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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

I hate my boobs - how huge will they get??

42 replies

Honeybee79 · 22/04/2010 19:59

Hi everyone. I know this is a slightly ridiculous complaint but anyway . . . I am only 16 weeks pregnant and went to get a few non underwired bras and was motified to discover that I have already gone from a 32D to a 32FF. It is already quite uncomfortable and I look totally out of proportion. I'm quite slim and no sign of bump yet so I just look like I have a couple of missiles pointing at everyone. I feel really self-conscious, especially at work! The woman in M & S said their sizes go up to a cup size K. I don't even want to think about that!! Any advice or estimates based on past experience as to how much more expansion I can expect??

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tigermouse · 22/04/2010 20:59

hmmn. I've gone from a 32 E to a 34 H. Currently 28 weeks and still growing..I'm finally at the stage where my bump is bigger than my boobs. But yes, I hate them too-very uncomfortable and itchy skin.
Some of the other pregnant women I know haven't increased much in size at all, so it seems to be luck of the draw. Sorry! I find putting Aloe Jelly type moisturiser on them helps with the discomfort a bit though..and get a really supportive bra!

butterscotch · 22/04/2010 22:33

I'm 38 weeks and started at 34h now just ordered 38k feeding bra tis depressing :-( and bloody expensive!!!

thisisyesterday · 22/04/2010 22:39

best bit of advice i can give you is don't get measured at m&s. they're notoriously bad

i would highly recomemnd a trip to rigby and peller if you're in the area, or bravissimo if you aren;t.
otherwise if you have a good independent bra shop then go there.

i would take anything m&s or mothercare say with a BIG pinch of salt!!!

butterscotch · 23/04/2010 06:58

That's true thisisyesterday always being big on top I've always avoided M&S!

Bravissimo do have an advice line if your not local but they only go to a J cup in nursing bra's so if unluckly like me I've had to buy mine online with a bit of guess work trying sending back what doesn't fit!

Miffster · 23/04/2010 08:19

I've gone from 28A/36B to 36DD, which is already too tight, and I'm only 6 and a half weeks! My sore boobs are the first thing I feel every morning, and stop me exercising properly. I hate the minging bras I had to buy from John Lewis and am worried as my perky tits were my best feature.

So I feel your pain and am off to buy another cheap, unsexy bra today, and posssibly a sleeping bra as well, because I am fed up of rolling onto my side/front and the pain waking me up.

It's bloody tiresome and I heartily dislike the stupid new udders, especially as I am not even going to need them until December, ffs.

Miffster · 23/04/2010 08:20

Oops, typo. Should read 38A not 28A. I was 30AA 20 years ago!

Octaviapink · 23/04/2010 09:06

Agree with the 'avoid M&S' advice - they say 80% of women are wearing the wrong sized bra - well, a lot of that's their fault!! Bravissimo are great and do nursing bras as well. You MUST wear supportive bras during pregnancy or (bitter experience) you WILL regret it when you stop bf-ing!

MummyBeth · 23/04/2010 09:35

I feel your pain - I've always been busty and skinny which was nice I have to admit - however I am still a size 6 in my maternity trousers and a whopping 30H - I got these bras when I was 13 weeks - just after my scan as didn't want to fork out untill I was sure all was Ok - I'm also really worried cause unless my back increases to a 34 I can't actually get anything bigger!! I went to Bravissimo - I've been going there since I discovered it.

Let me know how you get on cause I'm scared I'll need to get bigger ones and might need advice on where to look.

By the way DH - loving it

xxx

cardamomginger · 23/04/2010 10:06

My sympathies! By 12 weeks I had gone from B cup to E cup and looked all out of proportion (am a size 8). Not much growth in the 5 weeks since then. It's my first baby so have no idea how big things will end up!! Nor how things will go back afterwards..... Other than the discomfort and it all feeling very odd and alien to be attached to these two huge knockers, the main irritation is that blouses and t-shirts and dresses just don't hang right any more. Strange that my pre-pregnancy clothes are fitting better from the waist down than they are from the waist up!! I know these are all really minor complaints and in the general scheme of things, so what, but it does all feel very odd indeed.
I echo the recommendations for Bravissimo. I got fitted there and will be popping back when/if things expand again. Oh yeah, and although official guidelines say no to underwired bras during pregnancy, loads of us do wear them - if the bra fits correctly with the wire where it is supposed to be i.e. under the breast tissue, then there shouldn't be any problems. Personally, can't face soft bras - find them really uncomfortable and don;t give enough support.
Good luck and congratulations!

