My boobs are awful

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I'm 20 months in to breastfeeding. Before I got pregnant was a 32 C/D cup. Pregnancy saw me go up to a 34DD. I am now a 34 GG. My boobs just didn't stop growing and are now absolutely enormous. I look down and can't even see my nipples anymore as they point to the floor. I am anxious about what they'll look like once I stop breastfeeding. I am so down about it. I can't wear the clothes I used to love and just hide away under baggy tshirts.

I guess I'm still not used to them. GG really is big for my waist size, and they're not a 'good' big.

Did anyone else experience this after breastfeeding? Should I prepare for them to be awful once I stop?

At my largest (when I was pregnant) I was a 36J+, and I have a small build.
Now I'm 32DD (way smaller than pre-pregnancy), and I've been many sizes in between, up and down. My boobs are probably objectively 'worse' than most, but then, they always were since I was a teenager.
For me any 'stretch' is MUCH worse initially whilst/after losing weight, but after a few months my skin starts 'catching up' to the smaller sizes which really surprised me.

So don't be disheartened even if it looks really loose at first, there's often some damage from pregnancy but your body is strong and can recover remarkably well.

Mine got big after each pregnancy, but they didn't droop and stayed big but not too big. I prefer them now. You might find once everything has settled down you prefer them. It's impossible to tell early on.

It's a strange experience to have your body change like that. I've had four kids and it's been odd getting used to the changes every time. If there is a big difference, you are essentially having to dress a different body type. Aside from general advice to buy things that fit properly, look around at what kinds of things other very busty women wear that look good.

They do typically go back to something close to your original size, and also size differences tend to even out - size differences are often caused by differences in milk production so once that isn't a factor it's much better.

Oh, as for time, I think after a year of finishing bf they were a good deal better, and settled by about two years.

Of course at a certain point age also comes into it.

I didn't breastfeed, but I did go from a US0 with 34D breasts to a US2 with 36G breasts. I broke my spine several times prior to children, so have a weaker frame and simply am unable to support them. The most comfortable bras I have found are from Auden, stocked by Target in the US. I got one as an emergency while working there, cheap and non lined - and the support difference was crazy... after all the expensive stuff I tried I was furious. I still desperately need to get a reduction, I just don't have time. Maybe you could shop and ship to the UK? My breasts felt not full enough for a while, but eventually (probably 10 months?) 'fit' properly again.

I also, weirdly, found gaining a little weight overall helped - almost like the weight was better distributed.

Wow they don't tell you breastfeeding ruins your boobs. There is no need to breastfeed a two year old anyway, OP your choice.

I BF for 5.5 years which a 3 months gap in between (2DC, extended BF with both).

once I stopped they shrank and looked like shriveled prunes. awful. I cried.

within a year the fatty tissue that got lost during the BF years came back and they looked as good as before. No difference.

HTH

@ukgift2016 helpful!!!! OP my boobs are different sizes which has got me down immensely over the years. My partner does not care and is stìll (irritatingly) obsessed with them. Also...find bras with removable padding and put the padding all in one cup (or buy those silicon padding things for bras). It will make you feel less self conscious about tighter tops. And...breastfeeding is what boobs are for, PP, many many mums bottle feed and are still great mums, but your comment was not supportive or helpful.

I remember how big and just painfully enormous mine felt when breastfeeding Ds2. Like others they are now so low down with all the weight at the bottom. I'm resentful of that.

@ukgift2016 it's not breastfeeding that "ruins them" it's the stretching and shrinking. I didn't breastfeed my first and my boobs were still "ruined". Also there is a need to bf until 2 as its recommended to do so until then, OP has done amazingly well to get to 20 months breastfeeding!

@ukgift2016 he's one, not two. WHO recommends breastfeeding until two years old and it is fine to breastfeed beyond. I have a family history of breast cancer and breastfeeding protects about this. The protection is accumulative. We are in the midst of a global pandemic and breastfeeding is excellent for a child's immune system - it can't hurt to continue and I don't feel that now is the right time to stop. I left an abusive relationship which meant relocating twice, 3 months of that time was spent in a women's refuge. My son has had a huge amount of upheaval in his short life, breastfeeding and me are the two constants he's had throughout. I am incredibly proud of myself for having breastfed thus far and plan to continue.

