I thought for my 26-week pregnancy update, I’d tell the story of how, because of hyperemesis gravidarum, Oliver and I ended our breastfeeding relationship.

While much of the first six months of breastfeeding Oliver was spent trying to make it week to week, I always had the WHO guideline of breastfeeding for at least two years as a goal in the back of my mind.  When he turned two in July of 2009, neither of us were ready to quit.  Oliver was still quite dependent on breastfeeding for comfort, and I was happy to continue.

When I got pregnant again in September of 2009, breastfeeding started to become uncomfortable as my nipples got more and more sensitive.  Oliver was still nursing frequently, so I kept going, keeping in mind the difficulty I had getting my supply going in the beginning with Oliver because of his sleepiness and BFAR (breastfeeding after reduction surgery).  I knew that if I had trouble with breastfeeding this baby, I wouldn’t have to spend hours a day pumping to get my supply up if I had a toddler, a nursing toddler is way more efficient at increasing supply than any pump.

Unfortunately, first trimester morning sickness progressed to hyperemesis gravidarum (excessive nausea and vomiting) and I cut back a lot on breastfeeding sessions as I became fatigued by my lack of nutrition.  By the end of October, my supply was gone.  I wasn’t getting enough calories to produce milk anymore.

I don’t remember when our last nursing session was.  I was too exhausted to notice.  Oliver took well to weaning.  If he asked, I told him I didn’t feel well enough, but he didn’t really ask a lot.  Since then he has only asked once or twice, when he was sick and feverish.  He said, “Booby?” and I said, “No honey, I’m sorry,” and that was that.  There was no disappointment on his part, just acceptance.  I was a little surprised by the ease of weaning, given how dependent on breastfeeding he had seemed.

I don’t really have any feelings on weaning.  There was nothing I could do about it.  I guess I wish I remembered that last time, but I know a lot of moms don’t remember the last breastfeeding session.

We cuddle a lot, as much as when we were breastfeeding.  His favorite place to sit is in my lap, we’ll have to see how that goes as my lap gets smaller and smaller.

Apart from that, not much has changed in my condition.  I’m still tired and nauseous almost all the time.  I’ve been trying to do more recently, and that has caused me to vomit more than I had been over the last couple of weeks.  I’m trying to stay positive, but mood swings sometimes get the best of me.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Pumping (3)
• Breastfeeding After Reduction: One Year In (13)
• Breastfeeding After Reduction Surgery – 19 months and counting (5)
• Breastfeeding after reduction – 2 years and still going strong (3)
• When it’s not just morning sickness: Living with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (17)

I am a huge fan of Victoria’s Secrets Soft & Sexy Wrap.  It’s not marketed for maternity and nursing wear, but that’s what so special about it.  It’s a good wardrobe investment that you can wear for years to come.  I’m 17 weeks pregnant and it fits great and is cute, I expect I can continue wearing throughout spring and it’ll make a great nursing cover-up in the fall and winter.  Isabella Oliver Maternity carries a similar style in ivory and black that is on sale now for $122, and is not as versatile in the ways it can be tied because the sweater fabric is thicker.  The Victoria’s Secret version comes in 11 different colors (I’m wearing it in Coral Madness right now and love it!) and can be tied in many different ways.  Even better?  It’s on sale right now for $39 and Victoria’s Secret ships worldwide.  Take a look:

The above twist-front tie back style I think could work well during nursing.  Just put a nursing cami or tank top underneath and the part covering the breast can be lifted up to create a nursing opening while your tummy stays covered by the wrapped part.

What do you think of the Soft & Sexy Wrap?  Do you have any tips for non-maternity/nursing clothing that is versatile enough to work during pregnancy and/or nursing?

You may also be interested in reading:

• Review: Nursing Bras (7)
• Victoria’s Secret has nursing bras (18)
• Review: Nursing Tops (4)
• Nursing in comfort (4)
• NordicKids.co.uk (2)

I figure I’m a little unusual in the modern, western world.  At 25 months, my son Oliver is still breastfeeding, and last weekend was our first extended separation since his birth.

