Abstract:
A device and method including the steps of placing a flexible restraint around the mother&#39;s neck, or secured to the inside of the mother&#39;s shirt, inserting a portion of the restraint under the shirt, pulling a portion of the restraint passed a bottom edge of the shirt and passed the exterior side of the shirt, and securing the restraint so that the shirt is raised above at least one breast to facilitate nursing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a method of assisting a mother in holding her clothing above one or both of her breasts to permit her child to nurse with reduced interference from her clothing. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There are numerous clothing related inventions to assist a mother in the task of breast feeding. Some of these inventions relate to providing privacy for the mother to permit her to breast feed in public places without suffering the apprehension of prying eyes. Examples of such devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,893,171, 4,446,572 and 4,712,251. Other inventions relate to breast feeding bras such as found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,074,273, 4,878,879, and 4,875,492. But there are no inventions of which the inventor is aware that assist the mother in holding her clothing out of the way to permit the child unobstructed access to the mother&#39;s breasts. The present invention is intended to fill this gap in the art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     When a mother breast feeds her child, she must move her clothing out of the way to permit her child access to her breasts. Frequently, this is done by simply lifting her top above her breasts. The problem is that the top tends to fall back down thereby interfering with the nursing child&#39;s access to the source of nourishment. This can be annoying to both the baby and the mother. To combat the tendency of the top to slide down, the mother has to manually hold her top out of the way, or repeatedly push her top back up when it slides down, or take off her top entirely. Such solutions are inconvenient and somewhat annoying for the mother. The purpose of the present invention is to solve this problem by providing a device and method that can be used to quickly and conveniently hold the mother&#39;s top above her breasts during the nursing function. This frees both of the mother&#39;s hands to more securely hold the baby in the proper position for greater comfort and security for both the mother and child. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred retaining necklace used with the method of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a frontal view depicting the first step in the method; 
     FIG. 3 is a frontal view depicting the second step in the method; 
     FIG. 4 is a frontal view depicting the third step in the method; 
     FIG. 5 is a frontal view depicting the fourth step in the method; 
     FIG. 6 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the retaining necklace; 
     FIG. 7 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the retaining necklace; 
     FIG. 8 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the retaining necklace; 
     FIG. 9 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the invention incorporated into a shirt; 
     FIG. 10 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the invention incorporated into a shirt shown in the restrained position; 
     FIG. 11 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the retaining device depicting a restraining strap secured to the loop; and 
     FIG. 12 is a frontal view of an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein two fastening means are secured together without the restraining strap. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 depicts the preferred retaining necklace or loop  10  used in the method of the invention. The necklace can be a standard loop  10  as shown in FIG. 1, or it can have different shapes such as two or more closed loops joined together as shown in FIGS. 6 or  7 . FIG. 2 is a frontal view of a mother  12  with a top portion  16  of the retaining necklace  10  placed around the mother&#39;s neck  13 . FIG. 3 depicts the mother  12  wearing a shirt or top  14 . The shirt  14  has an interior surface  20 , an exterior surface  22 , and a bottom edge  24 . In FIG. 3, the retaining necklace  10  is shown being worn under the shirt  12  in contact with the interior surface  20  and a bottom portion  18  of the retaining necklace  10  is shown extending passed the bottom edge  24  of the top  14 . FIG. 4 depicts the bottom portion  18  of the retaining necklace  10  having been placed around the mother&#39;s neck  13  so that the retaining necklace  10  passes the bottom edge  24  and exterior surface  22  of the top  14 . When in this position, the top portion  16  and the bottom portion  18  of the necklace  10  are in close proximity to each other behind the mother&#39;s neck  13 . FIG. 5 depicts the mother  12  nursing a child  26  while using the retaining necklace to hold the shirt  14  out of interference with the child  26   
     There are various ways that the retaining necklace can be designed while still falling within the scope of the invention. For example, in FIG. 6, a first loop and a second loop  30  are intertwined. First loop  28  having a top portion  32  is placed around the mother&#39;s neck  13  and second loop  30  having a bottom portion  34  is placed under the shirt  14 . Just as with the preferred embodiment, the bottom portion  34  is pulled passed the bottom edge  24  of the shirt  14  to pass back along the exterior surface  22  of the shirt  14  so that the bottom portion  34  of the second loop  30  can be secured around the mother&#39;s neck  13 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the first and second loops  28 ,  30  are connected together by extension  36 . The loops are used in the same way as described for FIG. 6, except that the extension  36  contacts the bottom edge  24  of the top  14  to lift the top  14  of the mother during nursing. This and other such variations on the design of the retaining necklace do not change the basic method of use that constitutes the invention. 