Your comment is not helpful in the slightest.

There is nothing to be done about the size. Keep moisturizing as much as possible to maintain skin elasticity. And think those big girls are doing an amazing things, they are feeding a human being.
Don't get sucked in bf debates. To each their own. I couldn't bf and tbh would only have done so for about 6 months. One of my friends bf her kids until they are about 2yo. We are still friends despite having diff views on it.

@JustC I think bf debates are really important. Some attitudes, especially in the UK are awful. Women end up covering their babies heads in hot weather, or feeding in dirty toilets, or stopping before they are ready to. I think education is key here.

Hot milk bras. Were fab after initial six months. Once feeding had settled.

[quote chromeo]@JustC I think bf debates are really important. Some attitudes, especially in the UK are awful. Women end up covering their babies heads in hot weather, or feeding in dirty toilets, or stopping before they are ready to. I think education is key here.[/quote]
Oh I didn't mean in general, I meant right now, as you were already down about the size, and I felt some posters might upset you further with what they think an adequate length of time is for bf. Of course general debates are good for exchanging opinions and opening people op to other views. Honestly was meaning to be supportive and really hope I didn't have the opposite effect. Hugs

Oh and if you think people are bad about open bfing in public and other stuff pertaining to bfing in Uk, you would be horrofied by countries like my contry of origin.

Horrified. Typo.

@JustC totally fair enough. You're probably right! I thought you meant in general. You didn't make me feel bad don't worry

Mine returned to a fairly normal size, but I always had very small boobs and they were reasonable during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I think the issue is, yours were fairly big to start with and going up to such a large cup size, means they will go pretty saggy after stopping.

It might be worth dropping a waistband size and going up a cup size to see if you get more support that way.

That aside - your boobs are not ruined. They are how they are meant to look. Most adult women (who have not had surgery) don't have boobs that look the way they looked before they had children, or even before they just got a bit older! You are in the majority, not the minority. My boobs were neat, perky 32 Cs before this and now they're huge, stretchmarked and much lower. And I'm afraid my kids are both late primary school age, so I don't think they're shrinking back.

They won't be 'awful' once you stop feeding, they will be normal. I hope you can get used to the change and start to love your body, because it's amazing.

I fed DS for 2 years and loved my boobs whilst feeding, especially when they were full.

He is 8 now and my books are back to the size they were to start with, they have lost volume at the top but don't look awful. I have found doing chest exercises helps to lift them a bit, not yet but when you are ready, when you finish feeding probably.

My boobs went up to 32F when BF (32C before) and shrank to 32B saggy and wrinkled after. I waited 9 years for them to come back which they didn’t, so I had an uplift & implants. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I went to a surgeon in Brussels who has a fantastic reputation. Much cheaper than the U.K. There is no way I could have lived the rest of my life with them as they were.

Your breasts will change after breastfeeding. I remember mine were a bit deflated after stopping, if I wore a bra that pushed them up just a little, I'd get this awful wrinkling. I'm sure I had one a bit bigger as well. Then gradually they start to look fuller and a better shape.
What I'm saying is don't look at your boobs now as that's how they'll stay. A year or even two after stopping breastfeeding for good, that will be a better indicator of your breast changes.

I breastfed my ds for approx three years as well, so my breasts had extensive use! They look pretty good now, a bit lower but then I'm about 2/3 stone heavier than pre pregnancy as well.

You have done amazingly to leave an abusive relationship and to breastfeed your child (they are separate things of course but both are achievements in different ways!)

FWIW, I think it's likely that your boobs will reduce in size eventually, not to your pre-pregnancy size, but probably not quite as big as they are now. Mine have fluctuated a lot since I got pregnant with DC1; they were huge in pregnancy and the early days of breastfeeding, went down a bit as I continued breastfeeding (I night weaned when DS was 10mo but continued breastfeeding during the day until he turned 2, then stopped gradually), and then went down a bit more after I stopped. Now I'm pregnant with DC2 they're huge again 😫
As a PP said, I think it's actually pregnancy that does it - breastfeeding probably doesn't help either but it's not the main culprit IMO!

Most importantly, I hope you're getting counselling or other support to help you rebuild your self esteem