How long did it take for you to lose weight after having a baby and did your body look the same?

[NewbieToThis]

Posting on here for traffic lol

just curious how long did it take you to lose the baby weight? Was it quickly or slowly or didn’t you manage it?

how different did your body look compared to pre pregnancy? Was it completely different? A bit different or did it just look the same?

did you feel self conscious about how you looked? Were you happy or unhappy with how your body looked?

were you able to wear the clothes from pre pregnancy or did you have to get rid of a lot of beloved dresses even when you got back to pre pregnancy weight because they didn’t fit right?

the reason I’m asking is because I’m planning on trying to get back into a semi decent shape by June (due in March) to be fair I haven’t put that much weight on and my bump is very neat as it’s mainly all baby. I do plan to take measures once my child is born like try to go on decent daily walks, eat right, wear belly wraps to bring stomach in quicker and help with muscles coming back together, combo feed etc. I’ve heard some women look better after they’ve had a baby and I’m hoping I’ll be one of them.

I didn’t lose the baby weight from dc1 until I was pregnant with dc2 and had morning sickness.

Didn't lose the weight from dc2 until a year after when I went on some medication which caused a loss of appetite as a side effect.

Honestly I didn’t really care? Pregnancy fundamentally changes your body- my ribcage has expanded and never gone down for example.

DH still makes me feel amazing, and says those cringy things about my body being strong and making our babies. Pure cringe but sometimes it is nice to hear a reminder!

My one bit of advice would be to not bother with any clothes or equipment designed to ping you back into shape. Enjoy your new baby without sweaty shapewear.

I think it depends on the person OP. You have no way of knowing until you’re in that position. Don’t put unrealistic expectations on yourself.

I weigh the same as pre kids and am probably stronger in my core, but still a different shape. Youngest is three now so I think it’s permanent!

I weighed the same a week later when I first weighed myself as my prepregnancy weight. My belly wasn't back to normal immediately.

Never and dc3 is 14.

14 years and counting… 😂

I lost the weight quite quickly. Maybe 4 months? And I did a lot of exercise like walking, exercise classes with baby in a sling so I was probably in the best shape of my life. Bits of my body never went back to how they were before and random pockets of fat that just won't move.

Ha ha ... yes body shape changed and no I didn't loose the weight

After my first two children I struggled to put weight back on. I was breastfeeding and got very skinny very quickly and never really regained my weight until I was pregnant again. I felt weak and shapeless.
After my third I had separated stomach muscles. I changed shape a lot. Pre kids I was size 8 with nice boobs. Post kids I am size 12 with no boobs. We are all different. Genetics, hormones, age, diet and exercise will play a part.

I lost the weight in a few weeks. But my body was an entirely different shape. It really got me down for a while - I’d only just figured out how to appreciate my body and had a style I enjoyed. That was entirely out of the window! My hips are wider now, and I carry much more weight on my hips and stomach than I did before.

I’m currently 2 months PP and I’m about 2kgs heavier than I was pre pregnancy. I’ll probably have lost that in the next month though as I’m loosing weight quite quickly without trying too hard. I’m breast feeding which helps massively.

think about how much support you’ll have to enable you to be active, my toddler is in nursery a fair bit otherwise getting out for walks and making time for exercise would be much harder.

edit to add - no obvious changes in body shape but I guess I’ll see when il back to me pre pregnancy weight (which was normal / slim)

Took about a year in total with my first (I didn’t have a lot to lose really so it was more my body shifting back) and two years with my second (again - it wasn’t a lot of weight; more me trying to get back to pre baby condition). My youngest is nearly 8 and you’d never guess I’d had babies really - no stretch marks or excess weight

Lost the weight within a couple of weeks both times despite raging hunger due to breastfeeding. No major changes bar huge CS scar but it healed well and no overhang. My boobs are bigger but I’m still feeding and didn’t stop feeding the first one till I was pregnant with the second. I was back in my normal clothes once my scar was comfy each time.

My ribs spread with my first and I suddenly lost the extra inch a year later with no weight loss just randomly.

I’ve got downy hair on my face, back and belly still, not a clue why but it’s seemingly here to stay…

Go easy on yourself. A lot of it’s pure luck.

