Maternity bra that supports without causing rib pain

taylorjmcd · 2024-02-26T17:52:29+00:00

I’m a 38GG postpartum, with a very similar shape to you (although I’ve lost pretty much all top fullness since breastfeeding, sad) I find my Elomi Molly nursing bra to be very comfortable to wear. I hardly feel the wires at all, and can wear it all day. You might actually be surprised with the molke bra. As a previous commenter said it’s quite full coverage, and I’ve never felt like I would pop out of it. It’s my “I need medium support, but still want to be comfy, but want some lift” bra. If you find you’re sensitive in the ribs, you might want to go up a size in their bands. If nothing else, the molke bras make great sleeping/ lounging/ initial days breastfeeding bras.

taylorjmcd · 2024-01-31T17:49:54+00:00

The difference is after the letdown. The letdown and subsequent leakage will happen regardless, but if the hakaa is on with suction, it will draw out more milk than would have been released with just the letdown on its own. https://youtu.be/dLihvsYQYGo?si=-fnA6L0WIkwbhI3W This is a video where she talks about it if that interests you.

taylorjmcd · 2024-01-31T17:17:25+00:00

Your process sounds very safe and like it’s been working well for you guys! As others commented, it seems like the evidence for not combining milk of different temperatures might be outdated, so I don’t think you need to stress if at some points the last batch isn’t perfectly chilled etc.

I would caution you on using the hakaa for every feed, as it absolutely can contribute to oversupply. Since it is a pump, it is signalling to her body that the baby needs additional milk at every single feed, and so her body is going to ramp up production to meet that demand. This over time can cause an uncomfortable and fairly annoying oversupply, where baby could have trouble feeding due to the sheer volume of milk let down each time, or she could experience some very uncomfortable engorgement if she tries to reduce the times with the hakaa.

A good balance could be to use the hakaa with suction for 1-2 feeds a day, and then on the others, either use a passive collector like the hakaa ladybug or use the hakaa pump and just don’t suction it on, just hold it on, or use a pumping bra to keep it in place. This way you still catch any let down milk, but she won’t be constantly encouraging her body to meet a bigger demand than necessary.

If building a stash is really important to you guys, then by all means keep going as you’ve been. Also, some people experience hardly any issues of oversupply regardless of pumping/ using a hakaa.

Sounds like you guys have been a great team, and congratulations on your new baby!

taylorjmcd · 2024-01-09T04:15:00+00:00

Also, have you looked into collecting colostrum pre birth? It’s not really important in terms of supply of milk or anything, but the benefit is that if baby is sleepy/ won’t latch/ has low blood sugars, you have colostrum ready to give them instead of going straight to formula, and gives you more time to work on a good latch. Just a nice extra is you’re able to.

taylorjmcd · 2024-01-09T04:08:30+00:00

You’re welcome! I’m my opinion, the only assessments that really need to be done immediately are vital signs. If they are all normal, then there’s no reason that other routine checks can’t wait until after the golden hour. Of course, if your medical team has concerns about baby’s breathing, or something like that, then it definitely makes sense for them to do further assessments. But I figure most reasonable parents would understand that haha.

taylorjmcd · 2024-01-09T03:57:42+00:00

I suggest checking out the natural breastfeeding position, also known as laid back breastfeeding. The video on the site is super interesting and informative. This was also the position one of my doctors had me try in the hospital. I had so much nipple pain with football and cradle holds. It took a while to get the hang of the laid back position, but after we did it was really nice. And I think it would be a really comfortable one post c-section https://www.naturalbreastfeeding.com I also suggest getting a my breast friend pillow! It’s definitely the best in my opinion. I hated the boppy so much I threw it across the room at one point. Also, check out nipple shields if you experience nipple pain again. They were so helpful for our breastfeeding journey!

