12-02-2011, 20:46
I'm the same as you, no stretch marks on my tummy (thank goodness) but got some on my breasts and my hips/sides of my butt. The cocoa butter stick is what helped me with them. I also tried mederma for a while too, it helped some, but for me the cocoa butter helped the best, and cheaper too. I would rub it on the skin 1 to 2 times per day where ever the stretch marks are. Some people say if you brush the skin first before applying the cocoa butter it speeds up the process also, because it brings blood flow to the area. I guess same reason why massage and pumping work for NBE lol. If you had breastfed you may have gotten bigger haha. I engorged to a full 34C the first day he was born, then as it went on I would engorge more and more, I say I was a 34C, but I probably got at least another 1/2 cup size bigger than that but I couldn't breastfeed past 3 months, I ended up drying up, grrr. Dr say it was because I was too young. I was 17 when I had him. So I'm guessing if I could have done it longer, the older he got, the more milk he would have needed, so the bigger I would have gotten, but oh well, maybe it'll happen next time haha. I plan on having another one in the next few years once we are settled somewhere.
I love how it firms my breasts. And the swelling from massage lasts way longer than NB swelling, at least for me it does. Also, I find that when the initial swelling "settles down," it tends to settle in my lower boobs, which is exactly what I wanted! I love that "heavy boob" look; and my underboobs were pretty empty-looking.
Obviously there must've been some air leakage somewhere, probably through the pump or the t-connector or something. I should've just pumped up that right side good and tight and clamped it off when I started getting real sleepy. Oh well, live and learn I guess. On that note, my husband said he doesn't like how I'm losing so much sleep Noogling; so he volunteered to keep an eye on the kids and our pets and stuff for an hour every evening so I can go upstairs to Noogle. 
It'll be nice to collapse into bed every night and actually get to relax and sleep. I'll still use my heating pad, though. It shuts off after an hour, so I won't bake myself under the covers. I'm sure I'll get overly ambitious and try to Snoogle again at some point, though. 
I finally figured out what the hell was going on with my screwy temperature. My sleeping schedule has been WAY off the past couple weeks; like going to bed at 4 am and getting up at noon. I've always been a night-owl for as long as I can remember; being in school was horrible for me, having to get up in the morning, even as a kid. Both of my kids have taken after me, cuz even when they were babies, they'd be more awake at night than during the day. I homeschool, so we don't need to get up early for regular school. We've made numerous attempts to get onto an earlier schedule, and it's HARD, let me tell you! Anyway, I was taking my temp after being awake for like 10-12 hours, which is usually when temps are highest (late afternoon-evening, for normal people). Except my 10-12 hours of being awake was like 2am. And my temp would only be like 97.9. I took my temp yesterday morning at like 10am, which was right before I went to bed (in the middle of transitioning our schedule again), and my temp was 98.6. And I was no longer freezing cold, despite being sooo tired, which usually makes me cold too. I was like WTF? Then I realized that even though I was used to sleeping during the day and being awake at night, my body temp was on a day/night schedule. I'm guessing Melatonin plays a role in this, since that is usually only released when it's dark (night) and signals the body for sleep. Body temp of course is lowest at night. Or maybe it's whatever gets secreted during daylight that signals the body to wake up, I don't know, haven't researched this (yet!). So at 10am, even though I was ready for bed, the sun was shining; I was no longer cold; and my temp was totally normal. I'm glad I figured it out, cuz I was really concerned that my body was getting used to the raw adrenal glandulars I was taking, and they weren't effective anymore. So I'm an idiot! 
Sometimes I'll feel a mild, dull ache on my right side, but that's about it. I do like how the rotations are shaping my breasts. They are rounder. My measurement has not gone up yet since starting the massages; but I'm gonna keep at it, since I know this whole process takes A LOOONG TIME! 
Seriously, it's nowhere near that small. It's gotta be the angle the pic was taken at, plus the black pants that sit a little lower on my hips. I should wear those pants more often!!!