1 Mother 2 Another

You know how, when you have a second child, you think about how much money you’ll save because you’ll be able to use all your old stuff again?

Ok, set that thought aside for a second and think about this: remember how, when you stopped nursing your first child, you swore you’d gleefully burn all your nursing bras, so much did you hate those stretched-out, fugly, sour milk-stained things?

See where I’m going with this?

I stopped nursing Maddie when she was 18 months, coinciding with the end of my first trimester of my pregnancy with Cora. And up until the point I got pregnant for the second time, I kept seeing my end-of-nursing time as the point at which I’d get to go bra shopping and actually wear PRETTY lingerie again. So when I did get pregnant, one of the first things I told my husband was that I was STILL going to burn all my nursing bras and get all new ones.

During my first pregnancy, I had yet to start this website and had not found one of my favorite internet shopping places – the Breastchester – for nursing moms. But once pregnant with Cora, I knew it would be my first and only stop for my new lingerie (I refuse to call them nursing bras. It’s psychological.) So a few months from the end, I joyfully emailed the owner of the Breastchester and let her know I’d be needing her services.

What services, you might ask? It’s just an online store, right? Au contraire. If you live in the New York tri-state area, the Breastchester offers home consultations for fittings and shopping. And believe me, when you’re newly engorged, leaking everywhere and sporting the ole mummy tummy, home shopping is a good thing.

So I recently had my home visit and am now the proud owner of several new AND PRETTY nursing bras. Best of all, I know the bras fit perfectly and will last for a long time: my fitter was a certified lactation consultant. She pointed out all the places where bras that didn’t make the cut weren’t working, so I now appreciate how well my new ones do fit.

I didn’t do my fitting until I’d been nursing for four weeks; the consultant wanted to give my boobs a chance to “settle”. But she recommended a new bra that’s usually an easy fit to get me through the first few weeks – Elle McPherson’s Maternelle bra. I took it with me to the hospital and barely took it off for the first few weeks; it was that comfortable and awesome. And I’m now the proud owner of a couple more bras, both beautiful and comfy and well-made. In addition, I picked up a few nursing tops that actually look trendy, for those times when I’m out and about and need to nurse.

So if you’re expecting, stop by the Breastchester and check it out. The store proves that you can actually be hip and a nursing mom at the same time - a bona fide yummy mummy. And maybe even feel pretty in some new lingerie.