Nursing bras (especially for those who are larger of cup)

One of my pet peeves during pregnancy was the apparent lack of decent maternity bras that actually support. I may be a bit of an idealist but I felt like wanting a bra in the right size that actually made me feel supported, fit properly and didn't give me the dreaded monoboob was not too much to ask. Unfortunately it took me quite a while to find it.

I gained an above-average amount of weight during pregnancy (apparently Young Sir is quite fond of hot chips... That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) and so the need for new bras kicked in pretty early. Initially I ordered some Cake maternity bras online in the next two sizes up from what I was wearing, but they were hopeless - monoboob all the way and no real structure to speak of.

At that point I thought perhaps I ought to try getting fitted, so went to Bendon - but I was already out of their maternity sizes. Next: Kirkcaldies - the lady was helpful but the maternity bras were awful - I tried a few and eventually bought a normal bra in the size I needed and called it a day.

I kept hunting and researching online, and found an Elomi underwired nursing bra that looked quite good, so ordered one from the US. I think this is a good bra structure-wise, but it cut in under the arms on me (despite a seemingly good fit) so it didn't last the distance either. Lots of rave reviews from others though so might work well for some.

I visited Avokado when we happened to be in Auckland in hunt of both regular and sports bras - I did buy a Panache sports bra from them (highly recommended!), no thanks to the moderately rude saleslady who clearly didn't think pregnancy and exercise went together. It's a lovely shop and has many excellent reviews online so I think my experience was anomalous but it was pretty frustrating after especially carving time out of our holiday to go there! They also failed to provide any decent maternity bras (by my scoring), though they do have lots of options.

Finally, when I was about 35 weeks pregnant we visited Christchurch and I went to The Fitting Room (where are Wellington's specialty bra shops?). These guys have great customer service and a pretty huge catalogue and visiting them proved more fruitful - they sold me a much needed (and now well-worn) nursing singlet for night time (this Hot Milk design), and showed me an Anita brand nursing bra with an underwire, which I liked but they said it didn't come in my size (they had one cup size down).

Fortunately my obsession with this quest led me to Googling the brand, and I discovered that I could get the larger size from overseas, so I ordered one from the aptly (though not very creatively!) named NursingBra-Shop.co.uk. Once my milk had come in and supply settled down I bought two more - they are really quite good. Not cheap but monoboob free! The fabric of the cup is quite thin but it seems to do the job so I'm not complaining.

My takeaways from this process are:

• Don't bother with maternity bras in early pregnancy - I went through at least four bra sizes during pregnancy; even if you're not as extreme as me you'll probably experience some change toward the end. 
• Don't underestimate the value of a set of bra extenders! Your rib cage will do weird things and having an extender stashed in your bag can gain you a whole lot of comfort if you're having a squeezy day. 
• Many folk will recommend steering clear of underwires during pregnancy and nursing, due to rapid change in size and the possibility of blocked milk ducts. Because I am yet to find a supportive alternative to the underwire and reject the hypothesis that I have to have a monoboob for the next year, my advice is to monitor your size frequently and upsize whenever you need to, getting properly fitted if you can. I may just be lucky but I have worn underwires throughout, and 4.5 months into breastfeeding I have not had any issues with mastitis or blocked ducts. 
• Remember that (if you plan to breastfeed for a year or more) that you will get a lot of wear out of whatever you buy - so spending a bit more to get something that's comfortable and suits your needs isn't extravagant or silly (though you can save by shopping around if you're tight like me!). 
• Don't go for a fitting without emotional support nearby - hopefully you'll have a great experience but if you're feeling fragile about your changing body a slightly insensitive salesperson might makes things a bit too much to bear. 
• And hopefully (likely if you sit in the A-D cup range normally) you'll find it much easier to find something suitable! 

Mums who've been through it all - did you have any particular standout bras you'd recommend? Did you find it difficult to find the right thing or did your local department store have what you needed?