Breast Augmentation: Stories

See Part 1 of my breast augmentation review by clicking this link.

A few things I have forgotten to mention:
I have been sleeping on my side since about day 10. Left incision that was previously open is now closed. Both girls appear to pretty much have dropped all the way. Tightness is much better and they are softening well. About 75% soft. Morning boob is much better and is usually resolved with just morning stretches

Well, I've now started Part 2. I'm going to start by telling you my funny bra shopping story. So, the day I went shopping (before i went shopping) i was in my PS office for something unrelated (i'm going to be doing his before/after photos, was hanging out with his Dallas photographer and seeing what he likes for each type of surgery) when i was done, i went to just say hi to him and Julie (his office staff). We were standing there just chit-chatting, and he asked me was I happy with my size, i told him no. (at the time i wasn't) he said "you wish you had gone bigger?" I said yes. He said "No way!" with a look of shock on his face. Then he proceeded to tell me something I hadn't thought about. He said if i had gone bigger, that most likely it would have made me look heavier, when he told me this, i instantly thought about several people i knew growing up who were well endowed and tiny, but looked "fat" because of the way their clothes hung on their massive chests. He said, to not look bigger i would have to wear skin tight clothes all the time to emphasize my waist (think dolly parton), and he knew i didn't want to do that. I had never thought about this point, and considered he was right. I then explained to him that I thought it might just be because I was wearing sports bras and when i could wear a real bra i would feel better. Then, i went bra shopping.....
I went to Victoria's Secret, and asked the first girl i saw to measure me. She did, and said i was a 38D. I hate how they measure, and figured she was wrong cause i've always been a 36, and i haven't gained weight though i've been sitting around doing nothing, so i asked another girl to measure me, she got the same thing. Said my sister size would be a 36DD! I just can't wrap my mind around being a DD, so i tried on and bought some 38D bras. I asked the second girl, did they have any 38D that were wireless, as i'm not supposed to wear a wire for another few weeks, and she said yes and took me to the ONE style they had, pulled one out and handed it to me. I thought "that bra is HUGE!" I've never seen a bra so huge, let alone put it on my body! When i tried it on, and put my undershirt on with it.... i thought WOW, now these girls look HUGE! at that moment, i was happy that I didn't go bigger. I had told my PS what i wanted to achieve and he did just that (he picked the size). I would look obnoxiously huge if i had gone bigger. I promptly texted my PS and told him that when trying on bras, he was right, and i was glad i didn't go bigger, he text me back "I knew it!".
I am not adjusting quickly to the "view" when i have a real bra on, they seem big, and not like me, but I am slowly coming around.
Last Saturday I "worked" for the first time since surgery, it entailed a lot of crawling around on the floor with kids, and lifting my camera up and down, rolling backdrops up and down (pulling motion) and moving around props. It all went well, I didn't feel limited at all, and then i woke up Sunday sore, like hard workout type of muscle sore. I was thinking "what? i haven't been sore in weeks, why am i waking up sore?" and then realized it was because i had worked for the first time. Mind you, i don't think that "working" made me sore, i think it was more the "lack" of working the past 3 weeks, that did it. I took a lot of time off because i could, and my muscles were not used to be used in that manner. As a side note, i put all my christmas decorations up yesterday, and did not wake up sore today.
I see my PS for my 1 month post-op tomorrow, and then I can begin running. I might cheat and run today. When i went bra shopping, i bought some "tata" tamer sports bras from lululemon. and some new running shoes, i have a goal to run a half marathon this year.
As a side note, I'm worried i will "loose weight" in training, this has never worried me before i was all for loosing weight, but now i wonder if loosing weight will make me look disproportionate. I want a tummy tuck later, but that's just to take care of my "baby tummy". I don't really want to change my size, though i don't mind toning it up. Did anyone else loose weight after breast surgery, how did it affect your "look"?
Guess that's all for now.
Oh, one more thing, I let my husband play rather "aggressively" with the girls yesterday, and i haven't noticed them being sore or anything, I was worried since i am NOT doing massages, but it doesn't seem to have made a difference, and he really enjoyed it. It's like he's had a Lamborghini parked in the garage that he couldn't drive. He enjoyed his first "drive". :)
will post new pics tomorrow at 1 month.

