Large breasts - anything I need to know?

[Beeseeinya]

I have huge boobs - 40H at the moment. I was a 36GG before being pregnant and I'm 23 weeks.

I'm wondering if others who have had children with large breasts have any insights.

Are my breasts going to become enormous when milk comes in?
Is it harder to breastfeed with biggins?
Are slings still a viable option?
Also, if you have very large areola, did that affect breastfeeding at all?

'Children with large breasts' possibly not the best sentence structure there

Following. I'm struggling with em. Was a 34d/dd by my account before pregnancy. Boob or bust puts me at 32hh!!!

Can't figure out how to contain/ support these bad boys. They change so much daily because of breastfeeding. Ahhh.

I’ve got massive tits. I wore stretchy crop top type bras when my milk came in, bit like sport bra shaped. got them from amazon.
I found breast feeding hard anyway and stopped after a few weeks but there are positions which are easier to feed in with big boobs, the rugby ball hold for example.
Don’t think the size of my areola affected things.

Massive boobs here too - 40G at 32weeks. I can't find crops tops that fit, and I know (as this is number 4) when my milk comes in they will be even bigger.

I second the rugby ball hold as the easiest way to get to grips with feeding - to start with anyway. I was able to do any position easily once feeding was established.

I used a moby wrap with dd3 it was fine, much better than the structured carriers.

I have large areola and one thing to bear in mind is that the literature says try to get it all in their mouth, rather than them sucking just on nipple, but with large areola that's obviously not possible so just try to get in as much as possible.

Big 32J boobs here too. I'll admit I struggled with bf as I had to rugby ball him. It was awkward. He got distressed, I got distressed. I was told to keep trying. He had his last bf at 3 weeks and I expressed for another 2 weeks after that. I was happy he'd had enough from me by that point and we switched to formula.
My sister however has similar sized boobs and managed to bf both her kids quite well. I guess you take to it or you don't.

I have large breasts. Not looking forward to milk coming in again but needs must 😂 with BF you just have to find a comfortable position and stick with it!! The main thing is making sure the baby's nose is never covered by your large breast. That is the only problem I have come across! Takes 2 hands rather than one depending on position your in as you have to hold your boob away from baby's nose xx

I’m not as big as you but an E/F cup. They have gotten bigger but BFing and baby wearing is absolutely fine.

Ahh yes I do sometimes stick a finger under babies nose to make room for air or he pulls off gasping for air

I have 32H and they’ve stayed exactly the same size (I have a good supply, it’s not that they aren’t full).
My little one had an ear infection recently and wouldn’t breastfeed. The engorgement was excruciating — I think size plays a role there.

I am large chested and large areola-d and I found bf-ing super easy with my first. Rugby hold was a firm favourite for me and do always check baby's nose isn't squished! Now pregnant again and living in stretchy crop tops like a pp. In terms of size, mine grew loads in pregnancy and I didn't notice a huge increase when milk came in (although mine came in quite slowly due to blood loss during birth). I did find that after a couple of months I was sick to death of wireless nursing bras as I really craved more support so I got a couple of flexi-wire nursing bras instead and really recommend.

I'm now a 36DD following pregnancy, was a 34D

It sucks. I have to go up sizes in clothing and they need a lot of support.

I really struggled to breast feed due to size of mine to be honest.

I was 32kk pre-pregnancy! Literally have no idea what I am now! Only bras I could find which would contain the beasts were like comfort type nursing bras in medium (very difficult with such a small back and large front) and soft cup bras from Debenhams in a 36G! Awful shape but at least they hold them in! I really struggled with ds1 and went between bottle and breast before giving up entirely at 11 weeks old as it was too difficult(and my nipples seemed to go completely flat every time the milk came in so nothing to latch onto)
Skip forward to dc2&3 who both breast fed like a dream no problems whatsoever! I’m really hoping it will be the same with dc4 but have bought bottles just in case as there’s been an 8year gap so I’m not feeling too confident!
But for certain when the milk comes in it’s like having 2 massive hard melons strapped to your chest! Mega uncomfortable!
Currently I don’t feel as though mine have grown too much and I’m 31weeks now! Pretty pleased about that Cos it’s near on impossible to get bras to fit anyway without needing nursing bras lol! I have the added ‘bonus’ (not) that I’m super short - under 5ft so completely out of proportion and that combined with big boobs makes it difficult to find a good position to breast feed in (with a cushion baby is too high up, without too low Down and I end up with a bad back!)

