Going under the knife

Plastic surgery.  Unless it's medically required or for very good reasons, it's not really something I am a fan of.  I know I'm not that old yet but I do feel that I'd like to 'grow old gracefully' wrinkles and all.  I have no desire to have my face scrapped up from the floor and pinned behind my ears.  I don't want some crazy scary face peel..

However, there is one thing that I would consider doing.  I have big boobs for my frame.  OK, they aren't crazy, but they are problematic.  Ever since they started growing when I was 10 they have caused me problems.  They were always big for my age and size.  They got me attention I didn't want and couldn't handle at a young age.  At the age of 12 they were a D cup and I had cars beeping their horns at me, men shouting comments across the road.  I don't think they could tell how young I was.  I did what most young girls would do - I tried to cover up so it was all baggy jumpers and shirts for a few years.  That didn't really help my confidence though.  They made me look much bigger than I was and I felt like a huge heifer compared to my skinny friends with their A and B cup breasts and slim frames.

School was no fun.  As the first girl in the class with a bra, boys found it hilarious to try to undo my bra during lessons or trying to ping the bra straps.  Aged 13 I was told by one of the boys in my tutor group that the boys had all discussed during PE one day who they like to think about when masturbating and they almost all agreed on me because "you have huge tits".  I didn't really know what to think about that.  I suppose I took it as a compliment in some respect but the feminist in me is outraged.  Can you imagine a girl saying something like that to a boy?  My breasts were just objects to them.  I wasn't important.  I was just tits on legs.  Something to objectify.

By 15 I had EE cup breasts and had come to terms with them a little.  I had realised that the baggy clothes were doing me no favours so I dressed to compliment my figure.  This brought with it other issues though.  I always looked like I was trying to attract attention and look sexy which I truly wasn't.  Wearing a shirt at school was a huge problem, they always gapped at the button holes.  Whilst on a holiday with my family in Portugal the attention I received was ridicules and embarrassing as I was with my family.  I was truly something to stare at over there as a blonde girl with large breasts.  Men waved at me constantly, came over to me in the street to speak to me whilst I was with my parents.  One man tripped over at the beach because he was so busy staring at my chest.   Worse still (though quite amusing) I was stood outside a supermarket with my brother whilst my parents shopped inside.  A delivery driver was driving along the road near to us and he was so distracted by staring at my chest that he actually didn't see a turn in the road and drove his lorry into a wall.  I kid not.

Attention is not the only problem when you have large breasts.  Buying bras and swimwear to fit them is a costly and difficult experience.  These days it is a lot easier.  Even Asda and Tesco stock bras in my size, and whilst not quite as good as more expensive bras, they are pretty darn good.  As a teen it was impossible to buy anything that fitted me properly.  Eventually I was able to order items in my size in a local department store.

Life changed when I discovered Bravissimo.  It is lovely to be able to buy in my size in lots of different styles and patterns.  However, it is still costly.  If I want decent swimwear that will support me I have to fork out around £60.

So.  Why would I consider going under the knife?  I am no longer objectified in quite the way I was (or at least, if I am, I am not told so!!).  Perhaps pushing a buggy around has helped that.. I'm probably too busy to notice anyway!  I have my pick of the bras these days.  Even the cost isn't as bad as it was?

Well... there are two reasons I would consider it.. and don't worry, I'm not about to say I'd go bigger.  No.  No way in hell!  The surgery I would seriously consider, no truly, would like, would be a breast reduction.  First of all, I get back ache.  Carrying around these boobs is hard work.  Even if I loose weight I have never lost weight on my breasts.  Pregnancy took me in to H cups and breastfeeding in to J cups.  Luckily both times my breasts have gone back to my pre-pregnancy size.  During my adult life I have weighed from 10st 2lb to 8st 5lb and my breasts have remained resolutely a 30-32F.

Secondly.  The fit of my clothes.  You could consider it a small thing, but really, it's something I am faced with every single day.  I always feel I look bigger than I am.  Unless I am wearing a top that is tight then what I am wearing skims down from my boobs and hangs out making me look like I have a tum when I don't.

I would like a nice pair of D cups.  I don't want tiny boobs.  I'd just like to took in proportion.

What is putting me off?  Cost.  I can't afford it.  I could possibly save up.. Perhaps I will!  Also, recovery time.  I know that it takes around 6 weeks before you can lift and right now, there's no way I could look after my children..  So.  It has to wait.  But maybe, just maybe, one day I will have the boobs I'd like!

