There are so many surprises that happen with our bodies after giving birth. And although generations past may have been tight-lipped about the changes new moms go through, in large part thanks to social media, women these days are way more forthcoming.
These moments of transparency help to normalize the shifts in our bodies and can even help other women who may be experiencing the same thing feel a little less alone. In honor of National Breastfeeding Month, mom and influencer Bobbi Althoff (@bobalexandria) posted a video about one such change, and it’s gone viral not just because it's so relatable, but also because it's pretty hilarious.
‘My husband is the luckiest man.'
In the video, Bobbi is standing in what looks like a bathroom talking to the camera. Her arms cover her chest and the shot is framed from the top of her head to just below her shoulders.
“Not to flex,” Bobbi says, “but my husband is the luckiest man because he gets the best of both worlds. Some men like small boobs. Some men like big boobs. You know, it’s all a matter of taste.”
“Well, I … I’ve got both,” she says. As she steps away from the mirror, she shows her breasts, one drastically larger than the other from being engorged with milk.
In the caption, Bobbi credits her son for the changes to her body.
In the caption of the video, Bobbi, who has 3.5 million followers on TikTok, thanked her son Richard “for making her body so great.” She is also the mother of an infant daughter whose name she has yet to reveal on TikTok. Instead, Bobbi has jokingly told followers her new baby’s name is Concrete or Hagrid.
Bobbi even has a solution for the uneven appearance of her breasts.
In another video, Bobbi tells her followers about how to fix her uneven breasts.
“I need to run a few errands today. But I refuse to let my inconsistency hold me back from wearing tight tank tops,” she says before shoving an avocado into her shirt on the less engorged side of her chest.
Bobbi says she only hoped that the avocado doesn't fall out of her shirt during the day because then she “would have to make guac. And that would be embarrassing.”
Uneven breasts are common.
Uneven breasts are a thing even for people who’ve never breastfed or had a child, but it can be more pronounced in nursing parents. Bobbi's followers were happy for the representation.
“Seeing this makes me feel so much better about myself. I had no idea that this could happen, mine look just like yours,” one person commented on TikTok.
Some breasts return to their original size while others do not.
Breasts become uneven or lopsided thanks to discrepancies in the amount of stimulation one receives over the other, according to Very Well Family. The breast that is stimulated more often will produce more milk. If you nurse from one breast more than the other – or your child has a preference for one breast — it will store more milk and be more engorged than the other.
Breasts can increase two to three times in size during lactation, Healthline notes. Some breasts return to their original shape but others do not. Uneven breasts are not a cause for concern. Instead of being upset, you might as well laugh.
You can make breasts more even.
Instead of putting an avocado in your shirt like Bobbi, try to keep your breasts more even by nursing from both sides during each feeding, per Very Well Family. Use a breast pump to stimulate the smaller side, increasing milk production and therefore, the size of the breast. You might also use a breast pump on the larger breast and store the excess milk.
The most important thing to keep in mind, though, is that every person's breasts are different and will react differently to breastfeeding and postpartum body changes. It's all normal!
