“Breast Reduction Tomorrow - Iowa”

I started developing at age 9, by the 7th grade I was a 36C and was already getting attention from guys due to my breast. All of my friends were jealous, I was "the girl with big boobs." Yes, it made me self-conscious but I liked the size of my boobs, it completed my curvy figure (I have what my family calls a "bubble butt").

However, by 11th grade I was a 36DD and weighed 135lbs. I couldn't fit into swimsuits, shirts that my friends and even mom could wear looked slutty on me. Even with shirts underneath I still showed A LOT of cleavage. My back and neck started to hurt, too. By the time I was a freshman in college I was a DDD. My fiance didn't like how much cleavage I showed and I told him I couldn't help it. After showing him just what I went through with getting dressed and trying to find appropriate clothes he agreed that it wasn't my fault.

Once when I was at the mall I actually had a guy say "Damn, do those have their own Zip Code?!" For a LONG time I've felt like a freak. I felt like I wasn't attractive, people only paid attention to me because of my boobs. Guys only thought I was hot because of my body. On top of my boobs my butt (and still does) always got commented on as well. For a thin, young, white woman I had a very curvaceous body.

Now, after having a kid and (attempting) to breast feed, I am a 34G! My back causes me such pain that at times I can't move or pick up my son. Also, I tried for 10 weeks to breast feed my son. My breast were so large that my nearly 8 lb baby got lost, literally HIDDEN under my breast during feeding. I couldn't see if he was latched properly because my boobs were so large, it hurt to hold him in position, I had flat nipples which made it hard for him to latch...and on top of it all he had a minor "tied tongue". After 6 weeks I ended up pumping exclusively. However, I never got enough because I couldn't find a breast shield big enough for my boobs. My son would get so frustrated after trying multiple times to latch onto my huge, flat nipples that he would get angry and cry and wiggle like crazy. After multiple break downs and emotional nights, my husband and mom asked me if I had considered a reduction? Of course not I said. If I get a reduction I won't be able to breast feed...and that was very important to me. I was a major advocate of breast feeding so to realize that I couldn't BF my own son was a fatal blow.

The difficulty breast feeding is actually what decided me on the reduction. My mom pointed out that I had so much difficulty with my son, there was no guarantee that the next child would be more successful. My breast were so large that they caused BF problems anyway, it'd be best to get the reduction and relieve myself of the pain so I could be a better mom. After consulting the surgeon and finding out that I could still breast feed but would have to supplement I finally decided to do it. And the fact that after BF after a reduction it actually "regrew" the lost milk ducts so the next child would most likely be able to fully breast feed I new it was I needed to do.

So I'm not only doing this for me, I'm doing it for my son and future children.

Updated on 11 Aug 2011:
Got discharged form the Surgery facility at 7am today and went to fill my pain meds subscription and then went directly to Dr. Cherny (my surgeon). While at the surgery facility the nurse was very impressed with how little drainage I had and said I should be getting my drains out this morning, sure enough he took them out! I would hate to wear those things around for a week!

Dr. Cherny said my breast looked lovely and I should be about a D cup once they drop and all that. He said not to brag but "You have lovely breast tissue, partly because of your young age, and should heal up nicely. Also, you aren't flat which sometimes happens with reductions. You still have that nice full breast shape."

Those were the exact words I needed to hear! I will try to post some pictures this week. And thanks for all of the well wishes.

Updated on 13 Sep 2011:
Finally, some pics! Tomorrow I will be 5 weeks post surgery. I still have some pain along the "lower" scar (the one that runs under the boobs) but I'm sure it's because I just overdo it sometimes. It's hard to take it easy when I'm a mommy of a soon-to-be toddler and full time student. The lower scar on the right boob has "pulled away" which kind of sucks because it doesn't look as perfect as I want and might get in the way of some bras. However, I'm still very happy with my new boobies...much better than before.