Is there a plastic surgery you'd consider?  If so, why?

Bravissimo - always the best!

I LOVE Bravissimo.  When I was growing up, it was obvious I was going to have a large chest.  By the age of 12 I had D cup breasts.  It was a constant source of awkwardness growing up.  I remember being the first girl in the class to have to wear a bra.. this of course meant I was the one the boys were always annoying, pinging my bra straps and the one girls bitched about.  I constantly felt uncomfortable.  Older men stared at me not realising my age.  It was so bloody awkward.  I hated my large chest for a LONG TIME.

Eventually of course, probably around the age of 15/16 I started to realise the "power" or the boobs and got a bit more comfortable in my own skin.  I still had a journey ahead of me, but I was starting to realise I wasn't fat, I just had big boobs.  You see, I have a more "unusual" breast size.  I have a small back and large cup size.  I am normally a 30/32F/FF.  For years, and I mean YEARS most shops didn't even stock this size, let alone know how to cope with me.  Buying a bra that fitted was almost hopeless.  I remember being about 18 and finding out that House of Fraser finally stocked a wider range of bras but even still, they only ever had about 1 or 2 designs in my size to choose from.  Buying swimwear was even more of a pain in the ass.  I can't go into Debenhams, Top Shop or Primark and just buy a "size 10" bikini.  The bottoms would be fine, but the top?  No bloody chance.  No, I discovered that I could get swimwear to fit me but that I would have to stump up around £60.  No cheap and cheerful swimwear for me!

I remember the day I discovered Bravissimo.  I was so excited I think I nearly jumped a hole in the floor!  Now, according to the Bravissimo website, it started up as a mail order company from the living room of founder Sarah Tremellen in 1995.  I certainly didn't discover them then.  I think it must have been around 2001/2002 when I found them.  I know it made my day though.  It was so wonderful to have more than 1 or 2 bras to choose from.  In different styles as well!

I started a new Bravissimo journey in 2009 when I was pregnant with Ethan.  There was a shop in Cardiff (it's the closest one to me) and I decided to go and get myself fitted part way through my pregnancy as I knew my breasts had grown.  I had a fantastic experience there.  The staff were kind, helpful, discreet and attentive.  You feel really cared for when you're with them, like they are totally focussed on you.  I was so impressed.

Now, I am pregnant again.  I've been meaning to get myself to Cardiff for months but it just hasn't happened.  Finally, this weekend, at 37 weeks pregnant I've made it there again to get myself measured for a bra to wear now and a nursing bra.  Again, I had a fantastic experience.  I had a lovely lady fitting me called Jane.  Just like before, I felt she was totally focussed on me.  There was no hint of a rush despite the fact they had full fitting rooms with more people waiting to be fitted.  She sorted me out quickly with something to wear now - in fact, I went with the first bra she brought in (a gorgeous spotty number).  She also sorted me out a nursing bra.  We went for something with some room for growth because I still have a few weeks to go but she was happy to point out that as long as I keep the tags on, I can try it on when I actually need it and if it no longer fits, return it with no issue.

Bravissimo http//www.medicatedfollower.com

 
I cannot recommend Bravissimo enough.  I'm always recommending people go there, even if they don't believe they are an awkward bra size.  So many ladies are actually wearing the incorrect bra size due to the outdated measuring techniques that most shops use (step away from the tape-measure people!!!).  I myself had a rubbish experience the other week.  In an attempt to avoid the trek to Cardiff, I popped into the Triumph Bra Shop in Clarks Villiage whilst we were there the other weekend.  I was "measured" by a grumpy lady and her tape-measure   She put me in a bra that I knew was all wrong.  It didn't fit, it wasn't supportive in the back and was baggy in the cups.  To give you an idea, my new bra from Bravissimo is a 34FF (my nursing bra a 32H) but this lady in Triumph put me in a 38EE.  Completely wrong.  When I tried to suggest so to her, she got very defensive and just said "Well, that's what the tape-measure says".  Hmmm.. I don't trust these old fashioned methods!  You can find out more about Bravissimo's fitting philosophy here. You can read all about why the old tape-measure method is so bad here.

I've not been asked to write about this, this isn't a sponsored post.  I just love Bravissimo and want to tell you all about them!