Nursing Lotus and Postpartum Lunaria
As some of you may already know, my little one had decided to make their appearance a few weeks early. I am now the happy mother of 3 boys! Baby and I are doing well but thought it would be best to take a few weeks off to recover. Good thing as I underestimated how much my cup size would increase while nursing and all but the stretchiest of bras no longer fit. Here is the first of my new stash (hopefully!) of nursing bras in my new size.
I don’t recommend taking the time to sew up a new nursing bra 4 weeks after birth as milk flow hasn’t had enough time to regulate but I NEEDED a nursing bra STAT, was tired of the type of support offered by the RTW nursing tanks, and I can whip up a Lotus in cotton lycra (to better accommodate engorging) fairly quickly. Since I had some leftover Christmas fabric from sewing up the kids’ pajamas, I decided to sew myself a matching set.
Lotus wireless bra pattern w/ nursing option and Lunaria maternity panty pattern.
I decided to go up 2 cup sizes, do a projection increase and add the nursing clasps to the internal slings. The projection increase wasn’t a necessity but my girls have been pretty sensitive to compression (even in cotton lycra) and it’ll likely accommodate the multiple layers of nursing pads a bit better [free pattern HERE]. The straps and findings were custom dyed navy for a different project but was happy that they worked well here.
The panties are my new Lunaria pattern with no adjustments. These are billed as maternity panties but work well for anyone who prefers a low front panty. I still prefer them as they pair well with waist cinchers, corsets, and postpartum belly bands. This pair features fabric bands simply because I can sew up a pair entirely on my overlocker significantly faster than my sewing machine. Same with the Lotus - all seams were constructed on my overlocker with the sewing machine only used to attach the elastics and clasps. Gotta save as much time as I can with a newborn!
Lunaria Panties with fabric bands/fold over elastic and full front/partial front options.