I breastfed four babies and, boy, do I have the boobs to prove it. My breasts haven't been the same since I weaned my last kid, and I'm not talking about the changes that come just from aging. Years of repeated inflating and deflating, baby sucking, and a few rounds of infected nipples and mastitis mean I can officially add my boobs to the list of things my children have taken from me. They fall somewhere on that list between my shoe size and my sanity. While some lucky women don't experience much change, my experience is pretty normal, says Kelly M. Our breasts are miraculous machines, and breastfeeding is a process that starts during pregnancy and sets off a host of metabolic, hormonal, structural, and even mental changes throughout your body — even if you never actually breastfeed.
Top Stories
Free the Nipple?
Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission. I hate breastfeeding: It makes me feel like my soul is seeping from my body. But before I burn my nursing bra and gallop off toward freedom, never to think of breastfeeding again, I wanted to try to capture the physical sensation. Like a blood-pressure cuff, tightening and loosening? Something akin to vomiting, a sensation of relief amid waves of discomfort?
related stories
Their two children -- aged 2 and 8 months -- come first, but their father happily waits for her leftover attention. Jeff is into breast feeding. At his wife's teat, that is. After she nurses her youngest, it's Jeff's turn and he suckles, just like a baby. He claims the fetish has helped him overcome his erectile dysfunction.
You may have even been mentally prepared for some potential bites when your little one started teething. When does it start? What should you do about it? Twiddling your breasts while breastfeeding is a natural action for many older babies. No one teaches them this, so why do they do it? As your baby grows, they want more milk and they want it to come out faster. Because twiddling stimulates your nipples, it can help make that happen.