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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Boobs back to normal - when?

30 replies

Elf · 23/08/2002 22:22

How long does it take for your boobs to go back to a steady size once you've stopped breastfeeding? I stopped 3 weeks ago and am v keen to go out and buy some new bras but don't know when it will be safe to do so. There seems to be loads of info in the books about starting bf-ing but not stopping.

OP posts:
crystaltips · 23/08/2002 22:25

Just look at pictures of Liz Hurley in the papers. In June she had quite a "shapely" chest and in August it has reduced to nothing.
The papers are blaming it on her diet and her no-eating regime.
I would hazard a guess that she has finished the b/f.
Must have been a male reporter

sobernow · 23/08/2002 22:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sb34 · 23/08/2002 22:33

Message withdrawn

Janus · 24/08/2002 09:08

I went to John Lewis about a month after I'd stopped breastfeeding as I needed new bras as I had definitely reduced since pre-pregnancy. To my horror the lady refused to measure me as she said I had not stopped reducing yet and so any bras I bought that day would probably not fit the next month. I'm sure she said I had to wait until 12 weeks after stopping but it may have been 2 months. If you go to a reputable store they should tell you this info but definitely don't run out now and buy new ones as I did reduce even further, sob, sob!!

Original poster
Elf · 25/08/2002 09:01

thanks, i think it is probably a good idea to get one now and then see, rather than holding out for ages. hadn't thought of that! dd on lap,must go, thanks again to you.

OP posts:
nmd · 25/08/2002 13:35

I read somewhere that they take about three years after breastfeeding to come back as it takes time to build the fat reserves up. I desperately hope it's true as mine dragged themselves back to the same cup size after about a year but still look pathetic! Or do standing-up-by-themselves boobs just belong to the young and childless?

Demented · 25/08/2002 13:40

Mine have never passed the pencil test nmd!

mears · 25/08/2002 17:45

Might be wrong but I don't think Liz Hurley B/F at all.
Elf - your breast size will continue to change for the coming months and indeed can take up to a couple of years to have the fat redeposited in them ( mine certainly did after B/F 4). They are actually in pretty good shape in the moment - probably because I am fatter than I should be

I would get a new bra fitted now as the change in size is very gradual. It is important to be well supported even if it means you need to get remeasured in a few months time. Interestingly I remember reading an article saying that women do not spend enough time ensuring correctly fitting bras as the bra size changes more frequently that we think whether you have been feeding or not. I suppose you're not meant to wait until they are grey and lifeless before replacing them

wmf · 27/08/2002 08:38

I seem to be bucking the trend here - I no longer pass the pencil test (sob) but I've gone up 2 cup sizes (hooray!). Please don't tell me that I'm going to reduce - I'm sooooo delighted with what I've got now!

mollipops · 27/08/2002 09:48

Sorry but mine shrunk too...they used to be 10B or C and went up to 12D when I was bf, but now they are 10A and barely there. I have heard it is pregnancy which affects your breast shape more so than bf...something about hormones, and that bf actually helps get your figure back! SIGH.

Azzie · 27/08/2002 10:57

wmf, mine have gone up too. I was a C cup before my first pregnancy, went up to E whilst pregnant, G whilst bfding, and now almost 3 yrs post last baby am down to a DD. I can't see that I'll ever be a C cup again.

Tillysmummy · 27/08/2002 11:23

Never IME !

Mine resemble SMALL saggy dishcloths

titchy · 27/08/2002 12:03

What boobs?

Queenie · 27/08/2002 13:15

I'm still waiting for mine to grow and I went through puberty years ago. I read it can take up to a year to regain breast size after b/f as fat stores are lost during b/f and begin to build up again once this stops.

nmd · 27/08/2002 15:02

um... what's a pencil test??

Original poster
Elf · 27/08/2002 19:25

NMD I believe the pencil test is when you put a pencil underneath the boobs and if it stays there then you've got saggy boobs!! I've always had saggy boobs though, even when young and lovely.

I'm amazed it can take years for your boobs to settle, you learn a new thing every day.

I remember once buying a bra, pre-pregnancy and the woman measuring me said it depended what style/size bra you were wearing at the time of being measured, as to what the resulting size would be. Which seems rather worrying and downright silly to me. Anyone else heard this? I know most people don't have the right sized bra but if what this woman said is true, it seems an uphill battle.

OP posts:
batey · 27/08/2002 20:35

I was told if they're not back to "normal" in 2 yrs from stopping b/feeding, they ain't coming back!!

Mine are much less than they were before the dds.I used to have huge bras,now they're fairy hammocks!!

Willow2 · 28/08/2002 22:59

.... when hell freezes over.

Enid · 28/08/2002 23:01

batey and Willow2 - LOL

jodee · 29/08/2002 11:33

My nomination for sainthood - whoever invented the Wonderbra - I love you!

Jaybee · 29/08/2002 12:19

Does anyone else still produce milk years after stopping breastfeeding? My dd is now 5y8m so I stopped b/f about five years ago, around the time when my period would be due (I have a Mirena coil so I no longer have periods) I get tender boobs and they leak a few drops when I am in either a warm shower or bath - is this normal? I always produced loads of milk during breastfeeding and even my midwife joked that I could have fed the whole ward!!

percy · 29/08/2002 15:41

Oh how I long for small boobs again - mine stayed larger after b/feeding too wmf and azzie - much to my disappointment. i liked having small-ish boobs (size C pre pregnancy - now DD). I certainly would get a distinction on the pencil test, could probably walk around all day and forget it was there.

now am pregnant again - do you think they will grow even more this time??? i so hope not.

percy · 29/08/2002 15:42

oh, started writing on this thread because i wanted to suggest to you jaybee, that this is a sign of a slight hormonal imbalance i think where you are still producing too much prolactin. i don't think it will do much harm, but may be worth checking out, especially if you are also getting pms etc????? i know that there is an excellent hormone balancing herb called agnus castus - may be worth a try.

wmf · 29/08/2002 19:44

The full pencil test is to tuck a pencil under each breast and raise your arms - if the pencils fall down then your boobs don't sag. It doesn't mean anything about your size, though.

Mind you, I think 'sagging' is sometimes nice (it just sounds horrible). I remember admiring my aunts rather floppy boobs as I was going through puberty and hoping that mine would turn out like hers!

Demented · 29/08/2002 21:15

Ah, haven't tried raising my arms, without them raised I could have the whole pencil case full of pencils and pens under there!

Percy, I'm beginning to think small boobs don't exist for me anymore. I used to be 38B and after DS1 and breastfeeding ended up 34E (reduced to a 34 through exercise) and now feeding DS2 and 34G. Hoping this time they will reduce, I wondered if it had anything to do with the length of time you breastfeed. I only fed DS1 for 16 weeks but I am hoping to continue feeding DS2 for much longer, my theory being that he will feed away all the flabby bits and reduce my boobs for me. Don't know if this will work though!