     In FIG. 8, an embodiment is shown having a loop  38 . The loop  38  has a top portion  40  that is positioned by the neck  13 , and the loop  38  has a bottom portion  46 . A strip  42  is secured to, or integrally formed with, the loop  38 , leaving sufficient space between the strip  42  and the top portion  40  of the loop for the mother&#39;s neck  13  to comfortably fit. Secured to the strip  42 , preferably at its midpoint  43 , is a first attachment means  44  such as a button hole, velcro®-like material, snap, hook, string tie, or the like. There is a corresponding second attachment means  48  suitable for mating with said first attachment means  44 . This embodiment can also function by eliminating the first attachment means  44  and making the second attachment means a simple string that ties around the strip  42 . 
     In FIG. 11, a variation on the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is disclosed. In FIG. 11, a restraining strip  58  is secured to loop  38 . The loop fits about the neck  13 . A restraining strip  58  is secured or integrally formed with said loop  38 . The restraining strip  58  has a first end  60  and a second end  62 . Located near the first end  60  is a first attachment point  70  having a button hole, velcro®-like material, snap, hook, clip, string tie, or the like. There is a corresponding attachment point  72  at said second end  62  suitable for mating with said first attachment point  70 . During operation, the loop  38  is placed around the neck, and the restraining strip  58  is looped under the bottom edge of the shirt, and the first and second attachment points  70 ,  72  are attached together to permit nursing of the baby. The embodiments in FIGS. 8 and 11 are especially advantageous for mothers with long hair because it permits mothers to use the invention without the invention becoming entangled in their hair during when using it. 
     In FIGS. 9 and 10, a shirt  50  is shown having an interior side  52 , an exterior side  54 , and a bottom edge  56 . A restraining strip  58  is sewn, or otherwise secured, to the interior side  52  of the shirt  50  at a first end  60 . The first end  60  is attached to the interior side  52  in proximity to a neck opening  64  in the shirt  50 . The restraining strip also has a second end  62 . Located near the second end  62  is a first securing means  66  such as a button hole, velcro®-like material, snap, clip, or the like. On the exterior surface  54  in proximity to the neck opening  64 , there is a corresponding second securing means  68  suitable for mating with said first securing means  66 . The restraining strip  58  can also be detachable from the shirt  50 . During operation, the restraining strip  58  is looped under the bottom edge  56  of the shirt  50 , and the first and second securing means  66 ,  68  are attached together to permit nursing of the baby. 
     The materials used for construction of the retaining necklace can be any material that has sufficient flexibility to permit the necklace to fit around the mother&#39;s neck and loop under the shirt to extend around the mother&#39;s neck a second time. Cotton or silk would be preferred for their softness, but any sufficiently flexible material would serve the purpose. 
     FIG. 12 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention having a first fastening means  74  in proximity to the neck opening  64  on the exterior side  54  and a second fastening means  76  in proximity to the bottom edge  56 . The second fastening means  76  can be on the interior side  52  or exterior side  54  of the shirt. The first and second fastening means can be any suitable fastening device that can be detachably secured together such as snaps, hook, string tie, velcro®, a button and button hole, and the like. When the first and second fastening means are detachably secured together, the shirt is effectively lifted out of the way to permit nursing. 
     While the invention as described in connection with its preferred embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to those embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.