to have expected to come home from hospital a little lighter than this?

[EagleRay]

I had a baby on Tuesday - a HUGE one at 4.6kg

During the ELCS, the theatre staff marvelled at the size of the accompanying placenta.

There was fluid pouring out of me and onto the floor - can remember the doctor complaining her feet were wet.

And yet, I've come home to find I weigh precisely 5kg lighter than I did at the start of the week

I ate some flapjack and crisps before I was discharged but it still seems a bit unfair.

Anyone else been cheated in this way?

Yes! Dd was 10lb 5oz. Placenta huge, the midwife told me they had it laid out in the sluice room with all the other midwives coming in for a look...7 months on and still cheated fat

I think you retain a lot of fluid post surgery as the body tries to heal itself. It should come off in the next week or so

You also have increased blood volume which should come down pretty quickly.

But I would feel just the same!

Don't weigh yourself, you've just done an amazing thing, enjoy the amazing thing.
I have a 2wk old sitting on my chest, and thanks to breastfeeding (constantly) I'm perminatly hungry but its all about the baby at the moment, the rest will come.

Why are you weighing yourself 4 days after having a baby??

I weighed myself after having a baby as I was fascinated by it. I didn't use the results to beat myself up tho. Right now I have a 6 week old and am eating ALL THE TIME but still losing 2-3 lbs a week.

I came home fatter than I went in! All of the fluid they pumped in during my epidural during my emergency section sort of pooled in my legs. I got a huge shock when I looked in the mirror!
It will gradually go over the next week or so don't worry.

Martha She's probably just curious about what the difference is, not obsessed about weight loss. It's fascinating.
It's most likely fluid retention, drink lots of water and it'll come right off.
Congratulations on your new baby!

I lost a stone after having my dc pretty much instantly. And that was it.

Ha ha ha!

I had DS1 by C-section. He was 9lb 9oz. Then there's the weight of the placenta, water, blood, tears !! Sod all to eat during labour then crappy hospital food and not enough of it afterwards. I hadn't even lost a stone. (Mind you BF meant I lost a pound a day and ended up half a stone lighter than before I got pg, I was worried I'd waste away if the weight loss didn't stop. Disclaimer: this did not happen with DC2 and DC3, to my dismay.)

All this is nothing to the disappointment when I had a colonoscopy last year. Tiny amounts of bland food for 24 hours, NO food for the next 48 hours, a preparation that cleaned my insides out so that you could have stuck a torch in my mouth, switched it on and the light would have shone out of my arse . . . how much weight did I lose? Two pounds. Yes TWO pounds. I thought I was good for 9 or 10 at least. Just as well I have never paid for colonic irrigation, I'd be demanding me money back!

I really wouldn't weigh yourself again for at least a month. Your milk and hormones will affect you and your body is changing, adjusting so your weight will fluctuate a lot. Just judge it on how you feel, eating well and choosing nutrious food then weigh yourself again after 4 weeks or so. Don't expect big changes though if you are breastfeeding. The 'breastfeeding helps you lose all the weight' only happens for some people. I was hungry all the time whilst breastfeeding.

Congratulations on your new little one.

I found fluid retention actually got worse for a few days after my EMCS and was massive but 6 weeks later I weighed less than when I got pregnant (still overweight though ) It takes a while for everything to settle down! Best just avoid scales for a while

I was at the opposite end of the scale....two days after birth I weighed only 2kg more than at my booking appointment, and I had put on decent amount of weight due to Pre-Eclampsia. My midwife was astonished.

Four months after birthing DC3 I am heavier than I was at full term. Breastfeeding, too...

it takes MONTHS for all that fluid, fat etc to come off. Just enjoy your baby
I'm usually a size 18 straight after birth and a 14 two months later. don't worry

I'm still the same weight thirteen years on!! Congratulations on the baby.

I had a hideous amount of fluid retention after my first, but this was due to a long drawn out labour and epidural.
Was in for a week with no 2 and came out heavier as I ate like a horse and couldn't move much. Eighteen hard months it took to shift, but breastfeeding gave me such hunger!

Yes yes to curiosity - was flabbergasted too at how I've now lost less than the sum of all the things they removed from me!

But also its impossible not to feel the pressure - I conceived against the odds long after giving up hope and put on a lot of weight (over 20kg) but had just started a stressful new job, was trying to keep quiet about the pregnancy (they found out, and I was soon out of a job), then was counteracting morning sickness by eating anything and everything.

Then later in pregnancy I had SPD, no kitchen due to renovations, a month out of action due to swine flu, a toddler to look after and so on. All making it impossible to have much control over healthy eating/staying active.

Then at the same time there's the comments - DM one of the worst culprits, but also from colleagues, strangers, people at the swimming pool and so on. Yes, I was huge but didn't need reminding constantly.

I don't really care now - DD was in special care for a few days and I'm glad we're finally home but I gave a pitiful little laugh (and I think the scales sniggered too) when I stood on them. I lost 10kg immediately with my first, so was a bit shocked!

Looking forward to DM visiting next week and doing her best concerned face at my still-massive tummy

Stop weighing yourself. Enjoy your baby, take care of yourself with all the ups and downs, and give yourself time to get used to your "new" body before you even go anywhere near thinking about weight. This is not the time!

Also congratulations!

Dont even think about how much you weigh or what you look like right now! You just had major surgery and a baby, woman!

But yes, I was shocked that I was still fat and looked pregnant after my first (10 lb whopper) child was born by c-section. I was more prepared with my second and didn't let it phase me.

There will still be lots of swelling and water retention. You will look pregnant for a while yet. I didn't lose the baby weight particularly quickly either time...but I did lose it. There is hope . Mine are primary chool age now and I am the slimmest and fittest I have ever been.

I think it can all be very different. DS1 I didn't lose anything, was same weight getting home as was full term. DS2 weight fell off. I was back to normal weight within weeks. The only difference was second time round had a toddler to entertain as well as a baby. I do think swelling after a section is common I definitely did this after DS1 and remember a few weeks after he'd been born that I had ankles again! Ignore people who comment they're rude and you've much more important things to focus your energy on than your weight.

I knew someone who went into hospital to have her lower leg amputated and came out a week later 2 lbs heavier. The body retains fluids etc post surgery, it'll settle down.

It'll be water - I lost 10lbs within a week of giving birth that was just water. i ended up in my lower legs then one day I wee'd all day and all night. Following day I was 10lb lighter. Magic

Wait til you're 6 weeks post partum before weighing yourself.

And Congratulations! you've had a stressful time and done a wonderful thing.