Where did my boobs go?

“Gee Melissa!” My mother-in-law exclaimed in front of the rest of the extended family. “Your boobs have really dropped, haven’t they?”

I could feel six sets of eyes wandering over my t-shirt, where my boobs should have been.

In her defense, (and I have a wonderful mother-in-law), since I gave up breast-feeding six months ago, I’ve been wondering the same thing. Just exactly WHERE have my boobs gone? I’m sure what she really meant was, how deflated, floppy and reminiscent of old footy socks my breasts have become.

I was so lucky to have been one of those mothers who found breast-feeding easy and fairly enjoyable. My son seemed to know what he was doing (I was sure he studied “Baby Love” whilst in the womb), and I was lucky enough to make plenty of milk to keep him satisfied.

But just what exactly happens when we stop breast-feeding? Why do we all of a sudden feel like we are in mourning over the boobs we once had?

The team at FIA (Female Intelligence Agency) says, “Breast involution is a process where the milk-making system inside the breast shrinks because it is not needed anymore. This happens either after weaning, or right after pregnancy if the woman does not breastfeed at all, or during menopause. When the tissues inside the breast shrink, and the skin surrounding it doesn't, the breast can look "empty" and saggy. After weaning, a woman's body does usually deposit fat back to the breast (this process takes months), so that breasts will gain their pre-pregnancy size, but sagging usually remains” source

Yes, well, if I do say so myself, I think I had great breasts before I was pregnant. But I can honestly say that if it means I have a healthy baby boy with an iron-man immune system, and I was able to give him the best start in life, then I would happily give up my perky, fulsome breasts for deflated, saggy boobs any day. 

Bring on the push-up bra!

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