My deliveries were complicated both times and I didn’t think much about how I looked for a while each time but I didn’t feel negative about my body. Breastfeeding has made me feel very positive about what it can do especially as I don’t deliver well even with surgery 🤣

With my first I was back in my pre pregnancy clothes 3 days post partum, nothing that I did, just happened. With my second it still hasn’t happened nearly 2 years later. However, I had post partum anxiety with my first and didn’t care what I looked like and was so much happier on my second maternity leave that I also didn’t care!

I don’t weigh myself, but I was back in my pre pregnancy clothes pretty quickly (mostly within a few weeks) after all 3, and I didn’t diet or do any exercise or wear weird contraptions or anything to get there. It’s purely just luck and genetics. My shape is pretty much the same, I have a slightly less defined waist I guess.

Didn't ever gain much and lost the weight within weeks with all 3. Some loose skin on stomach. Boobs took the hardest hit due to breastfeeding.

That is quite a short time frame 🙈 I know all of these things are important to an extent but I think you will care a lot less about it after baby arrives. I got married when my son was 11 months and I was a size smaller than I would ever have been pre-baby. Second time round my belly hasn’t popped back quite the same. My ab muscles split quite badly so even though the weight is off, I still have the curve at the top of my where it used to go out the way. Also I have my belly button pierced and randomly this time the skin between the hole and my belly button has all stretched and it’s like I have extra skin there 🤣 I actually don’t really care though. I’m dedicating this year to ‘me’ after having two babies close together. It all depends on the effort you put in and the time you physically have to be able to do whatever form of exercise you like. My problem is I like running and it’s not something you can do without childcare! It’s not as much of a car crash as I thought before my first baby anyway 🙈

DD will be 6 soon, so, you know, any day now...

Gained 4 stone with my first, took 4 months to lose but this was purely from breastfeeding I think as I didn’t diet whatsoever. Body was pretty much the same once I had lost the weight but a tiny bit more of a pouch look around my tummy. With my second I gained 4.5 stone similar took around 4-5 months to lose but I would say I have gained around 9lbs since. The shape of my body is the same tummy pouch a bit more noticeable (probably only to me) when I bend over however u can see some excess skin. Currently a size 10. I have however, always had a tiny waist and bigger bum and thighs so maybe why my shape hasn’t changed much

Breastfeeding is your friend! I had been slowly putting on weight before getting pregnant and was the biggest I had been (c.11st size 12-14). I didn't put on loads of weight while pregnant. But after I lost the weight and more. It was just breastfeeding and walking more. But for the first few months I wasn't walking much anyway - post c-section.
By the time I went back to work I think I was less than 10.5 st. After my second and a year of breastfeeding them and chasing a toddler about in was under 10st.

A friend who also breastfed similarly came out the other side much slimmer

Still working on it. DS2 is 18

I went back to the same weight, think it took about 3 months.

I lost the weight by the time babies were 9-12 months and I’ve since been about half a stone slimmer since having kids. my boobs took a hit! which was more caused by pregnancy than breast feedings.
Unfortunately though like so much with pregnancy/kids it completely varies depending on the person.
I’d try not to put pressure on yourself. My mum said to me when I was around 4 months postpartum and unhappy with my size “you’ve got the rest of your life to lose weight” - the post baby time is not the time for it to be the main focus

Judging by all of your previous posts to AIBU, will this be another thing you hold against the baby if "I’ve heard some women look better after they’ve had a baby and I’m hoping I’ll be one of them." doesn't go to plan?

After my 1st I realised I was overweight and lost 3st doing slimming world. If I’m honest I’d always been a bit of a yo yo dieter even pre kids. When I got pregnant with my 2nd I was probably at my lightest. I gained pretty much just baby weight and was back in size 12 clothes within a couple of weeks. Didn’t take me long to get back into my size 10’s but with a newborn and a toddler I think I just burnt off the calories.
kids are now teens and having recently discovered exercise I’m fitter than I was back then and in size 10’s but I have to work hard to maintain the weight and honestly the skin on my stomach has never been the same since I had the kids no matter what I weighed.
DH says I should be proud of the stretch marks etc but I’m not keen on them or the loose skin!
definitely don’t put pressure on yourself postnally. Enjoy your baby and motherhood