I’ve left Oliver for a few hours before, even for almost a full day, but he’s never spent a night without me.  I was a little worried how the weekend would go.  Was my husband going to be up two nights in a row with our inconsolable son? But I was only going to be an hour and a half away and I really wanted to go to the expat bloggers in Germany meetup that was taking place in Munich.  A Macedonian friend, who tells me that extended breastfeeding is common and never went out of fashion in her homeland, warned us that my husband was going to have a couple of very rough nights.  I thought, at the very worst, he could pack up the car and join me in Munich.

I left Friday morning and the day went well.  Rainer complained a little that he was always having to get Oliver little snacks or drinks throughout the day.  My aunt had also mentioned during her visit that whenever I went to sit down, I was having to get up again to go to the kitchen for something.  “Welcome to my world!” I said.

Oliver took to calling my husband, “Mama,” so apparently “Mama” is just the name for whoever he determines is the primary caretaker!  (He does call me “Nina” when I don’t answer to “Mama,” so he understands that that isn’t my name.)  Falling asleep went without a hitch, although Rainer thinks he may have fallen asleep before Oliver.  Oliver woke once during the night, got up and looked in all the rooms, then lay down in the hallway crying.  Rainer picked him up and took him back to bed and he went right back to sleep.

My husband is the less enthusiastic of us about cosleeping (he does still like it though), and usually wants me to get Oliver to sleep in his own bed, which is next to ours.  Oliver loves his bed and is quite happy to sleep there, but Rainer had Oliver sleep together with him in the big bed while I was gone.  I was a little surprised by this, and am starting to think Rainer may just be a closet cosleeper who doesn’t want to admit to how much he likes it.

The rest of the weekend went similarly, the next night, the same thing happened.  Oliver woke once, went looking for me, cried, then went to sleep again.  We talked 3-4 times a day on the phone and he was happy to hear from me, saying only, “Mama… mama” on the phone, but he didn’t cry at all.

In our last breastfeeding session before I left, I really concentrated on remembering everything about the moment.  I knew there was a chance that this could be the last time Oliver breastfed.  I was sad and realized that even though I occasionally get annoyed with his still very frequent breastfeeding, I wasn’t really ready to give it up yet. I figured on my return, I wouldn’t offer, but I wouldn’t deny.  I’d just see what Oliver wanted to do.

During the trip, my breasts didn’t feel sore at all until Saturday night, or about 20 hours after breastfeeding.  I hand-expressed into one of the hotel glasses and poured the milk down the sink.

I arrived home on Sunday afternoon and found I didn’t need to worry about weaning.  As soon as I sat down, Oliver climbed into my lap and lifted my shirt.  He spent much of the rest of the day on the breast.  I was glad to find that he wasn’t ready to wean either.

How was your first extended time away from your child?  Did it go how you expected?  Or have you chosen not to separate?

You may also be interested in reading:

• Victoria’s Secret has nursing bras (18)
• The Bottle of My Dreams (3)
• Review: Nursing Tops (4)
• Review: Nursing Bras (7)
• Pumping (3)

Originally published on A Piece of My Mind.

I mentioned yesterday that I use hand expression at times. I first learned how to do this when I wanted to increase my supply because I found out that breast compressions/massage coupled with my pump could increase output. I noticed a significant difference between when I did massage and when I didn’t (to the tune of two or more ounces per breast).

There are two well known techniques for hand expression— Marmet and Stanford. The primary difference between the two is hand placement. I found the Stanford technique to be the one that worked the best for me, but I have used both at various times.

One nice thing about knowing how to hand express was that even if I was without my pump, I could relieve pressure. Certainly I would be sad to see it go to waste (liquid gold people!), but there is only so much misery one can take!

When I started nursing less and traveling more (basically June 2009), I stopped packing my pump. The first time I had to relieve pressure. The second time, I did not feel anything. This time, I also have not expressed any milk other than one night to see if there was any there!

Another use for hand expression is prior to a woman’s milk coming in, if she is having trouble getting her baby to latch, she could express in to a spoon and feed the colostrum to the baby! I find that amazing by the way!

You may also be interested in reading:

• Pumping (3)
• New Mom Product Review (3)

Originally posted on A Piece of My Mind.

