So there’s a new line of lingerie out. That’s a development which would fly pretty well beneath the TODAY Moms radar, were it not for the fact You-lingerie founder Uyo Okebie-Eichelberger started it because she was looking for “beautiful nursing lingerie” and couldn’t find it. Um… excuse me? Why would someone look for such a thing?
On her website, Okebie-Eichelberger writes that she was looking for something that exuded sensuality. “Sensuality” was a word that never crossed my mind during the nursing experience. Instead I got the less-than-divine sensation of a breast pump whose rhythmic sucking made me feel like I was the bovine beauty of the local dairy.
You-lingerie doesn’t only sell nursing lingerie, but also maternity lingerie. And on first impression, ‘sexy maternity’ sounds kind of like 'jumbo shrimp,' 'military intelligence,' and 'amicable divorce' -- classic oxymorons.
But I have to side with Okebie-Eichelberger on this one.
I’ll come out of the closet to the extent I can fit through the door (I’m due with my third child this week, after all!), and say, yes, I wore some maternity lingerie back in the first and second trimesters, before I felt I bore a strong resemblance to Moby Dick. Did I feel like “Who are we fooling here?” Sure: I knew that putting on maternity lingerie wasn’t going to instantly transform me into Megan Fox.
But did I also feel that, because I was in my first and second trimesters, the pressure was eased just a little bit in terms of trying to look like a Victoria’s Secret model? Yes, I did. Unlike in non-pregnant life, I wasn’t supposed to have flat abs! Hallelujah! I felt like I had a degree of leeway, and as a result, a degree of amused comfort, which was actually kind of nice. Add an incredibly supportive husband to the mix, and it’s not such a bad idea to throw a little sensuality into the hormonal pre- and post-partum mix. Hats off to Okebie-Eichelberger!
What about you? Would you wear maternity/nursing lingerie?
Jordana Horn is a TODAY Moms contributor, lawyer, journalist, writer, mother and expectant mother. Sometimes, she even sleeps.
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