Did you get your old body back after pregnancy?

[Preggooo]

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.

Not completely - my body changed- - but when I went back to work after both my maternity leaves I weighed less than when I had gotten pregnant. Being home and able to exercise and eat well, walking loads with baby and breastfeeding all helped. It all changed when I was back to work, between work and looking after children I have put on weight again as there is just not time to do what I need to do to stay slim.

So, for me at least, it's not the baby weight. It's time and energy. And probably age too.

Nope , my rib cage , hips , breasts and feet are now all bigger. I was an 8/ 10 in clothes and I'm now a 10/ 12. Feet grew a whole shoe size as well 🤣

Oh, and yes, my feet grew. Bye shoes!

I'm sorry but this is really immature. 'How come / it's not fair'

Bodies change in pregnancy. Some snap back and some don't. Some (like myself) worked really hard to get a body back that I was happy with. Some people don't. She may have worked really hard.

Don't take Instagram for gospel. Someone with a 'good' post birth body might be battling crippling mental health. Cancer. Terminal illness. That would give anything to have the 'shell' you describe.

I genuinely don't mean to sound harsh but if you've tried doing what you think is right to get a body you're happy with, not necessarily the same body you had, but a body you're happy with and it hasn't worked. (Takes a lot of persistence.) then perhaps talking to someone professionally or invest in a PT. Stretch marks fade over time.

Be proud of your body and that you grew and birthed a human. Don't let it ruin a marriage and your house for crying out loud. No physical body is with losing your house. I don't even know how that's possible.

Learn to love yourself. Be comfortable in yourself over time. We all have down days but wallowing in self pity saying 'it's not fair' isn't going to help you at all and I'm saying this not to offend or upset.

I hope you feel better about yourself soon and gain some confidence and I genuinely mean that.

This happened to me. Even though I'd lost the weight, my hips were wider and I remember trying to get my jeans up whilst yelling at my husband that my 'bones have grown' 😂

It took 2 years but my body ended up better after DS than before. I really committed to exercise and getting in shape - I had visible abs for the first time in my life at the age of 35 and that's despite having a c-section.

I packed on a ton of muscle, so I was actually about 5lbs heavier, but I was smaller with a lower body fat %.

I can categorically say I didn't snap back though - in fact, I couldn't lose a pound and my body looked TERRIBLE until I stopped breastfeeding after 6 months.

I was 8-10 57kg before my first baby, put on 10kg which I lost in a fortnight and by 3 months, I was down to 54kg and looking far too skinny (breastfeeding and donating to the milk bank carried all my calories). Similar story with #2, had gone back up to 57kg when I eventually stopped breastfeeding (third birthday), put on 13kg and had a much heavier baby and lost it all again and then some straight away.

Yes Iv had 2 girls now 3 and 10 weeks and got my body back pretty much straight away. My stomach was flat as soon as the babies came out! Midwife's said everyone on the ward would hate me 🤣 Don't get me wrong I aren't toned currently but I'm in my size 10s and feeling good. I didn't over eat and gained 1 stone each pregnancy.

I got back to the same weight, actually a bit lower but my hips were never as small again.

i'm 9 months pp, almost 10 and i'm back to my original weight but continue having a bit of a mum pouch" it's not the most noticeable and i snapped back almost entirely within the first month, but the slightly flabby area remains, and that's completely normal!!

Nope, I didn't. My hips are wider, my back has never recovered (because my pelvis is now wonky) and look exhausted!

I had twins and then two further babies. I have accepted that I am older, have created and birthed and fed four babies, and one of the outcomes of that is a different shaped body.

I lost 10 stone years before I had ds.
I was prepared to have the same stomach.
I'm 12lbs away from wedding day weight. It's taken 1.5 years and I regret starting exercise so early as I am now randomly doubly incontinent when I run, so now I have to wear nappies when I run.
Focus on diet for the first 8 months if you have an awful labour like I did (forceps, episiotomy and stiches, blood thinner injections so lost a fair bit of blood. Just heal then start exercise.

Yes for the most part.

I gained 25 lbs with my first and back to pre-preg in 5 weeks and 17 lbs with my second and was back the day after. Both boys were about 7 lbs and all belly. I bought one pair of pregnancy jeans with my first and went back to my regular jeans using a hair tie to adjust them for belly.

