Nursing 101: Dressing for the Job
This is Part XII on a series for new moms about breastfeeding. Check out Part XI on Sensitive Stomachs.
Before nursing, I bought clothes that were stylish and flattered my body shape. Oh how times have changed. Now when I go shopping, when I try on the top in the dressing room I always lift it with one hand to see if it will be easy to nurse in. If I love the top and it is a good price but hard to nurse in I won’t purchase it. Strange how nursing changes the way you evaluate clothes. (Trust me-you will look at clothes a completely different way!)
Oh course this isn’t a problem if you only plan on nursing at home. But if you want to go out whenever and wherever you want you need to always be prepared. I used to wear a lot of button down tops to work because I thought they looked classy/professional. Since nursing I only own two of the tops and I only wear them to work. (side note: I wore one of those tops to a birthday party yesterday. We weren’t planning on staying long and I didn’t think I would be nursing Mary Rene there. Go figure I had to nurse her and I had the hardest time getting the buttons undone and then re-buttoned.) As soon as I get home I always take the shirt off so I can nurse Mary Rene easily the rest of the evening. Sure you can always unbutton it a bit to make it easier but I’m all about quick and convenience.
In the winter it is easier because you can wear a nursing tank under a sweater. Just lift the sweater, unhook the clasp over your breast and nurse. In the fall and spring you can still get away with wearing a nursing tank under a top and just lift the top. But summer is a different story. This is when it is important to practice nursing in the top before going out in public.
Regardless if you plan on nursing in public or not you should always wear a nursing bra or a nursing tank top. This just makes sense folks. I even have a nursing sports bra! Easy access is what it is all about.
Next week I will write about: Nursing on Demand.
For all you moms who read my blog, please add your tips to the comment section. The more tips the better!
June 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I completely understand! However, with attending two weddings recently and one more the week after next, I wanted to wear a summer dress–not professional work attire. Ugghhh, finding a dress with easy access is not easy!
June 29th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Forget about shirts that require strapless bras…don’t work and forget about shirts with thin straps…nursing bras have thick straps and are hard to hide. But with that said…nursing is worth all the work and your baby really benefits from it!!