Leading Lady - Nursing Bras and More - GIVEAWAY

Last week, I received a wonderful package in the mail. I had been anticipating a nursing bra from Leading Lady to review on this blog, and imagine my delight when in the box were TWO lovely nursing bras, exactly the ones I had hoped to be able to review for you all.

Leading Lady is more than just a retailer of nursing and full-figure bras, they also support nursing moms via their website.  They have a dedicated section of their website called Amy's Corner where user submitted questions are answered by a lactation consultant.  Their helpful articles there include tips on breastfeeding in the heat of summer, breastfeeding your baby when you are sick, and making holidays less stressful so you can spend more time with baby.

They also make and sell some great and affordable nursing bras, such as the "Baby Sees It" molded seamless underwire, and the lovely molded seamless lace edged underwire, both of which I will review here.  Each of these two bras is well made, the stitching is tight and secure, and the bands are wide enough for a triple hook closure (there are also FOUR! different closure settings so I could really customize the fit).  They both look brand new even after being worn, spit up on, and washed.  The cups are molded so even when nursing, I can maintain a sleek silhouette under summer's light tees and tanks*.  The inside slings are secure and so I felt supported even when baby was nursing, and the fact it didn't shift around also made it easy to pull up the molded cup and fasten the clasp with one hand while balancing a sleepy baby with the other hand.  The openings are generously sized, and do not leave any unsightly bulges at all.  When I chose the size bra to order, I followed the website's fit guide, which suggested a 36C.  I am currently wearing a 36D and 34D in other brands, so I took a chance, and ordered a 34D despite the size chart's recommendation.  Both bras fit me very well, however, the band on the Baby Sees It bra is less stretchy than the lace edged one, and so I have to wear it on the very last closure setting.  If you are uncertain which band size to order, for this style I would suggest rounding up, since it has four settings for the closure, you should get a good fit that way.  The lace edged one fits like it was made for me, since the band is a bit stretchier, and so I use one of the middle 2 sets of hooks to close it.

* Both bras also received the husband-thinks-they're-sexy stamp of approval.

The Baby Sees It bra has a couple of really neat special features: the sling fabric is printed with a bold high-contrast pattern to draw baby's attention to it while feeding, and the straps are wider and padded for comfort.  I found that when nursing with a button front shirt, the printed sling "Baby Sees It" feature really did draw my baby's hands and eyes to it (and kept her from pulling my hair, yay!).  The effect was a little less noticeable when nursing in a shirt lifted up for baby's access, because the tucked up shirt covered part of the sling.  I was concerned that the print might be distracting or keep baby from falling asleep at the breast but I didn't have to worry (I guess the sleep-inducing powers of breastmilk are hard to beat).  The wide padded straps really added to the comfort of this bra, my only other molded bra up til now has ridiculously tiny straps that dig in within the first hour of wearing it.  Now that I have these two lovely bras in my collection, that old one is going into the bin.

I was unsure about how comfortable a lace edged underwire bra could be, since lace can be a scratchy material, but the lace used in this bra is the softest I've ever felt, it looks very elegant and feels so soft against my skin.  The straps are not padded like the Baby Sees It, but they are still generously wide, and have the convenient feature of adjusting in length at the FRONT.  Most bras have the strap length adjustment in the back, but this bra has it on the front of the strap so you can actually get the correct length without having to either contort your arms behind you or take it off to do the adjustment free-hand while you are not wearing it.

Leading Lady has been kind enough to offer to ONE of my readers a $10 discount off your order with free shipping on the entire order.  They do only ship to the US at this time, so this giveaway would make sense for my US readers or those with a US shipping address.  To enter, please visit their website (http://www.leadinglady.com/) and leave a comment here saying what you'd like to order using the $10 discount.

Their bra prices are already very reasonable, so having an extra $10 off plus free shipping would be a great deal!  They also are running a great deal on their website right now (til August 31st 2011) with 20% off your order and free shipping if you buy over $75.

Plus earn up to 3 extra entries by:

1. Liking "Geekmommy Reviews" on Facebook and telling me you did this in the comments (be sure to let me know your name on Facebook)
2. Following @geekmommyreview on Twitter and tweeting about this giveaway (be sure to link to the tweet in the comments)
3. Following this blog on Google Friend Connect and telling me you did this in the comments

Winner will be drawn on Friday September 16th, 2011 using Random.org.  Your odds of winning obviously depend on number of entries received.

*Disclaimer:  Geekmommy Reviews was given free of charge the product(s) to review in exchange for featuring this product on http://www.geekmommyreviews.com.  Any opinions or statements given above come only from Geekmommy Reviews and were not influenced in any way by the product vendor.

