Review: Bravado Bliss Nursing Bra

I couldn't believe my luck when I was given the opportunity to try out a new nursing bra! I spent most of S's first year wearing boring t-shirt type ones that faded and went a bit funny. They weren't very glamorous, but they did the job.

When the new bra arrived, I got a bit excited.

Before I had  S, had what you might call a gargantuan collection of bras. In fact, there is still a black bag full of bras in my cupboard, because I can't bring myself to admit they'll probably never fit me again. I love underwear.

You know when you've got a good bra, because you don't want to put it in the wash and wear one of the other ones for a couple of days while it's washing and drying. This is one of those bras.

You know when you get in from a long, hard day at work and have a bath, and just want to put on comfy clothes, so you search out your most comfortable bra? This is that bra.

It doesn't look like a nursing bra! Yes, sure, there's no underwiring, and it has the clips for easy access like other nursing bras - but the material is thick and shiny. And it holds much more firmly than other nursing bras I've tried. This is their Flexi-Fit™ support,  which gives "flexible yet structured underbreast support." The cups are also moulded foam, rather than just material, meaning they're that little bit thicker, and that little bit more able to hide the peanuts you're smuggling down there.

Having spent a depressingly long time wearing nursing bras that were basically glorified crop tops, my boobs hanging somewhere mid-belly, this bra lifted them up to where they used to sit, way back when I wasn't even pregnant yet. It works like an underwired bra, but without the wires. 

The bra is also seamless, which is amazing. It's so comfortable, there are no random seams irritating my skin. Unlike some bras, where you feel a massive relief taking them off, I could wear this one all day and still feel perfectly comfortable. 

The bra also comes with extenders, to add an extra 1"-1¾" to the back size.

One detail I'm sure all women who remember that feeling during the first few weeks of breastfeeding will love: the clip at the top of the cup can hold up to 60lbs! I know so many women who've suffered in that first few weeks with engorged breasts so heavy the clips on their nursing bra broke, and they had to shuffle off and buy a new one. 

The cups also have a "gentle stretch" feature, meaning that they will grow (to an extent) with your boobs - so you don't get that horrible double boob look when baby's gone a bit longer between feeds..

The last detail I want to draw your attention to is nothing short of a stroke of genius, as far as I'm concerned. The bra comes with a little kit with instructions and two little plastic S fasteners - so when you've finished nursing, you don't have to chuck the bra away. You follow the clever instructions, remove the clip, and replace it with this and hey presto, you've got a normal bra. 

Because I've been a bit slack with my writing of this review, I can also report that the bra washes well and doesn't look faded and nasty after a month or so. I've had mine for two months now, and it still looks the same as it did when it arrived.

The Bravado Bliss Nursing Bra comes in sizes 32A - 46K so it's likely they'll have it in your size. It normally costs £33.80, which sounds a bit steep, but when you take into account how well it wears, I think it lives up to that price well. You could buy one for half that price, and then have to buy another one after a month because it's stretched out of shape or your boobs have changed shape slightly.

All in all, I'm very impressed with this bra. In fact, I'm a bit in love with it. It probably needs another wash, but I don't want to take it off.

Disclosure: I received my Bravado Bliss Nursing Bra for free in exchange for writing this review, but that was not dependent on my writing a good review. The views in this piece are my own.