Boob Talk

Pregnancy and postpartum kick a woman’s boobs into overdrive, resulting in myriad changes over a short period of time (thanks, hormones). They start out perky and full and they end up as shells of their former selves (little pancake boobs are actually very en vogue right now, so at least there’s that).

If there’s one thing that pregnancy and nursing have taught us about our tatas, it’s that they’re legitimately, mind-bendingly magical. Remind yourself of that as you watch them transform over the coming months. And fear not, your nips will go back to their original size, eventually (sort of).

Here’s what to expect:

	Before Pregnancy	During Pregnancy	Postpartum
Your Areolas	Average-sized	Huge	Still huge
	Puffy	Flat	Still flat
	A few shades darker than your skin tone	Several shades darker than your skin tone	A million shades darker than your skin tone
	Only sensitive during foreplay	Sensitive always	Hella sensitive always
Your Nipples	Perhaps inverted	Enlarged	Huge
	Perhaps standing at attention	Slowly being enveloped by growing areolas	Sticking out like little straws
	Nothing to write home about	Occasionally leaking some yellowish fluid (It’s colostrum, which is totally normal.)	Maybe leaking milk
		Often tingly	Maybe cracked PRO TIP: Cure cracked nipples by allowing some breast milk to air dry on them. If it’s really bad: lanolin cream
			Maybe bleeding
			Super sensitive
			Usually have a baby hanging from them
Your Boobs	Perky	Engorged	Bigger than they’ve ever been before
	Cute	Veiny	Incredibly veiny
	Enjoy freedom	Tingly	Painful
	May not require much support	Require moderate to significant support	So heavy you’ll want a hammock rather than a bra to support them
			Occasionally lumpy
			Prone to clogged ducts (If you get one, warm compresses and massages in a hot shower are your best friends.)