Oblomov · 23/04/2010 10:22

went from 38C to E, then to G. Now back to E , having stopped bf'ing.
WAs very uncomfortable at G, and even my mum said they were way too big. Am only 5'2'' and a size 12, with a tiny waist. When I was first bf'ing at G, i really didn't like them, they were just too big.

I can't offer anything other than sympathy. I suspect that yours too may get alot bigger.t eh signals suggest they will.
Try not to let it upset you too much.

Oblomov · 23/04/2010 10:25

Agree Bravissimo. And yes I wore underwired all the way through. I couldn't have not.

first1 · 23/04/2010 10:41

Reading these posts I don't seem to have grown that much . Started at 32c/d pre pregnancy. I'm now 36+4 weeks and only increased to a 34d/dd depending on the bra. Will they get drastically bigger once my milk comes in?

mazzystartled · 23/04/2010 10:48

Mine have only gone up one cup size, but they were mahoosive to start with (3rd DC).

In my experience, M&S have a poor range and not brilliant fitters at the best of times. go to Bravissimo or John Lewis and if you want/need underwire for comfort or appearance, have it - if your bra fits perfectly there won't be a problem.

It is hard not to be self conscious, I know, but soon your bump will make everything seem more in proportion, and divert som attention.

MamaLazarou · 23/04/2010 10:53

My sympathies. I went from a 34F to a whopping 36J when my milk was in, but if it's any consolation, they are now back to exactly the same size as before I was pg.

blackcurrants · 23/04/2010 12:22

If it helps, mine were ginormous instantly (as in, by week 7 or something) and really painful, but I have been able to fit into the bras I got then all the way through till now (wk 26) so they haven't got any bigger. Oh, and they stopped hurting around 11 weeks, I think. I'm hoping to be able to use these bras until I need breastfeeding ones, which will probably be a size or two up. Guh. And sleep bras are an absolute must, I agree.

Twittle · 23/04/2010 12:44

I am so glad to have found this thread and can completely echo what everyone has said. I have always hated my boobs I was a size 34E beforehand (and considering a reduction then) and have now gone up to a 34G (and am definitely considering a reduction afterwards)! I feel so ugly and am so worried that I won't be able to breastfeed as they are so big and also don't want to do it infront of anyone (can't believe I am already worrying about this)...! Anyway just to say that I reached the mammouth size of a 34G at about 16 weeks, I am now 26 weeks and haven't grown since then, fingers crossed I won't. I am dreading it when my milk comes in when the baby is here in case they get bigger but I am digging my head in the sand and not thinking about it! I really just want somebody to tell me that they will either return to normal (if 34E is normal....) or in my dreams get smaller as if by magic!

Good luck everyone with their pregnancies! I just keep saying to myself that it is worth it to have a healthy baby at the end of it which isn't too much longer away!

Oh and one last thing I agree with MazzyS my bump is at least now diverting attention away from my boobs as it is now protruding more!!!

sophieandbelly · 27/04/2010 08:33

o god i am totally with u! first preg-went from a 36dd-40ff after went back to a 34 e am now 16 weeks preg and 36ff so god knows where they will end up!!

liquoriceandtomatoes · 27/04/2010 10:59

Thanks for this post! My breasts have been depressing me too, and yes, it's a side issue as I'm enjoying pregnancy but please let them stop growing. I'm 18 wks and mine have gone from a 38C to a 38F and I'm glad that my bump is beginning to show as I was feeling obscene and out of proportion.

It doesn't help when skinny friends go 'lucky you with your breasts' and don't listen to the fact that I don't like it. My other gripe is that pregnancy clothes don't seem to take extreme breast growth into consideration, so I'm depressingly buying the size above mine just so clothes fit in the breast dept. and elsewhere it's too big in my shoulders for instance.