Updating to add my "official" post op pics. Taken at 1 month. My husband actually took them, I will be doing this for my PS, and I went and set up because he has office tomorrow, and had my husband take these, so some of them are not exactly centered, but you get the point. My PS has recieved them and said that at this stage it is normal for my boob to be a little "flat" on the bottom, and that will round out in the next few months. :) He said everything looks good.
As a note, I hate the pics, I had bad posture, trying to tell my wonderful husband how to take them, and i was a little bloated, but oh well, if people notice that, then they didn't notice the boobs. :)

Yesterday, i started working (contract taking pictures) in my PS office. I was getting dressed in the morning, and i have this really low cut shirt, and i ALWAYS wear an undershirt with it. Well, the undershirt i wanted wasn't clean or i've misplaced it because i couldn't find it. So, i thought, I'm going to put the shirt on and see how it looks. I put it on and looked in the mirror and said to myself outloud "that might be a bit much". My husband who was standing right there, said "no it's not, you are going to be working in a PS office, it's merchandising". So, i wore it like that, feeling very brave and unsure of myself. I felt half naked, though it's not revealing because even though it's low cut, the neck is very thin, like a thin v cut out, just enough that all you see is cleavage. Well, the PS office is in the same office where the surgery center is, so when i went to work, i had brought my husband coffee, and i went downstairs to take it to him. I got tons of compliments on my shirt. It was just strange, because i still view myself differently, and i forget that things look good on me that didn't before.

I actually saw my PS for my 1 month post-op. He said everything is going well. Looks just as they should, my scars are healing very well, so he sees no reason to start on scar therapy... I was happy about this, i really didn't want to do scar therapy. He cleared me to run and do whatever else i want. He did say there is a spot on one of my incisions that looks like it might be trying to spit out a suture, but he can't see a suture yet, and so he wasn't going to do anything about it unless it actually did start spitting one out. (i wouldn't be surprised, i have spit out suture before). I am continually amazed at his bedside manner, and his thoroughness. I did mention to him that I was worried, that when i started running, and i got more "toned" that my body would begin to look disproportionate, and he assured me that I would not, my implant size was picked based on my chest width, and that was not going to change. That made me feel a lot better. I did mention that I have one spot that feels "weird" like the implant is going to fall out there, it's weird cause the rest of my boobs felt like this 2 weeks ago, and it's like this one spot is "slow to catch up" it's also the same spot where I previously had burning for no reason at all. He said, it was completely normal, he couldn't see any reason for it to feel that way, so it was probably just a nerve regenerating that was taking longer to "catch up" in the healing process. Now, that i know nothing is wrong with it, even though it feels different, i can relax and quit worrying about it.

I did go for my first run today, wearing the lululemon "tata tamer" sports bra. The girls were fine, no movement whatsoever. I couldn't run far, i was limited by my cardiovascular system, but I am going to push it a little more tomorrow. :) I hate that no matter what direction i do when i leave my house, it is uphill. The funniest thing about running, has to do with me not being used to my new body. When, i got dressed to run, and put on this super tight sports bra, i was about to head out and walked in front of a mirror, i had to do a double take, because when i saw myself and i still had boobs with the tight bra, my brain didn't compute it at first. I'm just not used to seeing myself that way, and it made me chuckle.

In other news, I am able to sleep comfortably through the night braless now. I have actually become more comfortable braless, than I was before. before the tight bras were kind of like a security blanket to me, and i felt i needed them to keep everything in place, i am quickly returning to my old self where things feel "normal" and the first thing i want to do is take off the restrictive bra! They are begining to feel like a part of me, and less foreign, I notice some muscle movements, but for the most part, they feel like they always did. And, I never had any disruption in nipple sensation. Yay! I love my girls, and I am so glad i did this! :)

So, Yesterday was my first day running, I feel like the girls didn't bounce at all, everything felt great, but then last night, my left boob (same area that burned before) was really sore, I didn't know if it was from being compressed in the bra, or my arm maybe running on it. It wasn't from bouncing.. But, I just took it for what it was, spent the rest of the night braless, so nothing would rub on it, and hoped it would be better. This morning, it did not feel better.
I almost didn't go for a run today, but it's supposed to rain the next 3 days, and I have goals to reach! So, i did, paid attention to that side, arm isn't running, still no bouncing, i ran some but walked most of it afraid to overdo it. (i have shaky leg syndrome now, they are in shock). When i got back from my run to take a shower, that side felt AWFUL, so bad, i thought maybe i just messed the whole thing up, it looked a little swollen, but i took a hot shower, put a bra on to support it, and it felt much better, but never "normal" it was always still "tender" all day.
Well, it's still sore. so, i was in the bathroom looking at it, expecting to see a bruise, that's how it feels, like deep tissue muscle sore, and it hurts if i push on it. I was feeling on it, and thought, is it numb? i can feel when i push, but can i feel on the skin? So, i took my fingernail and was poking the skin away from it, and gradually moved towards it. yep, it's numb, couldn't feel the sharpness of my fingernail at all. And i just noticed this at 1 month out? I guess cause it burned, and now is sore, it just didn't occur to me it would be numb, but the skin in fact is numb, and that's why it feels so weird.. So, whatever "healing" process is going on there, it's driving me insane. It is the ONLY numb spot, and i am hopeful that full sensation will eventually return, it's right around the lateral (outside) 1/3 of my left incision. but realizing it is numb, it's like a lightbulb went off and things are suddenly so much clearer! :) I'm also set to start my period anytime, so some of it might be hormonal.
On the positive, i'm really hoping for a "date night" with my hubby and a good reason to dress the girls up and go out. :) I feel like they need a "debut" and i would only ever debut them with my husband. Make him look and want me all night. hee hee.

