Nursing Tank Tops and Bras

Alicia's Take:

I purchased 3 glamour mom nursing tanks from BRU ($19.99) before Jude was born and basically I rotated them for the first couple weeks or so of Jude’s life. I loved them. Since I was only wearing yoga pants, cotton skirts, etc. for the first week or so, they went great. I’d toss a ribbed tank top over it and was set. I loved them so much that not too much later I went out and bought a few more from Destination Maternity (I believe I have about 5 now in gray, black and white). They were the same style and brand. While out on maternity leave they were perfect. If I was out and needed to nurse, I didn’t have to worry about my exposed stomach area. Plus it was warm and not having to wear an actual bra reduced the number of layers.

For me, they were a pretty decent fit. I will say that they don’t offer the best support, but considering you’re being held up by a combination of cotton and elastic, I guess you can’t expect the best. I would say the support they offered was no different than what you’d get from any other shelf-bra tank on the market (nursing or non-nursing style)

Not too much longer after that I also purchased some nursing sports bras (also $19.99 at Destination Maternity – originally purchased at Macy’s for $24.99 – shop around!) which were great for returning to work to wear under more formal clothes. I bought these specifically because they were the cheapest bras they had and I didn’t even want to face buying a fitted bra. They offered extra support (compared to the nursing tank tops) and looked decent under clothes.

When faced with both of them, they both have their pros and cons. The tank tops have less support and the ‘flap’ that opens up to expose the breast can overlap and can be bulky and show through clothes if you don’t flatten it out right. Also, the tank tops are extra absorbent which means if you leak, it will most likely show through. The sports bra however offers extra support looks decent under clothing, but the straps are “racerback” style and if you wear a shirt with a wide neck the straps will without a doubt show. In addition, the bras are thicker and if you leak, it absorbs some of it and so won’t show through clothing as much.

I’ll say that I haven’t found the perfect nursing tops/bras yet, but I also haven’t spent much time looking. Both of the options I have are suiting me fine for now and I would recommend either of them to other nursing mothers to at least get started and you figure out which options work best for you (for example I plan to get nicer bras now because I seem to prefer them over wearing the tanks regularly - but I'm glad I didn't fork out 45+ for a bra that I wasn't sure about). In addition they were 2 of the most fairly priced options I could find which allowed me to buy multiples to rotate through instead of just having one that I’d die if I had to wash.

Victoria’s Secret offered nursing bras that I’d love to try, but they’re only available online. I’m very hesitant to pay shipping and the $45.00 for these and be dissatisfied - but I just might.


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Barbie's Take:

I own 3 Glamour Mom nursing tanks. I always heard these were the nursing tanks! I ordered two from their website at $34 a piece (plus shipping) and purchased the third from a local Babies R Us store ($19.99). I ordered the two from glamourmom.com in a size large since I am semi-large chested. Oddly enough, each of the two tanks fit me differently (despite the fact that they are the same style). One of them fits me good in the torso but is too small in the chest. The second one is way too big in the torso but still too small in the chest. Even though they are too small I can still tell they offer great support and are a very nice quality and design.

The third tank, the one I purchased from Babies R Us is a glamour mom tank as well, however it is totally different from the ones I got online. The overall style is the same, but the quality is completely different (which makes sense considering this tank only cost $19.99). I purchased a size small and it fits me better in the chest and in the torso than the larges from the internet. The support, however, is terrible.

I guess all I can tell you is to shop around and try different brands. I hear target has some great nursing tanks that are reasonably priced.