A Humorous look at Pumping and A Review/Giveaway From Simple Wishes (Hands Free Pumping Bra for Nursing Mothers) (Now Closed)

Not Everyone Wants to Breastfeed in Public

I am all for breastfeeding in public for those that want to do it, or can do it, but I am the kind of person who is a little bit shy when it comes to such things. It never bothers me to see other mothers doing it and actually it makes me proud, as a woman when I see a mother breastfeeding in public.  I could whip my boob out at a restaurant or in front of guests too if I had to but along with being shy I’ve never been one to put other people into the position where they might be uncomfortable (depending on who you talk to).

Not Everyone Can Breastfeed in Public

Why should I worry about that you ask? Well, I have been blessed (sometimes cursed) with very large breasts and for me to feed my child in public would surely mean giving everyone a show. I’ve never been known to be very graceful and well, why it might be possible for me to breastfeed while out to eat with my family, or at the Doctor’s office (which I have done) I can’t imagine myself on a grocery store trip with a baby on my breast, a 2 year old running down the aisle grabbing stuff and a cart in my hand. I can multi-task but come on, lets get real, I’m not that good. Not to mention, my lovely ladies are not what they used to be 20 years ago and to even get started and be discreet about it takes a bit of finagling. See above: I am not graceful!

Even though I don’t work away from my home these days, I do occasionally pump. In the beginning I pumped a lot! I had every intention of keeping my milk supply up (I had problems the first time around) and I wanted to be able to exclusively breastfeed. The first time I pumped I used a hand pump but this time around I invested in a Medela In style electric pump.

Breast Pumps – Easy to Use, Right?

Somehow, blame it on mommy brain maybe, I didn’t realize that it wasn’t possible to just attach the flanges of a breast pump on your breasts and simply wait for the milk to come out. With all the time I have spent reading about various products and gadgets for mothers you think I’d have known this. Imagine my surprise when I realized I had to sit, hunched over, trying to hold on to 2 separate bottles on my breasts hoping they didn’t lose suction. All the while yelling at my 2 year old to get out of the room and go hang out with his Dad and dangit, stop touching the pump. Yeah look at all the milk squirting, hilarious. No you can’t hold it for me. Let go! I can do it myself, thanks! Yeah.. not real fun, for anyone but the 2 year old.

The $300 Dust Bunny

Fast forward a few months and you’ll find my breast pump sitting there, collecting dust….until the opportunity to review the Simple Wishes hands free nursing bra came along. You don’t know how many times I searched endlessly across the net to find a hands free bra. I read reviews, they weren’t that great. I looked at prices, not that great either. I had given up and resigned myself to doing it the old fashioned way and not leaving my house until my child was at least 1 years old.

The Review

Fits Women of All Sizes

I was a little skeptical about the bra at first because I had a feeling it wouldn’t fit. I requested a XXL which is supposed to fit up to 48J. First and foremost let me say that the sizes alone impressed me. It’s all too often that there is very little to choose from if you have a larger size bust, but as I said.. I was leery.

The bra itself comes in a light pink, or black and it is more of a bustier than a bra. Once you put it on it’s actually very flattering. I even found myself dancing around, nipples poking out, ala Madonna’s cone bra, circa 1990.  I know. What a freak right. No kids were watching this time and hey, I’ve been stuck inside all winter. Give me a break.

Actually, the reason my nipples were out (I feel dirty even saying that) is because there are 2 circles on the front of the bra. Each circle has sections that open. You place the flange of the breast pump inside those sections/holes and attach it to your breast. From the inside of the bra you are able to maneuver your breast into the flange and make adjustments. The cloth can then be moved back to cover up any exposed areas. This way you can even wear it at work and if someone unexpectedly walks into the room while you’re using it (because they always do, don’t they!), they wouldn’t really see much, unless they’re very close up. Pretty handy huh?

The open sections also close up to help you get less loss of suction. If you’ve ever tried to make your own pumping bra you’ll know that unless there is some resistance there with the fabric you will not get enough suction. It really is not as easy as cutting a hole in the bra and popping in the flange.

Ease of Use

There was only a tiny learning curve when it came to the bra. It took me only twice to really get it down in order to be able to use it properly.  It was nice to not have to hunch over holding on to the flanges and to have two free hands. This way I was able to easily point sternly and swat my two year old out of the general vicinity all while holding my baby at the same time.

Optional Panel and Straps

I did make use of an “extra” that comes along with the bra, which is an optional center panel of cloth that simply zips onto each side of the front of the bra so as to provide additional space, since we all know every woman’s breasts are not shaped the same.

It also comes with optional straps, which I used simply because I’ve never had the opportunity to wear a strapless bra so it was purely out of habit. The straps are nice and do not dig in to your shoulders at all.

Durable

The bra itself is made of 83% cotton, 17% spandex. The back uses velcro to hold it closed but it is very sturdy. The stitching on it seems very durable. It’s machine washable in cold water.

Overall Opinion

I recommend this bra for all nursing moms who plan on using a pump. It’s easy to slip on over your regular nursing bra if you’re at work, and if you’re at home it’s great to use so that your hands are free. I bet if you’re extra talented and cramped for time you could even cook dinner with it on. It’s made my life tons easier and I hope it will do the same for you.

More About Simple Wishes

Simple Wishes is a family business and was started by 4 very talented moms, who also happen to be sisters. You can learn more about them and support a Mom owned business by purchasing the Simple Wishes pumping bra. It retails for $39 and is available in stores nationwide, or online at http://www.simplewishes.com/

Available on Amazon.com

You can also purchase this item on amazon.com for $31.20 (and free shipping) just click the text.

Do you want to win your own Simple Wishes Nursing Bra? Then what are you waiting for? enter the giveaway below.

 

Prize: 1 reader will win their own Simple Wishes Hands Free Nursing Bra

To Enter:  Please complete the required task. If the required task is not completed then none of your entries will count.  After that you have several other ways of getting extra entries.  Make sure that for each one you do you leave a separate comment. Each comment counts as one entry. Please leave your correct email addy.

Required: Please leave a comment telling me how this would make your life easier (or whoevers you’re trying to win it for).

2 Extra Entries

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5 Extra Entries

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1 Extra Entry Per Day

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RT @detroitmommy Are you a nursing mom? Take a humorous look at pumping and enter to win a Simple Wishes Hands-Free Pumping Bra http://bit.ly/gJnRIu

Leave me a comment with a link to your tweet.  You can come back each day and retweet for 1 extra entry per day. Just make sure to leave a comment each day you do it! (You can also use the green RT button at the top of this post)

(Don’t know how to show me you RT’d? Just place your mouse directly under your tweet where it says “1 minute ago from web” and click to get the URL of your status update. Copy and Paste.)

Good Luck!

Giveaway is open to residents of the US 18 yrs of age or older. Any posts not including the requested information will be deleted. This giveaway ends: Sunday, April 3, 2011 12am EST. Winner will be contacted immediately and announced Monday, April 4, 2011. In the event the winner does not respond to email within 48 hours I will choose another random winner. I will be using random.org to do this.

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