Reader Question: Nursing Clothes

My question, since I am getting close to baby boy's arrival, is about post-maternity / nursing clothes.

What have you found that works well. Or are some of your favorite styles of tops and places to shop for these. I am going to be staying home the first few months, but would like to look a little put together, if that's possible. And maybe even leave the apartment occasionally.

I'd love to see a post.

Oh the fun world of nursing clothing. And by fun I mean sparse and boring. But be that as it may, we nursing mamas still have to dress to account for nursage. So let's get down to basics.

1) Nursing Cover - Whether you're home with 8 million visitors coming to see the new baby or you're out and about running errands with the baby, you'll want to cover up when nursing. Well, not everyone does, but I prefer to. So you'll need a nursing cover. I never ever thought I'd be nursing in public but it turns out unless I pump bottles ahead of time or never leave the house, it just not possible to run around doing basic life activities of grocery shopping or meeting someone for lunch without having to feed the little hungry monster you've brought along. So nursing covers are a necessary investment. There are a whole slew of options and brands and I won't get into them all. I have the one below in gray. I like it because a) it's organic and I prefer an organic option whenever possible - not that I'm worried about the baby having non-organic nursing covers touching her, but it's better for the environment to get organically grown cotton - and b) I like that they're solid, plain colors. As I said, I was easing into the whole nursing in public thing and the last thing I want to do is draw more attention to myself with a printed cover. But that is just my hangup, you are welcome to buy a patterened cover.

Bebe Au Lait, $30 @

2) Nursing Bras - You'll need to invest in some good nursing bras. The last thing you want to do is take off your whole entire bra when you need to nurse. And you don't want to use one of your regular bras because a) just pulling the cup down repeatedly will ruin your bra, and b) pulling the bra up and having the underwire press against your breast will cause infections and other nursing issues. So look for actual nursing bras made to pull down or clip down. Whether you get a nursing bra with underwire or without underwire is up to you - most women find wireless more comfortable and underwire can lead to clogged ducts/infections, so I stick with wireless.

Target has a bunch of cheap options, but for some reason they won't let me save their pictures. Darn you Target!! I own a couple of the Gilligan & O'Malley nursing bras ($12.99 @) but they're not great in the support department and definitely feel super cheap.

A Pea in the Pod has a bunch, but I haven't tried them. I would imagine they make some good ones, as I've tried their sister brand Motherhood Maternity and liked them.

A Pea in the Pod, was $39, sale $18.99

Motherhood Maternity makes a whole slew of nursing bras. I own a few, but this one is by far my favorite. Nice and soft with great coverage and great support (even though it's wireless). I want to buy a million more of these.

Motherhood Maternity, $21.98 @ *

Elle Macpherson makes a line of nursing bras that are on the more expensive end. They are pretty gorgeous as far as nursing bras go. I got one on Gilt (yay Gilt sales!) and like it for prettiness, but prefer the Motherhood Maternity one above as far as support goes.

Elle Macpherson Intimates, $55

You'll also need a comfy sleeping nursing bra. I've tried some from the Gap, Motherhood Maternity, but my absolute favorite is the Medela ($19.99 @). I'm not sure if nursing sports bras are useful, but I think I'm going to give it a try now that my new jogging stroller has arrived.


3) Nursing tops - When it comes to nursing clothes, separates are your friend. Although I did find this one nursing maxi dress and this printed nursing dress, but I can't vouch for their cuteness. Aside from that random dress, the nursing clothing world is all about separates. There are two ways to go with this - dedicated nursing tops and nursing tanks. We start off with nursing tops. These are tops that kind of have a fake cami thing going and can pull down from the top to get at your breasts. No lifting up of your shirt necessary. Extremely convenient and easy to maneuver. Trouble is, they're mostly casual and not all that cute. But when you spend your days covered in spitup, drool, and other bodily fluids, washable cotton isn't that bad a thing. And the casual tees are just fine for grocery trips or whatever errand running you have going on with your little one. I even managed to find a few tops that wouldn't be so bad to meet up with friends in and not look like a frazzled doudy mom!

