To be considering a boob job after breastfeeding?

[shatteredboo]

I have been feeding my DS for nearly 12 months now and have now got incredibly wonky boobs as a result. We're talking at least 2-3 cup sizes and its really starting to get me down now. I am being a completely vacuous fool for even considering this? This sort of thing is completely out of character for me and I've shocked myself that I'm thinking about it.

DS does favour one side more than the other as a result that side is much, much bigger. I have tried to encourage him to feed more on the other side to increase supply etc but nothing is working. I really do look ridiculous. I know that when i do stop feeding some normality may return, but the fact is, the smaller side is far smaller than it was pre pregnancy. Its like an empty sack.

I am expecting to get an earful from some of you to some degree - I know no ones body looks the same post pregnancy but surely I'm not being unrealistic to expect my boobs to be at least within a cup size of one another? Am I???

I just feel like my body has been through enough already - third degree tearing, I suffered severe nerve damage (due to hospital negligence) during birth and couldnt walk for months and I developed vitiligo during pregnancy (triggered by hormones) which has got progressively worse and spread across my hands, chest and arms. (oh, and it has also taken away the pigment of half of one of my nipples....) on top of stretch marks etc etc which are part and parcel of most pregnancies obvs.

It just makes me feel really shit that I might have to pad for the rest of my life, and be careful of what I wear that might draw attention to the difference in size. And bye bye bikinis on any hols i might have.

Am I being a dick for caring so much???

No you are not being a dick

If you are sure your family is complete then start gathering info, research whether available on NHS or privately funded.

Etc.

Shan't bleat on about the dangers inherent in any surgery, you're an adult yadda yadda.

I think you should wait. After you stop bf, they will change again. Give it 2/3 years and see what happens.

Oh yes ofc wait til you have finished bf and boobs settle down. Forgot that bit eek.

Skimmed through your post ,but at least wait until after you've stopped breast feeding (obviously ). I don't think you're being stupid though. I didn't breast feed but for some reason my boobs are emptier than before I had my two kids. I have lost a lot if weight so that probably doesn't help. I would love to get a boob job but I'm too tight with my money and I want do if isn't strong enough. I wouldn't be getting it out of vanity ,but would make me feel a hundreds time better than myself which would therefore help my confidence. My friend had a boob job as she was very pear shaped (in her eyes ,I never noticed ) and she never has them out ,always wears high cut tops etc...she just likes the shape they give. Some people will moan about you getting it done out of vanity but I don't see it being any different from someone getting a nose job or scar reduction it's just that boons are so highly sexualised that if a woman wants to change them it's assumed it's for other men etc ...
Oh and also make sure you don't want anymore. You'd probably find it wouldn't have any effect on your implants if you breast fed again but if they did you would end up having to fork out for another one.

Wait. Mine are completely different after weaning.

I agree with others - wait. You may well be pleasantly surprised with how they end up.

I didn't breast feed but for some reason my boobs are emptier than before I had my two kids.

It's not breastfeeding that "ruins" your breasts. Pregnancy has a lot to answer for. :)

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. I will of course wait until i've finished feeding, I'm just really not sure the size difference will rectify itself. I'm really not interested in having massive comedy boobs or anything like that. Just ones that are roughly the same size....

Wait till you've finished feeding, but....

This happened to me, but it started to become apparent during pregnancy, when bf they weren't so bad. When I finished they were several capsizes different.

I had a bi lateral reduction through the NHS and it was very straightforward.

It's nearly always the pregnancy that buggers them up in this was and not the breast feeding.

A good bra fitted to the bigger boom and a gel insert can do wonders in the mean time though.

I say go for it if you want to. Life's too short to suffer unnecessarily. Your body has done its work for others, so if you want to make a choice for you, do it.

Just take your time, be safe, be cautious, don't be afraid to do it if you're comfortable or pull out if you're not.

I agree with the others - leave it at least a year after you finish feeding.

I was quite lopsided but evened up eventually. After I stopped feeding, my boobs deflated and were soft and floppy for a while. After about 6 months they started to plump out again and went back to almost their pre-pregnancy state (not quite so perky, but they had fed twins for 2+ years). They're bigger than pre-pregnancy too.

So, no, I don't think you're being unreasonable to consider a boob job. But don't rush it, or you might find your boobs change post-op and you end up wonky again!

I think you should wait for a good while after you have stopped bf before you make a decision.