Along with getting in touch with my baby, I'm also trying to persuade my boobs not to grow anymore and give them some praise when they seem to slow down briefly.

Are they very baggy after bf? Do some people's boobs get smaller than their original size after bf?

Elsa123 · 27/04/2010 17:32

I think being a size 8 and 32 DD upwards may make you feel out of proportion if you're not used ot it, but I've been 32 DD + since I was 18 and a size 8. It doesn't look that bad, although some men's eyes are drawn to them! I'm now wearing a 32FF with some room for manoeuvre. Before long, your bump will take over!!

ellabella2 · 27/04/2010 19:04

Interesting to read that some of you are sticking with underwired bras.

I was a 32FF before getting pregnant and now at 16 weeks I'm starting to bulge out of my 32G. I also use Bravissimo and think they're great. I ordered some of their maternity soft cup bras and they gave me such a horrible shape I refused to wear them.

Has anyone found a supportive non wired maternity bra that actually gives you a nice perky shape??

So many people wish for bigger boobies but when you have them [grrr] I dream of being a nice 32C so that I could indulge in cheap pretty bras and wear more strappy/strapless tops. Nevermind!!

TottWriter · 28/04/2010 08:55

ellabella2 - with you completely.

Normally I'm a 30H/HH (dependant on the style of the bra). However, this pregnancy I've shot up (again) ad am currently bulging out of my 32J which I got at bravissimo. I'm waiting on a 32K nursing bra from John Lewis.

I get fed up with my boobs at the best of times, but pregnancy brings out the worst in me for boob-moaning. If it's any comfort though, OP, they haven't grown at all since the middle of the second trimester or so. I think the point at which your boobs come in does vary from person to person, but once they've done their growing they don't tend to have a second wind and put out again later on.

Mine did go down again post pregnancy (couldn't breastfeed because of the medication i'm on) but as I had never been 'properly' measured before getting pregnant, I couldn't tell you how close they were to original size. I think they were a little bigger though.

Oh, and another one here saying avoid M&S like the proverbial plague. Mothercare, too, don't do fittings particularly well. I always sagged before getting pregnant because I didn't know about shops like bravissimo, so it was ironic that my boobs got a lot better shape aftr my DS because of the better bras I was wearing. The trouble is, tape-measuring a woman for a bra while she's already ina bra is only going to be as accurate as the bra she's got on, especially if she has large boobs. Plus, IME they don't check to see how it sits once they have measured. They just look at you as if to say 'well that's what the tape measure says, you're just making a fuss' if you say it's uncomfortable.

MorrisZapp · 28/04/2010 15:29

It's the pits isn't it. Mine have inflated from 34D to 36G, and I'm already spilling out of those at a mere 16 weeks.

If I keep growing I'm going to be mightily cheesed off. I can't afford to buy bras for each blooming size along the way!

I've never been fitted btw, I just take a load in with me and do it through trial and error.

Once all this is over and BF has stopped too, I am seriously considering a boob reduction op. I fecking hate living my life with two huge, cumbersome and unsightly bags of fat permanently stuck to my front.

I thought it was bad before as a D cup but this is just bloody silly. I hate it.

Twittle · 28/04/2010 15:37

MorrisZap it's more like in the pits as well as being the pits!!!! If it helps, mine did stop growing at 16/17 weeks and touch wood that is it for now - I feel the same way as you though, I am definitely going to consider a reduction, I have never liked being well endowed..... only hope that I don't have a problem BF because of it!

EllaBella I am sticking with the underwired bras otherwise I shall be sweeping the floors - am going to look into finding underwired nursing bras - not sure if these are available or not?!

MorrisZapp · 28/04/2010 15:58

Hee hee!

Btw, in Melanie Sykes's book (don't buy it, it's pish) she quotes an expert who says that actually it's ok to wear a well fitting underwired bra throughout pg.

Bluesunday · 28/04/2010 16:24

Mine have gone up 2 cup sizes in 13 weeks (from 36F to 36G)... and are sort of beginning to get that 4 boob effect so probably time to go back to Bravissimo 9they should do loyalty cards). I feel like an obese page 3 girl. DP thinks it's Xmas come early, but I want to headbutt him everytime he comes within ten yards of me .