Save the boobs - is there any hope?

[Faifly]

Has anyone got any tips on how to save the boobs from sagging desperately? Is it possible at all? DS 6 weeks old, I breastfeed and will do at least till he starts teething, possibly until 12 months. Never had really big boobs (34C pre-preg) but now they've ballooned to 34DD, didn't wear a sleep bra (absolutely hate wearing any clothes to bed) and last night noticed one was kinda beginning to sag veeeery slightly
does anyone know of any exercises/tricks/whatever to stop them losing shape entirely? I'm so upset i'm only 27 so don't wanna end up having two pancakes!
Also, the stretch marks are unreal! I was so happy i got not a single one on the tummy, but since i started b/f i'm getting one a day on the boobs! I'm bursting with milk so they get real heavy I know there are creams that get rid of op scars, is there anything for stretch marks? Is stretching going to make sagging worse?
Oh god I so want my nice small round ones back... :'(((((((

I'm afraid the stretch marks and sagging are more to do with pregnancy than breastfeeding, from what I know.

I do think wearing a bra 24/7, while your breasts are engorged, might help.

Good chest muscles can help keep breasts firm.

Any creams that work on other scars, should work on stretch marks - they are scars.

I've heard the it's-pregnancy-not-breastfeeding thing a lot - but are we quite sure? My boobs are much bigger now than in pregnancy and let's face it - breastfeeding is quite hard on your boobs, constantly going up and down in size. I'd breastfeed anyway... but am not sure I buy the argument that it's pregnancy that does it

I am an 34 g cup and what I do is wear bras to bed not sleep bra but normal bras without bones and when I stopped feeding I wear really firm boned bras which I pull the straps up so my boobs are in the right place and after a few weeks they firm up also there are exercises but you are better off waiting till you finish feeding as boobs are supposed to be soft for feeding that is why pg has this effect on them .

A scientific study that studied the effects of breastfeeding upon sagging, found that breastfeeding per se did not have an affect upon the sagging. According to the study, the following were risk factors for an increased degree of breast sagging: body mass index (BMI), the number of pregnancies, a larger pre-pregnancy bra size, smoking history, and age.

Even if you keep on bf tour boobs will probably shrink down to closer to your usual cup size. The pammy look doesn't last for too long!

A womans breasts mature around the age of 30 or pregnancy whichever happens first.

So really it was always going to happen it is a natural occurance and nothing to do with bf.

josie - your boobs dont really go up and down in size constantly when you are bf. its just for the first few weeks that you feel full when you need to feed. once it all settles down you don't get that feeling anymore. i suspect thats when lots of mums start to supplement as they believe they don't have enough milk

i have just finished 5 years of Bf and my boobs don't look any worse than anyone else my age. Ok they are not perky, but they are not pancakes! They still get admiring glasces and i am old enough to be the OPs mother

i was 32DD before i last two pregnancies and I am 32FF now. Guessing they wont go down any more now. Oh and I'm about 1/2 stone heavier

Taramuddle and KristinaM, that's a bit reassuring.. i don't quite buy the argument that it's the pg that ruins the boobs, at least my pregnancy did nothing to them. The stretch marks only appeared when my milk came and they got engorged. Size-wise, I was 36D (up from 34C) at the end of my pg but went up to 34DD with breastfeeding. So I reckon it must be both pg AND bf but possibly to different extent with different women.
Hmm, just remembered an exercise that strengthens the right muscles - lifting small weights to your chest while lying on back on a narrow bench/birth ball. Should try that. What else, maybe swimming?

It's not the pregnancy, it's the milk coming in (ie caused by pregnancy as it happens whether you breastfeed or not)

"josie - your boobs dont really go up and down in size constantly when you are bf"

Well it certainly looks like it from my vantage point!

i mean it doesn't happen CONSTANTLY . as in all the time and for as long as you breast feed. its mostly just while you are getting feeding established in the first few months.

well that's my experience anyway

i have only dropped one bra size (32G to 32Ff) since i stoppped feeding. and i have also lost a bit of weight. so no deflated balloon thing here