The one thing that nobody talks about, is what an emotional roller coaster breast augmentation can be. I cried myself to sleep last night. allow me to vent for a moment.
I would have been ok with the completely fake look, having no boobs, and never having had any upper pole fullness or cleavage, I really thought I would come out of this with both. I now have a very natural looking breast with a nice slope, but not much upper pole, and not much cleavage. It's way better than what I had before, but not what I would have picked for myself, if it had been solely up to me. So, then, why did I pick it? why didn't i speak up and say i wanted more? Well, mostly because my husband was against augmentation for so long, and he didn't want me to have that "fake" look, He was finally "ok" with me having it done, and i was willing to settle for any kind of breast over having no breast. I do like them, don't get me wrong, i'm glad I'm not over the top out there, but there are a few factors leading to my "downhill ride" on the roller coaster last night, let me explain them.

1. A youth I work with at church, (who is not the type to keep things quiet) pulled me aside at church the other night and asked me if I had a boob job. I told her yes, I honestly figure, the more I keep it a secret, the bigger deal it will be, and then they will talk, if i'm open about it, and explain how the body changes after kids, then it won't be a big deal and maybe there won't be that much gossip. when she asked me and I realized people would know, my initial thought was "at least i didn't go super big, to be criticized for that, i look "normal" and parents can't judge me for wanting to look normal"

2. My husband has been horribly sick lately, i'm talking not sleeping, not breathing well, coughing, drained, sick. I could walk through the house naked. and he'd probably not notice. He has told me they don't "feel natural" to him, though right before he got sick, he was enjoying them, but since he's sick, he has no desire in me or my boobs. Let me explain how all this played out for me.

So, last night, i was "teasing" my husband before i went to bed, and he didn't even notice, i was playing with the girls and his response was "you haven't figured out where they are yet?" I know he was trying to be funny, but it stung. (probably because i'm on my period and all emotional, so things that normally wouldn't bother me, seem way over the top right now). So, i'm laying there thinking to myself: If he doesn't like them, maybe i should have gotten what i wanted, and really have boobs, I went "modest" because it was his preference, but he doesn't even enjoy his preference. then i thought and, if everyone at church is going to know and "talk about" my boob job, i should at least have given them something to talk about. This made me horribly mad at myself that I didn't speak up for what I wanted. I wanted to wear a strapless shirt and have boobs and cleavage, that won't happen. Granted, i can wear a swimsuit (or low cut) shirt and have a little cleavage, it's just not like I imagined it.

Now, in the light of day, a little less emotional, and a LOT more rational, I realize that all of those thoughts were ridiculous, but last night, i didn't. I was hurt and upset. Yes, I sometimes still wish they were bigger, but not to the point of crying over it, i'll just compensate with bras (which i was hoping to never have to do again). I honestly feel like they are the same old boobs, only in a bigger bra, but when I look at pictures i know that's not true.

Anyways, back to my point: People don't tell you that you will have a love/hate relationship with your new boobs. and that anything can trigger it. Not finding the right shirt to wear or having it not fit like you imagined can trigger it. I'm 5 weeks out, and i still have days where i dislike them, but mostly i do like them. This site has been helpful in realizing that I am not alone in my emotional rollercoaster. I assume when summer gets here and I can wear shirts (i love my summer shirts) that are a little more form fitting and revealing (modestly revealing, if you can imagine) that I will love them a lot more than i do now, but right now, this early there is still a mindset that has to change in me to truly love them. I forget how bad they were to start with, and often find myself looking at my side by side before/after pictures to remember what i am grateful for. I look at pictures of bras and bathing suits, and I know they will never look like they do in the picture, i just don't have those boobs. Mine are wideset with a huge gap between them that creates little to no cleavage even though they project more than they used to. and, there is no upper "roundness" to them, and i was hoping there would be a little. It's only the "front view" of them i don't like, i think they look the same. So, i have to adjust myself to my body, and remember that i got exactly what I asked for, even though, i maybe didn't know how to ask for what i wanted.

