Weight Loss (or lack thereof) and Nursing Bras...the bain of my existence...

I may not have the best post-baby body just yet, but it surprisingly doesn't bother me that much.  I did assume I would lose all the weight super fast since I'm breastfeeding.  Unfortunately, I've held on to a good bit of weight and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere...in fact, I almost feel like I'm putting more on.  And my ass and thighs are definitely taking the brunt of it.  With all that said, I can only blame myself...and maybe my son (just kidding!).  I am always hungry (probably because my son is always hungry and constantly draining me of calories), but I'm not making very smart decisions.  In fact, I'm making some seriously bad ones...I mean, who needs to eat an entire bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips over a couple days?!?

So...my plan is, once I go back to work, I will be eating better and start a workout regime.  I can't promise it'll go smoothly or that I'll be diligent at first.  I may join Weight Watchers again, since they have a program for nursing mothers and I did so well on it in the past, but I will most likely start off by trying to get myself back into the mindset (i.e., making healthier choices overall, even if I don't immediately start counting points/calories).

I also bought the 30 Day Shred a couple weeks ago, as well as a small free weight set...and no, I haven't started it yet.  I know it will be VERY hard from me, considering I haven't worked out in forever, but I think the fact that it's only 20 minutes long will be a pig plus for me.  And the fact that I actually get winded taking Felix on a walk around the complex is depressing (the fact that it's hilly is no excuse anymore).  

My problem is that I hate the idea of taking MORE time away from my time with Felix to go to the gym or do a long workout.  Once I start going back to work full time, that time will be precious to me...even if it winds up being at 5 a.m.  So, I think my best bet will be to do the workout after Felix goes to bed at night, which is about 9-9:30 p.m. when all is said and done.  It means I'll have to consciously eat dinner a little earlier and force myself to workout no matter how tired I am at night, but it feels like the only choice right now.  

Once I start all this up, I'll be keeping track of it all on my blog.  Not so much for any sort of recognition, but really to hold me accountable.  I'm a competitive person...always have been...and having everyone know how I'm doing should help jump start my routine.  

So...onto another area of my body that needs fixing...my boobs.  Honestly, I think if I had a good nursing bra that lifted and shaped me, I'd be totally happy with my new body right now.  There are a number of things keeping this from happening.  

First, I am somewhere between a 34E and a 36F right now...it's ridiculous!  Second, I'm technically not supposed to wear underwire bras because they can apparently cause clogged milk ducts, especially in bigger busted women.  

So you can see my dilemma...I don't care what anyone says...a non-underwire bra on a woman with 36F (or bigger) boobs is not pretty!  And to top it off, it causes a serious amount of back pain.  

A lot of people have questioned why I don't just get a regular bra...those people obviously have never tried to nurse a baby in public...or even sitting on a couch in your own home!  It's the same reason why I have looked high and low to stock my closet with nursing shirts/dresses...it makes a somewhat onerous task easier.  And anything I can do to make any portion of my life easier these days is important.  

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE nursing my son.  It's bonding time unlike anything else I could imagine.  But that doesn't change the fact that it's not always the easiest thing to do...especially when you're at a friends house or the mall or your car.  It's not exactly beneficial to have to take your shirt and bra completely off anytime your child unexpectedly gets hungry an hour earlier then you thought he would.

So...now that I have sufficiently rambled as to why I am on a quest for the perfect nursing bra...let's take a look at the ones I've tried:

My sisters actually picked up my first two nursing bras.  I had planned to buy a couple before going into labor, but since we all know everything didn't go according to plan, I found myself in the hospital with no bras to wear (and no pants that works with a C-section incision...let me tell you, I looked awesome in that hospital gown with no bra for a few days).  So my sisters went to Target for me one day and came back with a few options.  Because I was so desperate to wear something, I wound up keeping two bras and a nursing tank that really didn't fit.

The Gilligan O'Malley Womens Nursing Soft Cup Bra in Revved Blue.  This one wasn't even my size since Target doesn't carry my size, but like I said, I just wanted to wear anything that resembled a bra while walking back and forth to the NICU from my room.  Needless to say, this one lasted until I left the hospital and I haven't worn it since.  I don't even think I wore it more than once in the hospital because it was so ill-fitting.

The Gilligan O'Malley Womens Nursing Sleep Bra in White.  I actually still wear this one, but only to bed.  It has zero support, but is easy to clip and unclip with one hand and doesn't dig into my skin at all (which, for those who don't know, can work to cut off your milk supply).