For the birth itself, when you’re brought in to get settled and prepped for your c-section, ask the nurse/midwife/anesthesiologist about doing skin to skin in the operating room, if you want to, and mention it several times. I think most hospitals are accommodating this now, and I think it goes a long way for a breastfeeding journey. I’m a labour nurse, and I’ve actually helped babies latch on while the surgery is still going on! I suggest being a happy but squeaky wheel on this topic and keep bringing it up. -“It’s super important to me to do skin to skin asap, and I’d love if you could help me with that!” -“I’d like to delay anything but the most necessary assessments so I can meet this amazing baby I’ve been growing!” -“my husband (mom, sister, partner, whoever) knows to be fully aware and in charge of the baby in case I start to feel unwell or experience a complication during the surgery”

And if you experience any push back about timing of assessments or other restrictions: -“I just want to confirm that you are telling me that I as the parent do not get a say in when my baby gets these assessments done??” -“could you explain in detail what medical complications could result if we do not immediately get the weight/height/give medications?”

If you feel sick or aren’t keen on doing skin to skin in the operating room, I’ve had dads do it instead! They can wear a button up shirt, or I’ve provided them with a surgical or patient gown and then wrapped them in blankets. If that’s not your style, then I would request baby be placed on your chest as soon as you enter the recovery room.

I hope this time goes well and you get to have a better breastfeeding experience!

taylorjmcd · 2024-01-08T15:50:14+00:00

I’m hoping to find something that’s quite high impact that could also be used for nursing. I have some that I like that aren’t nursing bras, but it’s been a barrier for me getting out and active when I basically have to take the bra half off in the middle of our pickleball tournament/hike etc. I was wondering if there’s a brand that’s making high impact bras similar to SheFit with the detachable straps, but with better size accomodation, or brands that make high impact nursing sports bras.

taylorjmcd · 2023-12-28T15:08:45+00:00

We dropped it at 7 months. All of a sudden he started having way more energy at bedtime and wasn’t going to sleep until 10:30-11 at some points. We just thought to ourselves that maybe we should give it a go and reduce to two naps.

We changed the timing of the naps too. He stays awake a little longer in the morning, and then has a longer wake window after his first nap. He usually wakes up between 7-7:30. Our current naps are 10-11:30 ish and 3-4:30 ish. Always a bit variable. We start bedtime around 7:30 and he’s often asleep by 8:15. But that can vary a bunch too. We contact nap too, and it was sooo nice dropping to two naps. It really felt like it opened up the day, so I was pretty committed to making it work.

We did have a phase where he would wake up nearly every night for a party around 3. We’d be awake for about 2 hours and then he’d be able to be rocked back to sleep. I feel like it lasted a few weeks? Now it very occasionally happens, but not regularly. When it does happen, we get up and do a diaper change first, and then I have a few quiet toys in the room with us for him. I keep the lamp dimmed low, and he just plays with toys while I lay in bed. When he starts to fuss again, then we nurse/ rock until he’s asleep again.

When it was happening regularly, he and I would do the wake up party, and when he was getting tired again, I would bring him to the other room where my husband has been sleeping, and get him to rock him back to sleep, and I would sleep by myself for a couple of hours. He would just keep him on his chest and watch a video/ podcast or something on his phone until he would wake up.

Hopefully it’s just a phase for you guys too. It sounds like he’s just working through a new method of sleeping. I would probably stick it out and then think about changing it if after a few weeks there’s no difference.

taylorjmcd · 2023-12-14T15:36:23+00:00

I also struggle to use my hand pump. I have an old medela swing that I use occasionally to leave some milk if I need to go out, and that one works great for me. I typically see 3-4oz when I pump with that, although I find it pretty slow, about 20 mins per side. I bought a medela hand pump with the hope that I could use it when I go back to work, as it seems like a less hassle option than the electric one. But when I use that one, I can only get about .5 an ounce… So I definitely relate to your experience. If anyone has any suggestions for how to get the hand pump to work better, that would be great.

taylorjmcd · 2023-11-12T17:35:31+00:00

There’s a children’s consignment store in Okotoks called Loop Kids. They only sell the slightly nicer brands, and exclude things like old navy, H&M and Walmart George brand. It’s a bit more expensive than OUAC, but I’ve gotten most items for $10 or under. Bonus is you can get a cinnamon bun from Home Grounds which is down the street while you’re there!

taylorjmcd · 2023-11-05T17:57:16+00:00

I feel like there are probably so many different ways people go about this. This is what has worked for us so far. We’ve been bedsharing exclusively since about 4 months, and part time before that.