My breasts are not as pert but I had small breasts to begin with and my skin is saggy around the third row of abs, but was told that some sessions of skin tightening would take care of it since it’s not necessary to go more invasive than that. I’ve been the same size for almost 20 years. I walk everyday and move after eating whether it’s doing laundry, vacuuming or tidying up. I’ll usually go for walks if I’ve had a big meal and my diet is fairly healthy with a takeaway once a week. Not big on junk food and if I have a taste for something I’ll have a small portion of it or share with someone. I love hiking and yoga which are great for the body. It also helps having two happy, high energy sons who like to be tossed around, race here and there and move about.

I left the hospital after my first child's birth wearing the clothes I wore pre-pregnancy.

It took six months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight but I had a small pouch due to a c-section scar with my second child.

I had a second c-section with my third child and my body changed shape. I have wider hips, larger breasts, a larger pouch and my weight settled 8lbs more than I was previously.

I'm not really bothered by it all.

Had my first baby 8 months ago and honestly my body never went back to what it was. My stretch marks on my tummy went surprisingly quickly though but definitely have a bit of a pouch and my thighs and rib cage are much bigger than before - admittedly I’ve done nothing to rectify this due to time (DH away most of the time with work). I’m hoping when I’m back at work next week and on my feet all the time and unable to eat biscuits whenever I feel tired will help though

On the plus side, my skin has never been clearer!

After first baby, yes. No stretch marks, etc.

After my second...I'm 6 months PP now and have lost basically all my pregnancy weight, but my tummy was totally wrecked this time 🤣 stretch marks everywhere, which have all faded quite a bit already but have left my skin really wrinkled and puckered. I imagine that is going to be a permanent feature now but I don't really care 😊

I worked MY arse off. Made no difference! I dieted and exercised DURING pregnancy. Spent a fortune on the best creams for my stomach. After I gave birth I was only half a stone heavier than before. But my stomach was ruined because it was so stretched. The midwife looked at it and said “ohh that’s never going to go back to normal”. And it didn’t. Then I exercised and starved myself down to 8stone (less than my pre birth weight) but I still had a painful apron of loose skin.

So yes, I DO think it’s unfair that she got the body she wanted, when I worked hard and didn’t get the same outcome. It has ruined my marriage because I have constant pain in my stomach and it’s so hideous I won’t have sex with my husband or even let him see me naked, which will eventually lead to divorce and losing my house. This pregnancy has cost me everything.

After DC1, pretty much tbh, within about 6 weeks or so. I went to my DB's graduation at about 3 weeks PP and I was wearing heels and a pencil skirt, looking back at the photos I can't believe it!! Although my pelvic floor definitely not the same but obviously you can't see that.

After DC2, not completely. The repeated abdominal muscle separation I guess contributed. I would say it's almost the same, but my ab area is definitely a little more squishy/pouchy/separated than after DC1. Having said that I don't exercise anymore so I gue I could improVe it a bit if I did. Its a very minor change and it just means I don't dare to wear crop tops anymore sadly as I feel self conscious that my tummy sticks out a little. It's so visible because I'm only a size 8. My pelvic floor is in an even worse state now too. Also it took a lot longer to get my tummy down after this pregnancy too, I would say at least 3 months for it to settle this time, like I still had a noticeable post-pregnancy tum until then.

@Schlaar

Have you sought professional help when the things you did weren't working? It's not a one for all where diet and exercise just works. People need different things. But you having this really pessimistic attitude to the point you lose your home and marriage, don't project that onto your child for any sake because they will pick up on it sooner or later.

You really don't have to be feeling like this about yourself and I think if your feelings are this drastic then diet and exercise won't fix you anyway, you need to seek therapy / professional help.

What sort of thing does this teach your child, that you have to be perfectly beautiful and not have a pre pregnancy body to be socially acceptable, or even acceptable just to yourself? Even worse if your child is female!

I genuinely am sorry that you feel so harshly on yourself and it does make me sad, but sitting there saying it's unfair to on others to have a lovely figure after pregnancy isn't the answer. When you divorce (as you say you will,) will you then start saying 'it's so unfair why do others get to be married and happy?'

Life doesn't work like that. You need to pick yourself up out of this hole - and whatever you do, don't project this onto your child as it will make them feel guilty. If you have a daughter, what does this teach her.

No, pre pregnancy I was tiny and looked like I got up at 5am everyday to work out because I did. I'm happy enough now to be honest, my hips have widened and I have a not so tight tummy but that's what you get after carrying around a 5kg baby!