Wow really mixed experiences, I will have to wait and see. Some great tips though thank you!

Molke... best bras ever. Www.molke.co.uk

Breastfeeding my 2nd. Currently have shrunk back down to 30 L ish...

Sling fine, sling feeding less easy. I find cross cradle and laid back feeding easiest, lying on my side never really worked with a tiny newborn.

Vertical access tops from Happy Mama easier than horizontal access. Horizontal zip hoodies borderline access.

Firstly, make sure your size is right. Boob or Bust (there's a website and FB page) and/or Bravissimo.

Secondly, yes it's definitely possible to breastfeed with breasts of all shapes and sizes. Personally due to the size of mine (also an H cup) I liked to stay reasonably covered up when feeding, I did "one up one down" (eg T-shirt over vest top, pull t-shirt up and vest top down) or wore Bshirts.

Thirdly, bras. You really need good bras! My favourite is the Cake Sugar Candy nursing bra, expensive but soooo worth it. Very comfy. The Panache Sophie nursing bra was good too, decent support and the bra itself is quite pretty. I slept in Kindred Bravely crop top style bras (from Amazon, the curvy size) and Hot Milk nursing camis (F-H cup version).

Do not buy normal nursing vests (eg from H&M), your boobs will fall out.

Similar size to you. Didn't get much bigger with baby.

Had problems feeding dc1, not size related BUT beware of midwives not quite knowing what to do/say - I had a few just say 'you've got big boobs' then walk away - gee thanks

I have to hold my boob to keep nipple at right height. Not too bad but takes getting used to. I feed lying down or with baby on pillow across my lap.

Wired bras in padded styles from Freya are my saviour. Unwired is a heat rash nightmare. Lots of nursing clothes designed to be subtle aren't with big boobs. Better off with side opening ones or just a normal shirt pulled up.

Remember everyone's got similar milk duct structure, just the fat on top that varies.

Was 32F/G before having ds2, and went up to a 34K. I was huge! Strangers came up to me, cooed at the baby and said ‘I can see you are breast feeding how is it going?’.🙈

I too have large areola’s, and it’s like my nipples sit more at the bottom of my boobs. I managed 3 months breast feeding before I gave up. It wasn’t so much problems, I just had him permanently stuck to my boobs, and found it difficult. But as soon as he was on the bottle, he slept though the night, except for one small bottle around 1am. Of course about 6 weeks later I regretted stopping, and dp had to remind me of the 22 hour feeding (that’s how it felt!)

My already big boobs got massive when my milk came in. Breastfeeding was a 2 handed affair, one holding baby and one holding boob so that my nipple was at the right portion and so baby wasn't getting smothered. I never managed to find a portion that was comfortable to be honest and was slightly thankful when he started refusing after he had to have a bottle due to me being poorly.

I can't remember where I got my bras from but I do know it was a pain in the arse getting a decent nursing one that had good support.

I'm an F cup and am still breastfeeding and he's not far off being 3 years old now,. I do have to hold my boob which smaller boobed friends didn't have to but otherwise no problems with feeding or slings

Such useful tips from everyone, thank you. I was in an underwire bravissimo bra until about week 22 but now finding that a bit tough going. Thankfully found a non wired bra they do with decent support. Not sure what I will do if I go above a 40 as that rules bravissimo out! This bra also comes in a nursing style.
I've been looking at the special nursing tops but I have a big butt so not sure if I will find them a bit tight with my figure. Lots of options to try though thanks everyone!

I've got teeny tiny 34As so no personal experience, but my DSis is a paediatrician and has seen babies accidentally suffocated by large breasts - tends to happen when the mum isn't concentrating whilst bf and is watching TV or a phone screen. So do be careful!

Also it's possible for babies to suffocate in a sling regardless of boob size so make sure you keep your eye on them and check their airway is clear very frequently.