Rating: - Sooooo convinient...
The material is thin and breathable. It stretches enough so that even when I went up to a D cup, it still fit (ordered a large). It was very helpful during night time feedings. I wish I ordered more.
Rating: - Bra
Did not receive item in mail but got a full refund quick. Good service.
Rating: - BEST sleep bra/hanging out at home
AMAZING! BEST $20 i ever spent. How can such a comfy bra make my boobs looks so good? No dreaded uni-boob look and so comfy!!!! Gives great support (I am a 34 C) and stretches amazing for when i get engorged in the morning. Love how it covers the majority of my breasts and gives me support. Also looks good, does not looks like an ugly sports bra in the front. BUY IT. wish i had gotten it in the begging instead of wearing my medela seemless to bed (great bra, but not for bed if your used to not wearing any bra to bed).
Rating: - Pure comfort!
I bought this nursing bra for my third baby. It was very comfortable and nursing was easy at night.
Rating: - Sleep bras are a must, and this is a great, affordable one
With my first baby, I hadn't really heard of sleep bras. At the beginning, when I was leaking and need to wear nursing pads 24/7, I just slept in my regular nursing bra. It wasn't terribly comfortable, and my top breast tended to "fall out the side," but I didn't really know there was another option. Once I was done with leaking at about 4 months, I just stopped wearing a bra to bed.
But when I was pregnant with my second daughter, I read that wearing a supportive bra round the clock while nursing can really help to minimize sagging later on. Now I am not overly vain, but still this appealed to me. So I went to Medela, because they were my favorite regular nursing bra, and I wasn't disappointed.
The Medela bra is a very thin, cotton and spandex, material. It is tagless (although the printed info on the back doesn't last more than a couple washings, so be sure to remember the washing instructions!). It is a pullover style with a racerback style and elastic around all the edges (neckline and armholes) for a really nice fit. It holds everything in comfortably, but is really easy access for sleepy moms and babies! It also does a great job at a uniform fit, without creating pressure points on the breast that can lead to plugged ducts and mastitis.
After several washes it was starting to seem a little more worn out than I expected, so I stopped putting it in the dryer and that seemed to improve. (In general, items with spandex should not go in the dryer to extend their life.) Because it's thin, it dries really fast hung on a chair. I wash them in a lingerie bag to keep things from getting tangled in them and stretching them out.
I have three sleep bras, which allows me to generally have one in use, one in the wash and one on backup for when the baby hits me with a large spit-up or surprise vomit during cold season!
What was a big surprise to me was how often I also wear them outside the house. They have a nicer line than a traditional pull-down panel, so I prefer them under thinner shirts. And while they won't contain any kind of major leaking, they can absorb spare drops of milk, and provide just enough pressure to contain the side the baby isn't nursing on (after the first few months go by). I especially like wearing them under turtlenecks or bulkier clothes because they are easy to pull aside without having to fish around under my clothes for clips and hooks. They are also great when baby is teething or clingy, so you don't feel like you are clipping and unclipping your bra all day long!
My one caveat would be for larger-breasted women. I am only about 36C while nursing, and I am not sure they would provide enough support for day wear, for women who are much larger. I think they would still be fine for nighttime wear. For daytime, larger-breasted women might want a bra without spandex to provide a more reliable line underneath clothing.
Having not had them for my first baby, and purchasing them for my second, I would say that for the price, sleep bras are a worthwhile investment for comfort and convenience. I believe that whatever makes nursing easier, makes it more likely to be successful and last longer, and the Medela Sleep bra definitely fits the bill for me.