A new bra for mommy!

A friend, let’s call her Alexia, Alex for short, is currently20+ weeks pregnant and wears a 40 to 42 F bra.  Now she has never had tiny
boobs to start with, but pregnancy has certainly endowed her along the way.  One of her biggest struggles,and honestly most emotionally challenging experience has been bra shopping.  She has called me in tears from changing rooms and sworn up and down and sideways that she was going braless from here on forward.  Given her job in retail, it would have made things interesting, and perhaps boosted her sales.  Her issues weren’t helped by the staff insisting she was a size that she actually wasn’t.  
 
Here are a few tips/ideas to circumvent some of the bra drama.


1.   Don’t go bra shopping alone.  It can be a  stressful experience, but can be made much better when you have someone to laugh  and joke with, and someone to pull a different size, even if the staff disagrees 

2.   Don’t wait too long.  As your bras get uncomfortably snug go shopping right away.  This way, even if you can’t find the size you need in store, you know what it is, and you’ll be much happier when you’re comfy again.

 3.   Buy a couple of bras per size but don’t buy too many.  Alex started at a 36 DD, and isn’t done growing yet.  Not everyone has that big of a change, however, it’s likely that you’ll go through a few size changes.  There’s no point in having a lot of bras that no longer fit, and may never fit again.  Instead, if you seem to level out, you can always buy more later when they’re on sale. 


4.  Regardless of the size, make sure they make you feel good about yourself and they’re comfy.  Both are equally important, especially when you’re pregnant.

 5. Before going to specialty stores and spending $175 on bras, think outside the box a bit.  Many people think of department and maternity stores but stop  there.

 a. If you have a larger band size, try plus sized clothing stores.  
There often carry 38+ and cup sizes from B to H or higher.            Remember, you may have to go to a larger center to get the size or
pattern you like, but you can try them on in store, and order them online. 

b. There are lots of websites that sell pregnancy/nursing bras.  Some of them even have stores that
carry them, but sell more designs and sizes
online.                                                        
i.  Try ww.lindasonline.com                                                             
ii. ww.bravadodesigns.com                                                            
iii. www.evymama.com                                                           
iv. www.hotmilklingerie.com to name a few, or just do an internet search for pregnancy or nursing bras.

6.  Nursing bras have gotten much more comfortable, more attractive and more readily available in the past 12 years.  The trap we fall into is buying them and wearing them as pregnancy bras, because we’ll need them anyways.  When the baby comes however, you may want a different style, especially one without underwires for the first couple of months, or need a different size.  It’s better to buy them closer to when the baby is born, and save them for they’re needed.

Any funny lingerie shopping nightmares out there? Let’s hear your
stories.