Wait a minute... I have to wear a bra to bed?

Four days after my first baby, Harrison, was born in August of 2018, my milk came in.

So much of childbirth and its aftermath is practically indescribable, so incomparable to any other sensation a person can experience that it's hard to put into words. The otherworldly pain of labor that comes in waves, hitting you like a freight train and then abruptly retreating, like, "Nothing to see here, folks!" The abject terror that comes with attempting your first postpartum bowel movement (if you know, you know). The bizarreness of startling awake in a hospital room the first night after the baby is born, not realizing where you are, and then suddenly remembering that you now are responsible not just for yourself but for another human, and that little human is crying – really, really loudly.

For me, the whole "milk coming in" thing falls into that "unexplainable" category (but I'll try). After days of wondering whether anything's even happening while the baby gnaws on your nipple without pause (how can a tiny, toothless creature cause so much hurt?) – something finally happens. In my case, it felt like two electrical currents coursing through each side of my body. Pins and needles everywhere. Milk everywhere. And it happened overnight, in one of the very few moments I'd gotten a chance to close my eyes and fall asleep.

I looked down at my chest to see two giant, wet circles on my nursing nightgown (an expensive, luxurious gift that was now stained and ruined for good). I felt the sheets beneath me and realized they were soaked. Thus began my journey into the world of nightly milk leakage – and the disappointing lack of comfortable solutions.

Here's what I learned: You need nursing pads to absorb all of that extra milk – no way around it. The disposable kind are cheap, but they're scratchy and uncomfortable. There are some softer, reusable kinds, but those don't work quite as well (I consistently leaked through them). For both of those options, you need to wear a nursing bra to keep the pads in place. And that was where I drew the line.

I could hardly stand wearing a bra in the daytime, let alone in those critical, precious few hours of sleep a newborn allows. After scouring the internet and asking every mom I knew if there was a better way, I realized that a) there was not; b) everybody wished there were; and c) I had an opportunity to create something so much better.

Introducing the first and only breastfeeding sleepwear with washable, removable pads – no bra necessary

A few months after Harrison was born and the new mom brain fog was finally lifting, I got to work turning my idea – a bra-free, leak-free sleep experience – into a reality.

I found a freelance fashion designer on Upwork and hired her to transform my sloppy sketches into a technical drawing. That was more than two and a half years ago. In that time, I've worked with multiple designers, prototypers and an awesome woman-owned factory in Minnesota to make what I'm sure is the best, most comfortable breastfeeding sleepwear on the market. (I also had my second baby, a girl named Madeline, in February of 2020!)

Throughout this process, I've been surveying and interviewing hundreds of breastfeeding moms to make sure I'm creating a product not just for myself, but one that fits the needs and lifestyles of moms everywhere.

Here are a few of the features that make Mamalux so special:

• Soft, ultra-absorbent, contoured pads fasten to the inside of the dress via our own unique hook-and-loop style lining – eliminating the need to wear a bra. This keeps them in place when you nurse, unlike those regular nursing pads that always bunch up or fall out of your bra when you feed your baby.

• Super-stretchy, sustainable bamboo fabric makes it easy to pull one side across and nurse in the middle of the night. It's also OEKO-TEX® certified, which means it's completely free of any harmful chemicals – safe for you and your baby.

• Handy pockets ensure you'll always have a place to put your phone or a pacifier when you've got your arms full.

• The figure-flattering shape is designed to make new moms look and feel good. (Of course a postpartum belly is perfectly natural, but you still don't want anything clinging to it!)

And, most importantly... this product works. I've made sure of that by testing it, over and over again, with real breastfeeding moms.

It's almost perfect, and I can't wait to share more details and photos with you when I launch the Kickstarter campaign this fall. Until then, though, I need your help.