Is it possible to breastfeed and still feel gorgeous?

In terms of dress, I mean. Because lets face it, breasts that yoyo up and down in size, a stomach that’s probably seen better days and faffing around to free the milk are generally best associated with comfortable, fit for purpose clothes more than glamourous, gorgeous ones.

But of course I was heading off to BritmumsLive last weekend I kind of wanted to feel just a little bit special – there are always occasions that come up where you want that whilst breastfeeding, in my experience. The Monsoon dress that I found lurking at the back of my wardrobe I figured was good for the half day – it’s not ideal for feeding as it’s halterneck and you do end up whipping your whole boob out. But it looks ok and I’ve got plenty of muslins to cover up a bit should I need to.

The Maya breastfeeding dress from Milk & Mummy, on the other hand? Well that’s a totally different story.

Having received style advice from TKMaxx at last year’s BritmumsLive, I know that a maxi dress with a lower neckline and higher waist is likely to suit me – so when I saw the Maya dress (from a variety of different angles, thanks to all the various photographs of it on the site) I knew that was the right one for me. Plus, the colour (watermelon!) is one that works well and even better because it’s made with breastfeeding in mind, there is no worry about wiggling around straps and strings and wondering if you’ve got a bit TOO much on display. And I was really pleased to see that because the clothes are specifically aimed at breastfeeding rather than maternity wear they’re more fitted, rather than giving you that ‘still six months pregnant’ look that some (most of my current wardrobe, sadly) nursing tops and dresses can have.

One thing the photographs didn’t make totally clear was how you actually get to your boobs once you’re in the dress. It’s often hard to tell looking at pictures how a top or a dress will actually work in practice. But again, not a problem because Milk & Mummy – unlike, well, I think EVERY other site selling breastfeeding clothes to be honest – have a ‘nursing access’ section which details exactly how you can free yourself for feeding. I’ve never had an ’empire line access’ feeding dress before but it looked like it would work well.

So, thanks to Milk & Mummy who gave me a discount on the dress, I felt very gorgeous indeed for Britmumslive Day 2.

The dress arrived really quickly once I’d ordered it and was packaged well – I kind of didn’t want to open it in case a small child with sticky hands came by and jumped on it! But I DID want to see what it looked and felt like, so once they were all safely in bed I got it out and gave it a quick try. The material is heavier than I expected but it has a lovely quality feel to it and it’s still very breathable – which is exactly what I needed in a venue full of 600 people in summertime! I also love the way it skims rather than clings, accentuating curves without showing off any wobbly bits. The length is perfect for me too; being on the shorter side of average I do sometimes find maxi dresses are dragging on the floor but not this one, it is just right.

So I stashed it in my bag, wrapped up safely again, and when the day came and I put it on I felt great. I know appearances aren’t everything, but then again when you’re meeting a lot of people for the first time they kind of ARE…so it was lovely to feel happy with what I was wearing. And by a complete coincidental stroke of luck it really matched well with Little B’s Miniclub dress that I got her too!

In terms of feeding, the empire line access worked really well – I didn’t have to fiddle around and whenever I was feeding Little B it wasn’t obvious at all. I got lots of lovely compliments about the dress and lots of envious glances from other breastfeeding mummies too!

So – £49 for a breastfeeding dress – it’s not the cheapest made-for-feeding clothing you can buy. But I’ve worn it three times already and it still looks great, it washes well, it doesn’t need ironing (HUGE bonus) and it makes feeding whilst looking and feeling good incredibly easy, and really I can’t recommend it more.

Even better, Milk & Mummy have kindly offered me £40 to spend on their site for one lucky reader to find out for themselves the difference a well fitted, well thought out breastfeeding top or dress can make. So if you fancy giving it a try for yourself, just enter using the rafflecopter below and keep your fingers crossed… good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

