Mamas Worldwide » Clothes

Great Nursing and Maternity Wrap Cardigan

Christina — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:44:54 +0000

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?

My Favorite Shops for Gifts

Christina — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:46:00 +0000

As the gift-giving season approaches, I thought I’d list a couple of my favorite sites for browsing for gifts, (apart from the various Amazon country sites, of course).

The MoMA Store — This is the shop for the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. As you can imagine, the focus here is on design. There are beautiful items for all ages and price ranges, and most items are available for international shipment. Also, all purchases from the shop go to support the exhibitions at the museum.

Red Envelope — Self-described as the place for unique and personalized gifts. There aren’t a lot of kids presents, but there are quite a few items that would be great as shower gifts for new or soon-to-be parents. Shipping is only within the US.

Oompa — Great shop for eco-friendly, wooden and European toys located in the US.

Oliebollen — Cute designer kids clothes and hip toys, a lot of European stuff, also located and ships only within the US.

I thought I’d mention a couple German sites as well. German sites are much less likely to have gift guides, so you gotta do more browsing on them.

Habitat .de — this is a home store that specializes in cool design. The kitchen and living room accessories areas are a good place to find gifts for grown-ups. There is a nice kids section with toys too. The site is in German and ships only within Germany.

Takotomo.de — A somewhat cluttered site full of novelty items for kids and adults. There’s a lot of funky stuff on here though, and I’ve ordered successfully several times. The site is in English and German, and ships worldwide.

Jako-o.com — A great kid’s shop with cute clothes and clever toys picked by parents. This site is available in a couple languages and ships all over the EU.

What are your favorite go-to sites for gifts?

Victoria's Secret has nursing bras

Christina — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:22:14 +0000

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?

Too wide waistbands? Make them fit!

Janda — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:15:07 +0000

Christina here, just wanted to welcome Janda, the author of the guest post on converting a regular bra to a nursing bra, to our writing team.

I have a tall toddler and she is skinny. Whenever I buy her trousers, I look for long ones first. Then, sometimes I am lucky enough to find in some stores the ones with adjustable waistbands. But unfortunately not all brands has this. Some brands do incorporate the idea, but the elastic is too loose or soft. When I can, I simply pull the elastic out and replace it with a better quality. To make a waistband adjustable is more than possible though. Here’s how:

You will need:

A pair of trousers
A piece of 2.5cm wide bias binding*, cotton tape** or ribbon*** the same length as width of trousers waistband. I used homemade bias binding.
A piece of elastic with buttonholes**** the same length as the width of the trousers waistband – these normally come in about 18mm width and is available from craft stores. If the elastic is wider, make sure the ribbon is at least 5mm wider.
2x 1.5cm diameter buttons. (flat ones)
Sewing thread and needle
Pins
A large safety pin

How to:

Stretch the waistband of the trousers, if it is already elasticated, over something sturdy. An ironing board works well.
Fold the one end of the ribbon o/a 5mm over and fold it over again. I always use a double thread to ensure strength. Sew the ribbon (o/a) in place so it doesn’t fray later.
Start pinning the ribbon (o/a) to the inside of the waistband from about 7cm from the front and around the back until you reach about 7cm from the other end of the waistband.
Fold the other end of the ribbon (o/a) 5mm over and fold it over again. Sew this in place. Be careful not to sew it to the trousers.
Sew the one long side of the ribbon (o/a) to the top of the waistband with small overhand stitches. Take care to finish ends securely with at least 4 stitches over each other and that stitches doesn’t show on right side.
Make sure the ribbon lay smooth over the waistband and sew the other long side of the ribbon to the waistband. Again, take great care to finish beginning and end securely. Remove all pins.
Sew a button to the waistband just next to the ribbon’s ends.
Fold the end of the elastic over same as ribbon and finish.
Sew this end of elastic securely to inside of waistband about 4cm away from centre front.
Attach safety pin to other end of elastic and push through sleeve made with ribbon. Let the elastic lay loosely and flat in sleeve. Make sure there are no twists in elastic.
Cut excess elastic off about 4cm beyond end of sleeve.
Fold the end of the elastic over same as ribbon and finish
Sew this end of elastic securely to inside of waistband closer 4cm away from centre front.
Sew the elastic through the ribbon to the centre back of the waistband with a couple of stitches. This keep elastic from twisting

It is now possible to pull the elastic as tight as needed and button in place so the trousers don’t fall down any more.

