Nursing in fashion

In this week’s baby bargainista column, Jenny discusses fashionable dressing for breastfeeding in public.

We’re lucky to live in a day and age when public breastfeeding is both legally protected and generally accepted, eliminating any barriers to this natural act. Any nursing mother can tell you that you quickly get over any lingering sense of modesty or decorum when faced with a hungry, screaming infant in a public space. The real challenge of public breastfeeding is finding a way to incorporate the need to occasionally whip out a boob while maintaining some semblance of a fashionable wardrobe.

Happily, there are more options than ever before. Nursing bras, for example, run the gamut from sports-style elastic to lacy underwire. Maternity stores such as Thyme Maternity and websites such as Milkface offer a variety of nursing shirts designed to make access easy and discreet. In addition to a good nursing bra and a few tops, I personally find the following nursing “accessories” indispensible:

1. A friend gave me the GoGoMama nursing tank and I love it. If you are lucky enough to fit into your pre-pregnancy shirts already and you need a way to cover exposed skin (for warmth or decorum) when necessity dictates that your shirt be lifted up or unbuttoned to nurse, the GoGoMama tank is perfect. The fabric is light yet clingy so that it can be layered under a long-sleeved shirt, t-shirt, or blouse.

2. Another happy evolution is the appearance of fashionably designed nursing covers (or “hooter hiders”) with beautiful patterns. Gone are the days when your only option for covering up baby’s mealtime was a flannel blanket festooned with duckies or bunnies. When I was expecting #2 I spotted a woman breastfeeding in a park café with a gorgeous Bebe Au Lait cover; I asked her where she got it, promptly picked one up for myself and I absolutely adore it. I only wish I had a reasonable excuse for buying a second in another fun, fashionable fabric!

3. In the spring and fall, and even on chilly summer nights, a simple poncho or wrap makes a great, cuddly cover-up while breastfeeding. They’re rarely out of fashion, and if you already have a few in your closet that makes it that much easier to coordinate with your wardrobe. I’ve collected a few over the years, and find that there’s nothing so cosy as snuggling a warm baby underneath like my own little secret!

Do you have a favorite breastfeeding “accessory”?

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Bump shopping - the results

In this week’s baby bargainista column, Jenny shares her experience finding chic maternity wear...

A while ago I posted about dressing the belly – finding chic, inexpensive maternity clothes once my belly got too big for even my “fat pants”. I hit that point recently and set off downtown in search of seasonal, work-appropriate clothes.

Alas, my hope for something that would allow me to adapt my existing summer-focused maternity wardrobe was dashed; not a maternity cardigan in sight. In fact I didn’t have much luck overall at my first stop, Motherhood Maternity. It seemed like they were still in the process of turning over their inventory from summer to fall, as most of the displays featured heavily discounted summer-weight short-sleeved tops.

I did try on a number of items there but found most of them ill-fitting at my current stage, and perhaps better suited to later pregnancy; I walked out with just a couple of maternity undershirts, hoping that by layering I can continue to stretch out (literally!) my pre-pregnancy wardrobe of long- and quarter-sleeved shirts through the chilly fall.

My next stop, Thyme Maternity, was much more successful. They too had summer stock on sale, and I picked up a couple of t-shirts for layering at 2 for $29; but they also had a wide range of fall items, from casuals like maternity cords (very comfortable) and cotton turtlenecks, to work wear like suits and blouses. I jumped at the chance to pick up a few blouses at 25% off – a bit lightweight, but in lovely jewel tones appropriate for fall and winter and easily layered under a jacket for extra warmth (a sample is pictured here).

Thyme also featured some great in-store deals. With every pant purchase you got $10 off a sweater, so I picked up some lovely dress pants (pictured here) and a very flattering sweater. Both fit like a dream and I was tempted to wear them straight out of the store! The sales clerk told me that Thyme features different deals weekly, to encourage repeat visits; so I may return to see what new deals I can find on more winter-weight maternity wear.

My only complaint is that the Eaton Centre store I was at had only one sweater left in my size, in just one color. I asked the clerk if they would ship another sweater for me in the other color from another location, and they would – but they wouldn’t hold it for me for more than 24 hours. That surprised me as it’s not always convenient for customers to rush to the nearest store to pick up special orders, especially with only 5 locations scattered around the GTA, and only one (the Eaton Centre) downtown. I asked if I could order it from their website, but was informed that the site was not commerce-enabled – another disappointment for such a large and well-known chain!

Dressing the belly

In this week’s column, Jenny Bullough share’s her thoughts about maternity wear.

Like a lot of moms and expecting moms, it’s an ongoing challenge for me to find inexpensive yet elegant maternity clothes. Staying stylish yet comfortable and not spending a fortune doesn’t seem like an outlandish or unreachable goal, so why is it so hard?

Part of the problem is that most maternity wear is designed to fit women who are at the most rotund stage of pregnancy – which often means that in the early months, these items are far too big. Right now I’m at the awkward stage of desperately cramming myself into my regular clothes – okay, my “fat” clothes usually reserved for premenstrual bloating – because my maternity clothes are still far too big and loose. I’m also deep in denial about the coming Clothespocalypse: saying goodbye to my cute fall sweaters and trousers, knowing I won’t fit into them until next year.

However, there is hope! A friend and new mom bequeathed to me her Bella band – a handy little piece of elasticized fabric that, miracle of miracles! Allows you to wear your prepregnancy pants unbuttoned. This should help me to make my fall wardrobe staples last a little bit longer, at least until my maternity pants will stay up! (Motherhood Maternity also carries their own version, the “tummy sleeve”.)

When the Bella band option has been exhausted, likely by October, I’m going to have to make a trip downtown to visit my two favorite mainstream maternity chain stores -- Motherhood Maternity and Thyme Maternity. Their clothes are decently priced, fairly fashionable without being overly trendy, and they have enough selection that I can mix-and-match their current pieces with the older and hand-me-down maternity clothes currently living in bins in my basement.

I’ll tell you what brand I *wish* made maternity clothes: Lululemon. I’m so tired of my favorite workout shirts riding up my growing belly while I’m trying to maintain an imprinted spine in Prenatal Pilates, or achieve camel pose in Prenatal Yoga!

What about you – do you have a favorite maternity store or brand? Or a favorite brand, period, that you wish had a maternity line?