Do you get it? I have a theme going! First vaginas. Now
breasts. And next week....Penises! Wait... Never mind, this isn't that
kind of blog. Bummer.
First of all, thank you so much
for being so open (womp, womp) in the comments of my last post. Your
stories, advice and words of wisdom were extremely helpful and I'm
looking forward to what I hope to be an episiotomy-free, tear-free,
birth experience with my second babe.
In the meantime,
I was asked by several readers to write about my breast reduction(s).
Yes, I had two. My first surgery was at age eighteen and my second, I
was twenty. (My breasts either grew back or weren't fully finished
growing at eighteen.)
After both surgeries I went from
a 36 FF-cup, which they DO NOT sell at Victoria's Secret, by the way, to
a more practical 34D. (For those of you looking into breast reduction
surgery, ask small. I actually asked to be a small C and ended up a D
after all was said and healed.) On a normal day I'm a 5'8, size 8 so I
feel fine about my cup-size and well-proportioned, but still... ask
small. I'm not the only breast-reduction patient who ended up a full
size larger than the size she asked for.
I was told
that having breast-reduction surgery would most likely leave me with
three the following three not-so-awesome things.
1. Loss of All Nipple Sensation: I
was told that most likely my nipples and breasts would pretty much be
numb to the touch and have little feeling. (This happens because in the
surgery your nipples are removed completely and then reattached in a
new location. Pretty, right?) This didn't really phase me because I
already was suffering from no-feeling-in-nips disorder, which
apparently is most common in women with large bazungas. Nipple
stimulation has never existed for me. At least, not as long as my
nipples were being stimulated.
2. Less Than Attractive Scarring: Breast
Reduction surgery is hardcore surgery that takes weeks to recover from.
(My mom literally had to wipe my ass after the surgery because I was
unable to lift my arms.) Contrary to breast implants which involve a
minor incision under or on the side of the breast, a breast reduction
requires anchor-like scarring and full-removal of the nipples. Scars go
around the breasts in a C shape and take years to fade. My scars,
seven-years later are very faint but still visible in a triangle-top
bikini.
3.. Inability to Breastfeed: This, at
eighteen had no relevance to me whatsoever because, duh! I was eighteen
and breastfeeding creeped me out to begin with. I figured I would
probably have kids at forty-ish anyway, so whatever. Little did I know
I'd be all knocked-up and shit a few short years later. I digress... It
is this "inability to breastfeed" I wanted to write about today. Ask
and ye shall receive, fine readers. Let's talk breastfeeding post
reduction, shall we?
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