I had a boob job to reinflate my breasts back to their original size pre-children. It worked out very well and, once it had all settled down, they just felt like they were 'mine'. Now, over 2 1/2 years later, it just feels like I've got my body back - I rarely think about them & they are just part of me.
Before kids, I'd not been sized correctly but now know that I used to be a 32DD / E, but like so many women was wearing a 36C bra. Anyway, after kids they were a bit deflated and had really done the family proud with extended breastfeeding. Not in bad nick considering, just not as full. Then, years later, I finally lost all the baby weight, and .... my boobs disappeared! I was left with just empty envelopes of skin. This seemed very unfair when I'd got the rest of me into good shape in middle-age. Tried building up my pectorals - ha ha ha, that just left me with bulges above my poor empty boobs. I got them done 2 1/2 years ago. Did loads of research, read lots of articles, read actual health research papers bc that's my background. Joined a Facebook group called BustMob which was very helpful in terms of shared experiences, though dominated by women in the USA all saying "Go Bigger!!!" and complaining if their boob jobs ended up looking natural 😂. I wanted to look natural.
Had consultations with 2 surgeons. Went with one who had great references and who was very moderate in his approach. His main job is post-breast cancer reconstruction and he does some cosmetic work basically to subsidise this. He was very cautious about the size of implants he would use, giving me a very limited range compared to what I saw women on USA-based support groups having. The risk of certain complications goes up as the implant size goes up, basically. He said that he could almost guarantee a good result as long as the implant size was proportionate to my body. We settled on implants that should return me to pre-children size. Dual Plane, which means they go mostly under your pectoral muscles but with a slightly different insertion to perk up boobs which are a bit droopy from deflation. We discussed a breast lift but I did not want one - my nipples were still pointing forwards so in that case it's largely down to personal preference and I had no desire for boobs that looked like a 25 year-olds stuck on a 50 year-old body. I just wanted the fullness back.
I was petrified of having my first general anaesthetic but actually it was a good experience and recovery was OK - you have to be sensible and not move your arms much at first, but I was back on lower body exercise (with my surgeon's approval) within a couple of weeks, though leaving arms/chest out of anything until a gentle staged return from 6 weeks. I didn't ever need the codeine painkillers that I was prescribed - took them the first night then found I just didn't need them so only used paracetamol. However, pain experiences vary a lot and some women do suffer. I went back to the surgeon for check-ups after a couple of days, a week, I think 6 weeks to be cleared for exercise, and I went back again months later so he could see and take photos of the final result when they had settled.
I had Motiva Ergnomix silicone gel implants and have been very impressed with their natural feel and movement. My partner is also very impressed and says they feel natural. My op cost about £6k though you can get it cheaper. However, my adult children told me this was not something to be bargain hunting over.
This was something I wanted to do for me, as a reward for getting the rest of my body back into shape, and I am very glad I did.