Izzy's Mum

I first wrote this article for our local NCT magazine (Coo & Babble). I’ve adapted it slightly and put it here to share with everyone.

My first daughter Izzy was a bit of a milk-monster and wanted feeding every 2 hours for 40 minutes at a time. I didn’t want this to stop me getting out and about, so finding nice clothes to go out in that still enabled me to breastfeed was essential, especially as we went to three weddings before she was six months old.

I’d like to share with you some of the tips I have picked up to give you appropriate clothing for any occasion that will allow you to breastfeed comfortably.

Essentials

There are a few staple items that every nursing mother should have in her wardrobe that can be used in a wide variety of outfits.

Firstly get yourself a good nursing bra, and get it fitted properly. You’ll feel more comfortable if it fits right, and you’ll look better too!

Secondly, you can pick up nursing vest tops with built-in support and nursing openings quite cheaply from a few places on the high street, and of course Izzy’s Mum. Get one in black and one in white and they can be worn under other tops or dresses to make them suitable for nursing, or even on their own on a hot day!

Everyday wear

There are some great tops out there made for breastfeeding, with ingenious (and subtle) access to your boobs. There are a few on the high street from shops, but you can some find many more options online (including us of course). Get a few of these – it’s much better than simply wearing a baggy t-shirt. They can be worn with jeans for everyday wear, or dressed up a bit with a skirt or nice trousers.

Weddings and Special Occasions

There are a number of options for dressing up while breastfeeding, and I’ve tried them all.

Firstly, there are loads of nice dresses made specifically for breastfeeding, although you’ll probably have to go online to find them. I picked up a lovely purple dress with nursing access for a wedding which looked great and worked well. The downside of this is unless you’re dressing up a lot, you may not get much wear out of it. You can of course wear a dress bought for brestfeeding after you finish nursing – many are lovely items of clothing in their own right.

The second option is to dress up a breastfeeding top with a nice skirt or trousers. This is great because you may be able to use clothes you have already in your wardrobe, and your choice is a lot less limited.

Finally, you may be able to find a suitable dress (or you may have one already) that will work when combined with one of your nursing vest tops. I found that crossover or wrap style dresses (particularly ones with a bit of stretch in the fabric) work really well for this (and of course applies to crossover/wrap tops as well). The great thing about this is you can use this dress again after you’ve finished breastfeeding.

Pashminas and Scarves

Whether it’s a special occasion or just a trip to the park many mums will find a pashmina or other scarf useful. You can use it as part of your outfit, or just for a little privacy when latching you child on. This is particularly useful in the early days.

There are specially designed breastfeeding ponchos and covers, as well as breastfeeding scarves such as the Mamascarf which also provide support for your baby. These are available in pretty much any colour you can think of so can easily be matched to your outfit.

Whatever option you chose there are loads of ways you can stay looking great and fashionable while breastfeeding. Nursing is not an excuse to hibernate for the first few months of your baby’s life so get out there. If you send us photos of you in your favourite breastfeeding-friendly outfit we’d love to feature them here.

We’ve always said if you have a favourite breastfeeding product that you think we should stock to let us know, and someone did just that.

A friend of ours Karin (from NCT York and the somewhat confusingly named Stratford Nappies) got in touch to suggest Milk Bands. Someone she knew had shown her the one she got in The States, but she was unable to find them anywhere in this country.

We’ve sold reminder bracelets for some time which you move from one wrist to the other to remind you which breast to feed from next. Milk Bands are a simple but brilliant extension of this idea.

Firstly you don’t need to move them from one wrist to the other, you simply turn them inside out. You can even “read” them in the dark as one side is recessed and the other is raised.

Secondly they can remind you what time you next need to feed thanks to two little sliders which let you mark the hours and minutes. Great for when you’re half asleep.

We have them in 7 different colours, and at only £4.95 you could even get a couple colours!

If you’ve seen a great product you think we should stock (or maybe you’re a manufacturer who would like us to sell your stuff), please feel free to get in touch.

Some of you have already noticed that we have launched our site! If you haven’t already seen it, go and take a look.

We will be tweaking the site over the coming weeks, and of course adding more products. For now we have the great Mamascarf nursing scarves, a great range of breastfeeding tops from Canadian company Momzelle, and a growing range of nursing necklaces from Lait D’amour.

In other news we’ve also got a more memorable address on Facebook. You can now find us at www.facebook.com/izzysmum.co.uk. While you’re there why not become a fan (if you haven’t already).

Our shopping site is still under development, but I am pleased to announce we have stock of our first product, and it’s available for sale now on a temporary order page.

From the first time I saw the Mamascarf, I knew it we had to stock it. It is a scarf which supports your baby while breastfeeding, and is great for feeding in public as it folds away to virtually nothing, and it provides cover so you won’t draw attention to yourself.

I wish I had known about this great product when Izzy was first born. Even the boldest new mother will find it unnerving feeding in public for the first time, and if , like many others, you require a support cushion to support your baby and it takes time to latch her on, it can be hard to be discreet. This scarf solves both those problems.

What makes this product even better is that it was designed by Keira, a breastfeeding mother here in the UK.

The Mamascarf is available now in three colours for only £17.95 + £1 P&P.

The shopping site is coming along well, and we also have a great range of nursing necklaces on their way soon. Watch this space.

We’ve just heard that the social networking site Facebook as threatened to shut down a group which campaigns against Facebook’s censorship of breastfeeding mothers.

The group “Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is Not Obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)” has nearly 250,000 members and was set up when users started being banned from Facebook for posting pictures of them breastfeeding their children. On the 2 Feb administrators of the group received emails from Facebook staff threatening to shut the group down for copyright infringement reasons. When challenged Facebook backtracked and said it was for “posting nudity or sexually explicit material and sending harassing messages to members”. They won’t be any more specific than this.

The group does have 5,900 photos, most of which are of mothers feeding their children, but all are tasteful and they don’t show excessive nudity. Group administrator Debra Balcaensays “To shut the group down would not only end valuable support, but give a message to the world that breastfeeding babies are somehow obscene. It’s just absurd.”

The group has issued a Press Release, and has asked that people spread the word in any media possible, in the hope that Facebook will allow this group to continue.

Hi, my name is Abby. 7 months ago my husband and I had our first child, Isabel. Wanting to give Isabel (or Izzy as she very quickly became known) the very best chance in life we decided to breastfeed her.

I soon discovered how hard it is to find suitable nursing clothing, at least nice clothes. It simply isn’t available on the high street, and surprisingly hard to find a good range on the internet. I believe that just because you are a mother who is breastfeeding, it doesn’t mean you have to look plain and boring. I have been to 3 weddings since Izzy was born, and finding outfits for these that still enabled me to breastfeed was nearly impossible.

So, I decided to start “Izzy’s Mum”. We will stock the best range of breastfeeding clothes, all presented in an easy to find way. We believe that you should be able to feel smart, confident, and dare I say it “sexy” in what you are wearing, and we will offer you the clothes to let you do so.

We will have everything from outfits for the smartest of occasions, to the basics you need for every day. All available for quick and easy delivery.

We are in talks with suppliers, and are developing a site which we hope will be the best of its kind (my husband, AKA Izzy’s Dad, is a web developer!), but in the meantime we want to hear from you. Are there any occasions you have found it hard to find an outfit for? Is there a particular item of clothing you would like but haven’t been able to find (we have already been given the challenge of finding a bright red nursing top!)? Maybe you have a favourite brand you think we should stock, or some advice you would like to share with other mothers.

You can keep an eye on (or subscribe to) this blog for updates and news, follow us on twitter @izzys_mum, or become a fan on Facebook.