Nursing Clothes Basics

If you are like most people you may be feeling the pinch lately with the economic crisis and stock market drops, tight credit markets and high gas prices. Fortunately if you nurse, you can save some money on baby formula and all the bottle accessories. All experts agree that nursing is the most nutritious food source for your baby their first year of life and a sure and natural way to arm your baby with all those powerful antibodies that they will need for a lifetime of immunity.

If you do plan to nurse, there are a few nursing clothes essentials that you should have in advance of your delivery. These include nursing bras, nursing tops and nursing pajamas. Fortunately these are all clothing items that you can also use during your pregnancy to get your full money's worth from your clothing purchases.

Nursing bras are really a no-brainer to buy when you are pregnant as your bust size will steadily increase over the 9 months of your pregnancy. It is not a good idea to try to squeeze into your pre-pregnancy bras that quickly become too tight in the cup and band as both your bust size and rib cage expand during your pregnancy. Nursing bras are generally made to be more stretchy and often are made to accommodate several cup sizes which will last you a little longer as your body changes. Also, many nursing bra styles are made with supportive straps for your heavier breasts and careful construction, even in the underwire variety, for sensitive breast tissue with developing milk ducts.

The other obvious advantage of buying nursing bras during pregnancy is that you can wear them to nurse your baby for some time to come. During your nursing career, regardless of the timeframe, your breast size and rib cage will fluctuate after delivery, as your rib cage decreases, as your milk supply settles in. Later when your baby is ready for solids and you begin the wearing process, your breast size will continue to decrease until your baby is fully weaned. For this reason, you will most likely fit into your nursing bras you buy at different points in your pregnancy at some point in your nursing and weaning timeline. You should not try to wear regular pre-pregnancy bras until your breasts have returned to their pre-pregnancy size, shape and make-up as you may still produce some milk for sometime after your baby is weaned and could still get mastitis or clogged ducts from a bra that cuts into your breast tissue.

Many nursing tops are made for both maternity and postpartum nursing wear. The maternity/nursing top styles are often longer than a pre-pregnancy top or a nursing top that does not double for maternity. The maternity/nursing tops are more stretchy in the belly area to accommodate both a pregnant belly and easily cover a postpartum belly. Many nursing moms will testify that one of the most important requirements of a nursing top is that it covers their postpartum belly for regular wear and when they are nursing their baby in a public place. No one wants to show off any glimpse of a deflating postpartum belly or look pregnant after they have the baby.

Nursing pajamas and loungewear are also essential nursing clothing. You will find your early weeks following delivery are pretty much spent in bed or lounging around the house recovering from your childbirth and taking care of your newborn both day and night. As nursing babies feed around the clock for a longer period of time than formula feed babies who can go longer between feedings, you will be grabbing a few hours or minutes of rest whenever you can and you will want to be in comfortable clothing during this fatiguing marathon of nursing feedings, baby care and body recovery. Many nursing pajamas are also double for maternity pajamas with extra stretchy fabric, under the belly bottoms and longer cut pajama tops. You will find this style easier to wear than constricting clothes after you have your baby. Also, built in nursing access is one less hassle to struggle with in the middle of the night when you feed your baby or in the company of visitors when you want to discreetly nurse. Fortunately, there are some stylish and very well made nursing pajama and nursing nightgown styles on the market today that are pretty, very flattering and extremely comfortable to wear.

So don't skimp on your nursing clothing essentials that will provide you plenty of wear, comfort, ease of use and style both during your pregnancy and after you have your baby. Remember you can congratulate yourself on your choice to breastfeed your baby for it's health and your cost-cutting on formula!