The perks, pitfalls and perilously over-stuffed cups of a busty mum-to-be: introducing new guest writer Kaela LaRosa.
It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I was (finally!) shown the light of a fitted properly bra. I dropped band size, increased cup size and the effects… WOW doesn’t quite cover it. It was vaguely reminiscent of the feeling you have after finally ending a shitty relationship; why did I stay so long? Why was I so committed? So convinced? Goodbye 38 D, Hello 36 F. Supportive, comfortable, sexy, and perfect for me.
And then I got pregnant. My clothes got tight, my bras got tighter. My husband, normally a fairly normal guy became a ‘dude’ and reverted to gaping (and groping) at me like a 16 year old boy. This man is no stranger to breasts, especially mine, but the newfound fascination he’s had with them has been beyond flattering. Let’s just say no complaints!
I figured as an already well figured woman not much would change. Foolish! It’s all changed, from size to weight to sensitivity and everything I’ve learned to be true and right for my chest has been called into question. In an attempt to maintain my perky ways, I went and purchased a couple new bras, same band size, one cup larger. My logic seemed to work at first, but soon I was back where I started. And though I was wearing my favorites styles, they were binding and the pretty lace I always covet was irritating me and making me itchy in unflattering ways. The term ‘let ’em down easy’ wasn’t meant for your chest but that’s what I found myself doing at the end of every day, taking a deep breath, unhooking, and literally letting them down. With all the changes and challenges that lay ahead, getting to re-know my chest was never one I considered.
So what’s a girl to do? What reviews to believe? Underwire or soft cup, nursing bras pre-natal or wait until after?
How much more change is there to come?
Kaela LaRosa will be writing about her pre & post baby boobs and reviewing maternity lingerie on Busts 4 Justice throughout the year. If you have a request, question, top tip, suggestion or solution, please comment on this post or say hello through the usual channels (here, here, and here).
Busts 4 Justice 
I have no experience with pregnancy, but Sarah from StackDD+ did a great job of documenting her pregnancy changes and what worked for her. June from Braless in Brasil is only fairly recently pregnant and is documenting her bra changes as she goes. Here’s hoping that if you don’t already read these two blogs, they can help you out 🙂
http://www.stackdd.com/
http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/
I’ll pass these on to Kaela – thank you! x
Oh, pregnancy and post-pregnancy boobs. 🙂 No-one can really tell what will happen, it seems to vary a lot between different women. I went from a 34D/32E to a 32H/HH during my first pregnancy/nursing, but went down to a 32G/GG after without losing any volume or firmness, rather the opposite. During my second pregnancy I again went up a cup size but went down to a a 32GG/H afterwards. My breasts are however mostly made up of glandular tissue, always have been – sort of hard and with “lumps” in them that make self-exams damn near impossible, especially after my pregnancies. My post-baby boobs also seem to be constantly changing and bruise really easily. Chasing around after two active small children can be perilous to boobs – they tend to get squished 😦 All this means that I have had to have a couple of mammograms during the last few years, but thankfully everything looks OK. The specialist doctor (a breast surgeon) that I was referred to last time agreed that I have a lot of glandular tissue and understood that I have problems doing self-exams without bruising myself. He said I may have to wait for menopause for my boobs to shrink, since the amount of glandular tissue apparently decreases with age.
I actually started out my post-baby boob experience wanting a reduction, but not any more. Thanks to websites like this one and the increasing selection of big-cup bras (and clothing…and bikinis…) I am gradually becoming more comfortable with my new shape. Having properly fitted bras is so important, especially during pregnancy and nursing. If you can fit in to the size range of Anita (a German brand specialized in nursing/pregnancy underwear) they are so worth investing in. I know some people don’t recommend using underwire bras during pregnancy and nursing, but I found I could not live without them so I settled for good-quality bras and constant re-fittings to make sure I was wearing the right size. For early nursing (and massive swelling) I would recommend Bravado, since some of their models are really stretchy to accommodate for those first pesky post-partum days. The support could be better, but you won’t exactly be jogging around right then anyway…
Now, I was in an improperly fitted bra before I got pregnant, so I know my experience is strange. But I stayed in my old bras (38DDD/Fs) until almost the end when I went up a band. I gained very little weight (yeah, I know) and my breasts didn’t really change in size — they got firmer, but not much larger. Maybe a bit. I was also losing weight while But since I was in badly fitted bras to start….
After she was born, I got fitted at a nursing store and they first put me in a 36H/I (US sizes) but then I promptly lost another 15-20 pounds and ended up in a 34GG or so. And actually, I think I was at the border of needing a 32 band! I wore a 34GG Elomi for months.
I highly recommend nursing tanks — I like the Bravado ones — for the first 4-6 weeks until your supply regulates, if you’re breastfeeding. A maternity bra with a lot of hooks and some stretch in the cups is also useful for during pregnancy.
Two and a half years later, I’m still in 34GGs even though I day-weaned at 1 and weaned fully at 2. I also gained the weight I’d lost after pregnancy back and stayed in the same band size (with some edging towards 36 bands, but evidently I gain and lose around my rib-cage first, go figure!)
But nobody can predict, to tell the truth. Everybody is variable. I also have very dense and heavy breasts so I’m sure that had some effect on how my size changed.