If you've had kids... has the skin on your stomach ever gone back to normal?

[notspringingback]

I had my first when I was 36 and my second when I was 39 so not young. I've never had stretch marks, however, the skin on my stomach is a bit 'loose' when I am sat down IYSWIM. When I am standing up it's not noticeable.

I was curious if others have the same issue? I am a very similar weight now to before pregnancy (I'm a few KGs lighter now).

It's not something I lose sleep over, I was just curious. I assume there is nothing that will help (but if anyone has any wonderful fixes, let me know! 😂)

Mine went back. I didn't have any stretch marks either. But I have very small bumps, so I guess not much stretching happening. I was in my 30s when I had mine so not particularly young

Yes, mine went back and without stretch marks. My midwife said it’s becuse I have olive skin.

Quite, every random person would ask my due date, raise brows and then ask if it was twins 😆 midwives kept saying it wasn’t a big baby 🥴 we had no clothes to fit post birth her trousers were half mast!

No stretch marks, no crepy skin, no varicose veins , flat stomach after 2 pregnancies Still slimmer now than when I fell pregnant 40 and 39 years ago. Only thing that changed was the shape of my belly button!

I had one at 37 and also at 39.
No change that I've ever noticed. I had huge babies but didn't really gain a lot of weight. I do have stretch marks on my legs from puberty.

No and I had kids in my twenties when I was a size 8

It did for me. I've had two so far and my stomach was flat and looked the same as soon as the baby was out. I had small babies and a small bump though. I'm also very tall which I think helps.

My boobs did not come out unscathed however.

No not completely, I didn’t get terrible stretch marks but I can tell my skin is different. Also the weirdest thing is a completely numb patch just beside my bellybutton since having my youngest!

no noticeable pregnancy difference, but I didn’t have unusually large bumps. I had a bump, but it wasn’t massive, just obvious. No stretchmarks and after 2 c-sections no apron either. I am very thankful! I just need to lose the ‘snack when the kid snacks’ weight I’ve not dropped yet 😭😭

@Thesque I didn't gain much weight either and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight quickly. But I did get the crepey skin, darn it :-).

Same for me but 32 and 33. I stayed pretty slim and fit throughout, but no.2 was a big baby.

It's crepey now after subsequent weight gain and loss though.

My actual skin is perfectly fine but the tone of my stomach is trashed after my second. It wasn't bad when I was slimmer but as ive put on a stone its all gone on tge c section overhang if you see what I mean.

I had/have really bad diastis recti.

Mine looks much as it did. I’ve always had a very flat stomach and I’ve had two c sections, after dd1 you wouldn’t have known I was pregnant ever, the surgeons did an immense job stitching me up. After dd2 (different hospital) I do have the tiniest shelf and you can tell more and I’ll be honest I have found it hard even though realistically it’s really nothing compared to many. I don’t have any stretch marks on my stomach.

if it’s any consolation, I had dd2 at 42 I’ve always had bad skin and at 47 my acne is still not great out there on my face for all to see, every day.

3 kids, no stretch marks, no crepey skin. I have a bit of a belly but I’m not overweight and it’s been there since I was a child.
It’s absolutely luck for me. Not genetics as the women in my family all had stretch marks.

My skin was never affected by pregnancy, no stretch
marks etc or loose skin after. I have a bit of a pouch after 3 sections but the skin is the same as before other than older!

Petite size 6 when I had mine at 33 and 37 and never had stretch marks or crepey skin. All completely returned to normal.

Now, in my 50s, with a proper meno belly that makes me look like I am 6 months pregnant a lot of the time.

DS1 pushed my body beyond forgiveness. He was over 2lb higher than my birthweight, the MW was plotting the fundus off the graph by the title, I gained 50% of my bodyweight in 4.5 months when I stopped being too nauseus to eat after initially losing weight, and my waist did not like going from 26" to 45". The EMCS did not help either.

At 6m pg, strangers would argue with me about my due date because they refused to believe that I had 3 months to go.

My abdomen looks more crinkled than my great-grandma's crimpoline summer dresses did.

Oddly my breasts did survive B-F-B-F-B across the 4 years of near constant pregnancy and breastfeeding for which I am greatful.

Thank goodness for high-waist bikinis.

Baby #1 at 24, baby #2 at 25. I have always been slim and had very big bumps, especially the first. By 2 years after my second, my stomach (and my boobs!!) were entirely back to their pre pregnancy state.

currently pregnant with #3 at age 29 and I’m less confident things will go back to normal this time but we will see!

I had ds at just turned 23 and my whole abdomen was a mess of stretch marks so it never went back to normal and never will. I have hypermobility and shit commective tissue though, I'm also very short. It's just luck of the drawer and I'm not particularly bothered by it. My belly is fairly flat but my skin is quite badly damaged

No loose skin for me. Had DC in early 30s. I’m short-ish, 5’4” and have been 8.5 stone ish since I stopped growing at 15-16, baring the time I was pregnant.

I will add that my breasts look good after pregnancies and breastfeeding (started small and stayed bigger after each baby).

My two friends who have good tummy skin after babies tell me their breasts are empty skin now. So I think it's luck of the draw.

I did feel very smug after baby one when my breasts and tummy looked good though. Sigh. My mum had more kids than me and her tummy skin got worse after each subsequent baby.

My stomach was never particularly flat, even though I was slim, and it went back to what it looked like before pregnancy. So I was still dissatisfied! No stretch marks, even though I had them as a teen. And no loose skin. I was 41 when I had my first. After my second, at 45, pretty much the same. Menopause has given me a floppy overhang now though!

Yes.
And yes, i do realise I'm incredibly lucky.

3 children and no stretchmarks or other evidence of being pregnant, but then i never got very big which presumably helps.

Interesting! Thanks all. As I say, I don’t lose sleep over it. My previously small (but dare I say nice full and pert) boobs are more of a disappointment to be honest - they are now like tiny deflated bags 😏

No. I’m slim and toned but still have some loose/wrinkly skin on my tummy when I sit down. Three large babies so I wouldn’t expect anything different!