If you have access to a sewing machine, you could do some of the work with it, but this isn’t a big job and can look less visible if done by hand. A nice little job to do after little ones go to bed.

* Fabric cut on a 45 degree against the straight edges of woven fabric. Long edges folded over 5mm and ironed in place
** Woven cotton band with self-finished long edges
*** Satin ribbon – take care that it is soft and not too thick so it interfere with the work of the elastic
**** Elastic with button holes is generally available from good craft stores. This can be imitated by stretching two lengths of 8mmwide elastic next to each other and sewing them together so they don’t overlap. Sew 3cm and finish well. Leave a gap of 2cm to use as a button hole, then sew together again – finishing beginning and end securely.

How to make a regular bra into a nursing bra

Christina — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:30:18 +0000

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:

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”
Fold each in half along the length of the strip.
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)
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.
Iron the tube flat.
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)

Try to push about 5mm of the strap into the tube — hiding the raw edge.
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

Sew the eye of the hook and eye to the joint in the shoulder strap, so the eye is towards the attachment.
Push the raw edge of the cup-end of the shoulder strap 5mm into the “tube” coming from the cup, sew in place.
Sew the hook securely to the cup-end of the strap, making sure the hook faces up and towards the body.
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.
Turn the cup inside out and stretch over your knee or something round to take the form it would when you are wearing it.
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.
Attach the ribbon securely to the seam or elastic passing under the bust. Trim off excess ribbon and finish neatly.
Follow the same steps with the other side.

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

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.
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.
You could also make a similar “cover” for the cup-end of the strap.
Sew the hook securely to the cup-end of the strap, making sure the hook faces up and towards the body.
Hook the hook into the eye. You could pin the ribbon to the cup just below the hook.
Turn the cup inside out and stretch over your knee or something round to take the form it would when you are wearing it.

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.
Attach the ribbon securely to the seam or elastic passing under the bust. Trim off excess ribbon and finish neatly.
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

30% Off at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy

Christina — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:21:21 +0000

The Gap Inc, which includes Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Stores and Old Navy, is offering a 30% discount in-store and online* between November 13–16. Not only will you get 30% off, but 5% of the amount you spend will be donated to the Gap Foundation, whose goal is to help women in developing countries build life and job skills, and help under-served youth in developed countries gain the skills they need to build a career and future.

Use code D2BR4DLJK1F6 during online checkout, or click here for the in-store coupon and more details.

* Shipping is only available to the US.

Gourmandise, the sexiest nursing bra ever?

Christina — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:06:36 +0000

Gourmandise is a French lingerie company that makes possibly the sexiest nursing bras I’ve ever seen. I have not been able to track down any information on the company, as apparently there are a lot of things described as “gourmandise” in French.

For English and French speakers, the ivory/praline version is sold by Mamanana.com, a French site that’s also available in English and ships throughout Europe. People outside of Europe are instructed to contact them for a shipping estimate.

German speakers can purchase both the ivory and the black versions, along with a nursing camisole from Gourmandise from Mamarella.com. Mamarella ships worldwide, but is only available in German.

The bras are sold for just under 60 Euro.

My Favorite Bibs

Blythe — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:16:22 +0000

My sister-in-law turned me on to DEX Dura-Bibs. The pocket at the bottom, created by putting together plastic snaps, is wide enough to catch almost any dribble or spill. The bibs are soft but thick enough to stand up to lots of wiping and washing, and the pocket easily unsnaps so the whole thing lies flat and can be rolled up and shoved in a diaper bag. They last forever — we’ve used the same one almost every day for the past year. I bought mine at Nurture Center ($7.50 each), but I’ve seen them at Target stores, and Wal-Mart carries an exclusive (and adorable) line of animal “big-mouth” designs.

Bumkins are plastic (PVC, BPA, Phthalate & Vinyl Free) bibs that we’ve used since my son first sat in a high chair. Their smallest size is great for little ones who swim in larger bibs, and they offer a nice selection of larger sizes as well, including a toddler bib with sleeves. I love these because the plastic is soft, not crinkly. I can wad them up really small to fit in my purse, and they open up without a wrinkle when I’m ready to use them. These are available at most specialty baby stores. I’ve found the best prices ($6 for the medium-sized SuperBib) online at Lullaby Lane.

What are your favorites?