The Bravado Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra in a nude color.  Once I was discharged from the hospital, but before Felix was discharged, I stopped by the maternity store to get sized and see what they had.  At that time, my milk still hadn't completely come in, so I knew my size would still change.  I tried on nearly every wireless bra they had in the store and this was the best I could find.  I wore it as my main bra for a couple weeks before I couldn't take it anymore.  Again, very little support (even though I had the straps shortened as much as they would go), but still better then what I had.  Currently, I only use this as another bra to sleep in.

The Elle Macpherson Maternelle Soft Cup Nursing Bra in a nude color.  I think this one was featured on Oprah at some point.  This is my best bra to date.  While it is wireless, it still gives me the best support out of anything I have.  However, it isn't exactly my size.  It doesn't dig into my skin, which is why I still wear it even though it's not a perfect fit, but this bra only goes up to an E cup and I could definitely use an F.  Because of the large size, it actually has 6 columns of hooks in the back, which helped me fit into the 34 band size, instead of the 36 (something I was hoping for so I don't need to bra all new bras once I lose a bit of weight).  It's also very easy to clip and unclip one-handed.  I just wish it had a more shaping and lift...these things are heavy and aren't going to lift themselves! 

The Medela Comfort Nursing Bra in nude.  This is just another sleep bra and I bought it for that purpose.  The only downside to it is that, while it's easy to unclip one handed, it's not so easy to clip back on with one hand. 

The Bliss Womens Nursing Bra by Bravado.  I had really high hopes for this bra.  I read hundreds of reviews that raved about how well this bra lifts and shapes, while still being wireless.  The Flex-Fit technology is supposed to be just like wearing a wired bra.  I have to say, as far as lift goes, it's a great bra.  Definitely comes close or equal to many of the underwire bras I've owned over the years.  As far as shaping, also very nice.  The problem is that my boobs keep falling out of it!  Every time I move to the side, bend down...hell, even when I walk...each boob creeps further and further out the middle of the bra.  It takes about 30 seconds before I look like I have 4 boobs.  This happens mostly because it's not a completely full coverage bra.  It's a problem I've had with some other bras over the years...it's just magnified with this one.  Too bad because, like I said, it seems to be a great wireless/nursing alternative to a great bra.  The other negative about this bra is that, while it's easy to unclip one-handed, it's damn near impossible to re-clip one-handed.  Unfortunately, we were running out to a family function when these bras were delivered to the house and I didn't take the time to walk around the house in it before wearing it out for the day, so I wasn't able to return it. 

The Anita Maternity Women's Microfiber Nursing Bra in Skin.  I had heard wonderful things about Anita bras, so I ordered this one from Amazon.  Unfortunately, the material was way too thin for my liking, so I wound up returning it. 

As a side note, I have decided I need at least one good underwire nursing bra.  I won't wear it too often, but I would love to have the option when we go to certain events or functions.  My lactation consultant had also said, as long as I make sure to massage out any lumps where my ducts begin to clog after I get home at night, I could occasionally wear an underwire bra.

The Anita Maternity Women's Underwire Nursing Bra in White.  Another Anita that I tried from Amazon.  Unfortunately, the cups seemed a little too tight/small for me once my milk comes in.  Again, I threw this one on right before a meeting I had to run out too and didn't take the time to wear it around the house for a bit first.  By the time I realized the problem, I obviously couldn't return it. Hopefully, once I start working out again, I'll get a little smaller and be able to wear it.

The Moving Comfort Fiona, Helena and Juno Sports Bras in Black.  I am also in desperate need of a sports bra so I can start working out.  But sports bras in my size are hard enough to get on and off, let alone when you have a screaming baby that wants to be fed immediately.  So, I am on the hunt for a nursing sports bra.  The ones I have seen that are specifically for nursing don't look like they would hold up a small busted woman, let alone my 36Fs!  So I am trying to find alternatives.  I read great reviews about the Moving Comfort sports bras and found that the straps on many of them are velcro at the front for easy tightening/loosening...BINGO!  Unfortunately, when they arrived, I found the bottoms of the front of each bra to be much less supportive then I hoped (though it could just be the weight of my boobs that was causing the problem).  The bottoms seemed to balloon out a bit under my boobs, instead of laying flush on my skin an inch or so under the bust.  Needless to say, those bras were returned and I am still on the hunt for a very supportive (for high/maximum activity), but nursing friendly, sports bra.

Another great find was the Glamourmom Nursing Bra Full Bust Long Top (I have it in Grape and Black).  These tops are long enough to wear with leggings and still cover a lot of my butt and thighs.  I also don't have to wear a bra with it and is easy to clip and unclip one-handed.  It could be a bit more supportive, but for a nursing tank, I really can't complain, considering the size of my boobs.  It's a little pricey at $47 per tank (I think their non-full bust tanks are cheaper), but worth it.

So there you have it...my reviews thus far.  If any of you have any recommendations, please share...I need all the help I can get!