Pumping. I am not sure why I have not really blogged about pumping. Obviously I did pump and hand express (tomorrow’s topic) or I would not have made it through over two years of nursing while working outside the home with The Boy in daycare. I think pumping might be the most asked about topic in my email in regard to breastfeeding and breastmilk, so I am going to try to post a bit more on the topic based on my experiences. If you have a specific question, leave a comment or send me an email (through my profile).

Equipment
A pump. I used the Medela Pump-in-Style Advance (PISA). I actually purchased the backpack version from a local hospital, because it was the pump my aunt used and I could get service/parts in Germany (where The Boy was born). The PISA is dual phase to more closely mimic a baby’s nursing pattern, but there are alternative pumps available that do the same. It is important to check that the flanges for your pump are the right size for your breasts. Medela has a sizing guide on their website, but for the most part, you want your nipple and part of your areola to enter the flange. If your entire breast is being sucked in, the flange is too large. If only the nipple is being pulled in, your flange is too small.

Um, yeah. That’s the equipment. Other optional equipment includes extra bottles, a little cooler with ice pack, extra flanges, and a hands-free bra or kit. None of these items is required and many come with the pump, depending on which pump you purchase.

My #1 tip
RELAX! If you do not relax, you will probably struggle. I could tell the difference between when I truly relaxed and when I just went to pump because I had to. I am not talking about an ounce of difference. For me, it was up to four ounces of difference!

How did I relax?
Truthfully, it was hard to do at times. There were people in and out of the sitting room portion of the lockerroom. I pumped in a convention center sitting room just outside a restroom where tons of people walked through all day. These are not easy relaxing situations! None the less, some things that did work for me include listening to relaxing music (thank you ipod), sit in silence and focus on The Boy, visualize the milk flowing out of me (do not laugh!), look at pictures of The Boy, and deep breathing exercises.

When to Pump
When I first had The Boy I had no clue and had to ask a friend this very question! What I found out in time, through trial and error and some research on the side was that pumping in the early morning is most productive due to the hormones in the body. Early on, I was not that dedicated. I would pump for ten minutes after the morning feed where I was willing to get out of bed. Also, any time I wanted to leave the house alone, I would nurse The Boy so he’d finish approximately twenty minutes before I needed to leave, pump for ten minutes, and then dash out the door. OK. I cleaned my pump first.

Once I went back to work, I nurse The Boy prior or at drop-off, pump three times (10, 12, 2) and then nurse immediately at pickup. In the end, he reverse-cycled and I had excess milk from pumping, which allowed me to stop pumping earlier than I might have (or maybe not…I developed a love-hate relationship with my pump around 13 months) and still give The Boy breastmilk instead of cow’s milk.

Trips away from home— now that’s an entirely different post! Oh the places I have pumped…and at STRANGE hours too!

Different people have different schedules, however, and it might take you a while to find what works best for you. Experiment and don’t get discouraged!

Something to Remember
Your baby is far more efficient than a pump at removing your milk— in part due to his structural make up and in part due to how you relax to nurse him— so don’t be discouraged if the first few times you only get an ounce or less.

A Word or Fifty to the Wise
Unless you absolutely have no milk stored and must have a bottle in a certain amount of time, do NOT pump after each and every session. This will increase your supply and lead to oversupply issues. Trust me. You do not want to go there!

A couple of Additional Resources
Dr. Jack Newman on Kellymom Re: Expressing Milk
Video on Pumping from About.com (I do not agree with everything the lady says, but the proper placement and positioning of the pump is helpful!

You may also be interested in reading:

• Our Weaning Story (3)
• Hand Expression (2)
• Victoria’s Secret has nursing bras (18)
• The Bottle of My Dreams (3)
• Separation while extended nursing (5)

When I was 15 years old, breastfeeding was the furthest thing from my mind, I just wanted smaller breasts.  I went from a 44E to a 38B (yes, clearly I was in the wrong band size pre-surgery.  I didn’t know about special ordering bras, so I was just in the biggest I could get at the local department store.  If my band size was really a 38, I must have actually been a 38H).  When I got pregnant, I did the research and knew I wanted to try breastfeeding.  The first few months were a struggle, I had to take supplements, pump, and give my son extra formula feedings, but I eventually found my stride.  At 19 months, it was pretty smooth sailing and we were both loving breastfeeding, so has anything changed?