NordicKids.co.uk

Christina — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:11:27 +0000

I, for one, can’t get enough Scandinavian design. I love the clean lines of the furniture and the colorful children’s clothing designs. If I could afford it, I’d have Oliver decked out in a Scandinavian wardrobe. Yep, that’s right, the stuff is also a little bit more expensive. Also, when comparing to the clothing my family sends from the US, it’s much leaner. This is no problem for us, as Oliver is on the thin side. You could fit two of him in the 12–18 month old outfits from Carter we just got from a relative.

Now, unfortunately, my knowledge of German doesn’t help much when it comes to reading Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or Finnish, so when I want to buy some Scandinavian kids clothes, I head over to NordicKids.co.uk. The prices are actually a little lower than the German online shops I looked at, and they ship worldwide.

Review: Nursing Tops

Christina — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:08:41 +0000

Living in Germany means that I see a lot of nursing moms who don’t bother with nursing tops. I don’t quite have their body confidence or their quickly regained svelte figures, so I prefer to keep my fat rolls under cover by wearing nursing tops when I expect to be breastfeeding in public.

The most readily available tops in Germany are H&M Mama nursing shirts (available online in Scandinavia, Germany and Austria). These shirts are pretty comfy and at 19.90 Euro, are pretty affordable. The downside is that they tend to lose shape after several washings, and I also find the nursing openings to be a little more difficult to use than other tops, although with practice, I did get used to them.

By my Christmas visit to the US, Oliver had been nursing for six months and I knew that we would continue our nursing relationship for quite some time. After trying on everything at Target and finding that nothing fit, I decided to invest a little in nice nursing shirts and ordered three tops from Japanese Weekend (available mostly in North America, but the website does list a couple of international shops). At $60-$80 a pop, I was a little disappointed in the quality upon opening the box they arrived in. I expected the same quality that a similarly priced non-maternity shirt would have. They are nice shirts, and the nursing openings are great, but I wouldn’t consider them quite worth the money. I should also note that the styles I bought are no longer being shown on their website. Anyways, I wore my Japanese Weekend tops happily for another couple months, then decided I needed some further variety in my wardrobe.

In random surfing, I came across GapMaternity’s nursing section and decided to order a couple of their tops. The price was right, at about $35 each, but unfortunately they only shipped within the US. I shipped them to a relative and had them sent on to me. These are by far the best price/quality-ratio nursing shirts I’ve come across. The stretch cotton shirts are stylish, flattering, and comfortable with easy to use nursing access.

I’d read a lot of good things about Boob, a Swedish maternity and nursing clothing company, so I purchased a couple of nursing singlets (tank tops, 35 Euro each) and a nursing camisole (40 Euros). The clothing is soft and stretchy. The camisole would be great for wearing while pregnant or while you’ve still got your pregnancy tummy, but now that mine has shrunk pretty much back to normal size, I just feel pregnant in the camisole. In other words, it’s not all that flattering. The nursing singlets are awesome though. They hug me in just the right places, disguising my fat folds while making me feel skinny. Boob’s clothing is available pretty much world wide through stores that can be found using the store locater on their website.

Finally, I heard about a UK brand popular with all the posh nursing mamas, Isabella Oliver. I suppose I was on a reckless online shopping spree at the time, cause I decided to order their nursing tops (they’ve got two, and have come out with a nursing dress for the fall as well) to see what all the fuss was about. At 90 Euro a piece (now 85 Euro), I thought that they could be great pieces that I could wear when I wanted to dress up a bit. I also figured that if I didn’t love them, I could return them and my curiosity would be sated. Well, the matte jersey fabric is fabulous. It drapes in just the right way and the cuts are flattering. The nursing openings are perfect and I feel glamorous wearing the tops. Getting a little glam in my life as a nursing mother is worth the higher price! And if you order the dress and a nursing top together right now, you get 25 Euro off the price of ordering them separately. Isabella Oliver has US, Canadian, UK and EU online shops.

What’s your favorite brand of nursing attire?

Mamas Worldwide » Clothes

Great Nursing and Maternity Wrap Cardigan

You may also be interested in reading:

My Favorite Shops for Gifts

You may also be interested in reading:

Victoria's Secret has nursing bras

You may also be interested in reading:

Too wide waistbands? Make them fit!

You may also be interested in reading:

How to make a regular bra into a nursing bra

You may also be interested in reading:

30% Off at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy

You may also be interested in reading:

Gourmandise, the sexiest nursing bra ever?

You may also be interested in reading:

My Favorite Bibs

You may also be interested in reading:

NordicKids.co.uk

You may also be interested in reading:

Review: Nursing Tops

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