Boobs Growth Diary #8: Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and the Aftermath
In the Boobs Growth Diary series, I talk about my personal natural breast growth journey in real-time. *If you're new to my blog, please first refer to this post that sums up my breast growth before my pregnancy.
Hello, Boobinhas! It has been a long while since I talked about my own breasts. It's because I recently started a super exciting project to work with some participants to grow their breasts. I've also been in a rut as a result of a real deal sag due to breastfeeding!
Today, I had to share the status of my own breasts because I've recently started a new and different breast growth journey for myself...to "un-sag" these former beauties! Ugh!!!
Some of you have already gone through breastfeeding (multiple, even!), and some of you are not there yet. Hopefully, this post will give everyone a little glimpse into what breastfeeding can do to your 32D breasts! It's not always flowers and butterflies once they grow bigger.
My life has been filled with joy and chaos since the arrival of our baby. I also had a lot of personal issues come up this past year that pretty much all of my 4 fundamental factors for natural breast growth went out the door.
After I got pregnant, my boobs kept growing without any effort on my part...ooh la la! I went in for a bra-fitting twice in the 9 months. I was determined to continue wearing good, fitted bras with underwires as I've heard of all the sagging horror stories after pregnancy/breastfeeding.
This quickly changed once my baby came, and the breastfeeding started.
First, I could not wear a regular bra because my nipples were cracked and raw at all times. Second, I noticed that when I wore a wired bra, my breasts got engorged faster and started leaking like crazy, or the milk ducts got clogged which resulted in super painful, frequent therapy visits ($$$!!!). Lastly, it became burdensome to take it off and on, and having to repeat this all around the clock.
So naturally, I moved to a super comfy bra that pretty much just covered my bust area with a piece of hanging cloth and absolutely no support. If only I could tell myself at the time to stop that horrible habit and think about the future sag!
The height of my natural breast growth due to pregnancy/breastfeeding was about 3 months into breastfeeding back in May/June 2018. My top bust measured a whopping 100cm (~39.4in)!!! Holy moly!!!
They were super perky at all times, sometimes so full of milk that they looked like they're going to burst any minute! ...And that I got a terrible boob job done!
I had always wanted all and only boobs my entire life. But in all honesty, I felt a little uncomfortable and self-conscious at this size, especially as I stand at 152cm/5ft tall. When I asked my husband for his opinion at the time, he simply replied, "No, they look great!" What a wonderful husband I have, who have loved and supported me at every breast shape and size I've gone through so far, despite what he may really want or care! LOL!
These humongous boobies were free to bounce around at every tiny move I made for a good 6 or 7 months. Omg....
THE Sag...
Fast forward to a year later...I started noticing "the sag." The more solid foods my baby ate, the less milk she drank, therefore less milk being produced. My "overdone boob job" boobs literally deflated to just hanging skin and nipples....
They became as flat as a pancake, and drooped down and got narrower and narrower as it got closer to my nipples, then curved up a bit...really, like a pair of witch's shoes!
Super pointy but not dangerous because of their flabbiness!
They were super soft to the touch, not quite like fat...just...soft skin hanging..... They definitely looked like they shrunk down in size!!!
Interestingly though, when I wore my 32D bras from pre-pregnancy, my boobs didn't fit into the cups anymore!?!? They're still bigger. So this is a perfect example of breasts looking small as a result of sagging.
The sagging seemed to gain its momentum every day. I took some nude photos which left me speechless, and I knew I had to do something about my sagging boobies now!!!
Motivated by my volunteers working on their breast growth, I decided that I will start a new breast "un-sag" journey since mid-April 2019.
Things I started up once again in hopes to un-sag my boobs:
1. Eating nutritionally-balanced meals...I often skipped meals due to business.
2. Eat less junk food...I was eating way too much sugar and fat as a result of skipped meals.
3. Drink soy milk frequently but not obsessively...I saw one of my volunteers always drinking it, so now I do too!
4. Going back to massaging my breasts almost every single day.
5. Going back to the gym two to three times a week, and easy at-home workouts rest of the days. More pectoral and back exercises.
6. Wear a supportive bra with underwire, every single day.
Things I need to change/improve but haven't been able to:
1. Sleep 7-8 hours. Um...this is NOT going to happen any time soon with this super cute baby sleeping next to me!
2. Exercise more days of the week than not...would love to be active at least 5 days a week.
3. Wear a bra that actually fits me...currently still wearing a 32D bra, which does not fit properly.
Positive changes I see to my deflated breasts after about 2 months:
1. The narrowness close to my nipples has gotten a little better. There's slightly more breast meat (?) where it used to curve up, so they now have a somewhat more gentle slope.
2. A little more defined (this is from the chest muscles, probably).
3. A little less soft and flabby...but still have a long way to go.
4. A little less sag...those bras really do help combat the gravity!!!
Here are my body measurements in comparison to my very last measurements taken on June 16, 2017, before getting pregnant. Oh wow, just realized it's been almost 2 years!!!
6/15/19: most-likely an E-cup bra size, pending professional fitting
height: 5ft/152cm
top bust (without a bra): 90 cm/35.2in ---> 94cm/ in. (+4cm/1.57in)
under bust: 72.5cm/28.5in ---> 73cm/28.5in (+0.5cm/0.2in)
natural waist: 68cm/26.4in ---> 68cm/ (no difference!)
waist (around belly button): 74cm/28.7in ---> 77cm/ (+3cm/1.18in)
butt (fullest part): 89.5cm/35in ---> 90cm/ (+0.5cm/0.2in)
right thigh: 49.5cm/19.5in ---> 49cm (-0.5cm/0.2in)
weight: 103.6lbs/47kg ---> 101.6 (-2lbs/0.91kg)
It's possible that the increase in the top bust just means I have some extra layers of fat all over my body, as my waist is still a bit thicker than it used to be as well.
My new natural breast "un-sag" journey also includes trimming down my waist size and growing an even bigger and shapelier butt than before pregnancy.
OMG...the butt...don't even get me started about this! Within a year of ZERO workout...it also sagged and became super flat!!! I have a lot of work to do in my next breast un-sag journey!
Do any of you happen to know a mom, aunt, sister, friend, anyone else who went through this sagging/un-sagging as well? For those moms out there...how have your breasts changed before, during, and after pregnancy/breastfeeding? Did you ever do anything to prevent the sagging, or successfully un-sagged your breasts?
I do not want to scare anyone away from breastfeeding because of "the sag," though. It has truly been an amazing experience for me, and I'm already feeling a little teary thinking about the time my baby weans herself. :'(