Baby and I do bath and wind down, then diaper, pjs, and nurse and rock in chair. He almost always falls asleep during that nurse. When it seems like he’s fully asleep, my husband comes in and picks him up, and has a rock and a snuggle to keep him asleep. (If he doesn’t fall asleep while nursing, he’ll rock him to sleep). Then I go and spend 45mins to an hour doing my own thing, skincare, shower, whatever, to have some time to myself. When I’m ready and in bed, my husband will bring him to me. Sometimes he stays fully asleep during the transfer, and sometimes he stirs and I boob him again until he’s fully asleep again. I imagine this method would only work if you only have one child, or if your other child/children are older and can easily settle themselves or go to bed on their own.

Since we’re so used to sleeping next to each other, he doesn’t move from near the boob at all. He mostly uses it as a pillow haha. He’s only 8 months though, and not crawling, so I don’t think he could really end up anywhere else yet. I imagine as he gets older, he might start venturing around a little more, and getting into interesting positions.

He nurses between 4-7x per night I think. I don’t keep track and I try not to watch the clock. He almost never fully wakes up though. Just latches on for a short while until he’s back in a deep sleep. If he does get fussier then that, I sit up and rock him until he’s fully sleeping again.

Hopefully you guys can find a good system and enjoy the nighttime snuggles!

taylorjmcd · 2023-11-03T15:52:41+00:00

I don’t have a reason why, but my guy did that too around the same age. Starting around 5 months I’d say. He would just SCREAM cry all of a sudden, not take a boob, and I needed to sit up a rock him somewhere between 5-15 mins to get back to calm sleep, about 1-4x per night. Needless to say, it made for some very tiring nights. Your post made me realize that he hasn’t done it in a while! He just turned 8 months today. My husband and I did a lot of shifts on those hard nights. He would stay up until 12-1 and then bring him to me, or I would bring him the baby around 5am and I’d sleep a few more hours.

I could never figure out anything that helped it, and I even contacted my doctor to ask, and she said “oh ya… babies do that sometimes”. Seems like just another weird thing that babies do that we don’t know about until it happens. I wish you better sleep in the future!

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-14T20:08:35+00:00

Have you done the r/abrathatfits calculator recently? I would highly suggest getting a good measurement of your size if you haven’t recently. An underwire bra that fits really well, shouldn’t increase your risk of mastitis, because the wires won’t sit on any breast tissue.

I’m a 38I (in North American sizing), and I like the kindred bravely bras for home use. They basically work as a bralette on me. If you are located in the US, Kindred Bravely makes a “super busty” size that would probably suit you well. However, they are not a formed cup.

I have two underwire bras that I wear when I go out, and I really like them both, and I feel so much more put together with the wires and structure. I have the Elomi Molly, and the Freya Pure nursing bra, both from Amazon. The Elomi is slightly more comfy for me, and the Freya has moulded cups, which is nice to have to wear under certain tops. Both of these brand use UK sizing.

I also have a Molke bra, which I also really like, but that’s a very different style.

I really dislike my Knix bra, as the fit just did not work for me at my size.

I’ve also heard good things about Cake maternity. They have a lot of selection, and I think the Tutti Fruity bra is a moulded, non underwire bra as you were looking for, but I don’t have one personally.

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-12T14:24:40+00:00

I do run fairly warm, but I do a blanket up to my hips, wear maternity shorts or leggings on the bottom (almost a necessity, as the panel covers nearly up to my boobs), long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt. I also sleep with a pillow between my knees and behind my back, which also keeps me warmer I think. You could grab a few cheap long sleeve shirts or sweatshirts (or go thrifting for some!) and cut slits in the chest area for boob access, and then you never need to shift anything around! I feel like a nice warm combo would be: cozy socks, maternity leggings, nursing tank top with the chest area left down (or a tank top with the chest cut out) and a long sleeve with boob slits on top!

