I never really thought of getting breast implants as an option for me. I've always had a slender body shape with nothing on top, and I didn't even get my tiny 32 A's until I was 16! As a teen and in my early 20's I was always very insecure of my flat chest and worked hard to find tops and swimsuits that would give the illusion of a fuller chest. Padded bras that don't even fit (gaps!) are pretty dang uncomfortable, so I've given up on that notion. I'm a lot more confident in my body and the way I look now that I'm nearing closer to 30, but I've decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and treat myself to the boobies I've always wanted :)
I started to seriously consider breast augmentation back in January. I talked to a coworker who had breast reduction surgery, and she raved about her surgeon Dr. Birndorf in Kenosha. When I told my gynecologist that I had a consultation for breast augmentation, she was supportive and asked me who my surgeon was. When I told her Dr. Birndorf she told me I had the best and would have recommended him to me had I mentioned a surgeon she didn't like.
I had my consultation this past Monday and my surgery is set for June 16th! I work in a school so I wanted to have surgery over the summer. I feel in good capable hands with Dr. Birndorf! He's known for natural results and will turn down patients who want to go bigger than he feels comfortable. He suggested 275 CC's, silicone, moderate profile, unders, crease incision. For reference, I am 5'7", 130 lbs, and a 32A (depending on the bra, I sometimes wear a 32B). When all is said and done, Dr. Birndorf predicts I will be a full B, small C!
I tried on three sizes- 250, 275, and 300 cc. The 250's looked almost identical to what I look in a standard pushup bra. I felt really comfortable with those, but Dr Birndorf told me he thought I may regret not going a little bigger when all is said and done. I've also read on this website time and again that women wish they went slightly bigger than they did, or if they last minute went slightly bigger felt very happy about it. While Dr. Birndorf thought the 275's would look best, he said with my height I could support a 300 cc size. The 300s were a bit overwhelming. Since the 275s already felt a little big, I didn't want to go too big and feel not like myself.
I want to go back to work in the fall and not have it be super obvious that I've gotten work done. Like I said, I'll only be slightly bigger than I am in my standard padded bras so I don't think anything will be too obvious unless I'm wearing something very tight (which you don't do when you work in a middle school!) I'm sure my close friends will notice the difference when I'm in beachwear, but I'm slowly telling them all anyway. So far everyone has been super supportive! I'm getting very excited- just over 8 weeks to go!
Updated on 31 May 2015:
I'm just over two weeks from surgery- 16 days to be exact. I can't believe how fast it's coming! I live alone, but my mom took off of work for the first couple of days so she can come and take care of me :) She had a BA 15 years ago so she kind of knows what to expect.
I've slowly tried to get my supplies in order. So far I've bought: two front-close sports bras, 3 loose button up short sleeve tops, Palmer's cocoa butter massage cream for stretch marks and scars, bendy straws, and 2 extra ice packs. I plan to get some easy snack groceries right before the actual surgery. Any other suggestions on what to get to have on hand for surgery?
I obsessed for a couple of weeks which size to get- 275 or 300 (silicone). I understand it's really only a couple tablespoons of difference, which calmed me down a bit. My surgeon believes 275 will fit me best, so I think I'm just going to go for that. I remember him telling me the 300 medium profile implant diameter was slightly longer than my actual breast, and I want to steer clear of any chance the implant would ripple or show through the side. I also don't want my boobs in my armpit! This is a conversation I plan to have with him the morning of surgery though, just to confirm.
I plan to call the doctor's office this week to ask about pain meds. Do they usually prescribe them ahead of time in order to be filled and picked up? Because it would suck to have to go to Walgreens after surgery to wait to fill and then pick up my prescription. I should also make sure to ask them about bras- I've noticed some surgeons are specific about what their patients wear, some are way more lenient, and some even advise their patients not to wear a bra at all for the first few weeks. I work in a school and really don't want to take time off to see the surgeon in person since we only have two weeks left of school until summer break, so I hope these sorts of questions are easily answered from a phone call.
Yay, I'm so excited!
