Why do I still look pregnant?? 😩😩

[icecreamgirl94]

My DS is 4 months old (roughly 17 weeks) and to start with I lost the baby weight quite quickly and was back in a lot of my pre pregnancy clothes. But over the last month or so I’ve really got a belly again! I don’t know why, I’m eating fairly well, I take DS out for a walk nearly every day, I’d say I’m pretty active, but nothing seems to be making a difference and I was even asked when I was due the other day so I went home and cried! Anyone else experience this and/or have any tips? TIA

Did you have a huge baby or a csection?

Despite what “celebs” & Instagram “mamas” would lead you to believe it can take months if not years if ever to lose the belly/ baby weight.
It took 9 months to get it to look that way, it’s not going back to normal any time quickly.

How much do you weigh?

Sorry but looks normal to me, just need weightloss

Thanks for the replies 🙂
@30degreesandmeltinghere no I had a vaginal birth and DS was quite small, under 7lb, but I did have a pretty big bump as I’m quite petite.
@FelicityPike thanks for that, it’s very true and does make me feel a bit better.
@Susannahmoody I’m about 9.5 stone now. Pre pregnancy I was about 8 stone.

I was going to say it's totally normal to still look pregnant 4 months after having a baby (I was enormous for ages). However, the one thing I find odd is that you lost the weight and then the belly reappeared? That's surely odd? I presume you've been checked for diastis recti?

Looks like my stomach only minus the stretch marks (lucky thing!). Two babies and I could still pull off a fake baby bump if I were so inclined.

Google diastastis recti! There's loads of exercises to sort it on YouTube

Are you breastfeeding? My bump didn't seem to go down until after breastfeeding stopped. It could also be water retention as your hormones get back to normal.

I'm afraid I still look like that and my DD is almost 9 months! I've probably got about 30lbs to lose to get to pre pregnancy weight so I think it is that and also some muscle stretching/ separation. Have you thought of having a 'mummy mot' to assess your stomach muscles after birth and get some recommended exercise?

I know how you feel - I'm really liking this seasons big floaty dresses but when they catch me at the wrong angle it looks like no 2 is on the way!

Be kind to yourself! I hate that expression but God give yourself a break uv literally just had a baby and u had 9 months to put it on

Obviously not what you want to hear but it’s normal I think, I’d deffo not stress about it until at least 9m PP. give your body at least the same chance as what it took to make it that way.

Is it possible you are pregnant again? Just wondering as you say you were losing the weight and now it’s back, and it looks bump shaped, rather than weight gain.

Thank you all for being so kind, I was really unsure about posting the photos! 🙈
@surreygirl1987 diastis recti was actually the first suggestion when I did some googling. I did the self check lying on your back thing and didn’t think I could feel any gaps but maybe I wasn’t doing it right. Thanks @tony68 I’ll look up the exercises on YouTube.
@CatbearAmo thank you, I have been exclusively breast feeding since birth but we’ve been introducing occasional formula for the last week or so as DS seems to be struggling to settle with the breastfeeding. Not sure if he’s starting to get hungrier and it’s not filling him up but the formula seems to be going down well and is working for us so maybe we will start to gradually phase out the breastfeeding.
@ronswansonstache thank you, I would quite like a full MOT actually just to see if there’s anything else I should be doing. Thanks for the suggestion.

@Babynames2 that hadn’t occurred to me to be honest. I’d be very surprised though as I have PCOS and it took us several years of trying to get DS 😊

Might be worth a test, just in case, I know 2 women with surprise babies, both were breastfeeding so didn’t expect it.

Other than that it is quite normal, it took me a full 18 months to lose the weight from DD1, I found I put weight on really easily on mat leave but lost it easier when I returned to work.

Have your periods come back yet? You might be pre menstrual, particularly if you've been winding down the breastfeeding. Mine started again at 4 months pp after both babies.

Sorry but to be blunt, but if you used to weigh 8ish stone and now weigh over 9 stone, surely that's where your excess weight is? On your stomach?

Just give it time, it'll come off soon

@MrsJBaptiste

Sorry but to be blunt, but if you used to weigh 8ish stone and now weigh over 9 stone, surely that's where your excess weight is? On your stomach?

This unfortunately.

Totally off topic but I really like your space/moon/star Pjs!

It does seem strange that your tummy had gone back to normal and is now back in a bump again. I'd definitely speak to your GP and, as suggested previously, take a pregnancy test.

Do you think you might have developed any food intolerances? I have a couple of intolerances and they make my stomach very bloated, so that might be something to think about too?

Oh and yes you really should do a pregnancy test!

To add, having clicked on your photo to see it more clearly, the shape of your tummy looks as though you might have diastasis recti. I used to be a pilates teacher so used to have a lot of clients with this issue. Pilates and exercise can help, but sometimes surgery is needed to sort it.

Ok the pregnancy suggestions are scaring me a bit! I hadn’t even considered that! 😂
@Insertdeadcatsnamehere no periods haven’t come back yet so could definitely be pre menstrual.
@MrsJBaptiste oh yeah absolutely, I’m not in any doubt about where the weight gain is, I just wondered if anyone had any tips or had experienced losing some baby weight then putting it back on again. I’ve only weighed myself last week so I don’t know exactly what I lost after DS was born and how much I’ve put back on now.
@Worldwide2 thank you! They’re from Primark 😊
@MadameQuaver thank you. I don’t think I have any food intolerances. I certainly don’t have any other symptoms of an intolerance and the size of my belly doesn’t noticeably change, but I’ll keep an eye on that. Thank you for mentioning Pilates too.

It really looked like diastesis recti, I'd get that checked first, to rule it out if nothing else.