For me, it was around the 6 month mark that I really started feeling like the changes were kicking into high gear.
Up until the 6.5 month mark or so, I just had nipple buds. Basically, just little hardened lumps under the nipples, and the nipples were puffy. Once that 6.5 month mark hit, that was when I moved from Tanner II breast development to Tanner III, the stage where soft tissue begins to form and you start to be able to see the outline of a breast rather than just puffy nipples.
6 months is when the muscle atrophy really begin. Before then, there was plenty of loss in strength capacity, but not so much of a loss in size. Starting at about 6 months, they started visibly reducing in size. And this just happens faster and faster as the months go on. Now nearing the year mark, I feel like my muscles are shrinking even faster than they were then.
6 months was pretty much when the last remnants of my male sexual function officially died. I was still making some liquid up until that point, where starting at 6 months I officially began shooting blanks and having completely dry orgasms, and it's been that way ever since.
Starting at about 9 months, my cheeks really started getting rounder.
6 months is around when you can expect to start putting some extra fat on your derriere and thighs. This is a slow ongoing process, though, and will pretty much be continuing for a VERY long time. My friend Ariel says that she's still seeing significant improvements in terms of how feminine her shape is becoming, even 4 years in.
That feeling of being calmer mentally will get even more significant. Things will calm down a lot. You'll be settling into a new state of mental "normal." The mood swings won't be quite as violent, as hypothetically your body is becoming more used to the effects of estrogen by this point. (That didn't really stop me, though... I still have REALLY bad fits of crying from time to time. But I do feel a lot calmer mentally than when I was at 6 months in. It's more of a relaxed feeling, like it's harder to phase me with things.)
Around the 9-month mark, skin will REALLY start becoming smooth. That layer of feminine subcutaneous fat will really start building in. This is the primary thing that I've noticed over the last couple of months, is that all of those ugly veins on the backs of my hands are slowly getting buried a white creamy layer of fat, and they're becoming less prominent. My skin's looking significantly lighter and more feminine, and it changes colors more readily in response to heat, stress, and other things. And again, this is another ongoing thing that keeps getting better and better for years. The skin will look significantly softer every year until at least the 3-year mark or so, and then will improve even more after orchi/SRS, if the testimony of my 6-years-on-HRT post-op friend Arianna are any indication.
The good stuff is just starting, my friends! Enjoy!
I may not be there myself, but I really started feeling like a girl, more female than male, at least enough that I started being happy with my body more often than not, about a month ago. And it's still rapidly improving.