Updated on 7 Jun 2015:
This will be my last week with tiny tatas :)
I called my surgeon's office last Thursday and they answered all of my questions. I also paid my surgeon's fees (I'll still have to pay anesthesia after the surgery). It's starting to get so real! Today I saw myself in a bathroom full length mirror while running errands and got giddy with excitement thinking I'll be more proportionate in just over week!
Updated on 17 Jun 2015:
I had my BA yesterday! Dr. Birndorf and all the staff were incredible. I had the nicest nurses who put me at ease. I was in at 6 for my 8 am surgery, and left by 1. So far, I've been in very minimal pain, mostly discomfort. Slept well last night, although I did wake up at 1am and couldn't fall asleep for another hour. I slept on my couch which was very comfortable for propping me up. My mom has been a Godsend taking care of me. I don't mean to jinx myself, but I'm feeling great. My only struggle is getting up off the couch to go to the bathroom. This has been easier than getting my wisdom teeth out! My boobs look pretty weird right now, but I know that's to be expected. I'm excited to see how my days progress!
Updated on 19 Jun 2015:
I took the tape off today and finally had a shower. I've been off pain meds since yesterday morning and took my (hopefully) last muscle relaxer this morning. I swear ripping off my tape has been the most painful part of this experience. The picture is from before I took a shower, so please forgive the blue smears from the surgeon's markings. Overall I think they're looking pretty good. A little franken-boob, but I know that's to be expected.
I've been very pleased with how I've been doing, but I've become so stir crazy. My mom left yesterday and I've had nobody to keep me company today. I did take two 3+ hour naps (one in the morning, one in the afternoon), so I guess it doesn't really matter that nobody was around, but I am getting lonely. One of my good friends who is in grad school is coming over to do her homework at my place tomorrow. I'll probably be reading/watching Netflix/sleeping while she's working on her paper, but it'll be nice to have another human body in the house again!
My surgeon's office has been great. They called me the day after surgery to see how I was doing and they followed up with another call today. They answered some questions I didn't even know I had. I'll see them in the office on Monday. They did tell me I'll have to take it very easy this weekend, even though I am feeling pretty good. They said I could go on a small walk, but that's about all I should handle. This probably sounds silly, but I felt prepared enough for the pain portion of the surgery, but not the boredom that would accompany it. Ah, oh well. It's a small price to pay for new pretty tatas. Sometimes I still can't believe I did it!!
Updated on 21 Jun 2015:
Hey Ladies!
I only bought two front close bras for post surgery, but am unlucky and neither fit properly. My goal is to go to the store today and buy a new bra or two. I'm 5 days post op and haven't been on narcotics since Wednesday morning, so it'll be my first venture out driving alone. I'm excited to get out of the house, but want to make it a quick trip since I'm easily tired.
I heard so many people loving on the Fruit of the Loom front closure, so I bought that in Medium figuring of course I'd be bigger than a small now. Well, I should have read the sizes more closely because the medium sizes don't start until a 36D/38B. My band size is a 32, so I basically feel like I'm wearing a crop top that flaps around at the bottom AKA no band support whatsoever. My surgeon stressed I need to wear a supportive and cupped bra, so I need to probably fix that. The other bra I bought was on sale online, and the band is VERY snug. So maybe I will wear it in the future, but I only have glue on my incisions so I'd get nervous about having something rubbing against me and so snug against my still swollen breasts.
My question to you all- where have you been lucky buying your post op bras(sports bra, no wire, etc)? I've heard Walmart mentioned before for the cute Danskin ones, but my local Walmart hasn't carried any of those the past three times I was there. I could probably try a size Small for the Fruit of the Loom bra, but that doesn't accommodate for a 32 band and I also don't *need* front closure bras at this stage since I have a wider range of motion. And let's face it, that bra is ugly and can't be hidden under 90% of my summer tops. I'm still going to give Walmart a shot, but wanted any other advice. Wish me luck :)
Updated on 21 Jun 2015:
just wanted to post some pictures! The bra I bought online that I originally thought was too snug has fit now two days after I originally tried it on. I'm guessing my swelling is slightly going down. It's funny because as I'm walking around my apartment I feel like my breasts are HUGE and I can't wait for the swelling to go down so they'll look a bit smaller and more natural. But then I look at the photos and I don't think they look all that big. I do think they look massive in the sports bra, but that's probably just me not being used to having any kind of boobage in sports bras.
