[Charlie_girl]

Today I measured again. I've been taking a break from maca & all herbs since Monday & will start up again this coming Monday. My bust is 32 and 3/4" today. So, a 1/4" loss since Aug 4th. I have no doubt my 2nd month will be a good month for gains I'm excited to start everything again. I'm still weight training 3x a week and keeping my calories up an doing air squats on non workout days during this break though.

Also, I'm going to keep measuring just the breasts themselves as well as all the way around since I am weight training/gaining, I don't want false readings because of trap or back muscle growth or because of weight gain.

So, here's my before (June 4, 2014):
* Top of bust: 32"
* Bust across nipple: 32"
* Breast circumference from crease to crease across nipple: Left- 6.5", Right- 6.5"
* Bottom of breast crease to bottom of areola: Left- 2", Right- 2"

Here's 1 month later (taken Aug 4, 2014):
* Top of bust: 32.5"
* Bust across nipple: 33"
* Breast circumference from crease to crease across nipple: Left- 6 and 3/4", Right- 6 and 3/4"
* Bottom of breast crease to bottom of areola: Left- 2 and 2/16", Right- 2 and 2/16"

Not a huge difference at all, but if I can keep this pace up every month, I'll be happy

[Charlie_girl]

Ruch- I know! I love talking to everyone on here about our journeys I've only told 2 people in my life what I'm doing with herbs & massage, but didn't bring up the pumping. Also, there's threads on here and the noogleberry forum talking about how to manipulate the way your breasts get suctioned in the domes to address certain issues. Some talk about ways to help grow more underboob, over overboob, and how to prevent the "missle boobs" look. That's why I put 2 bouncy balls (about the size of racquetball balls) inside my domes when I pump. My nipples press against them and I get more swelling that way. Plus, the other girls say that helps to get a more rounded look vs a more pointy look. I don't know for sure yet, but we'll see

[Charlie_girl]

Bekka13- no, I've dropped 1/4" since I started my week break It'll pick back up once I start my herbs again.

Ellacraig- You're awesome Thank you! I'm going to do progress pics every month. So ^^ there's some befores, I'll upload month #1 (taken Aug 4) this weekend and then upload month #2 when I get there, and so forth. I just feel like every 2 weeks would be such a minimal change, ya know?

Thank you, that's probably because I was hooked up to the pump just as much, if not more than my kiddo. I went through supply issues, so I was pumping a lot. How long did you breastfeed?

[peggy]

Charlie, your boobs are lovely. Such a nice shape.
I am sure you will grow well.

[ruch]

Our "before" boobs are very similar in size and shape, except I think I am saggier than you (as saggy as small boobs get). That is amazing how huge you got during pregnancy and breastfeeding! It means there is definite potential for you to get that big again, I think. My sister only got a tiny bit bigger and then they shrunk right back down to what she was before. Hopefully it isn't in my genes too!

[peggy]

Charlie, it's amazing how huge your boobs were during pregnancy (already during the third month, wow!). Do you think it was the estrogen what made your boobs so huge or the progesterone?

[Charlie_girl]

Charlie, your boobs are lovely. Such a nice shape.
I am sure you will grow well.

Thank you I hope so! Lol

Charlie, it's amazing how huge your boobs were during pregnancy (already during the third month, wow!). Do you think it was the estrogen what made your boobs so huge or the progesterone?

Yeah, I was pretty shocked at how big they got. Especially considering I didn't gain a whole lot of extra weight. I was the pregnant girl you didn't know was pregnant from behind. But, don't get me wrong, I did gain enough to get nice plumping on my tiny frame I loved those hips, boobs & butt! And my face filled out nicely. I'd be so happy to be the size I was at month 3. I'd LOVE to be the size I was at 5 months!

Actually over the years, I've read a lot about what happens with your hormones during pregnancy and it's really interesting. There are a number of hormones and each have their own role. But for the sake of the boob size alone, the 3 key players are Progesterone, Estrogen and Prolactin.

Estrogen & Progesterone continuously increase throughout pregnancy and Progesterone levels actually dominate Estrogen levels throughout pregnancy until towards the end. Prolactin levels stay much lower than those two, but also continuously increase throughout pregnancy. At birth, both estrogen and progesterone levels plummet while prolactin levels rise, and that combo signals your body to excrete breastmilk.


http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-life...-hormones/

http://www.yourhormones.info/topical_iss...abour.aspx

http://www.paternityangel.com/Articles_z...mones2.htm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/107569...nt/#page=1

http://www.thealphaparent.com/2012/08/ti...y.html?m=1

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/pr...rogen.aspx

http://www.healthline.com/health/pregnan...alChanges1

[Charlie_girl]

So, still for sake of size, I'll add this. When I lost my breast milk and relactated for my son, I did the Newman Goldfarb Protocol (but I only did the accelerated protocol for sake of time). The Newman Goldfarb Protocol is for women wanting to induce lactation, and even for women who've never had a baby who are adopting and want to breastfeed their adopted baby.

Now, if you're not wanting to lactate, dont follow the protocols from beginning to end. I'm just sharing this so you can see how they mimic pregnancy hormones without you bring pregnant, in order to prepare your breasts for lactation (aka grow your breast tissue and ducts).

*Disclaimer: I am not telling anyone to use this protocol for breast enlargment, I'm just showing how slightly mimicking hormone levels during pregnancy will grow your breasts. I do not know if following this protocol for the full duration and then not pumping will result in mastitis and engorgement and all of that. So don't attack me, I said it. Lol. But, it IS interesting to see the levels of progesterone and estrogen in this protocol. Pretty much opposite of what some people on here do.

This is also just for a time frame of between 2 and 9 months. I do not suggest you do this for longer!

The 3 things they address are Progesterone, Estrogen and Prolactin. For the Progesterone and Estrogen, they advise using a birth control that has 3 times the amount of progesterone than Estrogen (3:1 ratio is best). They also discuss a bit on how to do this without birth control. But they continuously say that the progesterone levels should be 3 times higher than estrogen for the best results. For the prolactin, they encourage taking Domperidone. Many lactating women have used this drug, but I strongly suggest that instead of Domperidone, you should take Shatavari, which also raises prolactin levels. And the reason I say that is because Domperidone is a pharmaceutical drug that slows QT intervals. Yikes. Shatavari is in the asparagus family & it's natural. They also suggest using fenugreek & blessed thistle together. See the Dr's website for more info: http://www.asklenore.info/breastfeeding/...rint.shtml

The end of the protocols call for stoping the progesterone and estrogen and continuing the domperidone (or Shatavari). This step is what mimics the hormonal changes that take place during birth and what triggers lactation.

You can also google this "mimic pregnancy hormones for induced lactation"

[peggy]

Your boobs on the three month pregnancy pic are my goal boobs.

[EllaC]

Your boobs on the three month pregnancy pic are my goal boobs.

I only wish Id had an interest is NBE after I lactated, then maybe I could have retained the size and not ended up with messed up hormones cause I was none the wiser that I could fix that!