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.

My first pregnancy did change my body a lot for the worst but my second pregnancy seemed to put things right again.

My stomach is back to the size it was now but I have some looser skin lower down.

Some of the changes made my by previous pregnancy went back to normal after second such as my foot size and after boobs got smaller with first but then they doubled in size with second and stayed that way (big grin) although they have stretch marks.

Sex was very painful after first dc but not after second and bladder was weak but fine this time round. Everyone is different as is every pregnancy but you'll soon adjust to any changes.

Everyone is very different. I put on a lot of weight while pregnant, but couldn't wait to start exercising again and having a kitchen (house reno) so I could cook. I'm 5.5 months post partum and I've been down to my pre pregnancy weight for about a month now. I'd like to lose another 10kg to get back to what I was a few years before o got pregnant but my body seems to really want to stay at this weight.

Out of my NCT friends a few have just popped right back without any effort, some like me, and a couple are bigger now than at the end of their pregnancy.

I had a c section, so my body isn't exactly the same as before, but the scar is very small and neat so it's almost invisible now, to the point I don't really notice it. I did gain 3.5 stone whilst pregnant, which was noticeable on me as I'm only small framed, but I breastfed DS and found that the weight literally melted off. I was back to pre pregnancy weight within 4-6 weeks and lost a further stone in the months following. I've regained about 7lbs since DS was weened and maintained at that weight since. I could stand in a mirror and not really see any difference in my body pre and post pregnancy, but am fairly sure this wouldn't be the case if I chose to have any more children, as I can feel my stomach muscles aren't what they once were. I've never really exercised, although I do lots of walking, so I'm aware I could probably make improvements to my overall strength and tone if I did a bit more. I'm still not inclined to though!

@helen00

I’m so sorry for your loss.

Fucked! I had bad spd so didn’t move much for 6 months, had to physically hold hips together to turn in bed, spent most of pregnancy on crutches and finally a wheelchair, crash emergency c section under general followed by ongoing seizures for several months after meant I didn’t bounce back with shiney hair wearing pre pregnancy jeans a week after lol. I now laugh at my birth pool preference in the birth centre with led stars in the ceiling!

My feet grew a half size and my hips go once a month just before my period as my ligaments still affected by hormones. Bad endo after c section (but now removed.

Left with ptsd also.

I’ve worked v hard to tone up again, I’d like my tummy to be completely flat but after the v rushed c section it’s never going to flat again, fuck knows what went on in there. Oh and mental health better than ever.

But the cause of it all is now 8 (Surprisingly our one and only) and bloody perfect!

I snapped back to a size 8 immediately but I was 22 so I had youth on my side. I have stretch marks though.

I'm heavier now than I was when I was pregnant! I find it harder to lose weight now than I did at that age.

I'm 8 weeks pp, c section and I'm skinnier than I've been in a long time. Probably because of sleep deprivation and anxiety. No stretch marks here. Stomach is a bit pouchy

Literally days , I’m not joking but its just luck of the draw and breastfeeding around the clock.
I’ve had three kids and my stomach is completely normal, toned etc and looked fine a week after delivery. Breastfeeding helped massively and I didn’t have any c-sections (I think that can affect your stomach with the muscle it can cut through but not sure on that).
However there’s always something and I literally aged years the night I had my first , it was a really long labour and I had extra wrinkles the day after , no word of a lie so I’m not that smug. Also two of my beautiful kids didn’t sleep for years so that ages me too, lack of sleeps though eats calories for me so silver lining!
Everybody is different but I heard a few horror stories pre my kids re my body etc and actually it’s completely normal , actually more toned post kids so it’s not always bad.

8 months postpartum and I'm a wreck.
I'm breastfeeding but the weight will not shift so I just look enormous.
I had no stretch during pregnancy they all arrived during labour.
I had stitches and I'm still experiencing discomfort and swelling down below.
Despite doing my pelvic floor exercises the urge to go is sudden and strong and has left me having a few accidents.

I'm sure there's more but this is off the top of my head.

Hi, I had a baby 6 months ago, and although I had SPD during the pregnancy, after delivery I didn’t feel it anymore. The pain started again around 2 weeks postpartum. I would feel my spine shift after every turn in bed. Also, the pain I felt immediately after childbirth (a sore pain between my lower abdomen and pubic bone) still persists even 6 months down the line. I feel pain in the area when I laugh or sneeze. I spoke to the doctor about it but was just given co-codamol which hasn’t worked. Pls has anyone else experienced this? This is my third child and this is the first I’m experiencing this. Thx

Lost all the weight v quickly (thanks breastfeeding) but my shape was never the same. Everything is softer and a bit pudgier. Years later I've come to terms with the fact that no amount of exercise and healthy/restricted eating will get me back to the body I had.

Skinnier after having kids.
X2 were vaginal births, weight lost & toned by 6 months. 3rd baby C Section. Again 6 months back to pre pregnancy.
I was surprised as prepared myself for much longer recovery due to section.

Saying this I was fit & toned pre pregnancy. Put around 2.5-3 stone (!!) on when pregnant.
I just ate clean & exercised.
If I ate crap & sat on my arse I don't think I'd look the same!
No c section overhang here.