Pardon my incision picture. The bruising on my left incision site makes it look kind of scary, but overall I think the lines are pretty thin. THey're currently perfectly in the crease and I hope they stay that way.
I see my surgeon for my one week post op check up (though technically it'll only have been six days) and I'm hoping to get a better idea of when I'll be able to start doing certain things again.
Updated on 21 Jun 2015:
I mislabeled my incision picture so I deleted it off the last post, but it wouldn't let me re-post it there. So here it is. Like I said, The bruising on my left incision site makes it look kind of scary, but overall I think the lines are pretty thin. They're currently perfectly in the crease and I hope they stay that way.
Updated on 29 Jun 2015:
Hi Ladies! I'll be at two weeks tomorrow. I feel 90% back to myself. I don't fatigue as easily as I did during the first week and a half, which is encouraging. Pushing things is a weird sensation (pushing a shopping cart, pushing a kid on a swing, etc.) I still don't feel like my new breasts are a part of me yet. How long did it take for other people to feel that way??
My surgeon used a glue type stitch for my incision site. It's started to peel away on its own, but I've been instructed to not peel it off myself. I can be quite a picker, so I'm actually quite proud of myself that I haven't picked off all the glue yet! Sometimes it gets stuck to my bra and I'll have to readjust, but other than that I haven't had any worries.
I still have my mini-moments of self-doubt. ESPECIALLY when trying on my old clothes that make my chest appear huge. But those moments are fleeting and overall I feel very positive about my decision. If I could go back and choose a different size, I'd maybe have sized down to 250 instead of 275, but I can't and I won't let myself dwell on stuff I can't control. And they're still going to change a lot, so I know what I have right now isn't the final product. But right now it can be frustrating trying to hide the top of my huge cans in summer tank tops ;)
Updated on 7 Jul 2015:
I'm officially at 3 weeks today. I saw my doctor yesterday for our 3 week follow up appt. Dr. Birndorf said everything is looking good- incisions are looking great. He told me the glue from the incisions will slowly come off on its own. The now dirty-looking glue doesn't bother me so much, but I'll be glad when it's gone. I got the okay to go swimming, but not to do laps or anything like that. Dr. Birndorf said I should be okay to start lightly jogging by next week- I just really need to pay attention to my body about what feels okay and what doesn't. I asked about sports bras for running -- I was told to steer clear from compression type sports bars and instead find supportive sports bras that have separate flexible cups that "envelop" my breasts without squishing them down. Padding and underwire for sports bras are a no-go for now. I was also instructed not to bother with massaging as Dr. Birndorf informed me that there hasn't been enough evidence based research proving that massaging changes results.
I measured myself as a 32D (!!). My band size is on the smaller side- I'm 28 inches around. My bust currently measures at a 35.5, which is supposed to round up for bra measurement purposes. The magic bra calculation of bust size minus band size (36-32 = 4, 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, 4=D) puts me right between a C and a D. Since I already had an epically hard time finding 32 A's and B's in normal department stores, I knew a 32D would be damn near impossible. I ended up buying two new 32D Wacoal bras (How Perfect Non Wire) online off eBay for a great deal. Wacoal is known for having a huge array of sizes, and eBay has been my new best friend lately for buying discounted but new merchandise. To hold me over until they arrived, I bought a "sister size" 34C bra from Walmart that I had to wear on the tightest hook. Since that one will stretch out a bit faster, it'll likely convert to a sleep bra in the not-so-distant-future. I seriously love my Wacoal bras! They stay put and do not move around for the entire day. And they're surprisingly not frumpy looking for a non-wire bra. I'd highly recommend them. I think they sell online for about $60, but I found both of mine for around $20 a piece on eBay (no, they were not used- they were new!).