Just know, if you have a love/hate relationship with your new boobs, it's normal, and I love them more every day, so i'm sure that in the end all the emotions will settle as will my new self-image and I will love them, but, if the rollercoaseter ride could hurry and finish so i didn't have the "hate" portions, i would be just fine with that! :)

I don't want you guys to get the idea that my husband isn't supportive, he is really supportive just sick and not feeling well. He is super supportive and usually tells me exactly what I want to hear, but being sick, lowers his patience and tolerance and makes him honest, and not caring about anything else. He is the most supportive person i have ever met, so please don't get the wrong idea about him! :)

adding 5 week pics

Put on the swimsuits I wore last year to help get a little perspective.. Attaching pictures.

So, yesterday i decided to try on some of my swimsuits. Thought that would really give me perspective on "the girls". See how they fit. I was surprised, my favorite one, that used to be pretty modest, cause i was flat as a pancake wearing it, is not slightly inappropriate for church type events. :D I felt much better. I just have to change my perspective. I talked to my husband about getting exactly what I wanted from my surgeon, but how i'm not sure i knew how to ask for what I wanted. How there are things I would change, but ultimately, I didn't ask for that. I got exactly what I asked for, and having tried on my swimsuits, I think i will be very happy I got what i asked for and not what i had envisioned. As otherwise, swimsuits might be an issue. I'm attaching pictures, because I was so excited. :)

Went Bra shopping again yesterday, as I am now cleared to wear underwire (providing it's not bothering me). This time, I didn't even have the girls measure me, i just tried on a few sizes till I got what I thought "fit". I decided on a 36D. I tried on all sizes, even a 38C, and it felt too big. I had fun trying on bras, only bought 2, as i bought 3 last time, and I want to find the 'style' i like and I will order more, 1 was a plain white wear with everything bra, and one was a snazzy leopard print, with bling and a "tad" bit of a pushup. I say "tad" bit because the amount of padding in the push up, bottom part of the bra, used to be the amount of padding in my entire bra. :) I bought it to "dress up" the girls occasionally. It's also the first ever leopard print bra. They girls make me want exciting things to dress them in. :) I had fun bra shopping, vetoed one bra because the elastic on the straps seemed to stretchy. It wasn't doing anything for the girls, they were controlling the bra, there was not holding them up in a nice place, they were holding the bra down. Confirmed that I should try on bras and know what I like, THEN i can buy online, because the girls just aren't made for all bras. I'm adding pictures of the 36D bra. Before surgery, I thought a D cup was huge, now I realize it's not so huge. :)

I also did a little "clothes" shopping, as I needed some new dress shirts. I found myself walking along, looking at shirts and thinking "can't wear that, can't wear that" based on how my figure USED to look. My brain hasn't caught up with me yet. :) I ended up with 4 shirts, they were all "safe" shirts, that i knew would look good, just picked for size. I'm excited to go buy some shirts that show a little cleavage and play up the girls. I'm SUPER excited to go swimsuit shopping in a few months. That will take a long time i'm sure, as i'm used to looking for modest swimsuits with padding, and now I can wear whatever i want. It will be exciting to buy them to play up and down the girls. Shopping was fun, and I really like my end result. Hope everyone is healing well and enjoying their boobies, or if you don't have them yet, you are just SUPER excited! Best decision I've ever made. :)

So, I'm getting used to and tired of wearing a "regular" underwire bra. I love that it feels "normal" and looks good in clothes, but i'm back to my old self and can't wait to take it off when i get home. I am having a hard time changing my mindset from "you must wear a bra to have boobs" to "you must wear a bra for modesty". :) Cause, i can go braless now and still have boobs. As a matter of fact, friday I had on a "ruffly" shirt and about halfway through the day i thought "i really want to take this bra off" as i went to have lunch with my husband, and then realized "i can!" So, i took it off in the car, put it in the backseat, still had boobs and no one was wiser. I'm really loving the girls! I love being able to wear a bra with just 'modesty' padding and not major push up padding. Life is good!