Not significantly.  The last couple months, I have started wondering about weaning.  Oliver still breastfeeds similarly to how he did at 19 months.  If we’re out and about, he doesn’t usually ask, but if we’re home, he wants the booby every 1-2 hours.  Actually, if we’re out and I sit down, he often wants the breast too.  I’ve started trying to deter him, like when we were at the bank opening a savings account for him, this just didn’t feel like an appropriate time.  Sometimes he’s okay with this and just goes on to something else, and sometimes he throws a temper tantrum if he can’t have the booby right then and there.

I don’t think weaning will be happening any time soon, at least from his side.  He can be demanding, which makes me wonder if I should just wean, but I’m not sure if life would really be easier if he didn’t breastfeed.  He wouldn’t have that outlet for comfort and stress relief.  Sure, he’d find other outlets, but I might be dealing with more temper tantrums too, not something I really want to replace breastfeeding with.  I also don’t want to damage his trust in me by forcing weaning on him.  Sometimes I’m shocked by just how much he trusts me.  He jumps off walls and into pools, completely trusting that I’ll catch him.  While not uncommon, I’ve seen kids that don’t trust their parents enough to do these things (it could just be a personality thing too).  I don’t want to do anything that could lesson his trust in me, I’m honored by it.

Oliver also doesn’t sleep through the night without feeding yet, and instead of decreasing, his frequency of waking has seemed to increase lately.  If I’m at the computer working, I can expect 2-3 visits from him after his bedtime and before I even get into bed.  We’ll be spending our first night apart in three weeks, two nights in fact, when I go to a blogger meetup in Munich for the weekend.  I have no idea how this is going to go over.  Maybe he’ll be fine with me gone and just accept the fact that there’s no booby.  Or maybe he’ll be inconsolable (I really hope not, for everyone’s sake).  Perhaps this pressure I’m putting on him not to breastfeed sometimes is the reason for his increased night frequency.  Maybe it’s making him a little insecure.

Still, I’m pretty happy with breastfeeding, and feel the benefits outweigh the costs at this point.  But I’ve reached my goal of two years, now we’re just taking things one day at a time.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Our Weaning Story (3)
• Facebook still banning breastfeeding photos (1)
• Breastfeeding After Reduction: One Year In (13)
• Breastfeeding After Reduction Surgery – 19 months and counting (5)
• Victoria’s Secret has nursing bras (18)

Before we left for Milan, I was a bit anxious about nursing a toddler on the flights and abroad.  I was used to how nursing a two year old was seen in my every day life— primarily in Tulsa and Minnesota. I have a great support system and know The Boy’s rights well. Going to a new country though? For some reason I was a bit anxious about that.

Like many things in my time as a parent, I was worried for no reason. Not once did I notice anyone giving me a strange look. Not once did anyone mention to me that I should not nurse my toddler. For that matter, I received nothing but support from those around me. I am not sure if it is because a nursing toddler is quiet on a long journey or if they simply did not care one way or the other, but the flights were without incident, and so was our time in Italy.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Time change and a toddler (6)
• What’s in My Carry-On? (2)
• Victoria’s Secret has nursing bras (18)
• The Bottle of My Dreams (3)
• Separation while extended nursing (5)

While checking out the massive discounts over at Victoria’s Secret right now (It seems sexy lingerie isn’t in high demand during a recession), I noticed a category “Nursing.”  I clicked it and low and behold, there were two nursing bras:

VS piped, full-coverage, underwire, nursing bra (available in nude and black, both with white trim)

VS nursing plunge bra (available in buff, white and black)

I’m a little disappointed in the styles offered.  I wish they had something a little sexier.  Or a lightly padded bra to help hide nursing pads.  But the contrast piping on the underwire bra is cute and the plunge bra does look a little sexier than my Medela Comfort nursing bras.

Has anyone tried the Victoria’s Secret nursing bras?  What do you think?

