Medela Rest Bra

596 of 597 people found the following review helpful:

Best Sleep Bra for Nursing Moms, December 13, 2007

The Medela Sleep Bra is by far the most comfortable sleep bra I have purchased and I have purchased many. Unfortunately it is difficult to know what will work best for you without trying every nursing bra out there.

The back is in an easy to wear racerback style with no clasps to mess with or lay on uncomfortably at night when you are trying to sleep. You just pull it over your head to put it on. The cups are draw back style so when you are up in the middle of the night to nurse your little one you don’t have to fuss with clasps.

As some reviewers have mentioned, the fabric is thin, but I like that feature of this bra. It is 95% cotton with 5% spandex for that stretch we all need at times. You can put nursing pads in the cups, but I find them uncomfortable so I prefer to go without. If I get a little leakage during the night, it dries fairly quickly.

The sizing is on the small side, so if you are on a border size, I would order up. I’m a 38B and purchased the Medium at first. This one seemed too small. I exchanged for a Large and I’m much happier. In fact, I would say it is perfect. The manufacturers sizing chart isn’t currently available on this page so I’ll list it here.

32-34 A, B, & C = Small
36-38B, 36C, 32-34D, 34DD = Medium
40B, 3-40C, 36-38D, 36DD = Large
42B, 42C, 40D, 38-40DD = Extra Large

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

Sleep bras are a must, and this is a great, affordable one, March 21, 2008

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.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

Fantastic, May 12, 2007

This is an awesome bra. Extremely comfortable. Easy to sleep in. I forget I have it on sometimes. I am currently a size 40C and size large fits me very comfortably. I also got an XL because in a couple of months, once a become a little more pregnant, the large won’t fit anymore.

Another nice thing about this bra is that it actually keep your “ladies” separated. No uni-boob here.
The back is a “sports bra” style so the straps will not fall off your shoulders. No hooks in the back, very easy to put on and pull over your head. The back will not scrunch up when you put it on.

This doesn’t add enough support to wear out and about. But it does give you enough support at home.

I’m sorry I didn’t find this bra when I had my first baby. I struggled with other bras, from Motherhood Maternity; not anymore! This is definitely a great buy.