when did they stop shrinking?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

post-nursing boobs, that is....

my DD has been weaned for A YEAR. Last fall, 6 months after she was weaned, I spent nearly $400 splurging on half a dozen nice, new bras at Nordstrom (Chantelle, etc) as I was going back to work and I needed bras that actually fit. I got fitted and all that and i swear they fit great at first. But then a few months ago I started noticing decent-sized gaps in tops of the cups..it seems like my boobs shrank even more! I did lose about 8 lbs since then (finally got to pre-preg weight, woo!!) but i can't imagine it's ALL due to that. despite being at the same pre-preg weight, i still can't fit into about half of my pre-pregnancy pants, so it's not like i lost tons of weight.

i know it's not just the bras getting looser bc i'm noticing things with other clothing articles too. and another thing..I got the Jura dress in black from Athleta last summer (read: after I weaned DD) and wore it a ton throughout the year, no problem (i remember wearing it on the Polar Express train ride, as it was 80 degrees out). i loved it since it was super flattering and fit so well. Well now the weather started warming up again and this weekend there was a baby shower and i just threw it on without really checking things out in the mirror. I was in my car on the way there sitting at a light when i noticed that the chest part was totally gaping open..you could TOTALLY see my bra. eek. thankfully i had a black bra underneath, but STILL. it looked like the "boob" part of the dress was just way too big and didn't cling to the chest at all. i did not have this issue before at all. the crazy part is that it's a size Medium..i've always been at least a size M in dresses, even before i had kids..i always had a decent-sized chest plus i have shoulders like a linebacker. Bleh. So i guess its' safetypin time for this dress and others..

But seriously..how crazy is this that even 9, 12months post weaning my boobs are continuing to get smaller and smaller? it almost seems like they were smaller than before, or maybe i have just been used to having preggo/nursing boobs for so long...

[citymama]

Eek! Don't tell me this! It's been 5 months since I weaned dd2 and I feel like I'm 12 years old again. They can't shrink any more! Are you losing weight over all? Boobs are mostly fat so weight loss can affect cup size too.

[georgiegirl]

I had that problem too. It was awful since my poor boobs looked deflated and saggy. They just didn't look good in clothing anymore. I swear they hadn't been so small since I stared puberty. (Well, they were a large B, but pre-pregnancy, my boobs were a D.). So I went out and bought a couple of push up bras, and that made everything look good again when I was wearing clothing.

Now I'm pregnant, and my boobs are big again....it's awesome! But I feel like the will shrink even smaller when I'm done nursing.

[wendibird22]

Wait?! Boobs shrink after weaning??? Mine must have not gotten the memo. DDs are now 5 and 3.5 and I'm still at 32DD. I was a 32C before kids.

[georgiegirl]

Wait?! Boobs shrink after weaning??? Mine must have not gotten the memo. DDs are now 5 and 3.5 and I'm still at 32DD. I was a 32C before kids.

I'm a LLL leader, and I've had this same discussion with many moms. It seems like the boobs either shrink or grow. If only the large breasted mamas could donate to the small breasted mamas, then everyone would be happy.

[twowhat?]

Oh yeah, mine kept shrinking for FOREVER. It was exactly like you describe - 12 months after weaning I was STILL not sure about correct sizing and like you I had spent hundreds on bras because of the continued shrinking. SO frustrating!!!! I think it was probably 18 months post-weaning that I finally felt confident that they were done shrinking.

It took me about 9 months post-weaning but finally I forced myself to buy only enough bras to get me by (i.e. two - one to wash and one to wear) until I was sure my boobs had stopped shrinking.

Oh, and I figured out that my boobs didn't shrink any smaller than my pre-preggo size. But the SHAPE of them made it appear that they were smaller because they were so loose and floppy and didn't fill out the *tops* of a bra cup as nicely as well-rounded, firm, pre-preggo boobs would...they would "spill" into the sides of the bra cups. So I had to go hunting for bra STYLES that would work for my new boob shape. It is incredibly frustrating! I talked to 2 different breakoutbras CS reps and finally found a couple of bras that work quite well (they are described on the website as being good for women "whose breasts have less mass on top", plus the Lululemon Ta Ta tamers work well on me.

eta: I bet your weight loss has something to do with it. You may not fit into your pre-preggo pants but that isn't due just to weight. It's the shape of your body and how the weight is distributed that has changed. I'm at pre-preggo weight but none of my pre-preggo pants fit because my hip bones are just plain wider than they used to be. Not to mention the muffin top issue But YAY on all that weight loss - that is awesome!!

[Myira]

Oh, and I figured out that my boobs didn't shrink any smaller than my pre-preggo size. But the SHAPE of them made it appear that they were smaller because they were so loose and floppy and didn't fill out the *tops* of a bra cup as nicely as well-rounded, firm, pre-preggo boobs would...

This exactly, when I went to get measured at nordstrom I was surprised that I was still 32D, when my boobs look so deflated. I do have mass but its spread in all directions not perky and firm so if its all gathered then yes I do fill out a 32D cup.

[twowhat?]

OP should totally retitle this thread "Need help on which car to buy!" and then we can all sit back and

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Oh, and I figured out that my boobs didn't shrink any smaller than my pre-preggo size. But the SHAPE of them made it appear that they were smaller because they were so loose and floppy and didn't fill out the *tops* of a bra cup as nicely as well-rounded, firm, pre-preggo boobs would...they would "spill" into the sides of the bra cups

OMG, i was JUST going to post this! I thought about it some more and this is exactly it. Not really shrinking per se but being more saggy and not as "perky" (LOL). Sigh. i will wait a few more months and revisit bra shopping..

[hellokitty]

I'm glad you posted this thread. After 9 yrs of either being pregnant or breastfeeding, DS3 weaned about 8 mo ago and just recently, I noticed that it seems like I went from a DD to a D. My bra cups are kind of roomy. I'm happy about the shrinkage (dh is not), but hoping that maybe I will shrink down to a C cup, but just watch. I may shrink down a little bit more, but I'll end up with tube sock boobs, gah. I'm going to wait until 18 mo post-wean to consider buying new bras after reading this thread.