Breastfeeding with Huge Boobs: What it’s Really Like

Before my first son was born, I was determined to prepare myself as best as I could for breastfeeding. I poured over the pamphlet that was handed to me at one of my pre-natal visits. I read a whole book devoted to the subject. I attended a breastfeeding class at our local hospital.

I knew breastfeeding might be a little challenging, and maybe at first there would be a slight learning curve, but I was PREPARED. I had goals. I had determination. I had a vision for how this was all going to go down.

And then, I gave birth and reality hit.

I was faced with a major obstacle. Make that two major obstacles. Ginormous boobs. No one ever mentioned what breastfeeding would be like for the gals that have a bigger stash on their dash, so to speak. The book I read didn’t go over it, nor the instructor of the breastfeeding class, nor that dang pamphlet that made it all look deceptively simple.

Let’s just keep it real. If you are like me and have larger ladies to start with, the first few weeks of breastfeeding will not be the same for you as it is for your neighbor who is sporting a B cup.

Here is what you can expect when you’re breastfeeding with huge boobs.

You might have to go bra shopping twice.

Most women will find that sometime during pregnancy they outgrow their normal bras and need to shop for new pregnancy bras. Whelp, if your cup was already full to the brim, prepare to go shopping again for even bigger nursing bras once the babe is born because your pregnancy bras will probably not contain your lactating boobs. You might ask yourself prior to giving birth how they can get any bigger?!? It seems impossible, but they do.

The standard breast pump shields are not made for large boobs.

I never thought about “trying on” the shields before I gave birth because I never considered they might not fit. Let me just tell you, one size does NOT fit all. I ended up having to make a special trip to the hospital maternity shop to buy a much larger set because there was NO WAY my big nips were fitting into the standard-size shields that came with the pump. Picture Shaq trying to fit inside a Mini-Cooper. It ain’t happenin’. Had I known this would be an issue ahead of time, I could have saved an extra trip to the hospital.

Multi-tasking is dang near impossible.

Vacuuming while you breastfeed? Probably not going to happen. Texting while you breastfeed? That’s going to be a challenge. Flipping through tv channels while you breastfeed? Not likely. Here is the reality: one hand will need to support your baby and the other hand will have to manhandle your huge boob. As I mentioned earlier, I had relatively large gals before giving birth, but once they were engorged with milk it was like unleashing a watermelon on my poor son’s face. I imagine for him it must have either felt terrifying or like he had won the lottery. Either way, there was no way for me to multi-task with both hands in use at all times. Eventually, I did learn how to strategically place 14 pillows around my body in order to free up a hand, but it took me aa while to figure it out!

You will start to wonder if your boobs will ever go back to a reasonable size.

Take heart. Eventually, your girls will go back to their normal size (as disappointing as that might be for your partner). You will rescue your regular bras from the bottom of the drawer, and you will be able to multi-task with the best of them. In the meantime, try and embrace what Mother Nature has provided. She may have gone a little overboard, but she had good intentions.

Our next recos:

The Best Places to Find Nursing Bras in Larger Sizes

Nursing Bra Buying Guide: Top 5 Mistakes

Breastfeeding for Beginners (weeks 1-6)