When I was bfing dd my boobs were sometimes impressively huge sometimes small and floppy. I thought they would probably stay small and floppy once I stopped bfing and I was quite sad about it.

Now a year after finishing bfing my boobs are exactly as they were before I got pregnant. It did take a while for them to fill out though. I am quite surprised as I assumed they would never be 'normal' again.

I am 42 btw so it is not due to youth either

ditto wait. I bf 2 dcs for a total of 3 years. My poor boobs were very forlorn afterwards - I would 'joke' to DH that I was wearing them at a jaunty angle. Thankfully, they have recovered in both volume and symmetry. Like you, I considered a boob job, but I'm glad I didn't.

Sorry this is off topic slightly but have you been to the doctor about the loss of skin pigment?

I have a couple of patches on my back and the doctor has said it is a yeast infection that can normally be cleared up.

As for the boob job, I think it is very a personal choice. Mine have shrunk since DD3 was born and its not something I have ruled out. I don't want then huge just a bit fuller would be nice.

In the mean time would it be possible to express from the least favoured side? I didn't manage to breast feed for long so don't know much about it.

I wouldnt worry about cup size, I would only get them done if looked lifeless and shrivelled up. I would rather wear a pad than cut boob job, but my boobs have never bothered me, I have never seen them as an asset or other wise.

I know some people who had boob job done after BF and they feel lots better

poor how long do we have to wait for?

research whether available on NHS

budgets are very tight and I'd be astounded if you get this on the NHS - not really a sound use of taxpayer's money!

Here is an example of funding procedures - psychological distress specifically excluded

www.haringeyccg.nhs.uk/downloads/policies/PoLCE%20Policy.pdf

I researched the whole shebang after i stopped feeding. Then i decided that spending 4k on elective surgery should at least be after a good six months thought. The six months made a massive difference, which i put down to hormones settling etc and after a mumsnet bra intervention i found they looked easily as good as before. I think the right size and shape bra made a big difference - balconettes are brilliant for lifting everything up. Set yourself a six-twelve month thinking letiod, hell even start putting the money away, and if you still want it, go for it. If you dont, go on holiday.

Sorry ,wasn't suggesting breast feeding ruins them. But my boobs never got any bigger than they've usually been ,and because I never breast fed it's not as if they got bigger then so so don't know why they've changed. Wouldn't mind so much if actually gone up at least a cup size or something ,lol.

Mine were massively different sizes as dc2 only fed from one side. You can't tell the difference now, in all honesty.

You could end up paying a fortune and then still ending up with different sizes when the tissue settles back to normal (which can take a year or two. You have to go through that floppy empty crisp bag stage and after a while you end up with normal breast tissue again and they fill out).

That said, I'm 43 and know a fair amount of women post breast cancer who haven't bothered with reconstruction, so maybe that's colouring my 'it isn't really that big a deal' view.

But if you have the money and the aesthetics are that important to you, sure. It seems a bit weird to be considering a cosmetic procedure when the body parts in question are working to perfection and proving their design brilliance, but I guess that's where the mind and western culture steps in to make us question whether we are quite externally perfect enough to function in a society where we are judged on our looks - even as a breast feeding mother. Fascinating.

I actually don't think more surgery would be any sort of cure for the trauma you have already been through tbh. And I speak as someone with a similar history, and a brain-damaged baby with a life-long disability as a result. I think you are seeing this procedure as some sort of cure-all for other things, and it just isn't.

I can't remember how long exactly. I'd estimate 6 months plus

I feel your pain, my bfeeding DS is just turned one and my tits are a disaster. One is at least 3 cup sizes bigger (his favourite side) and the other is a floppy bag of skin. I can't and won't ever be able to afford surgery but if money was no object I definitely would!
But hey, it's worth it. Although I won't be topless sunbathing anytime soon.

You won't hear anything from me. One of the things that made me feel better about not breastfeeding was that my boobs wouldn't get wonky.

But when I was told by my doctor when my boobs were coming in at different rates that it is normal for boobs to be a cup size different and not symmetrical. They evened out, but I think the fact stands that alot of women do have uneven breasts.

For now while you wait and see, can you get a padded bra that disguises their size difference for now?

I bf for 6 weeks and the side that DS preferred is bigger, nearly 2 years later. They've also stayed much bigger than pre pregnancy.

I would hate the disparity between them and totally get where you're coming from. Hopefully it will improve for you when you stop.

Mine were awful when I finished breastfeeding. About a year in, they are full and mostly perky. I really thought they would be saggy forever.