You may also be interested in reading:

• Review: Nursing Bras (7)
• How to make a regular bra into a nursing bra (42)
• The Bottle of My Dreams (3)
• Separation while extended nursing (5)
• Review: Nursing Tops (4)

I wrote before about my breast reduction and the first year of breastfeeding my son, now I thought I’d give you an update on how it’s going.  I’d planned to do an 18 months and counting update, but life got in the way, and here we are at 19 months and still going strong in our nursing relationship.

The first six months was a struggle, I had low supply issues, drank nursing tea by the gallon, and had to supplement about 40% of the liquid he needed with formula.  At around 6 months, I discovered BFAR.org (Breastfeeding After Reduction) and started taking Shatavari capsules (an Indian root) and Motherlove’s More Milk Special Blend, which is specially blended for mothers with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), breast reduction or implant surgery and for adoptive moms.  Both of these are herbal galactagogues (substances known to increase milk production).  They really helped and I was able to stop supplementing with formula.  It was pretty smooth sailing for the next six months.

Just after Oliver turned a year old, I started weaning myself off the galactagogues.  These herbs should not be taken while pregnant or trying to conceive, I knew most women become fertile again around this time, and I wanted to start trying to conceive as soon as we could.  I knew even with a possible reduction in my supply, the immune benefits would still be present in my milk, and I was hoping that there would be no reduction in supply.  Nursing for a year should have helped to increase the amount of milk producing tissue in my breast.

My period returned when Oliver was 13 months old.  After weaning completely off the galactagogues, I did notice a reduction in my milk supply.  I no longer get painfully full breasts, even when I’m away from my son for a full day.  My breasts feel a little heavier, but that’s all.  When he drinks, I still hear him gulping away, so I know my supply isn’t insignificant, but I am no longer able to hand express much milk.  I used to be able to hand express quite a bit, as much, if not more, than I could pump.  I haven’t tried pumping at all, but I don’t think I’d get a very different result.

Even with the reduction in supply, Oliver is still a little booby lover.  He can fill up on lunch, a glass of cow milk, then come straight over for some “mama milk” for dessert.  I’d read somewhere that it’s hardest to wean between 12 and 18 months, but I don’t see that it would be any easier to wean him now, if that’s what I wanted.

His breastfeeding frequency is extremely variable.  If we spend the day at home, he tends to breastfeed a lot, every 2 hours or so.  But when we spend the day running around, he breastfeeds much less.  I recently had a day where we spent the morning at playgroup and the afternoon at a friend’s and he over the whole day, he only asked for the breast once, just after we’d arrived at the playgroup (I think he was feeling shy and needed a confidence boost).

I had some issues with nighttime feeding.  A couple months ago, his nighttime frequency began to increase to the point that he was feeding every two hours at night, and occasionally used me as a human pacifier.  I became pretty miserable with this frequency and started trying to gently refuse him.  He wasn’t having any of that, so my husband had to hold him until he fell back to sleep for several nights.  Things are much better now, with Oliver generally falling asleep between 8 and 9pm, then sleeping till 7am, when he has “good morning booby.”  We’re still co-sleeping, and he seems to be fine with sleeping next to me without needing to drink during the night.

We still breastfeed every once in a while in public, and haven’t had any problems here in Germany with that.  In the last week I have noticed a couple of people looking, but they didn’t say anything and I can’t be certain they were looking in a negative way (my gut feeling says that was the more likely reason though).  Oliver really doesn’t ask to breastfeed in public much any more though and is either too busy, or happy to wait till we’re home.  He does still ask to breastfeed fairly often in our English-speaking playgroup, but nobody minds that at all and many of the moms are breastfeeding.  He never asks in our German group, where no one has breastfed since I’ve been going.

I’ve read two books on extended breastfeeding that I thought were extremely helpful, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler and How Weaning Happens.  Both these books are pro-extended nursing and discuss child-led weaning methods.  I feel pretty strongly about extended breastfeeding, I think, despite the nighttime trouble we had, that it saves my sanity.  Oliver is a little ball of energy and there are days when the only time he sits still and when I get a chance to relax a moment is when we stop to breastfeed.  It’s like a little 30 minute window of rest for me.  I’ve seen other kids of similar temperament who aren’t breastfed just going and going and going, so I’m quite happy to have my little breaks.  It’s also a nice time to reconnect.  He lays in my arms and we stare into each other’s eyes.  He points to my facial features and I name them (“That’s my nose, that’s my cheek…”).

