33 Years Old, Mom Who Breastfed, 375 MF - Vancouver, WA

My son is 3 years old, and I breastfed him for 28 months.

Prior to my pregnancy I was a 32 B, but I was happy with my size. I'm 5'1, 110 lbs. I had cute perky boobs that fit my small frame. During pregnancy, I gained 40 lbs and went up to a D cup. The two years I breastfed, I was a 32 DD or 34 D.

Now my boobs have gone back to their 32 B size, but they have lost all perkiness and look smaller than they did before. They're soft and deflated. And I really miss my breastfeeding boobs I had the past few years! So the goal is to get them back.

I already had my consultation and pre op appointment, I'm just waiting to have my surgery in a few weeks. I am getting teardrop gummies, inserted bilateral (under the breast incision, under the muscle).

I looked at 3D imaging and initially liked 335 cc, but after trying sample implants on at home, decided to go bigger. Then I tried 375 cc on under bras at Victoria's Secret, and I feel it will make me the perfect size, because I fit back into my old bra size I wore while breastfeeding. I have decided to go with MF rather than MX, a moderate profile, because I think it is more natural looking. My boobs never had much projection, even at their biggest. They tend to just be bigger around.

I will add some before pictures & of course some afters once I have my surgery.

First of all, I was pretty upset - the hospital called me at 5:30 pm the evening before to say I needed to be there for check-in at 5:30 am. My husband just got back from deployment, we live in Hawaii & I've been staying in Portland (my favorite city) the entire time. His plane wasn't even due until 11 pm, so I figured I wouldn't make it to our Vancouver hotel until around midnight.

I was right. Had to shower with hibacleanse before going to bed and after waking, so I got 4 hours of sleep. I couldn't eat or drink anything after 10 pm. I was running around all day trying to get all my last minute shopping and cleaning done with my rambunctious 3-year-old underfoot, and truth be told I was just nervous about my condo not looking presentable. I wasn't at all nervous about my upcoming procedure. I did get all my cleaning & shopping done, but I didn't get a chance to eat until 9:45 pm on the way to the airport.. I had a slice of veggie pizza & a chocolate hazelnut wheat cookie & bottled water from Hot Lips.

That morning I still was not at all nervous, and I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be. I was just very excited, under a calm exterior. Good news was, it was too early for me to be hungry for breakfast! And our hotel was 8 minutes away. I'm glad we didn't drive there from Portland in the morning.

Everyone at the hospital was so nice! I had to do the routine stuff of peeing in a cup, getting blood pressure checked and blood drawn, putting on a hospital gown after wiping my body down with hibacleanse wipes, getting an IV in.. Which I hated. But they said my blood pressure & blood sugar was perfect. I was glad I did force myself to eat the night before, because I was excited about seeing my husband again for the first time since July. I was not hungry.

Then they put compression socks on me and covered me with warm blankets and left me alone before the anesthesiologist came in, so I was able to take a brief nap.

The anesthesiologist was a funny guy, he was making me giggle up until the point I was wheeled into the operating room and put under. He said I did not seem nervous at all. When I first came to, I did not believe it was done. I thought I hadn't passed out yet, that only seconds had gone by. Then they asked me if I was nauseous or in pain, and I realized it was done. I said no, I was just freezing cold! I started shaking and my teeth were chattering. They said that was the anesthesia wearing off, and they gave me something for it. My boobs were numb, then cool and tingly, and I then saw they had put ice packs on them. I didn't like laying down flat & wanted elevated, and threw that ice off me because I was still cold, all though my shivering slowed down. Then I noticed no pain in my boobs, but a pressure.. Just like being engorged right after giving birth, as all my colostrum came in, only there would be no relief from pumping or feeding my son. It wasn't bad though, and certainly not an unfamiliar sensation.

They gave me water, hot tea, saltines & custard at my request, had me go pee, then called my husband to come get me. He had our sweet boy with him. Then we ended up driving around Portland for a while, because I was honestly feeling great aside from a little groggy, and my husband had never been here before. We got home and I wasn't sleepy for some reason, just really chatty. But we all three did take a nap eventually. Then we went on a walk, got some ice cream, and visited a toy store where we browsed and played for a while. I took lots of breaks sitting down throughout our little outing.

My appetite was great! Got two scoops of ice cream (Sunday brunch, which is a maple bacon one, and coffee & whiskey) in a waffle cone. Then stopped at a food truck for ginger lemonade. And I was drinking lots of water at home.

I ended up taking all my meds at 3:30 pm with a snack, just a mozzarella string cheese, strawberry applesauce & unsweetened almond milk. It was ibuprofen, Percocet, some stuff for muscle spasms, antibiotic, and the arnica tablets I started few days beforehand, plus my L-Arginine, daily vitamin, vitamin C and B complex that Dr Gabriel had me taking a few weeks before. I didn't feel like I needed any of the pain stuff, but took it preemptively. I did not take any anti nausea tablets, because I had the patch behind my ear that was 100% effective.

I started feeling a tiny bit sleepy, but not much. We walked to a nearby BBQ place and ate dinner outside in the fresh air, I had some pulled pork, baked beans & braised greens. I didn't take any other medications before bed besides the antibiotic and dulcolax stool softener. I was feeling bloated, as many have described, and my back was kinda tender. I had my husband wash my son in the bath so I didn't have to lean over like that. I went to bed reasonably early after watching some Walking Dead on my iPad in bed with my husband, who missed it on deployment, with my boobs iced down. I've been sleeping with my back slightly elevated, propped up with three pillows, and a pillow below my knee.

I woke up at 2 am thirsty & with some dull pain and pressure, so I took all my prescriptions again along with the arnica, and here I am writing this. I hope it's not too bad in the morning. It is not unbearable now.

I have not taken off my special bra they gave me or any bandages, and the nurse said I could sponge bathe but no showers until after I see Dr Gabriel on the 8th. So I will take pictures then.

I've been wearing this loose soft denim button-up shirt and relaxed fit jeans, and a comfy fuzzy calf length cardigan from Free People when I go out, instead of my tight puffer jacket. I haven't taken the compression socks off at all.

Oh, and another thing - I still don't know what sizes Dr Gabriel put in. I just let him know that I wanted something in the lower 400's for my small boob, and because of my asymmetry and the gummie teardrop sizes, he said it would be a challenge evening them out. He said he'd play around with sizers and see what worked. I trust his judgment completely. But I'm scared to look at them under the bra right now! I don't wanna see no franken-boobies just yet. But turning side to side and looking down, they seem evened out! Finally! They've been pretty asymmetrical my whole life, which I hated.

Also something that was funny, Dr Gabriel marked me with a Sharpie pre-surgery & said, "This is your boob marker. You can have it." Well, my husband used it to outline some dioramas in white cardboard boxes for my son's figurines before coloring it in with paint markers. That made me chuckle.

I've included the pictures I took in the hotel bathroom the morning I went in.. I'll post more after I get the bandages off!

I'm glad I took all that medication when I woke up hurting at 2 am, and went back to bed.

Also I got brave enough to take off my bra they gave me and get a first look at the new boobs! They're of course sitting high right now, one more than the other.. But that's common and to be expected. They look symmetrical!

That's so exciting for me, I never had symmetrical boobs.. Although they used to be so small that only I could really tell. But when I was breastfeeding and they were big, you could REALLY tell. No matter how much I tried to rotate my son's feelings and even them out.

I'm so excited and happy, can't wait for them to drop and fluff. I know they will look good then.

Had my husband take some pictures in my bedroom this morning, natural light. So these look much better than that hotel bathroom light.