To think saggy belly after childbirth can be fixed?

[rach6122]

Without surgery. Two babies in quick succession, weight coming off nicely. Starting to notice belly is getting bit saggy and droopy, please someone tell me they gave managed to sort this through working out? I'm willing to work hard. Any other suggestions welcome. Ps I know it will never look the same but want to minimise the droop!

Try posting in the sport and exercise topic.

I had two v big bumps and two cs. I have a flat stomach and good muscle tone but it was very, very, very hard work.

YANBU. Mine gradually went back with no exercise at all. Took about a year. I used some "firming" cream when I remembered. A Nivea one. Not sure if it helped.

There's a couple of crappy pictures on my profile of my bumps at 7/8 months pregnant. My waist was ridiculous and the skin stretched a lot. Post-cs I did have a problem with an overhang and lack of tone but getting really fit fixed it. Picture of me in the purple dress is when dc2 was 1yo.

Just a small note, working to sort out my core was only possible once I'd fixed my diastasis recti (abdominal separation caused by pregnancy/cs). Without attending to this first, targeted abdominal exercise can make your stomach appear worse. Probably not a problem but worth making sure.

After 4 exercise definitely helped a lot - not back to pre baby state but fine in clothes and OK in well chosen bikini

Core/toning exercises with the swiss ball, bosu and hand weights were good for me and helped the upper arm situation as well!

Recommend the MuTu workout programme by Wendy Powell.

depends - 3 kids in my 30's, 2 sections - my tummy will never be the same - I have very toned abs (but a huge ab gap) but the layer of 'deflated balloon' fat wont shift at all

kids love it - they make me lie on the floor while they poke it and make me laugh so it jiggles - the gits!

Run very fast past the mirror if you've not got your clothes on. Shovel rather wobbly tummy into jeans/wear scarves/structured jackets to create illusion of flatness. Works for me.

After two 10lb+ babies, I'm now slimmer and fitter than I've ever been. I'm a size 10 and my muscle tone is great. The wrinkly loose skin across my stomach is still there though and no amount of exercise has shifted it

i managed it after one and two three is being difficult to shift! the best one i found was swimming once a week and i was toned up nicely plus i was doing some walking but not "loads" just a little a day xx

Mine is still there having lost 5 stone and toned up. It looks much better in clothes but will still be wobbly.

Abs work helped mine - back to flat stomach 8 months after DC2 although not as taut as before. But I fit into pre-DC jeans so I'm happy and would wear a bikini! I think genes/body shape has a lot to do with it though.

I'm also hopeful, but not delusional! Only 1 DC but had a massive bump which has left lots of saggy skin. I am back to pre pregnancy weight but a lot fitter and more toned (cycling and now pole fitness) hoping that building some tummy muscles which I didn't have pre pregnancy will improve the look.

I would like to know how to do this too, my stomach is a bit saggy but the skin is just wrinkly and damaged, don't think anything will fix that, in fact the thinner I get the worse the skin looks as it's less padded out:-(

Yes the thinner I got the worse it looked unfortunately. I still hope further toning will help though.

thanks for your replies everyone. im very worried that if I keep losing more weight then it will just get worse but I cant not lose weight just because of that! I think I will try some core work.. ive been wearing a support band, and I notice if I don't wear it for a day or two it looks worse, so perhaps I should take to wearing that at night too. has anyone tried a firming cream such as nip and fab or nivea q10? showy you look great in the purple dress pic your stomach looks very flat

It does look a million times better in clothes though, as it doesnt stick out as much.

Watching with interest as about to have cs3. After the first you'd have barely noticed and I could have got away with crop tops. The second there was a minimal 'pouch' and, given the size I am at just 33 weeks (measuring 43 and counting - all right out front) I'm reckoning on a full apron, especially as I seem to have dodgy stomach muscles and a hernia according to the physio.

My friend recommended a dvd workout (Gillian Michaels?) and lots of crunches. She does look fa fantastic after 4 kids/3 sections so there is hope, although she says things will never be quite the same again.

Also watching - all weight gone, and then some, a year after my DC. My tummy sticks out as far as my deflated boobs!

Standing up is not too bad, but I can't wear any dresses from flimsy fabrics anymore

Side question, these people with miracle bodies, what happens when they bend over? My tummy sort of flops forward - it's really weird and really unattractive! Can this be magicked away as well?

I hope you're NBU OP! - But at least it's nice to know you're not the only one.

I think you can lose weight and tone up as long as your muscles come together. The skin might never be perfect but that doesn't have to stop you looking great. If you google Katie Holmes bikini you can see from the pictures she has had some skin damage but she looks amazing.

I have a couple of stone to lose but am really working on my core in the hope that I can get some form of flat tummy back.

I also found it worse after losing weight, it's more crinkly :(
I haven't had a CS but had 3 huge dc.
I've tried to exercise and tone it but it's still there. I hate and avoid full frontals in the mirror. Along with looking like I had a fight with a tiger the crinkles above my bikini line area smile back at me bastards
I think I will eventually have surgery but not yet as I'm ttc, so it's a few years off yet.

Without wanting to get pelted with rocks, I delivered PFB 2 weeks ago, and aside from being a bit softer than it was beforehand stomach doesn't look vastly different from before I was pregnant (ie pretty flat, non-saggy).

Don't want to sound braggy, guess I am just lucky, but from reading threads like this before I assumed a wrecked stomach was practically inevitable and I was certainly prepared for a long period of looking flabby.

So I just wanted to reassure people that mum tum isn't a foregone conclusion.

Right, I'll run away now!

Don't run Plate, you don't sound braggy at all :)

I think genes do play a big part but also it depends which dc you're on to :)
Mine was okay-ish after my first (he was 9lb 12 and I was huge) it was worse after no2 then after 10lb 15 no 3 - there wasn't much hope. The more you have, for a lot of women, the worse the deflated balloon effect.

My Dsis has had 1 CS and 1 VB and her tummy is the same as it was before but with a few stretch marks and obviously a scar. She bounced straight back but didn't have huge dc nor carry very big on her tummy.

What actually is the saggy bit? Does anyone know? Is it fat, skin, muscley internal bits?

YANBU! I had a big, swingy pouch after having my son. It took a while, but healthy eating and LOTS of exercise eventually did the trick. Ideally, you should do a combination of as many different types of exercise as possible, i.e, cardio, weights, pilates, yoga, swimming and Zumba.

My belly will always be softer and slightly more rounded than before, but I'm OK with that. I have a naturally voluptuous figure so a completely flat tum would look weird on me anyway.