Ah, the thrill of your first pregnancy! It’s a time filled with excitement and a whirlwind of new experiences. Every little change feels monumental, and the surprises keep coming. I remember enjoying my first pregnancy—until I discovered a lump in my armpit the size of a kiwi. Panic set in. Was it cancer? A tumor? What in the world was happening?
As I sat in the ultrasound technician’s office, I was glued to the monitor, desperate for answers. “What’s going on?” I asked, my heart racing. “All I see is breast tissue. I’ll send the results to your doctor,” she replied. Relief flooded me—no tumor, just a strange bit of breast tissue… in my armpit.
Confused, I turned to my OB/GYN, who explained that it was normal for breast tissue to swell during pregnancy and that it should return to normal after childbirth. Great theory, but I couldn’t help but notice that no other expectant moms were sporting a kiwi in their armpits!
Then a lactation consultant friend of mine suggested it might be an extra mammary gland. This theory was confirmed shortly after I gave birth to my son. A second lactation consultant checked in on my nursing situation, and I blurted out, “I think I have a third boob.” She didn’t skip a beat—she peeled back my hospital gown to investigate the extra appendage.
Turns out, the milk lines in your body stretch from your armpit down to your abdomen. You can be born with additional mammary glands or even extra nipples anywhere along that line. Unless you have a visible nipple, you might not even realize it exists until your breasts swell during pregnancy. The consultant then shared a wild story about a woman in the hospital the day before who had eight breasts! (I can practically hear the gasps from here.) Suddenly, my single extra boob didn’t seem so bad.
She assured me it would shrink back after I finished nursing and, since there was no visible nipple, I wouldn’t have to deal with any further surprises. Or so I thought. When my milk finally came in, I asked my husband to turn up the air conditioning because I felt so hot. To my shock, I looked down to see that what I thought was a tiny brown freckle was actually a nipple, and it was actively leaking milk onto my shirt. Yes, folks, I was the proud owner of a lactating third boob.
Nursing became a whole new adventure. While other moms were using discreet breast pads, I had to tuck a towel in my armpit, and I was coping with a giant band-aid on my side. Did I mention my son was born in June? Hello, tank top weather—what a fabulous combo!
Between my first and second baby, I opted to have the extra boob surgically removed. It’s still there in some form, and with every pregnancy, it swells up to say hello, but thankfully, there’s no visible nipple to deal with now. I’ve come to accept my third boob, as long as it doesn’t soak my clothes every time I need to nurse or a crying baby appears on the scene.
So here’s the takeaway: the third boob can offer a unique perspective on post-baby bodies. Your stomach may resemble a venetian blind from stretch marks, or your skin might feel like an elephant’s trunk, but at least you can look in the mirror and say, “Hey, at least I don’t lactate from my armpit!”
Cheers to you, third boob! Thanks for brightening the world’s outlook on their bodies and providing me with a hilarious story to share.
If you’re curious about more aspects of pregnancy and home insemination, check out this excellent resource from the CDC. And for those considering self insemination, visit Make a Mom for top-notch kits. For more information on this topic, you can also read about intracervical insemination.
In summary, navigating the surprises of pregnancy can lead to some truly unexpected moments, whether it’s a third boob in your armpit or a newfound appreciation for your post-baby body.