Nursingwear: A Great Investment

I've been continuously either pregnant or nursing for the past eight years. Breastfeeding is very important to me, and I've needed to do it in all kinds of places! This can be difficult or uncomfortable at times. Some people freak out when a woman is breastfeeding in front of them. Women have been asked to leave stores, restaurants, and even airplanes for daring to breastfeed, even though in many places it's illegal to prevent women from breastfeeding in public.

Nursingwear can help with this. Yes, you can get special clothing to wear while breastfeeding! It provides three benefits:

-Easy access to the breast when needed.
-Discreet coverage for the rest of the body, so that the mother is exposed as little as possible.
-Attractive clothing for women who maybe haven't been feeling so attractive lately!

Special clothing does cost more than Wal-Mart clothing, but I think it's a wise investment in your child's future. The nutritional and emotional benefits make breastfeeding far superior to bottle feeding, and having the nursingwear just makes breastfeeding that much easier for mothers to do. In my case, I work full time, so I needed to use a breast pump to express milk while I was at work. Nursingwear helped me to do this easily and comfortably, so that I was less inclined to say "Forget it, let's just buy some formula."

Nursingwear is designed in many different ways. For instance, nursing shirts often consist of two layers -- a top layer, which looks like a normal shirt, and a bottom layer which has openings for nursing access, either at the sides or in the center. Or, a shirt might have a cropped top layer, which just covers the breasts and can be lifted for nursing, while the bottom layer provides full coverage but has openings at the sides or center. Either way, the area below the breast will remain covered while nursing, and the top layer can usually be draped to cover most of the breast.

Faux twinsets are also popular as nursing shirts. These look like twinsets, but are actually all one piece. The "shirt" underneath is open at the sides for nursing access.

Nursing dresses are also available, in both casual and more formal styles. These can be similar in design to the shirts, or sometimes have zippered nursing openings.

I've purchased nursingwear from a number of different sources. If you are a regular-sized woman, you may be able to visit a mall store, like Motherhood Maternity, to buy nursingwear. However, if you are a plus-sized woman like me, you might need to search online as well.

One of my favorites is Expressiva Nursingwear. Their clothing is stylish and comfortable. I own a figure-flattering floral t-shirt and a simple faux-twinset shirt from Expressiva. Both are attractive and easy to use.

Motherwear is another I've purchased from. They're one of the older and most popular nursingwear companies (they've been around for over 24 years). They have a large selection of styles, even in plus sizes. They also have an outlet/clearance store on eBay, where I've gotten some great deals.

Speaking of eBay, that's another great source for nursingwear. If you need a bargain, you can often find used nursingwear at great prices there. I've also purchased from eBay-only businesses such as BreastfeedInStyle, whose owner modifies regular (often designer) clothing, turning it into nursingwear.

When my brothers finally decided to get married, I was still breastfeeding, and I needed something to wear. I searched high and low for semi-formal plus-sized nursing dresses that wouldn't break my budget. I was surprised to find exactly what I needed on Amazon.com. Nursing Mamas sells their clothing through Amazon. They make plus sizes, and their clothing is very attractive. I purchased first a Silhouette Nursing Dress, and later a Nursing Sundress in Black and Pink, and both times the dress fit me perfectly and looked terrific.

"What a cute twinset!" my co-worker said. "It looks great on you."

"Thank you," I said, smiling. If she only knew what that shirt could do!