Why “Big Brother” Star Bayleigh Dayton Sought a Breast Reduction After Giving Birth to Her Second Child (Exclusive)

Dayton was a size double D before she became pregnant, and grew to an H after giving birth and breastfeeding

Bayleigh Dayton was surprised by how much her body changed after giving birth to her second child in two years — son Christopher — back in January.

"My boobs were never coming back," the Big Brother alumni, 31, recalls thinking.

"I was a double D before I got pregnant," Dayton tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. "I'm 5 feet, 10 inches, so they were perfectly proportional and perky and fabulous. Even though they were big, it was manageable."

"But after baby No. 1 and then baby No. 2, I was like, 'Nobody should ever have to deal with this much back pain or amount of heaviness.' My chiropractor said, 'You're literally hunching because you have so much weight on your chest.' "

Physically struggling to parent her two children — whom she shares with fellow Big Brother alum Christopher "Swaggy C" Williams — Dayton sought relief. One thing that helped her make the decision was her son stopped breastfeeding.

"With my son, I was going to let him breastfeed for as long as he wanted," she explains. "But he ended up having a tongue tie, so he only breastfed for three months. When we were at the point where I had to take him from strictly breastfeeding to formula, I really began considering getting the surgery because it's hard to lift these babies. It's hard to exercise and in order for me to be more active, I need to be able to move. I could not run when I was a size H."

She consulted with Dr. Anna Steve of Neinstein Plastic Surgery, a New York City-based plastic surgeon who specializes in breast surgery, who advised her on both timing and options.

"I like to wait for three months post-stopping breastfeeding or post-pumping to make sure that the milk is gone before we do surgery," Dr. Steve tells PEOPLE. "And with respect to her case, when deciding on size, there's a few factors that come into play. Breast reduction and lift is a surgery that is partly aesthetic and partly functional. From an aesthetic standpoint, I always like to listen to the patient's goals in terms of where they want to arrive size-wise."

"Where I help is with respect to function," Steve continues. "If women have aesthetic concerns, but also functional concerns — with back pain, neck pain, strain, difficulty fitting bras and clothes, that sort of thing — we talk about reducing size to give some relief from those functional symptoms. And the breast lift component will relieve some functional frustrations because it repositions the breasts closer to the core. But typically, the more symptoms you have and the more significant your symptoms are, the more you might consider reducing some size."

Dayton expressed her desire to become a full C, smaller than she was before becoming pregnant.

"I still want to have fullness in my chest," she says. "I don't look flat-chested, but be small enough to where I can run around or I don't have to wear a bra. The goal was to be able to wear backless dresses or go out and not have to feel self-conscious about my boobs and my cleavage but still look womanly."

"Some women with larger breasts feel like it's always been a part of their identity and they don't want to remain large-breasted," Dr. Steve explains. "They just want to be smaller and have a perkier look. And some women are so frustrated by their breasts that they say, 'Make me as small as you can.' I think the other aesthetic thing to keep in mind for women who are frustrated and feel like they want to get rid of all of their volume is that there's a safety component. We want to maintain good blood supply to the nipples so you don't lose the nipple with breast reduction surgery. The other component of that is if you reduce breast size too much then proportionately the abdomen can actually look larger."

Related: Kristin Cavallari Confirms She Got Breast Implants and a Lift After Breastfeeding Her Kids

Dr. Steve agreed that a full C would suit Dayton aesthetically during their consultation. They agreed that a reduction and lift, combined with lipo sculpting, would achieve the look Dayton desired while allowing her to return to her active lifestyle as a mom, wife and content creator.

Dayton's surgery took place on June 26. She admitted getting nervous the night before but received some advice from a trusted source.

"My mom got a breast reduction after she had me because I was her last child. And said how you go under is how you wake up. So you need to have a positive attitude and just think happy thoughts. At the surgery center, they asked me what kind of music I wanted to play, and I played Jhené Aiko — really calming music — and just breathed through it."

"The surgery itself was probably three hours," she continues. "It was so quick. I remember going under with my music and then I woke up on a gurney with my husband already next to me holding my hand. I don't remember anything."

Dayton was moved to a recovery hotel across the street where she stayed with her family — including her kids — for a week. A nursing team assisted her for the first 48 hours post-surgery as well as a nanny.

Now four weeks into her six-week recovery, Dayton says she feels good and is excited to see the results.

"I feel like a burden has literally been lifted off my chest," she says. "My posture is better. My confidence is better. Being able to see my figure — because I was pregnant before anyway and slimming down — I [now] don't have to worry about having so much on my upper body. I'm ready to do everything and lift everything and just go on an adventure but I need to make sure I properly heal."

"Breastfeeding is something that I never would have traded so I'm happy I waited until after I had the kids and went to somebody that kept the integrity of my breasts intact," the new mom says.

Dr. Steve explains that some women can also have breast reduction surgery before pregnancy.

"I do see a lot of women who are 14, 15 or 16 who have drastic changes in size from an early age," she says. "Many of these women have breast reductions pre-pregnancy, and they go on to have safe pregnancies and the ability to breastfeed. There is this thought that 'If I reduce the size of my breasts, will they have the capacity to expand to allow for breastfeeding and pregnancy or will my breast explode?' And you can most certainly have safe pregnancies and breastfeeding post-breast reduction."

Related: Jenny Mollen Runs Around Topless Before Documenting Breast Lift, Chin Liposuction and Fat Transfer

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Dr. Steve recommends women talk openly to their surgeons — advice Dayton echoes.

"Absolutely do your research," Dayton says. "Even though people throw out 'mommy makeover' like it's not a big deal, it's still a huge deal because you're going under anesthesia and you're trusting someone with your body. So you want to make sure that you feel confident in the surgeon. You want to make sure that everyone is educated on what's going to happen.

"And then I would also say put a support team in place when you have your surgery," she adds. "You're going to need help with your kids. You're going to need time to recover. Do not try to push yourself to do more than what the doctor recommends. So it's an investment into yourself and it's definitely worth doing. You just need to make sure you do it the right way.

"For mothers after delivery, that your body is yours. You've sacrificed basically everything you have in order to bring life into the world. It's okay to care about how you feel about your body. Because a lot of people will say, 'Oh, you had a child and like that's just how it is.' No, if you want to feel more comfortable in the skin that you're in, give yourself permission to do that."

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