A Pea in the Pod, $49 *

A Pea in the Pod, $49 @

A Pea in the Pod, $39 @

A Pea in the Pod, was $85, sale $69.99 *

Old Navy, was $19.50, sale $18.50 @

Motherhood Maternity, $24.98 *

Motherhood Maternity, was $24.98, sale $19.99 @

Motherhood Maternity, $24.98

Gap, $29.50 @

4) Nursing tanks - For when you're feeling more adventurous and want to add another layer to the mix, you can use a nursing tank. It takes the place of a nursing bra, and lets you wear your regular tops. Just put one of these nursing tanks on under your favorite shirt, and when you lift up your shirt to nurse, you're not exposing your midriff because you have the tank on. Yay!

There are lots of varieties of nursing tanks out there - laced, plain, and lots of different colors. They're available at the Gap, Old Navy, Target, Motherhood Maternity, and A Pea in the Pod, just to name a few.

But my very favorite two are the two I'm posting. Since going with a nursing tank means you're not wearing a bra, I really want some good support. Not all nursing tanks I've bought provide that. But these next two do.

This one is my fave for support and convenience of use, but the way the style is, you can't wear it with something open like a cardigan, it would look odd. But fine under any other regular top that would cover it.

Motherhood Maternity, $24.98 @*


And if you want to go with something that can show but also gives some good support, I recommend this nursing tank. It's pricier but well worth it!

A Pea in the Pod, $39 @*

@Available in more colors
*EWP Fave

Golden Globes 2011: Jane Krakowski

Jane Krakowski in Badgley Mischka
Note to Natalie: Now this is how you do pregnancy formal wear. Jane looks gorgeous and glowing. And still has fun details like the lace and the one-shoulder. She is, in fact, NOT wearing a sack and the dress hugs her curves, but without being vulgar. Good job, Jane.

B+

EWP Tip: Maternity Tights

You know me, as an avid skirt and dress wearer, I heart tights. Wear them all fall and winter. They seriously make me so happy.

So when it was time to stock up on fall/winter maternity wear, I obvi picked up some maternity tights. I was a little annoyed at the higher price tag ($18 as opposed to the normal $7-$10 I spend) but thought it made sense since there was all that extra tightage to cover my big ol preggo belly.

Pea in the Pod, $18

But I found that maternity tights were still really uncomfortable over my stomach. It was just too much pressure on the baby and me. I didn't like it. And ended up just rolling them down under my stomach. And then it occurred to me, if I'm just rolling them down, why can't I just do that with my regular tights? So I did and haven't gone back to maternity tights since.

Seriously, just rolling a regular pair of tights under my preggo belly has been totally fine. The tights stay put, there's no uncomfortable pressure on my stomach, and I don't have to buy new tights. It's the best. Now, this wouldn't work for some depending on how you gain weight while pregnant - if your bottom and legs get a lot bigger, then you can't just keep wearing the tights you already own, but you could still just buy bigger tights that are just regular tights. It'd still be cheaper than buying actual maternity tights.

So EWP tip of the day: don't bother buying maternity tights.

Do I Look Like a Hobo?

Last night was Mr. EWP's firm holiday party. It was my first time meeting most of the people he works with (he just started at this firm a couple months ago) and while maternity clothes limited my festive holiday hotness options, I think I managed it well.

I rocked a blue dress, fantabulous multi-stranded gold necklace, and, per usual, delicious 5 inch heels.

I really thought I was a knock out, or at least did pretty well with what I had to work with. But I came down the stairs, Mr. EWP took one look at me and said "You cannot wear those shoes." Okay, he did first say that I looked beautiful, but followed it up with that I should wear flats.

FLATS??? To a holiday party? Where I will be meeting people for the first time?? What do I look like, a hobo? I don't think so. 32 weeks pregnant or not, if those heels still fit on my feet (yay no swelling of my feet so far!) then you will have to kill me to get me to take them off.

The outfit did not go with flats. There was no fabulously-put-together-mama-to-be look with flats. One of my major pet peeves (I know, I have many, but this is one too) is pregnant women thinking they don't have to look put together anymore because they're pregnant. I'm pregnant, not dead. Looking sloppy is most definitely not allowed. My heels are coming with me.

Clearly team 5 inch heels won out. And, since I'm a heel pro, they didn't bother me one bit. And let me tell you, I looked fabulous. If only we had taken a picture.

Another Maternity Top

Yes, another maternity clothing post. Sorry, but I've been so busy I don't have time to think of things to blog about. Or to actually hunt for things (I'm soooo overdue for a New York Fashion Week post). So you get this. Please help this overscheduled EWP and leave some comments for posts you'd like to see.

