Since childbirth, I've lost all my baby weight and then some... Cause for concern???

[arabellaandbaby]

Hello

Since giving birth nearly six months ago, I've lost all the weight I gained during pregnancy. However, I've lost even more than expected and am now lighter than I remember ever being, even pre-pregnancy. Thing is, I am some 4kgs lighter than before pg. Family and friends say I seem to have lost a lot of weight and appear very slim.

Could this excessive weight loss be due to breastfeeding and the lack of sleep since DD arrived? I still haven't found the time gym to return to the gym yet since having DD.

Anyone else experienced weight loss in this way?

x

Breastfeeding, lack of sleep and how often to manage to eat a decent lunch during the day?

I too am thinner than I was before getting pregnant, I'd like to eat more but don't get nearly enough chance!

I lost two stone after having DS. I put it down to a combination of breastfeeding, never having time to eat, and walking loads pushing DS in the buggy to get him to sleep!

My mum also lost a lot of weight after having her first child so I think it might be genetic in some way.

However, I could stand to lose the weight. I was 13 stone and a size 16 before getting pregnant and at my lightest was 11 stone and size 14 so I could never be considered thin . Also, once I came back to work the weight has slowly started to creep back on now I spend most the day sitting at a desk.

Are you a healthy weight for your height? Are you finding time to eat properly? How are your energy levels? If you are worried at all, you should probably see your doctor, or HV.

Rycie and borntofolk, thanks for your posts. Yes, I hardly have time to sit down and have a proper lunch nowadays. I'm normally running after DD, making sure she's feeding, sleeping and playing well that all too often, I forget about myself! When she's sleeping, I'm trying my best to get all the housework done before she wakes and starts crying for company. Before I know it, I've forgotten lunch. Come to think of it, I sometimes miss breakfast too although that is due to getting up later in the morning.

I was at least 8.5st before pregnancy, was 10st in the last stages of pregnancy, and am now 7st 12lb. I'm 5ft 4in. I feel my energy levels are fine, I don't feel knackered during the day and don't feel particularly hungry either. But I do drink lots and lots of water due to BF - perhaps this has reduced my need for food since fluids can give the feeling of fullness? I'm drinking more water than ever.

I lost a lot of weight with DS1. When I got back to work I was able to eat three meals a day again, and didn't spend so much time rushing round at speed pushing a buggy, the weight went back on again to my pre-pregnancy level. I was always within the "healthy" band for my height. Normally I am at the top of the band and I went down to the bottom of the band before I was back to work.

They did a fat test at the gym and said my fat levels were a bit low and that might make it hard for me to get PG again. This turned out to be completely false. The DCs are 19 months apart...

For me the real problem was that I bought two new suits to psych myself up for being a working mum, at the new unfeasibly slim size, and they only fitted for a very short time. As problems go I do not think this is a biggie!

Just on a totally different track, after DD1 was born I lost a huge amount of weight and wasa size 12 for the first time since I was 15! I was also very tired (not just new baby tired) and constantly hungry. I thought it was BF but Dh made me go to the doc and they did a blood test and my thyroid had gone haywire and was overactive. If it's just weight loss it may just be the BF and running around after other DC but if you have any other symptoms get your GP to check it out.

don't worry - I dropped from a size 12 to size 8 at approx the 6 month post-partum stage with both my DSs.

It will gradually creep back on when you're able to sleep all night and sit down during the day!!

Do make sure YOUR nutritional needs are met - eat lots of healthy food instead of empty-calorie junk.

not a cause for concern. breastfeeding uses 1000+ calories a day, and then as you run around a lot and dont get proper meals you will loose weight, i put 4 stone on while i was pregnant and all of it dropped of by the time he was 5 days old. now have lost another half a stone since. and i dont even breastfeed. im 5'6 and 8 stone a size 6 and 6 weeks pregnant again. its just normal. next time though i want to breastfeed as i did with 1st but cudnt as i had a bad birth and was on lots of medication.

erm. might be a cause for concern.

i was 9.5 stone per baby and went down to 8.5 stone afterwards - because my thyroid gland had gone into overdrive.

it was easily resolved with the right medication - meant i put the weight back on, but that i was healthy again.

nb - i didn't have any other symptoms - in fact i felt fine. think it is worth going to gp to get it checked?

I too lost loads of weight after DS1.6 months after birth felt so tired still,then started to feel really unwell.Went to my GP who nearly fell off his chair when he saw me! Neither I nor my DH had noticed the bulging eyeballs,and I was so tired I had put the shaking and tremor down to lack of sleep.Turns out I had overactive thyroid too,I was so sick-my GP asked how did you not know you were so sick-you're a nurse!I was on heart tabs for 18mts,my pulse was 140bpm-at rest!I have to take tyroid tab everyday for the rest of my life.So go to GP and get checked out.

Worth checking out thyroid problems. But I've lost over a stone simply through BFing.

Are you get jealous looks from other new mums?

I also lost weight after little one was born 9 months ago. I now weigh 7st 7. I put it down to the fact that I was extremley fit before pregnancy and muscle actually weighs more than fat. In other words any muscle I had has turned to jelly he he he. I did this when I had my first ds and gradually put weight back on as I started exercising again.

Was at my slimmest for years after a couple of months after DS - just over 9st (I'm 5'7"). I was bfing and running around, he was a crap sleeper - and I split up with exDP six months after he was born. He's now 2.6yo and I'm a LOT happier and the weight has slowly come back. I'm now around 10st and look a lot less gaunt!

Hello all

Thanks very much for your comments and advice.

I don't seem to have any other symptoms, just the weight loss. I'm eating no more than usual and my appetite has not changed since before pregnancy - I still enjoy food at the same level as previously.

But I think I'd better get the weight loss checked out anyway just to be on the safe side.

Thanks again, all.

Arabella x

I think that weight loss is very common with breastfeeding. Its why pregnant women put the weight on in the first place.

I think whether its a problem depends on how you feel yourself. Are you unhappy or desperately stressed? Do you look skinny?

I think it is actually fairly normal - happened to me both times and it does eventually creep back on after you cut down breastfeeding and get more sleep.

However, Postpartum Thyroiditis is a cause for 5-10% of women, so maybe get yourself checked out?