Review: Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband (vs generics)

I bought my Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband when I found out I was pregnant, thinking it would, as advertised, be great for holding up my "normal" pants in early pregnancy and covering the gap between the bottom of too-short maternity tops and low-rise maternity pants in late pregnancy.  It did both of these things well, but what I consider the BEST use of the Bellaband is the containing and hiding the post-pregnancy midsection jiggly bits.  I wear it with normal shirts and it turns any shirt into a nursing top by hiding the midsection that tends to hang out and greet others when I am breastfeeding.   It comes in a ton of colours (though I just have one, in a neutral cream shade) so you can co-ordinate it with any wardrobe.  Because it is basically an elastic tube, it not only hides your midsection, but it also helps rein in any post-baby muffin top and smooths any other lumps and bumps so that you can look sleek (if not slim) in your summertime tanks and tees.

After buying an Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband (on eBay, to save money), it occurred to me that I might want more than one, in different colours, so I went splits with a pregnant friend on a set of five generic bands from another eBay seller.  I think I bought the wrong size, because I find the generic bands to be too stretchy to really hold anything in, and a bit too tall to wear post-baby.  I like to use the back pocket of my jeans (yes, my iPhone gets sat on ALL.THE.TIME.) and so I don't like to pull the band down so far that I don't have access to the pocket, but with the generic band, I have to pull it down this far so that it doesn't bunch up under my bra.  I was a size 8/10 pre-pregnancy, and so I bought the Bellaband in their size 1 (sizes 0 to 8).  I bought the generic bands in a size Medium (sizes 6-12) because I thought that would be more appropriate than their size Small (0-8).  If I were to do it over, I think I would have bought either two Ingrid & Isabel (one light, one dark), OR I would have gotten a 5 pack of the generics in a size Small.  I still think the Ingrid & Isabel brand has a better stretch and "holding power" so budget permitting, that's what I would choose.

Check out the Ingrid & Isabel Bellaband on their website at http://www.ingridandisabel.com/category/ingrid-isabel-catalog/bellaband.  Or, opt for the generic brand bands over on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.ca/1-2-3-5-BE-BELLA-Bands-maternity-belly-nursing-tops-/

How about you - did you wear a belly band in your pregnancy or afterwards? Did you have a preferred brand?

Review: Milkstars Nursing Tops (Styles: Joan and Jenny)

I bought two Milkstars nursing tops from Babysteals when I was still pregnant, for the same reason that I bought my Bravado nursing bras (check out the full review here) - so I could nurse my baby in comfort and style.  Boy, do these shirts deliver in both departments!

Milkstars nursing tops are made of the softest fabric that drapes perfectly against your figure without being tight or clingy.  The two styles that I bought have short sleeves, and have 2 layers of fabric all around.  This is so that you can lift the top layer of the shirt to give your baby access to feed, without having to bare your belly or any other unfortunately lumpy bits.  The openings in the bottom layer are generously sized so you won't have to tug at the shirt to keep fabric from getting in baby's mouth or face.

The shirts come in many different styles and colours, I bought the Jenny (scoop neck, cap sleeves) in a bold purple shade, and the Joan (scoop neck, flutter sleeves) in a hot pink.  I wish I had ten of these shirts, whenever they are clean, I am wearing them.  Once they've both been worn, I usually will do a load of laundry just so I can get them back into the rotation.  The Milkstars website recommends hand washing the shirts but acknowledges that busy moms probably won't have time for this (exactly!) so they also state that machine washing on a gentle cycle and then laying flat to dry will also work.  I have a philosophy about clothes that are supposed to be hand washed, which is as follows: if they can't survive the delicate cycle on my washer, then I wasn't meant to own them.  The Milkstars shirts have not let me down in this department.  I have even hung them on the line to dry, but I don't recommend this as the clothespins do leave dents/marks wherever it is clipped.  They do dry nicely on an indoor rack where you can fold them in half to hang them up.

I do wonder why the shirts have the double layered fabric in the back as well as the front, perhaps it is to help the material fall nicely around the body, but it does add a bit of extra warmth which I don't really need, I find that breastfeeding is enough to keep me warm most days without extra layers on top.

If you'd like to buy a Milkstars nursing top, you can do so from their website at http://www.milkstars.com - they offer flat rate shipping to the US ($7) and to Canada ($12) so you might as well get more than one!  They are currently advertised from $56 to $60 for shirts, $79 for pyjamas (be still, my heart... I would LOVE to try these out!), and $85 for a dress.  I was fortunate enough to buy my two shirts when they were on Babysteals.com for half price (http://www.babysteals.com) but if you were to spend $30-$40 on a regular nursing top from a maternity shop, you might as well put in the extra $20 and get one of these, because you will love it forever.

DEAL ALERT!  Right now on their Facebook page (search for Milkstars Nursing Wear) there's a 25% off sale code that's valid til Wednesday - so move fast!