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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Did you get your old body back after pregnancy?

145 replies

Preggooo · 15/11/2022 21:25

My wedding was this time last year - we looked through our wedding pics last night and I feel like I look like a different person.

Currently pregnant and feeling so hefty (still have 3 months to go).

I know it won’t be immediately and I will have to work hard but I just want to feel comfortable and confident in my own skin again and get back into exercise. Have a low placenta so all I can do atm is walk.

OP posts:
Preggooo · 15/11/2022 21:26

ps goes without saying I am SO grateful to be pregnant and getting my baby here and healthy is my main priority

OP posts:
RambamThankyouMam · 15/11/2022 21:32

I have a bit of a c-section pouch but most things went back to how they were. Boobs a bit saggier!

TripleFret · 15/11/2022 21:34

No I never did. I got back to pre pregnancy weight, but my shape changed for good.

My hips and rib cage are wider and I’ll never have the washboard tum I once had. But I gained some curves in the right places, too, so there were some wins Grin.

NiceTwin · 15/11/2022 21:36

First time yes, I was back to my old shape quite quickly.
Second time, no and never will be.

TabithaTittlemouse · 15/11/2022 21:36

I did (x3) but then aged and it all went a bit Pete Tong.
I don’t want that body back though, I’m not 20 anymore.

ghostyslovesheets · 15/11/2022 21:37

Never really - lighter now than when I had my first 20 years ago - youngest is 14 but I have a section pouch and my abs have a fist sized hole so that's that - gained tits though and 3 amazing kids - try not to fixate on it - it's not that important!

DrinkFeckArseBrick · 15/11/2022 21:37

Similar weight but tummy is more flabby. You can't exercise away over-stretched skin

Vallmo47 · 15/11/2022 21:38

Hell no, inside and out. No hole will ever be the same again but the little sunshines are worth it right?! ;) Plus if my husband could do it he’d have been made to do it, therefore he has to take every extra floppy, saggy, wrinkly bit of me as “more to love”. I just love how my apples now look like fried eggs gone wrong too. It’s like my body’s been through a fucking wrangle.

Violettaa · 15/11/2022 21:38

I never put on that much weight, so as soon as the tummy went down I was basically back to a normal shape. Nipples however are never going to be the same!

Tothemoonandbackx · 15/11/2022 21:40

Nope...nearly 4 years down the line, and after 3 labour's in one year, I have a crinkly tummy I wish I could smoothe over with an iron, lol. I've lost the weight, think I look even better pre pregnancy to be honest (round the face and legs) but I never rushed anything. There will be things that will change overall, (maybe stretch marks, looser skin etc) but don't worry about it, pretty much every mum is in the same boat x

imbacktoshowyoumydress · 15/11/2022 21:40

It's not the same. My stomach is softer even though I actually have better muscle tone, think I have excess skin sadly. I think my hips are a bit wider. Interestingly boobs look the same and I breastfed

Oysterbabe · 15/11/2022 21:41

Same as pp, first time yes and second time no.

ThatsBullshirt · 15/11/2022 21:41

Nope. I never got back to pre-pregnancy with either of DC, youngest is now 4. A combination of terrible sleep (even now) and stress definitely haven't helped with getting rid of the weight I put on but I also completely changed shape. Hips and ribs have widened and I don't think I'd have the slender shape I used to have even if I did lose some of the weight.

Currently trying to make more time to exercise/eat better so maybe I'll get close to pre-pregnancy body some time in the next year but I doubt it.

OoooohMatron · 15/11/2022 21:41

After I had DD, I went completely back to the same size and not a stretch mark in sight, thought I'd got away with it. My second pregnancy, with DS on the other hand, has left me with a wrinkly, saggy stretch mark covered stomach. I lost the weight but my body isn't the same. I don't care though, he's worth it.

sarahc336 · 15/11/2022 21:41

Weight and body shape back to the same yes but I have a lot of loose skin on my stomach now and my belly button is clearly stretched forever now, dd2 is now 2 so I feel it may improve a tad more but this is probably me. Op you defo loose the big feeling but don't be alarmed if you never have a flat tummy again but you can join the rest of us with our stretch marks and saggy boobs 😂

WilsonMilson · 15/11/2022 21:42

Nah, ds is nearly an adult now and I weigh less than when I got pregnant and am in better shape overall, but my abdomen has never been the same. Stretched skin never really goes back to normal, silvery stretch marks and a wrinkly belly button etc despite having a pretty strong core. Nipples are massive, areolas went like saucers when pregnant and never really changed back, shame the rest of my boobs didn’t also grow!!

Don’t care a hoot though - I got an actual child from all of that, so who bloody cares.

Ghostlight · 15/11/2022 21:42

I look the same but the texture is off.
Like the shape is the same and in clothes you cant tell that anything is different, but I had a ton of stretch marks and even though it looks right and the skin seemed to all go back in the right place, my stomach just feels weird and blacmangey

Cosycover · 15/11/2022 21:43

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Preggooo · 15/11/2022 21:44

Tbh I never had a totally flat tummy to start with so highly doubt I will after! Wish I’d spent more time on my fitness before - feel motivated to get stronger now I can’t.

Im the first of my friends to have a baby so they all look slim and fashionable and young and I look like an orca :)

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TheCatWithGreenEyes · 15/11/2022 21:44

Yes it cost me 12k though Grin

ThatsBullshirt · 15/11/2022 21:46

The thing is, it's totally worth it. Would I love to have the body I had before my DC? Yes! But would I trade them for it? Not in a million lifetimes.

I'm heavier, wobblier and have lots more stretch marks and cellulite than before but being able to grow my children in my own body was honestly a dream come true.

everycowandagain · 15/11/2022 21:47

I am older and it shows, and yes pregnancy does change your body forever, but now in my mid forties I am in the best shape I have ever been in. I have spent years gradually working on my strength, feeding my body well and building myself up for the decades to come. It's never too late!

Schlaar · 15/11/2022 21:47

I experienced permanent damage. I weigh less but my clothes don’t fit because my rib cage is wider. My stomach is completely numb and has no sensation at all, and it’s stretched beyond all repair. The rest of my body looks fine but then I have this apron of skin on the front. I had to get rid of all mirrors in the house and nobody is allowed to see me without clothes, I don’t even look at myself.

RandomMess · 15/11/2022 21:48

First baby yes.

Subsequent babies he'll no, body has been ruined from it tbh but I had huge babies and I'm a short arse.

They were worth it though.

bravelittletiger · 15/11/2022 21:48

I did the first time mostly apart from my little c section pouch. The second time no. I'm not massive- just permanently one size bigger I would say and I've got a broader rib cage, a tummy pouch and more saggy/flabby bits. Weirdly I can't get myself to care much. Im happily on the sofa with my wine and biscuits right now and I'll
Always be proud/amazed with my body for growing two (rather large) babies!