He’s hardly ever sick (knock on wood), and colds rarely last more than a day with only a runny nose to show he even has one. But when he came down with the flu last month or when he was recovering from his surgery two months ago and wouldn’t eat or drink anything but breastmilk, I was glad to still be able to do something for him.

If he’s feeling frustrated or hyper, the breast helps him calm down.  When he’s tired, it works like magic to send him off to sleep.  I don’t know how long the relationship will continue, but the plan is now to keep going till he’s at least two years old.  I’m letting him take the lead in this for now, as I still love breastfeeding.

You may also be interested in reading:

• Breastfeeding After Reduction: One Year In (13)
• Our Weaning Story (3)
• Cultural Differences in Parenting (15)
• Breastfeeding after reduction – 2 years and still going strong (3)
• Books for kids: the Maisy series (0)

Have you had difficulty finding a nursing bra that fits or that fits into your budget?

Here is a guest post from Janda, a friend of mine who is a seamstress.  After being frustrated with not finding a single nursing bra that fit me well (I went through dozens and not all were returnable), I asked her to convert my old Victoria’s Secret Body by Victoria bras into nursing bras.They fit much better and were much more supportive than any nursing bra I’d tried by far.  I’m lucky that a year after giving birth (that is, a year into nursing), my breast size had stabilized, in fact, I was back to my pre-pregnancy size and could save money using my old bras.

This conversion will work on new bras as well, if you’re a new size and can’t find a well-fitting nursing bra, or have found a regular bra that fits well and is much cheaper than a nursing bra. Just make sure you have a well-fitting bra, wearing a bra that does not fit well could lead to mastitis or clogged ducts.  If using an underwire bra, please be sure that the underwire does not ever sit on the breast.  You should also wait until your size stabilizes (if it ever does) to wear underwire bras while breastfeeding.  In general, I wouldn’t really recommend them before 6 months post-partem, but you know yourself best.  For help with understanding bra fit, I recommend BraStopShop’s Bra Fitting Guide: The Perfect Fit Video or The Do-It-Yourself Bra Fitting Guide on Knickers Blog.

Clicking on any of the photos will give you an enlarged view. Now here’s Janda to explain how you can save money by converting a regular bra into a nursing bra:

Converting a normal bra to nursing bra!

Notes: If you plan to change your normal bra to a nursing bra, make sure you have a good fit. Make sure the bra sits comfortably around your ribs and over your shoulders. The bra should not dig in anywhere, especially under your arms or under your breasts. If you want to use a bra with wires, make sure the wires sit comfortably over your ribs and do not ride up on your breast. This is very important. There is no concrete proof that you should not wear a wired bra whilst breastfeeding, but an ill-fitting wired bra could cause a lot of discomfort. Wired could actually be more comfortable if it sits the way it should and if you are used to wearing one.

You will need:

• A normal bra with space on the shoulder straps to extend the length at least 2cm. The strap could get slightly shorter as you are cutting it and folding it over.
• 2 large hooks and eyes, as close as possible to the same width of the bra strap. There are metal ones on the market that works great. If you can find plastic ones, great! (Note from Christina: I found a great site that sells plastic nursing bra clasps, Sew Sassy Fabrics. They come in white, black and clear and the company ships worldwide. I already purchased a bunch in preparation for converting regular bras to nursing bras after I give birth in June 2010.)
• Matching cotton thread.
• A long, thin sewing needle.
• About 2x 30cm of satin ribbon, matching the bra in colour but also matching the width of the bra strap. If you cannot find any, make the ribbon from a piece of matching fabric. Make sure you get something soft and thin. Satin is smooth against the skin and does not rub.  Here’s how to make the ribbon:

1. Cut 2 strips of fabric 3x the width of the bra shoulder strap and about 30 cm long. If you can, cut on the bias - this allows a little more “movement”
2. Fold each in half along the length of the strip.
3. Sew along the raw edge, creating a “tube”. You should be able to push the bra strap into the tube if it is a elastic strap, not too loosely… (an indication that you have the correct width)
4. Turn the tubes inside out by attaching a safety pin to the end of one layer of your tube and push the safety pin “blind” through the tube till it comes out on the other side.
5. Iron the tube flat.
6. If you do use this method with a flat elastic bra strap, you could follow first method - using “tube”- like straps.

