To ask how your body was postpartum

[wickerly]

I'm due in a couple of weeks and really curious to know how quickly others felt they were back to normal and did you ever look exactly the same? How long etc?
Also did anything help? and just what to expect really. I know everyone is different I'm just interested in some experiences.

Different for everyone. I had mine in my early 20's. I have stretch marks, a misshapen belly button and my boobs are a bit softer than before. In clothes I look the same as pre pregnancy.
It took about a year for my body to look as it does now and the stretch marks to fade and become less noticeable. My youngest is 8 now.

My stomach looked like a deflated shrivelled balloon for a couple of months, then with a bit of effort it went back to pre pregnancy state with the exception of looking like someone had drawn a map of the underground all over my stomach.

I was very lucky in that I didn't get any stretch marks or saggy boobs after either! But my rib cage did expand and I don't think I'll ever be a size 8 again, not sure it's actually possible with my ribs now

First time I was back to normal almost immediately and on a high for about a week before lack of sleep subdued me lol.(weight normal/only a few stretch marks etc)had quite bad postnatal anxiety.

Second time- back to normal weight about 3 months in but LOTS of saggy tummy skin, it will never be the same :-(. Separated tummy muscles and can't hold wee for hours like I used to........

6 months PP, had a c section and I am breastfeeding... I pretty much feel back to normal and I’m back to my pre pregnancy weight but I was abit chubby before so would like to lose more however there isn’t enough time in the day and I have to eat so I can breastfeed. I’d say I look pretty much the same except my belly is abit saggier and has stretch marks (which appeared AFTER BIRTH). Good luck, everyone has down days I think but remember.... your body did an amazing thing and grew a human and nurtured it. A couple of extra pounds is nothing 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm not trying to be smug just honest for me - immediately after birth I looked down at my tummy and it had deflated a lot - after about ten days nearly all of the "bump" had gone. I'm not just saying it I had a lot of comments from people saying I didn't look like I'd had a baby, the lady registering my daughter's birth even questioned how old she was and said I didn't look like I'd recently given birth.

I gained two and a half stone during pregnancy, used bio oil from 20 weeks and never got any stretch marks. Within a month I was at my ore birth weight without trying and had a hint of a swollen tummy for about four months I think.

However the skin on my tummy has never returned to normal and where it was once taut it is now "roly", plus my breasts are now empty looking and much less attractive.

Never back to normal.

First baby i gained 2 stone so i felt massive. Startes gym when baby was 3 months within 6 months i was back to 9 stone 4. Alot of hard training

Second baby i didnt gain much being so sick. However my hips feel wider, my boobs deflated and tummy has never fully went down. Even with working hard ay gym. Baby is 9 months now and im again 9 stone 4 but alot less tonned with alot more wobbles

I've had 4 in the past 10 years (youngest is 2) my body is not (nor do I expect it ever will be) back to normal.

I'm 4st heavier, boobs round my knees, covered in stretch marks, awful overhang after C sections, and stomach is just gross really.

First baby 7 months ago. I'm half a stone heavier still, but no stretch marks or loose skin. I've only just got back into using my fitness pal and trying to loose weight though.

I’ve had 3 babies (All c sections) in the last 6 years and youngest is now 6 months. I look basically the same apart from a small scar from the surgeries just below my bikini line. My breasts are still heavy with milk for now but when that eases off I’ll be exactly as I was apart from very slightly deflated breasts.

I made an effort not to gain too heavily in pregnancy but all the weight and more dropped off within a couple of months of each birth. This is entirely due to bfeeding as I’ve eaten an insane amount of sugar with every newborn and done no exercise (although I am on the go a lot and walk everywhere).

Internally I’m the same as ever (thanks c sections) so the only change is that I look a lot more tired!

I went to a post natal pilates class which really helped with several issues. Would recommend that.

Rib cage expanded and has changed forever sadly. That was probably the most permanent change. Csec scar still feels numb years later.

