How big will my boobs get?
This is a tricky question to answer, because everyone is different. However, there are some definite milestones, and a few rules of thumb…
8-11 weeks
By now you will most likely know that you’re pregnant and have gone off tea/coffee/your favourite roast chicken! Your boobs will probably be tingly and tender and feel as though you’re premenstrual. You’ll probably have gone up 1 cup size at most.
12-19 weeks
At this point it’s likely that they’re starting to feel pretty uncomfortable, and you’ll be 2 cup sizes larger than pre-pregnancy. Now is a good time to invest in your first maternity or nursing bra (you can wear a nursing bra when pregnant, you don’t have to be breastfeeding!)
As a little aside, you’ll also notice that your nipples are getting bigger, the areola is getting darker and the veins in your boobs look darker and closer to the surface of your skin. After 19 weeks, growth is likely to slow down.
20-28 weeks
Whilst your boobs themselves are less likely to be changing size, your ribcage certainly will! As your baby grows and moves into the space under your ribcage (hello heartburn!), your band size will increase. You’re likely to go up at least 2 band sizes (for example from a 34 to a 38). Luckily all our bras have 6 row hook & eye so you can get a lot of wear from each one.
29-33 weeks
Your boobs will start growing again, with milk duct production increasing to prepare for breastfeeding. You can expect to go up ½ – 1 cup size.
After you’ve had your baby
3 days after your baby is born your milk will come in – meaning you will be able to start breastfeeding then. Your boobs will be very sore, full and tender (but don’t worry, this won’t last longer than a few days). You will definitely go up at least 1 cup size at this point.
You can expect your boobs to fluctuate between a feed (which is why we have dual cup sizes in our bestselling Second Skin collection) but again this depends on you and your new baby. You should roughly estimate that your cup size will go up or down a cup size between feeds.
In a nutshell
You can expect to go up at least 2 cup sizes and 2 band sizes during your pregnancy – for example, from a 34B pre-pregnancy to a 38B at 38 weeks (because of grade rules, a 38B = 34D, but don’t get too confused, give us a call if you want advice!).
Then, during feeding, you’ll probably go down one band size, and up a cup size again. For example, from a 38B at 38 weeks to a 36D during the first 6 weeks of feeding.
If, after this, you’re interested in investing in some serious style for comfort value, why not check out our collection of nursing bras?