Boobs! (help)

[LittleJumpingBean]

Ladies, please share your or others' experiences.

Tl;dr: how long it took for your breasts to return to roughly pre pregnancy size (breastfeeding or not)?

A (not so little) back story - growing up I've always had larger breasts that everyone else at school and it caused me a lot of self esteem / body image issues. Early on I was bullied and then envied so much so it became my nickname and defining feature. At 15 I wore exclusively sports bras and cried to my mum that I will chop them off when I can.

Sometime before pregnancy my cup size was roughly GG and my dress size was 8-10 (for reference).

I've gained some 3-4kg immidiately before pregnancy but was okay with that weight and wasnt really concerned. I was generally happy with how i looked and although still planned for a breast reduction at some point - it wasnt priority.

Then i got pregnant and my lord, I'm scared. I am 21+2 today with my first and I'm size 12. My cup size went up to size is L. I am running out of options for bras, forget the word comfortable. I also can't really find any clothes and resort to buying size 14-16 to compensate. I try to exercise but limited in movements because my boobs just too sore/heavy.

I was planning to breastfeed (express and bottle - my boobs are generally very sore as they are) but now im scared of how I will manage if im already in so much pain and cant fit into anything!

I'm due in November and have a wedding planned next August. At this point i am discussing possibility to postpone for a year because if my breast wont return to a reasonable size i will be too self conscious and unhappy to even wear a dress.

My job is also very active and requires to wear heavy/ restrictive uniform. I was planning to share maternity leave with my husband because I LOVE my job but now afraid i will not feel physically up to it (pressure on boobs is so painful!)

It might be the hormones but i genuinely cry over this. I don't know if I'll be able to breastfeed because of pain, or if i will be able to have the ceremony if i do breastfeed. I dont know what to expect at all and i don't have anyone to ask. I feel awful about how I look now and I'm just worried it will take a huge toll on me mentally and physically the further I go.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Is it normal for such drastic cup increase? How painful is breastfeeding? How long will my breast take to shrink? Do you think i should postpone the wedding?

Just wanted to sympathise. I was a 34F/FF before I got pregnant. In the first trimester I was up 3-4 cup sizes. My boobs were super painful and it only settled down somewhere around the 3rd trimester. I'm now 35+3 and I think my breasts have maybe shrunk slightly again, but not much. I bought some HotMilk bras online, but then I'm maxing out their sizing and going up back sizes to try to stretch out what fits.

A friend told me hers went down 6 months into breast feeding. I don't think there's a clear and fast rule. It really sucks though and sorry you have to deal with this too!

Hey girl, thanks for replying. I'm going to speak to my midwife on our next appointment because im just in pain at this point (tho i doubt there is anything anyone can do).
I read breasts will grow more after delivery to accommodate milk. I'm at the point I wake up at night with soreness and get really self conscious going to work. All my supervisors and co workers are male and although they are very understanding of the whole being pregnant bit, i feel like i have no one to talk to.
This is a more unexpected and unwelcomed change in the pregnancy and i just dont feel like im coping well :(

My boobs aren't as big as yours but just wanted to tell you my experience re boobs growing. My boobs went up 3/4 cup sizes by beginning 2nd trimester and then didn't change until I actually gave birth and my milk came in. At that point they got enormous and rock hard because of engorgement. It's so early on though that you don't need to leave the house / lots of people sit on the sofa topless (at least my friends have!). That lasted less than a week and they're currently settling down to the pregnancy size. My understanding is that they don't get bigger after this as the first few weeks of Bf is when they learn to regulate supply / not overproduce like those first few days. BF itself is painful at first and with very big boobs you may need help for you and baby to learn how to latch but I'm sure would be possible.

It sounds like it may be worth thinking about not Bfing though given how much physical and mental pain they are causing. It can be really hard to come to grips with that idea, but BF is not the be all and end all. Your baby will be happier with a happy painfree mother than one pushing through horrible back pain and depression to feed (and lots of women get post natal depression without having a problem like this). You obviously don't need to decide now but may be a good idea to try to get used to the idea that you may feed baby differently to what you were expecting so that it isn't so difficult mentally if that is what you decide.

I understand why you might be worried about breast pain when you're postpartum seeing as you feel so uncomfortable now whilst pregnant - but actually chances are they might not stay painful like they are now, and might be a different size anyway..

So it could be that they're hurting now because of the pregnancy hormones and because they may still be growing, but will stop once you have your baby.

That's how it was for me and I went up 6 cup sizes, felt very sore until about week 30 and now I've been breastfeeding for 8 months. They were painful until my baby was 3 months old as they overproduced milk and took a while to produce a suitable amount. But this pain was different to the pain during pregnancy.

My friend who has the same cup and dress size as you, her boobs grew and were sore during pregnancy and she chose not to breastfeed (for unrelated reasons). Her boobs stayed at her new size and were not painful. So not breastfeeding doesn't necessarily mean your boobs will return to their original size etc.

Maybe try talking to a professional at bravissimo or Molke about bras, they have been very helpful in my case 🙌🏻 also ask your midwife at your next appointment if you still feel unsure about your boobs.