Pumping in a formal dress?

okay, so every year in november there’s a formal event that i go to called the marine corps ball. it’s basically a big happy birthday to the marines. being a ball, i have to wear a nice, long dress. last year i didn’t have any trouble (except for squeezing my big bum into one), but this year i have an extra accessory - my pump. i need some tips on how to wear it discreetly with my dress. included in the post is a picture of the dress i plan on wearing this year to help with any ideas.
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My husband’s cousin’s wife wears a pump.
When she got married to my husband’s cousin, she just got a dress with extra bust room- and put it there. Mind you, she’s not exactly flat chested, but she just squeezed it in somehow.
Seems the only way to go. Where she put the cannula, I didn’t ask, but I am guessing that won’t matter so much.

Is that an option for you?

The dress is BEAUTIFUL!!!

I definitely do not have the option that Lane suggested (it looks hilarious when I try to wear my pump in a bra). BUT… I do have some experience with other solutions.

I wore a pump for my wedding last year, and I had a pocket sewn into the inside of the dress. That’s one way to go if there is an inner layer under the dress (I couldn’t tell from the picture).

Another thing that i use sometimes is called the “Thigh Thing”, which is a tight piece of fabric that you wear around your thigh. You can either clip is to your underwear OR it might just stay up. BUT I have found that this slips down if I move around a lot.

SO another option (and one that I am planning to do) is to buy a comfy slip and have a pocket sewn into it. I think that a knee length slip could work… and since the dress is not tight around the bottom, it would not be visible. To make sure that the pump doesn’t fall out, I’m going to have a top and bottom slap and be able to close the pocket with a button or velcro. This way, you can use the same slip with multiple dresses!!!

Also, depending on how low the pocket is (in the slip or the dress), you can access if without excusing yourself to the bathroom. At our wedding I lifted my skirt up under the table and accessed my pump (I recommend long tubing for this option).

ok. so i think the bra option is a yes for anyonee! im only a b and i can totally rock the bra thing. butttt i dont put mine in the cup. i take the clip or holster off and then i put it in the part in the front that connects in the front and just slide it in so the tubing goes down and bravo! perfecto! lol i think its just as comfortable as anything else. lemme know what you decide on. goooood luckk =]

that’s actually how i like to wear it when i’m not wearing jeans, especially to bed. you can’t even tell it’s there when it’s hooked into the front. i don’t need a bra with the dress though since the upper part has boning to support me but i’m almost thinking that since it does stay nice and snug there i may just as well have it hooked into the bust of the dress facing inward. if i want to make an effort i could even add in a little loop for it to hook to so no one can see the clip. the dress is up at my mother’s house right now though, so i can’t see how it looks with the pump. >_<</body>

It is a gorgeous dress! it’s beautiful on you.

I’ve worn my pump a number of ways with gowns. Depending on the cut of the dress, it’s either stuffed in with the ‘girls’, in a leg thingy + garter to ensure the thingy stays up, or in a pocket, if the gown has one. In that case, I have a small opening made in the pocket, so I can string the tubing & connection through it. I never thought of the idea of a pocket in a slip - wil have to try that!

When in strapless or spaghetti strap formal wear, I use a “leg pouch”. I ordered it from Minimed. It is lycra with velcro (so be careful, it does snag your hose if you’re not properly attached) and a pouch that the pump fits into. I think all pumps are about the same size. It also comes in a couple of colors. You can wear it closer to your knee and is quite a bit easier to deal with than your bra if you don’t have/use a remote control for your bolus delivery (imagine reaching down into your bra at dinner… he,he,he…). If you’re wearing a stovepipe dress you can turn your pump toward the inside of your leg and no one will ever know it’s there. If it does make a brief appearance while dancing, it looks like a garter :wink:

Speak for yourself and anyone with bigger boobs than me. No matter what bra I wear or how I position it, I end up looking like I have a third mutant rectangular boob or some rectangular mutant armpit growth.

If you wear stockings, you can tuck it in there. I really like the thigh highs from Victoria’s Secret. The pump stays very nicely in the band.

Or get a thigh or leg thing. I have both and have used the heck out of them these last 4 years I’ve been pumping.

HAHA! Agreed Lee Ann!

I’ve been told by many that you can wear the pump in your bra, even if you don’t have big boobs… I also look like a mutant with the pump in my bra… so what does that say about the size of mine… ?

I’m glad that it works great for some!! My pump is easier to hide around my waist or thighs!