Review: Glamourmom Nursing Tanks and Tops

Back when I was nursing my son 4 years ago, I heard about Glamourmom and their fantastic nursing tanks/tops.  I wanted to get some but just couldn't justify the cost at the time.  But when I was pregnant with my daughter, and I saw them come up on Babysteals.com, I couldn't resist.  I purchased 3 of them.  (I had tried them on at a local retailer to make sure I was ordering the right size...)  When I got them, one had a teeny tiny hole in it, which Babysteals made right, right away, by sending me a similar replacement.  So now I have a blue nursing bra top with lace, a nude nursing bra top (with a teeny tiny hole), a purple nursing bra tank, and a light pink nursing bra tank.  They are all great, but I wish the tanks also had the wider elastic straps and the nursing bra type closure, rather than spaghetti straps and the smaller flat closure.

The "tops" have slightly wider straps and a secure clicking closure like most nursing bras have.  The "tanks" have narrower straps and a closure more like the back of a bikini top.  While they do also click securely, it's a bit more fiddly to close them up with one hand (while juggling a baby on your shoulder) and so sometimes I don't get them clicked all the way shut, and then I end up walking around the house with what some might call a wardrobe malfunction.  Not cool.  HOWEVER - both the "tops" and "tanks" styles have amazing support.  They have a secure shelf bra built in, and an extra layer of mesh fabric in the fold down part that really holds things in well.  I would never think of going out of the house in a typical shelf bra tank, but I have worn these out (under a hoodie or button up shirt) a ton of times without feeling self conscious at all.

They are very comfortable, although I do suggest getting a size bigger than what you typically wear (I'm a M in most things but had to get the L in the tanks/tops so that the shelf bra elastic would fit comfortably).  They are generously long so they cover the post-partum belly area nicely.  The "tops" are also made of a material that is stretchy yet holds things together to help give a smooth line when worn under a shirt.  They come in many different colours so you are sure to find something you like.  Check out the selection and get more information (including where to buy) over at http://www.glamourmom.com/index.asp.

Review: Bravado Lifestyle Microfiber Bra

With my first pregnancy I had no idea how flubby and unattractive I would feel after giving birth and before getting my figure back.  I had purchased 6 cheap cotton nursing bras, with seams in unfortunate places (so they were never smooth under t-shirts), and they did not offer much support.  The colours were good, I had two white, two black, and two nude.  However, I never really felt good wearing them.  They did what they needed to do, but weren't exceptionally comfortable, and definitely were not attractive in any way, shape, or form.

So this time when we found out we were expecting again, I resolved to only wear maternity and nursing clothes that made me feel good about myself.  I bought 3 Bravado Lifestyle Microfiber bras in the "Enchanted" colour scheme, which is a really nice chocolate brown and has dark aquamarine coloured lace and ribbon trim.  I also bought two Bravado Lifestyle Microfiber bras in the "Sugar" colour scheme, which is an ivory colour and has a peach coloured lace and ribbon trim.

The bras are the most comfortable I have ever worn, and are very supportive.  I normally wear bra size 34C so I bought four bras in size 36D and one in 34D.  The 36D ones have a triple hook closure which is really nice and wide for extra support and helps to rein in any back chub.  The 34D has a double hook closure but is otherwise the same as the 36D.  The cup fabric is not padded but is made of two layers of fabric.  The outside layer is the coloured microfiber, while the inside layer is cotton which feels really nice on your skin.  They are well put together and very elegant, even my husband loves the look of them (or maybe it's just the larger breasts?  Regardless...)

I normally wear a padded underwire bra so I am very surprised how I enjoyed wearing this bra.  I haven't had too many moments where my "headlights" were showing as the two layers of fabric do a nice job holding everything in close.  I love the wide shoulder straps - they are almost 2cm wide - as they distribute the weight nicely on your shoulders without digging in at all.  I have even worn them to sleep in the early weeks with our new daughter when my normal sleep bras were in the laundry, and they were so comfortable that I did not miss my sleep bras at all.

One last thing I have to mention about these bras is the way you wear them when nursing.  The clasp is super easy to open and close with one hand, and the entire cup folds down.  There is a non-stretchy piece of fabric that runs along the outside edge of the cup (near your armpit) that connects the strap to the band, but there is no fussing with an opening that has to be lined up just right (is it just me, or do other bra manufacturers make these openings way too small to be helpful?).  The clasps feel nice and solid, and make a distinctive click when they close so you know things are put back together.  I've heard some people say they find the click too loud, but it's never woken my baby so I don't mind it at all.

You can find out more about these bras and purchase them here: http://www.bravadodesigns.com/shop/the-lifestyle-microfiber-nursing-bra.  They are worth every penny!

*Disclaimer:  Geekmommy Reviews was not paid to post this product review.  In fact I purchased the product myself and was not compensated in any way.