Anyway, since I share one new top that went to San Fran, thought I'd post the other new one I took with me. Why? Because I kind of spent too much on it and must justify its existence by talking about it.

On a hunt to find any sort of maternity clothing that wasn't Gap or Old Navy, I discovered a new (to me) and super adorable maternity boutique here in Chicago called Krista K. They also have a regular person's boutique which is to die for, but I'll have to save my shopping for that store until post BabyWP.

I went shopping for a shower dress, which I didn't find, but I did find this adorable ruffle sleeve blouse.

Maternal America, $98

With some skinny jeans and black pumps? To die for. I'm telling ya.

My First Christian Siriano Piece

I've neglected you. Sorry. I'm still sifting through my 8 million San Fran pics, but here's a quick post to tide you over.

Y'all know how much I love Project Runway alum Christian Siriano. His style just is all the glam and out there-ness (not a word but I'm going with it) that I love. I've been dying to get something of his for a while. But clearly not the designer stuff. But also not the Payless stuff. Sorry, Payless, not gonna happen. But lucky for me, he has a maternity line. So, per Laura's request, here's me in my very first Christian Siriano piece. It's not my favorite top of all time but it'll do.

Fierce Mamas by Christian Siriano, was $68, sale $33.90 @

@Available in more colors

My NYC Purchase

Since I know you must be on the edge of your seats waiting for my best and worst dressed at the Emmys post, I thought I'd tide you over with what I bought in NYC this past weekend.

EVERY time I go to NYC I spend ridiculous amounts of money on shopping. It's just so fun and there are so many stores. And the sales tax is way less than Chicago's. Who could resist?

This time around I was much more limited in what stores I could shop in, but I did google for maternity boutiques in NYC and found a few. My fearless shopping guide Alexis trekked through Soho to the one place in all of Soho with maternity clothes, according to Google anyway, only to find out it was no longer there. Undeterred, Alexis did some more googling and led us to the West Village where we did in fact find a maternity store. Phew! There was no way I could leave NYC without even trying on a piece of clothing!

And try on I did, unfortunately, I wasn't too big a fan of what I found. For some reason maternity stores think pregnant women are in mourning and only wear black. Where's the color? Where's a print? Where's the fun?

But I did use the all black options to find a black pencil skirt for work. Not too exciting of an NYC purchase, but at least it was something. If I hadn't bought this, I would have left with NOTHING for myself. And that, my friends, has never ever happened before. And I wasn't about to let it happen this time.

Belly Dance Maternity, $67 @

@ Available in more colors (i.e. gray)

Hello, My Name is EWP, and I'm a Leggings Convert

I have always been vehemently against leggings. I guess I had seen one too many trashy starlets wearing them as pants with short little shirts and showing off her ladybits. Leggings are NOT pants. This created an aversion in me so strong, that I never ever considered them for me.

But a few weeks ago I met up with my friend, and fellow preggo, Andrea of Basic Boutique and she looked absolutely adorable in a pair of leggings and a big flowy tunic. It got me thinking, hmm... what if I tried leggings?

So I made a little outing to Pea in the Pod and tried on some maternity leggings. And, well, I fell in love immediately.

Pea in the Pod, $35

I want to wear them everyday, but there's only one problem - I don't own any tunics. And these ladybits are definitely staying covered, thank you very much. So I've put in an order to Motherhood Maternity and picked up a way overpriced tunic from Pea in the Pod that I just loved (to be posted later) and am on my way to tunic + legging bliss.

But for all you non-pregnant ladies, I've found some regular leggings, which I will totally be buying post baby. Because, as I said, I'm a total leggings convert.

Velvet, $60

Forever 21, $5.50 @

Urban Outfitters, $24 @

@Available in more colors

BabyWP

Mr. EWP and I are very excited that we're expecting our very own BabyWP!

Now, don't worry, this is still a fashion blog and will not be filled with preggo posts. But if that's your thing, you can head over to Meet the Steffens and get lots of pregnancy updates.

I also promise to not just post maternity clothes. Though I may post some that I think are cute, because, guess what, cute maternity clothes are REALLY hard to find. And when I find some, I'll be so proud of myself that I'll just have to post them :)

And I'm definitely glad I just wrote that new mom post, looks like I'll have my wardrobe options covered after BabyWP arrives.

xoxo,
EWP