Monday 31 July 2017

BREASTFEEDING: My Journey with the help of Bravado! Designs Nursing Bras

Breastfeeding is something I really hoped to be able to do this time around, but was very aware of the struggles of both establishing feeding and then maintaining it. I was lucky enough to find breastfeeding Isabella a pretty smooth journey, but was nervous that I wouldn't be so lucky this time. Poppy's birth was extremely quick (read my birth story here), so when it came to trying to feed her I was worried that my body wouldn't have had time to adjust.


Approximately five minutes after she was born she started rooting around, so I attempted to breastfeed for the first time. Trying so hard to remember everything I had learnt during NCT classes first time around I lined up her nose with my nipple, waited for her to open her mouth and pushed her on. It took a few tries and then Poppy started to feed...and didn't stop all night. For the first few nights she literally didn't stop for the whole night, as exhausting as it was I think it was a blessing in disguise. At a birth weight of 8lbs 13ozs she wasn't exactly small, so when my milk came in only two days after giving birth it meant she was able to really fill herself up compared to just having colostrum.
When your milk comes in it is a pretty uncomfortable experience for most, just like last time I had to grit my teeth, grab hold of anything tightly and squeeze my eyes shut every time Poppy latched on. It took about a week to pass and I thought that was the end of the really bad pain. Fast forward a few weeks and I suddenly got the worst shooting pain in my right breast, it was like nothing I had experienced before. It was so bad I was getting ready to go to the doctors the next day (it came on in the evening), but then remembered I had a health visitor appointment anyway. By the next morning the pain had subsided, but it was still uncomfortable. I explained what had happened to the HV, who had a look and observed me feeding Poppy. She noticed that I had a nipple bleb (a blocked duct/milk blister) that was probably causing the pain; essentially every time I fed the milk was building up behind it. It got to the point where I thought I was going to have to go and get it released with a needle (ouch!), but luckily over time it seems to have settled down and isn't causing me any pain now. 
As you can imagine throughout my breastfeeding journey so far, finding nursing bras that were really comfortable, supportive and easy to use was essential. In fact comfort is key both when you're pregnant and throughout your breastfeeding journey because let's be honest your breasts go through a lot of changes. They grow, swell and change in size almost constantly. Bravado! Designs has an incredible range of maternity, nursing and plus size bras that are not only the some of the most comfortable bras you'll ever wear, but are also stylish too. They were the only nursing bras I wore while feeding Isabella (if I'm honest I kept on wearing them well past stopping breastfeeding - the comfort is like no other, so when I found out I was pregnant again I was quick to get them back out again! A quick browse on their website showed that they've since bought out some new beautiful nursing bras, including the Limited Edition Body Silk Seamless Yoga Nursing Bra.

Since starting the breastfeeding journey for a second time with Poppy I've lived in a combination of the Body Silk Seamless Yoga Nursing Bra* (£34) and the Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra* (£30). The fact that they're both seamless means they are discreet under clothing, as well as being made from incredibly soft fabric and having removable foam inserts for shape and discretion. The nursing clips on both bras are so easy to un-do with one hand, something that you quickly learn is an essential when you have a hungry baby in your other hand! I can't recommend their nursing bras enough, so whether you're just starting, in the middle of or ending your breastfeeding journey then it really is worth checking out what Bravado! Designs have to offer.
Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x
SHARE:

18 comments

  1. Wow!! Awesome bra designs from bravado designs, I'm a man, i cant wear this but I know many mothers still on the breastfeeding journey out there i can recommend this to.

    Thanks for sharing this beautiful bra designs..

    Whatsapp Share Buttons on Blogger

    ReplyDelete
  2. I absolutely love these bras and they are an essential when breastfeeding. Well done for persevering with it lovely, as I know how hard it is at the beginning, but it's soooo worth it. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw thank goodness your HV discovered there was trapped milk ducts/ milk blisters so that could solve the problem. I am glad that you found some good nursing bras as well x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like the design of this bra. Looks very nice. Good to know it does the job too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These look great. I'll have to take a look. 17 months into our breastfeeding journey I could really use some new underwear.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Those look like fab bras - I really could have used something like this when I nursed my three. I'm quite lucky in that I had no problems or pain at all (except for the initial cracks at the start).

    ReplyDelete
  7. You can't go wrong with a good nursing bra...I feel like these are wayyyy better than the ones I had four years ago because a quality nursing bra really does make all the difference.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sounds like a brilliant bra there. I actually found nursing bras alot more comfortable than regular ones and was very tempted to carry on wearing them long after we weaned. I didn't though. I also got searing pain in my breasts during the early days but it was thrush which was very hard to get rid of as newborns can't use the stronger thrush treatments.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I never breastfeed my 2 but if I had another one I probably would now I've seen this post about an good bra, the whole time I was pregnant until my breast stop producing milk I could never find a bra comfortable

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like a good bra! I shall pass this on to my friend who is expecting.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ooh those bras look great, and SO comfy! I struggled to find decent breastfeeding bras, wish I had seen these at the time!

    ReplyDelete
  12. oh these look pretty. And super comfy too

    ReplyDelete
  13. These look so comfortable. I felt like a trussed up turkey when I was breast feeding. But I do miss that close contact x

    ReplyDelete
  14. These look very pretty and comfy, an absolute must have for nursing mums!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have these bras too - I love that the pads in them mean they really do help create a smooth look under t-shirts. My nipples have never protuded as much since breastfeeding! Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  16. These look super comfortable, and that is so important when breastfeeding.

    ReplyDelete
  17. They do really comfortable bras don't they?! Well done on getting through the blocked duct. I had one and it is very painful so I can sympathise x

    ReplyDelete
  18. When we had our second we soon also found ourselves settling into the flow. It's amazing how you have to change your routine. We used 2 out of the 5 here though.

    ReplyDelete

© Treasure Every Moment. All rights reserved.
BLOGGER TEMPLATE BY pipdig