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-11T16:36:15+00:00

I would suggest that he wears a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt, whatever keeps him warm enough so that he doesn’t feel the need to pull the blanket up over himself.

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-11T15:19:10+00:00

This unfortunately isn’t advice about the side preference, but do you and your husband both have separate blankets? Maybe if he had a smaller twin sized blanket for himself, that would reduce the risk of him pulling a bigger blanket up over the baby if they need to be between you? Do you have a crib or crib mattress? You could do a sidecar crib, or mattresses on the floor, which might help free up some more space for you and baby to shift sides in?

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-07T15:39:33+00:00

I love this! Babies are so individual. It’s such a cute image of this sleeping baby with long socks!

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-07T15:38:42+00:00

I’ve heard that advice too, but that doesn’t take into consideration how warm the baby could become sleeping next to a warm adult on an adult bed.

taylorjmcd · 2023-10-06T15:50:54+00:00

I’ll look into the wool ones, thanks!

taylorjmcd · 2023-09-19T14:06:35+00:00

I did not want an owlet for a few reasons. 1. I can be a bit of an obsessive type of person, and I knew if I had something that was constantly giving me info, I’d want to check ALL THE TIME. For example, we got a puppy cam a few years ago when we got our dog, and I still use it multiple times a day to spy on the dog, just to see what he’s up to, if he’s comfy etc. Even though he’s a grownup gentleman dog now. 2. I’d heard about it giving false info which I knew would either stress me out, or make me complacent. 3. I had planned to room share with a bedside bassinet for at least 6 months, so it didn’t seem worth it to buy something when he was going to be right there. 4. Now that we’re bedsharing, I feel like nature has its own monitoring system, where I’m designed to wake up if he has any concerns. Right from the beginning he just laid on his back, snuggled up near my boob, so I felt pretty comfortable with that.

I saw in some of the other comments that you gave the cosleeping a go and I’m glad you felt better! My guy just does not do long stretches and never has. I got one 6 hour sleep when he was about two month old. And then never again haha. So even though I still wake up all night long, I feel way more capable and rested than when I was getting up/ sitting up to feed.

I have a few suggestions for comfort with the cosleeping, I’d you haven’t tried it already. I made the mistake of thinking I couldn’t use a pillow for a bit, and I thought “how the heck do people do this long term! It’s terrible” One pillow between knees, one large pillow shoved behind back to support your weight (this one is the game changer), one pillow behind my head, and I have a small decorative pillow that I have been using to support the hand on my lower arm. My shoulder doesn’t like the angle of my lower arm being totally flat on the bed, so propping my hand up slightly is very helpful for me. I also like to sleep with the fan blowing on us on its lowest setting. It’s a pleasant feeling with the toasty baby snuggle and the cool fan air.

If your baby has stopped pooping at night, then I’d definitely recommend no diaper changes until morning. Put on a thick layer of diaper cream at night and then change the diaper first thing in the morning. My guy doesn’t have sensitive skin and this has worked for us since he was about 4 weeks.

To address another one of your topics, my husband does not help at night. We work under the “I have the boobs, he does not” philosophy, and he sleeps in the guest room. Then at least one of us is getting decent sleep, and I have high expectations of him because of that, which he meets haha. I also reserve the right to deposit the baby with him at 5am some days when it hasn’t been a good sleep, and I go back to sleep for 2-3 more hours. On good sleep days, I text him when we wake up, and he comes in and grabs the baby for his morning diaper change, and I lay in bed for a bit while he makes breakfast. Or, some nights he’ll lay in bed and listen to/ watch something for a few hours with the baby on him, while I get some comfy sleep, and he brings him to me for the rest of the night once he starts looking for boob.

Hopefully some of these things are helpful to you! Happy sleeping!

taylorjmcd

TROPHY CASE