You could also use some beads to sew a little chain (about 3cm long) to the hook on both sides. Put the chain on the outside (on top) of the strap when you refasten to remind you which breast you last fed from. Make sure you use a triple thread at least, so the chain doesn’t break easily.

How to make the conversion:

Cut the bra strap off just above the joint of the cup (front) and the strap, about 1cm away from the cup. If there is some stitching that you can easily undo, do that instead, using a seam ripper.

If the strap is “like a tube” when you press it from the sides:  (method 1)

1. Try to push about 5mm of the strap into the tube - hiding the raw edge.
2. Push the end of a ribbon into the tube and sew securely in place. If you can, you could also hide the loop’s “back end” inside the tube. Be sure to sew in place very securely with small stitches



3. Sew the eye of the hook and eye to the joint in the shoulder strap, so the eye is towards the attachment.
4. Push the raw edge of the cup-end of the shoulder strap 5mm into the “tube” coming from the cup, sew in place.
5. Sew the hook securely to the cup-end of the strap, making sure the hook faces up and towards the body.
6. Hook the hook into the eye. You could pin the ribbon to the cup just below the hook, just to keep it in place for a bit.
7. Turn the cup inside out and stretch over your knee or something round to take the form it would when you are wearing it.
8. Pull the loose end of the ribbon loosely towards the bottom of the cup. About a 1/4th of the way from the “underarm position. This extension to the strap will help keep the bra’s shoulder strap over your shoulder whilst feeding.
9. Attach the ribbon securely to the seam or elastic passing under the bust. Trim off excess ribbon and finish neatly.
10. Follow the same steps with the other side.

If you just have a flat elastic shoulder strap:  (method 2)

1. Put the end of the ribbon on the end of the shoulder strap, with the ribbon on the “nice side” of the strap. Let the ribbon overlap about 2cm. Sew the ribbon to the strap about 1 cm from the raw edge of the shoulder strap.
2. Fold the overlapping ribbon 5mm to the inside. Then fold it again over the raw edge of the bra strap. You want it to form a little pouch for the edge of the elastic. Sew in place with small stitches.
3. You could also make a similar “cover” for the cup-end of the strap.
4. Sew the hook securely to the cup-end of the strap, making sure the hook faces up and towards the body.
5. Hook the hook into the eye. You could pin the ribbon to the cup just below the hook.
6. Turn the cup inside out and stretch over your knee or something round to take the form it would when you are wearing it.



7. Pull the loose end of the ribbon loosely towards the bottom of the cup. About a 1/4th of the way from the “underarm position. This extension to the strap will help keep the bra’s shoulder strap over your shoulder whilst feeding.
8. Attach the ribbon securely to the seam or elastic passing under the bust. Trim off excess ribbon and finish neatly.
9. Follow the same steps with the other side.

Visit this month’s other Carnival of Breastfeeding participants:

• Motherwear’s Breastfeeding Blog gives home remedies for common breastfeeding problems - many of which you’ll find in your kitchen
• Hobo Mama lists money saving ideas for the budget-conscious nursing mother
• Milk Act blogs about how breastfeeding taught her to live a more frugal life
• Blacktating provides links to breastfeeding-related DIY projects
• Breastfeeding123 gives a recipe for making Pedialyte alternative at home
• ZenMommy discusses how nursing has saved her money
• Breastfeeding Mums shares money-saving alternative uses for breastmilk

You may also be interested in reading:

• Victoria’s Secret has nursing bras (18)
• Too wide waistbands? Make them fit! (3)
• Review: Nursing Bras (7)
• Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere! (1)
• The Bottle of My Dreams (3)