So, i've really been needing to go to the chiropractor, but was a little scared. (especially after the fiasco with trying to have my husband pop my back about week 3). I was afraid it would hurt my chest, having my back pushed on, so i've been putting it off. Well, yesterday i was in his office buying a supplement for my sister and he was standing there, asked how I was, i replied with "i'm good, need to come see you but been pressed for time" and he said "i can adjust you right now, come on" (he is a friend of mine). So i did, he didn't even pull my chart just walked into the room with me, I was real tense cause i thought it might hurt, but it didn't. and felt so much better to have my back where it needs to be. I am at week 6 post op, and wonder if i could have gone to see him sooner. Oh well, now i know. ;)

as an added plus! I'm going out with my hubby tonight and wearing an awesome low cut halter shirt that i love but rarely wore before, it's going to look like new shirt on me. boobs, cleavage, the whole shebang! :) I'm excited to see if he can look in my eyes and talk to me over dinner or if he's checking out my "rack". I'll let you guys know how it goes. :)

So, nothing new really to post about the "girls". all is well. But, my augmentation seems to have improved my daughter's self esteem. before my surgery she was the 'busty' one in the house. Now not so much, cause mom is "normal". Well, i'm notorious for sleeping in pajama pants and a cami with no bra. I live like this in the house in the evenings. well, the daughter was always t-shirts, with sports bras, or something like that for lounge wear. (she would "hide" them). I noticed last week she started wearing pajama pants with a cami with no bra. She's not the type to ever flaunt her body, but i don't want her to be ashamed of it, and i'm amazed how much my surgery has impacted her. I guess now she realizes that boobs are fine, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. I didn't expect my surgery to have positive effects on the rest of my family, but it has, and I am grateful. I'm so glad i did it and wouldn't change it for anything. Next week is 2 months, i may take some new pictures for you, but they pretty much still look the same. ;)

Took a pic for my sister to send to a friend of hers, I really like it, though I would share.

So, not much new here with the girls. I think i'm 9 weeks out. Something like that, past the 2 month mark, barely. I have noticed they are dropping "below" my incision, but only by like an 1/8 of an inch. It's not "bottoming out" by any means, and it doesn't bother me at all. but i bet PS is frustrated by it, though he probably won't say anything, he comes next week, I might have him look at them and see what he thinks. It might just be the way my skin is relaxing or something, because they don't seem any lower.

In other news: I took my first EVER PiYo class last week. I was all, ah, this will be a breeze... it was also the first class she taught at this location, so she was "explaining" things as she went along, when she told us we would be doing "girl pushups" i thought, "oh no!" I haven't worked out AT ALL, other than a little running, and IDK if my chest muscles will be able to handle it, i mean, i could do them before, but i hadn't even tried to do them since surgery. I did though, and it was ok. I could tell that the girls were "changing shape" a little with the muscle compression, but since we were all struggling and doing push ups, it didn't matter, no one could see it, probably couldn't "see it" even if they were looking. It was exciting to me, especially to be in that class with all my curves and sports bra and still HAVE curves. ;) I loved it.

Also, i ordered a cute little 'nighty' from VS for valentine's day for my husband, it was nice to order something and not have it just "hang" over my chest, i actually have some cleavage. I didn't order one with a "bra" built into it, and it was nice, i don't have to worry about "needing" a bra or padding to look good. Granted, i'm sure i won't wear it long, but it was a nice feeling to be able to order something and not stress over how it will look. If i think about it, i'll take a picture of the top of it tomorrow while he's at work and post it for you girls.

I'm ready to "tone" up the rest of my body now to match the awesomeness of my new boobies. I'm running and taking a few classes at the Y. Summer is coming, and i MUST be able to flaunt these chicks off in a bathing suit without being super self conscious about everything else.

Posting some pictures of my scars. And an updated frontal. Not much change.

Nothing really new. Still healing, have put on some weight. :(. No problems with running activities. Pretty much settled as of now. They feel "natural" I don't notice the muscle moving over them anymore I don't feel limited by them and have gotten used to having them. Still wish they were a little larger some days, but I love them!! Adding some new pics. I see subtle things in them I won't point out because you guys might not notice! :)

So, no new pics. But. I'm 5 months out right now. All is great, the girls are so much fun. I have noticed that the left one has dropped lower than it should, so I showed my PS today. He said it was an easy fix and he could fix it for me if I want basically, by reinforcing my incision.

I want a tummy tuck at the end of the year, so I will probably have him correct it then. It's not super noticeable, but I'm a little OCD and I noticed it. :)

I only mention it here to let you know that dr. Hubbard is amazing and his post op even 5 months out is more than expected! He never fails to please! :)