I have been doing a LOT of bra fittings lately! It is such a rewarding feeling to help moms find great supportive bras! But today, I had a client who came in and she was in real distress. She said “I have a problem” so I asked her what her problem was and she opened her jacket to show me her breasts. Even though she had a shirt on, I could tell that her bra wasn’t fitting well. And we all know just how HORRIBLE it can be to wear an ill-fitting bra. This mama was 25 or so weeks pregnant with her 2nd baby. Her bosom didn’t get nearly this large with her first baby and she kept asking me if it was going to keep growing. While I can’t predict the future, I can help her to get a great bra that will fit her now and hopefully after the baby comes too. She walked out of here with three bras – a sports bra, an underwire bra and a non-underwire bra – and she was a very happy lady!
What was even more interesting is that this mama was a 34D pre-pregnancy. She walked out of here with one bra in a 34J and one in a 34K! I have another client locally who went from a 34C to a 34J. So it got me to thinking – how many mamas does this happen to? If you have a G, H, I, J, or K cup nursing bra – what size were you pre-pregnancy?? Most mamas go up 1-2 cup sizes during their pregnancy and when their milk comes in – and then they usually go back down those same 1-2 cup sizes when they are done nursing. I went from a D or DD to a G with with my son and then down to a DD or DDD post-nursing. My client who went from a C to a J – she didn’t go back down after she stopped nursing.
Did you? What size did you start out as? How big did you get? And what size were you after you stopped nursing?? Please leave a comment and share your story.
I was a 34c prior to pregnancy. After eah of my first two I moved to full 34/36 d cups and only went down a little once I was done nursing. With this 3rd child, at almost 10mths old, so well established with nursing, I am measuring at 36F! I’ve never been this big or had such a hard time finding bras that fit in stores! Even the local maternity store didn’t carry an F!
I went from a 34C to a 36E-G with my son (first baby), and could never and to this day still have not found a comfortable, supportive bra.
Oy … Pre-kids I was a 36/38D — with kid #1 I ‘grew’ to a 42H when I delivered… went back down to a 38DD. 3 years later, with the 2nd child, I grew to a 42DD… think I’m back down to a 38DD, but she’s only 4 months old, so they’ll probably change again. (I’ll probably end up as a 38 LONG — LOL!)
It’s been a long journey for me…more than six year of breastfeeding, nursing #4 as I type. BK, I was a 38DDD, and hardly grew at all- I was a touch fuller, but not enough to need a bigger bra. I grew more with each baby, and shrunk after each first year. I was down to a 36DD (and thinner than before kids) when I got pregnant with the last baby. She’s now 8 weeks, and I’m a 36G (ish- I’ve yet to find a bra that fits, but that’s what the measuring tape says).
Wow – it sounds like there are a lot of you out there who could use a better bra and a fitting. I am happy to help with both. If you’d like to do a virtual fitting, please follow the instructions in this article: http://tinyurl.com/brafitting and email me at judy at mothersboutique dot com with your measurements, the size you are wearing now and how it fits – and I would be happy to help you find a great bra. — Judy
I was 34D before pregnancy #1, 36DD while breastfeeding #1, 34DD during pregnancy #2, and now 34G nursing #2.
I was a 36A pre-pregnancy, went to a 38C and was hoping they would have stuck around once my daughter weaned, but, alas, I am back to a 36A.
I was a 34D before any kids. How big I got exactly with each kid I don’t know for sure, because I never had a bra that fit me at my largest. I know I wore a 38DD with my first, and I think I wore the same with my second. I didn’t go down much inbetween those two. After my third kid, I lost weight and made it down to a 34C once she weaned. With my 4th, my breasts got enormous. Nothing fit them; they must have been Ks or something, but they eventually leveled out to 36DD. I had to lose weight to get back to a 34, but I was a DD even once she weaned. I got to a 34G with my 5th, but was back down to a 34DD once she was 18 months or so, even though she was still nursing. Now, with my twins, I am really big again. I bought a 34H a couple weeks ago, but I’ve already outgrown it, and need to go back to get something larger. An I or J, I guess? None of my clothes fit right.
Hi Ruth, I totally feel your pain. I was a 40G when my son was born and it was hard to find anything to fit me. If you want to go ahead and measure yourself (http://tinyurl.com/brafitting), email me your measurements and I will help you find a bra that is going to work for you now. I can also make recommendations for tops that will accommodate a large bust. I have found that a lot of women with larger busts have to go up in the size of the top that they get just to fit their breasts. I had a local client who was a 34J and she would have worn a size small top normally, but had to get a large to accommodate her bust. The key is getting a large that will fit your breasts but not swim on you everywhere else. Let me know if you need any recs and I would be happy to help you out — Judy