40 Years Old, Married with Two Young Children - Salt Lake City, UT

I have always had small breasts (small A cup) and liked how overall petite I was (breasts, frame, etc). Although I did not breast feed (we adopted), I have lost some volume. I have been preemptive about aging, starting botox when I was 35, juvederm, laser work, etc.; however, I have a very natural look and doubt most people know I have done those procedures. My husband didn't even know until a few years ago when he commented on how well I was aging and I had to fess up. In any case, I am scheduled for augmentation and am very nervous about being too large so that it will be obvious and recognizable that I have had augmentation. My goal is for them to look very natural and that if someone does notice them, they think, "wow, how did I not notice those before?" Right now I am thinking 250ccs, at the most 275. I am a little nervous too about how to handle this with my daughters because I don't want them to think I'm doing this for someone else or because this is necessary to be beautiful.

Hi all,
I ended up having my surgery a few weeks earlier than planned. It went really well and I just got my drains out today. Freedom!!! While they're on my mind, for those who will have drains, know that they won't hurt, but are just a nuisance. They begin to itch and it's not fun going out in public, but they help prevent swelling (so ultimately pain) and hematoma, so in my mind, they were worth it.

But back to the surgery. I was really calm in the days beforehand, but I think it was a reaction to my husband and mother freaking out. I did wonder whether I would chicken out at the end and the very first thing I said when I woke up afterwards was, "I can't believe I actually did it!"

Overall, the pain was much less than I expected, but I had my supermom here to take care of me and she kept me on top of the meds. By staggering the vicodin and the 800 mg of ibuprofen, I never was in serious pain. On a scale of one to ten, the most I ever got to was a 4 or 5. I generally stayed at 3 for those few few days. Mornings were toughest when my chest muscles had tightened over night and had to loosen up. In addition to the pain, it caused nausea. Yuck. It's totally normal, of course, but it did make the first hour of every day tough. I did the vicodin every 4-6 hours for the first two days and then tapered off it on the 3rd day. It's day 8 and I'm still taking ibuprofen twice a day.

I was a 32A before and went with 250ccs in each breast. I have never desired large breasts and did this mainly to restore fullness. In my opinion, I am still too big and look forward to the swelling going down. Since I went under the muscle, they haven't yet descended into the pocket, which I understand will further decrease their size. If I had to guess, right now I'm a small c-cup and will hopefully shrink enough so that I'm a large B. Again, they seem HUGE to me. I can guarantee that I will not be a case of having boob greed!

My PS was amazing and totally understood my desire to not have large breasts. The way my PS works is that he has the wish photos with him in the OR. He and his nurses then use sizers and discuss how large to make them. Apparently, he wanted to go smaller but was outvoted by the nurses. It would have only been down to 230, so it wouldn't have made a huge difference, but I am wondering whether I'd be more pleased at this point. Ultimately, I know they'll be fine and I'll get used to them. I really did this so that I will feel good about myself in 10 years, so I don't think there will be any regrets.

Because I live in a small town, I don't want to share photos on here, but if anyone wants to contact me personally, I'd be happy to show after photos. My doctor has the before photos.

I must thank all those who were more candid than myself, however, because your photos and experiences answered so many questions. I think I would be freaking out right now, wondering why my nipples are pointed slightly downward, why the implant seems to be riding high, etc.

For those with young children, I'd highly recommend that you have a caregiver (or two) in addition to your spouse. The first day or two required a lot of attention and I wouldn't have gotten through it as easily if it had just been my nanny (on Thursday and Friday) and then husband on the weekend. Having my mom here was amazing. Plus, I must admit that there was something special being cared for by my mom at 40!!

Anyways, good luck to all those out there with upcoming surgeries. Stay ahead of meds and you'll do great!! Hugs.