Life on the Road

You don’t have to know me very well to get that the title of this post is something that’s highly unlikely to come out of my mouth.  We dress modestly and conservatvely, and I am anything but a “slave to fashion.”

But I did find myself in a very particular dilema recently - deciding what to wear while giving birth to Baby Blessing.

We’re going to be at the birth center, so the “hospital gown” option that may have immediately come to mind is not even an option.  It’s a “come as you are” kind of atmosphere, and women wear their own clothes - or not.  Most women end up naked by the time the whole thing’s over, from everything I’ve seen and heard, similarly to if you were at home.

Well, that just wasn’t working for me.

Fist of all, I really don’t want to be stark naked in front of a whole bunch of people including midwives and my teenage son.  Yeah, I do get that it’s sort of ironic to feel that way, when everyone is going to be staring at the - exposed - most private parts of my anatomy as the baby emerges…  But until we get to THAT level of intensity, I need to be able to relax.

And secondly, I have done this before, and I know me well enough to know that I’m not going to be comfortable without some kind of top on to give me a little support.

All of which is further complicated by the fact that they have lovely giant whirlpool tubs in each room, so I will likely labor in the water at least part of the time (and thus have to deal with wet clothes of whatever sort).

So, what’s a mama to do?

I first thought of a “sport bra” type top, which would give some support with the rigidity of a bra.  This is what I wore at Jewel’s birth, although the particular top in question is no longer with us (elastic only last so long, ya know?).  But they seem to be getting much more complex these days, and expensive, and not many options in my size, and not really suitable for nursing in afterwards… 

Binsi makes some specially-designed birthing clothing, which really looks neat, as do Glamourmom’s nursing tank tops.  Alas, neither makes tops in my size. 

So, what’s a Big Mama to do?

In desperation, I posted an appeal on a WAHM networking group I belong to.  As always, I got an interesting variety of responses, ranging from the silly to the ”I obviously didn’t even read your message before I dashed this off” irrelevant to the actually useful.

I chased down a couple of leads, but it seemed like the perfect thing just didn’t exist - and if it possibly did, it was horribly expensive.

[Ed. Note: In proofing this, I wonder if you all are going to think that this is a paid review, or a commercial message…  In all honesty, I am just so sick an tired of poor service and people with bad attitudes that I really want to let the whole world know about it when I find something or someone that’s really outstanding.  Keep reading, because there are both to be found below.  The person in question had no idea that I was going to blog about her when we were conducting this transaction].

Then I got a note from Judy at A Mother’s Boutique.  Like several other notes, she let me know that her online shop has a great variety of Nursing Bras available. 

But very UNLIKE all the other notes I received, she went on to suggest a couple of specific items which she thought would be suitable for my size and purpose, and attached photos.  She even told me about one she was planning to order a sample of, and offered to get the sample in my size if I thought I would like it.  (Lo and behold, her suggestions were actually relevant!)

We talked about the options, and she even called one of the manufacturers to confirm the sizing on one possibility that someone else was claiming would fit my size (while the posted descriptions indicated that it wouldn’t).  The maker said no-go, and I was relieved not to be out the time and money on that one!

I asked her about one she had recommended - the LLLI Pull-over Sport Nursing Bra - that looked like just the type thing I wanted, but also didn’t look from te specs like the sizes would work out right.  (Click on the name to have a look.  The photos are quite modest and motherly, but I’m still not going to post it here).

Judy’s next email really made me smile.  She’d tried the bra on herself, she said, and explained her size and the relative fit.  She again offered to let me try it, and promised a painless return if it wasn’t something that would work for me.

How could I resist that level of service?  I ordered the bra, and it arrived quickly.  And it fits!  And it’s comfortable!

Am I going to go jogging in it?  Ummm… no.  Trying to imagine me going jogging at all, though, is a pretty entertaining passtime, so that’s really not an issue. 

I wrote to tell Judy how delighted I was, and that I thought I should probably get another one for jacuzzi-wetting backup and all.  And… she’s having a sale, so I get this one even cheaper!  (Valentine’s Day - 15% off bras through Feb. 14th).

If you are a nursing mama, or know one, I highly recomend making Judy your go-to shopping stop for everything you need for nursing (not just bras!).