At the time, severe hair loss but that’s normalised now

I had my first child at 17 (1999) body went immediately back to pre pregnancy and I wore my size 8 clothes home, although I'd never needed maternity clothes then as hipsters were in so I wore hipsters with my bump over the top and baggy top, no stretch marks but had a perineal tear (cut with scissors) and ventouse delivery which was horrible and never felt the same down there.

2nd child at 32 gained loads of weight and stretch marks and still looked pregnant after birth, needed stitches. Feet from size 4 to 5.

3rd child at 34 still hadn't got body back from previous pregnancy and looked 8 months pregnant at 3 months. More stretch marks and was now size 14.
Short labour no stitches and feet went straight back to size 4 still looked pregnant for a while but now dc is 2 I'm a size 8 again with a few silver stretch marks hardly visible and feet are size 4 again. Stomach is slightly shrivelled looking but without clothes on I look the same as before dc1. Boobs are slightly bigger though and I did lose a lot of hair which grew back.

With not without clothes on

Hardest part was pelvic floor damage after dc1 which was then shot to bits after dc2.
I have done all the pelvic floors and can now laugh ok but will always panic when I have to sneeze and don't even stand on a trampoline.

Body wise I look the same but don't have the vagina muscles I used to have so feel different down there but not life changing can still O but sometimes leak during sex which is embarrassing.

With my last 2 pregnancies 12 months apart I put on around a stone and half with both. Lost it all in the first 2 weeks but my stomach is fed not the same. I have loose skin and a little overhang over my c-section scar.
Also have slight bags under my eyes and look a little tired. You get used to it!
Breast feeding as destroyed my boobs. They are like let down balloons now

I found I lost the weight pretty quickly but now I have to be careful what I eat as I can gain/lose weight easily now whereas my prepreg body was quite forgiving and I could eat more or less what I want. I tend to get bloated now and my stomach's not afraid to stretch if I've been on a binge.

Pregnancy has done a number on my back. I'm sure I get shorter with each pregnancy.

Pretty normal straight after
Back to pre baby weight after a week with both DD,
About 1/2 stone lighter 1-2 months after birth
Stopped breastfeeding around 4 months with both, forget to stop eating so much, weight all goes straight back on
Had terrible heartburn in both preg which helped me not overeat so didn’t really gain anything other than baby.

for context if it helps, I’m usually 2-3 stone overweight anyway, already had some stretch marks from up and down weight over the years and didn’t get any new ones when preg.

1.5years after dd2 and other than slightly deflated boobs and a weaker bladder, my usual self.

Think I saw someone said, first poo post baby is absolutely bizarre And a bit scary as muscles are worn out from pushing baby out, a nice relief when it’s over!

Good luck.

With dd I lost all the weight in a couple of months and was back in my bikini by summer looking exactly the same with no stretch marks.

Then I had ds who was stillborn and my body is ruined. Stomach is saggy and wrinkled with overhang, boobs have deflated and shrunk, and I have serious bladder issues and hair loss and no son to show for it.

5 years after my second child I'm finally back to normal.
However I have more stretch marks than anyone else I know but I did also get them during puberty so no surprise that my skin is shit.
I had spd so couldnt do much exercise up until a year ago when I spent time slowly pushing myself and now I'm in the gym 5 days a week. Also I had depression and never left the home so I could have got back to normal sooner had I had the support I needed.

My best friend who has been an avid gym goer since childhood snapped back after 6 months because her body was used to training and because she trained up until 3 days before giving birth. She also does not have a sweet tooth which helps. She took the first 3 months after birth off from working out and yet she still snapped back. I wish I was her.

Not terrible. Was back in normal trousers by about 6 weeks with my second.

Interestingly I couldn’t get my shoes on to go home from the hospital though as my feet and legs were so swollen. No one warned me about that!

First two I'm more or less was back to normal apart from the lose belly but it soon tightened back up. My youngest took me a couple of years to lose the weight and I still have a little more to go and she's 4 lol. Luckily didn't get any stretch marks with any pregnancy.

Back to pre baby wright within about 5 weeks. Then PND hit and I put 3 stone on in around 9 months.