For around 2-3 months after it seems to take time for changes but then you really notice a difference. Maybe to do with hormones settling??

I read that if you don't get the weight mainly gone by 6 months post partum you'll really struggle to ever get rid!

None of us can tell you as every woman’s experience is different. No point worrying about it now. Don’t expect things to look or feel normal for many months. Swelling and stitches etc can take a long time to go down/heal.

I was left rearranged after a forceps delivery with episiotomy, but nearly 2 years later things seem back as they were; occasional pain when I get my period in the scar, but not much more.

My belly button is very droopy as my stomach hangs down a bit, just loose skin. Haven’t done enough to rectify it.

A fucking car crash
My poor mimsy was more stitches than anything else. I sort of did this John Wayne comedy walk on the outside edges of my feet for a couple of weeks.
My ta tas went from a troublesome 28ff to a 28hh/j and I had to wear a bra as going around unsupported was AGONY
Stomach wise I did pretty well, I was back into pre pregnancy jeans in two weeks. I did get a bit of loose skin and my belly button has never looked the same but I was a size 6-8 before and had a 10lb bruiser of a baby.
My stretch marks faded to nothing really quickly too.
Pooping was difficult for a few months. And I still pee on coughing, laughing, walking, running, lifting etc. I damaged a load of nerves.

Absolutely fucked and I beat myself up about it way too much whereas I'd have been far healthier if I'd just relaxed and not worried for a little while what I looked like

I bounced back after 3 months with DD mainly from walking with her pram.
Weight after straight away he was a huge baby by 8 months I could barely get food in once he was born he was extremely high maintenance I lost more weight not having time to eat.
Mentally straight away after DD.
Mentally about 2years after DS.
The physical changes aren't necessarily the worst to bounce back from.

Meant weight following DS.

With DC1 I feel like I was back to some kind of normality within about 3-4 months, but she was a very small baby and I didn't put on much weight/have much of a bump. I had a bit of extra roundness/softness to my tummy but I could wear my old jeans. I think I became broader across the shoulders/back/rib cage because a lot of my pre-pregnancy tops no longer fitted properly.

Currently 37 weeks pregnant with DC2 and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly dreading how my body is going to be postpartum this time. I've not put much weight on but my bump is quite a lot bigger this time - DC2 seems to be a much bigger baby and is stretching out my stomach to accommodate! I've developed some stretch marks and feel like I'm going to have a lot of loose skin on my stomach this time.

I was a complete car crash tbh. I had an emergency c-section so took a long time, probably 6 months, to feel anything like normal.

Lost the baby weight by the time he was 9 months old but that was doing mfp on 1200 calories a day and walking miles with the pram.

Luckily I never got stretch marks but obviously have a large scar from the c-section. My stomach isn't quite as flat as it was due to the scar (also probably because I am nearly 35!).

Wouldn't change my son for the world though so it's worth it!

With my first I had a flat belly straight afterwards and was wearing normal clothes as soon as I left hospital. He was a great sleeper so I felt back to normal within a week or 2. I used to have a shower every morning and do my hair and make up.
Then I had babies 2 and 3. 6 years later I'm still overweight and have stretchmarks everywhere. They never slept so my hair is thin and falling out and I'm permanently in a fog. That will teach for being so smug about doing so well after DC1

Broken, and I never got back to the way I was before. There are the simple things, like the fact my feet grew half a size bigger; not to mention breasts that went up a few cup sizes with each pregnancy (and didn't shrink back to pre-pregnant size).

Then there are the more complicated things that I'm not sure are a result of pregnancy or a result of the emergency treatement I needed. They did save my life, but I was in constant pain for 2.5 years afterwards.

5 years after having a baby, the area around my c-section scar is still numb, yet the scar itself is painful if anything rubs against it.

I also wish I'd been told that it's not unusual to have sudden and severe bleeding approx. 2 weeks after birth, that lasts for a couple of days and doesn't stop or ease no matter whether you're lying down or walking around. I'm not talking about the usual after birth bleeding (which is not light and definitely does not stop 6 weeks after birth), but sudden, agonising, fear inducing, oh my god am I having another haemorrhage type bleeding.

And I wish I'd been told that, even if you don't breast feed, your breasts can leak for years afterwards (not the 'up to 6 weeks' the midwives told me - where do they get this magical, everything heals in up to 6 weeks number?).

I’m 10 weeks PP.

I feel mostly normal. I had a c-section so I’ve got a mighty scar that I didn’t used to have, but it has healed well and is no longer painful or numb. I’m breastfeeding so my boobs feel pretty massive and can be quite tender. I have more stretch marks and loose skin than I did.

I actually weigh less now than when I got pregnant (gestational diabetes = third trimester weight loss, plus breastfeeding weight loss). Everything feels a bit looser in terms of skin though.

Mostly I feel pretty normal and fine, which I think is very lucky.

Oh, I’m still bleeding - that’s a change. I think it’s because I had a coil fitted, though, rather than being specifically PP bleeding.

Immediately after birth I was the same weight as pre-pregnancy. Those 20lb were all fluid and baby. About 2 or 3 weeks later I was in my old clothes.