I'm still feeling really good. I'm feeling better about the size. I was always in the habit of wearing my clothes very fitted to show off what little boobage I had. When I wear looser tops (or even just tops that aren't skin tight), I think I look great. It's when I wear some of my tighter tops that it becomes obvious that there's been quite an enhancement. It'll be a balancing act of getting used to my new boobies and figuring out which clothes flatter me or which clothes should be donated. I probably won't revamp my closet any time soon though.
Updated on 24 Jul 2015:
I'm 5.5 weeks (38 days) post op. The glue on my incisions were still there and horrid looking, and I read on this site that gently rubbing petroleum jelly would get the loose/dry glue off. It worked! Now I can get a better look at my incisions.
I couldn't be happier with the size and perfect straight little lines of the incisions themselves. The right incision is completely concealed in my crease. That being said, I'm having a mini freak out because my left incision rides higher on my left breast. I noticed it within a week or so after the surgery, but the glue was thicker and I tried to not think about it and wait until there was more settling. Now that the glue is gone, the incision scar does look a little bit closer to my actual crease line, but it's not there. It's by no means drastic and I'm not expecting perfection, but it bugs me. Additionally, my left breast sits lower than my right, which is a little concerning to me because my left shoulder naturally sits higher than my right, so if anything I'd expect that breast to be higher up, not lower. So in my mind I'm concerned that my left breast is lower than my surgeon had intended.
Overall, I'm still very happy with my breasts. And the only people who will ever see the scar are people who I choose to show. But right now I'm a little sad about the left crease incision. Does anybody out there have any experience with this? I'm hoping that by the time I'm done healing the scar will be barely visible. Any thoughts? I'm needing a little encouragement right now :/
Updated on 28 Jul 2015:
I'm at the pivotal six weeks today! Still not super happy with my left breast and crease placement (left incision is riding a little high), but it's not bad so I'm fine. And I'm still hopeful that once the incision heals completely the scar will be barely noticeable.
I've gone on two short runs within the past week. I wore my "Juno" sports bra (32D) from moving comfort. It's the bomb! It keeps the girls super supported and locked in place without smushing them down like a compression bra (which my surgeon said is a no-go). I was aware of my implants for the first couple steps, but then I didn't notice them at all. I also did a "buff yoga" class on Monday. It was great! I was able to do basically everything except for Chaturanga push ups and other difficult chest exercises (which I've never really been able to do anyway...) But overall I felt like I kept up with the class. For yoga I wore an adjustable Champion Max Support sports bra in small. The straps aren't as supportive as the Juno, so despite it being a "max support" bra, I'll probably use it for lower/medium impact workouts like yoga.
Sleeping- I don't think I mentioned anything lately. I am a tummy sleeper again! Honestly, the hardest part of surgery for me was probably lack of a good night's sleep from being forced to sleep on my back. After about two or so weeks I was able to sleep on my side for a bit, which helped, but it still wasn't great. I'd say about 4 weeks in I've been able to sleep in any position I want! I'm glad my boobs are still small enough to be a comfortable tummy sleeper again :)
I was supposed to see my surgeon yesterday for our 6 week appointment, but I was out of town so it's scheduled for next week. If I can remember, I want to ask him for silicone sheeting for my scars now that the glue is finally off. I mentioned them before when I still had my glue incisions, and while he's not a big supporter of them as he doesn't believe they are evidenced based, he said he'd support my decision to use them. I've just heard a lot on this site how they've been very helpful for some women, and my incisions are my only concerns at this point.
That's about it for me for now.
I love my new boobies :)
Updated on 24 Sep 2015:
Today is my 100 day boobie anniversary :)
I'm extremely happy with my results. They're not perfect, but I didn't expect them to be. They feel all me, and I totally forget I have them most of the time. The only time I really notice or feel them is when I do particular chest exercises. Speaking of exercise, I couldn't recommend Moving Comfort's JUNO sports bra more. I've tried other supposed high impact sports bras but I always had some uncomfortable bounce, which I don't experience at all with the JUNO.
I love how I look in clothes (and naked ;) ). I don't really love the way I look in bikini tops or tight tops- I think it makes my boobs look too obvious/fake. Overall though, I think my surgeon and I picked a great size for my body. One of the best decisions I've made for myself!