2013

Nursing tanks and nursing tops are great for nursing in public so you're not so exposed. I would wear a button down shirt open over a nursing tank if I expected to nurse in public. Or a nursing top with a nursing bra. You can always get some later if you decide you want some. Nursing in public likely isn't something you will attempt in the first few weeks anyway.

nicant11 · June 2013

Thanks everyone. You were super helpful. Maybe I will pick up some tanks for under things. I should've mentioned I am def large chested so just a tank for me prob isn't an option but I didn't really think about my stomach hanging out. So I like the idea of putting one under a button down or v cut shirt. And I do have nursing bras that I really like. I just hope I don't get super huge afterwards. Thanks again!

queenbone · June 2013

I've never used a nursing tank and never felt I was missing out on anything.

I usually wear another layer on top of a t-shirt, lift up from the bottom so the shirt is covering top boob, baby covers boob and my stomach, cardigan covers my side skin. Done.

supersarah77 · June 2013

I have a few nursing tshirts with a really stretchy gathered neckline to pull down. Not clingy like a tank top but less exposure than lifting up.

SplashingFishy · June 2013

I'm large chested, and never found a nursing bra I really loved. They all made me feel frumpy. I would wear them out of the house, but that was it. Around the house, I liked the nursing tanks. A nursing tank and a cardi if it was a bit cooler and I was set. I got the ones from Target and they were really comfy - so much so that I kept wearing them for sleep after I quit nursing...before I was pregnant I normally wore some kind of tank with a shelf bra, and that's basically all the nursing tank is.

luvmyducks · June 2013

I lived in nursing tanks. Around the house they are a great substitute for a bra. I wore one every noght to bed. And out and about I would also wear a bra but if I needed to nurse it would cover my midsection.

beebaby · June 2013

I breast fed two kiddos without owning any nursing tanks or nursing pjs. There were times however, that I did nurse in public or at a friend's house where it would have been nice to have my stomach covered, so I did buy one nursing tank for this baby. As for nursing pjs, I just wore a sleep nursing bra and regular pjs.

kcox123 · June 2013

They are absolutely not necessary.

That said, I live in mine with yoga pants for the first couple months.

It really is personal preference.

dondraandluis · June 2013

I only wore nursing tanks, no bras. I'm about a B cup normally so not super big or anything and didn't have any issues. I only wore a regular bra a handful of times until I stopped pumping at 9 months pp. I think it is just personal preference though because some prefer the bras.

ETA: Never bought the pjs or nursing shirts either.

jebrmbbeb · June 2013

You can totally wear regular shirts. Especially if you nurse for a long time you would get so sick of only nursing tops. I have one tank because it was nice the first few weeks nursing so often but they aren't necessary if you don't normally wear them. I always just lifted up my normal shirt, it's not inconvenient to me at all.

nicant11 · June 2013

Thanks. I am really grateful for all of the feedback!

cburitz · June 2013

Nursing pjs aren't necessary. I pretty much lived in nursing tanks, though. They're also great for fall/winter for layering underneath a sweater.

opheliainwaders · June 2013

So far, while I don't think they're totally necessary, I actually really like them. I just got a few at Target, and I think they're worth the 15. That said, I'm relatively small chested, and am probably somewhere around a 34 or 36 C or very small D at this point. I can see the tanks not being great for larger chested ladies.

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