BF in public.

J&NL · April 2014

Moms that nurse in public, what do you wear when you leave the house? Nursing tops? Normal shirts with a nursing bra? Covers?

ksulli · April 2014

While we're still getting used to it, I wear a nursing tank and cardigan, then cover up with a burp cloth or light blanket over the opposite shoulder & tucked into the active boob's armpit. This leaves just enough boob showing for dd to nurse effectively.

later in the process I'll switch to normal clothing (shirt and plain tank underneath) with a nursing bra- tank goes down, shirt goes up, again leaving just enough exposed for LO to do her thing.

I'm quite modest in general, and with this approach I've never had anybody even look twice, unless they wanted to see baby and didn't realize I was nursing.

kseccomb17 · April 2014

I've been using nursing tanks for now.

RedDawnsRevenge · April 2014

Regular tops, DD has stretched the necklines of all my shirts out so much I can get both boobs out at once...

joyfullyfound · April 2014

Starting out, when I wasn't as comfortable getting her to latch and still felt self conscience, I used an udder cover or receiving blanket. After a few weeks I switched to two shirts (pull one up, the other down), and then eventually just threw caution to the wind and bared the boob b/c I didn't care anymore, haha

knotty-girl · April 2014

I'm still pregnant but I plan to nurse. I had purchased nursing bras, but when thinking about my going home outfit, I started to realize how problematic some clothes are for nursing, where you might have to practically undress from the waist down! So I started looking at nursing clothes and the majority are U-G-L-Y. After wearing maternity clothing for the past 9 months I don't want to wear more stuff post partum that doesn't feel like me as fashion is a big part of my identity.

However there is a lot of non nursing clothing that work, and are better looking. Look for spaghetti strap lowcut tanks (I'm more likely to wear these under something less revealing as with engorged boobs they can be a bit much, or should I say not enough), button down shirts and blouses, placket front dresses (button or zipper front), asymmetrical open sweaters and wraps, etc. Here are a few non nursing items that work for nursing:

There is a company Boob Design that has a few decent style nursing dresses, but they aren't exactly cheap:

AcaAwkward · April 2014

Nursing Tank layered under regular tops or cardigans. Or dresses that button down the front with a nursing bra (much less often than the former; I really prefer tanks to bras).

olenkapdx · April 2014

All I have to say is, I am irritated at the thought of buying YET MORE CLOTHES that I don't really want. About 90% of my existing clothes are not BF-friendly. Grrrr..

pdilly2b · April 2014

I only had a couple nursing tanks so almost always wore a nursing bra and then a shirt that I could easily access it. Sometimes it was an actual nursing shirt, but most of the time it was tank tops (esp like cotton ones from Loft or Old Navy that I can pull off one of the arms easily) or shirts loose enough that I could lift up, though I did that option more once my stomach was back to normal and DS was bigger so would cover my stomach so I wasn't showing it off to the world.

Serenla · April 2014

olenkapdx said:
All I have to say is, I am irritated at the thought of buying YET MORE CLOTHES that I don't really want. About 90% of my existing clothes are not BF-friendly. Grrrr..

Thrift store, I've been going periodically to look for wrap tops and such.

scarles · April 2014

I bought a couple of strapless maxi dresses from old navy to get me started. I plan on wearing them with light cardigans.

AcaAwkward · April 2014

jellysparkles said:
Honestly, a lot of regular summer clothes are pretty nursing friendly. I think a lot of it is marketing bullshit.

This. Tanks and bras are the only things I've purchased that are nursing specific. And honestly, I could easily get away with three tanks only (2 blacks, one white).

MapleLeafMama · April 2014

I haven't bf in public yet, but did with some visitors that came to meet LO. I'm using a hooter hider cover and wearing a nursing bra with regular clothes. The cover covers me sufficiently that my gut doesn't hang out, nor does my boob.

PoppySeedWindsor · April 2014

Still pregnant here too but I made an infinity scarf that's made for nursing. There's a ton of extra fabric so when I'm ready to nurse I can just I bunch it and cover up if need be. You'll see what I mean if you search for nursing scarf on amazon. It's nice because I love scarves anyway and loathe most nursing clothes.

strawberrytree · April 2014

jellysparkles said:
Honestly, a lot of regular summer clothes are pretty nursing friendly. I think a lot of it is marketing bullshit.

This. I just wear regular clothes- Old Navy tanks or a V neck tee or whatever and pull the neckline down far enough. I ditched the nursing bras when DS1 was about 8 months last time because they were so ugly and it made me depressed. I only nurse him in public very occasionally now but when DS2 gets here I will probably go back to the nursing bras for a while at least.

Eta: My boobs are not huge (B/C when milk first comes in) so I have never had a problem with being or feeling exposed. 99% of the time people don't even notice what I'm doing.

Rrrrrachel · April 2014

I get he ribbed tanks from target. They're nice a long, and pull down from the neck great for nursing. Top shit goes up, tank pulls down, nobody sees anything

olenkapdx · April 2014

jellysparkles said:

Honestly, a lot of regular summer clothes are pretty nursing friendly. I think a lot of it is marketing bullshit.

No doubt. I am just praying that even a fraction of my usual summer clothes will fit me. Clothing is just a sore subject with me at the moment, as I can fit into a total of about three things, one of those things being my SO's pajama pants.

Rrrrrachel · April 2014

One of the best things I did after my daughter is by a few pairs of pants the next size up. They probably looked like shit, since they were baggy everywhere but the waist, but it felt so good to have "real" pants I could wear!

Holljade · April 2014

I have not been able to master BFing while keeping myself covered. I have to look at what I am doing, use two hands, etc.

Anyone who is around either sees my boobs or has to look away or go into another room (mainly my SS)

homediva · April 2014

I usually layer nursing tank with a regular top over it. I have maybe 3 tops that are actual breastfeeding tops (they basically just have layers) and I reserve them for times that I know I'll be nursing in public a lot, like a travel day.

momofmanyinthemitten · April 2014

Nursing tank over a shirt that is on the stretchy side. Neither of my babies tolerated being covered up, and why should they?! I learned to be pretty discrete about it, so you'd really have to look to realize I'm not just holding my baby.

pdilly2b · April 2014

kielpinskim said:

Nursing tank over a shirt that is on the stretchy side. Neither of my babies tolerated being covered up, and why should they?! I learned to be pretty discrete about it, so you'd really have to look to realize I'm not just holding my baby.

Agreed. I find the nursing covers actually draw attention to the fact that you are BFing much more than doing it discreetly with layered normal clothes. Of course, this is more possible once you're doing it for a little while and have your routine down and depends on the kid too.

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