So how long after birth will I still look pregnant?

[Joannezipan]

I had my beautiful baby boy a week ago and he is perfect in every way. While I was in the hospital I know everyone in there still looked about 6 months pregnant, so it isn't just me. How long on average does it take for everything to go down?

Congratulations! WRT to looking pregnant I think it totally depends on your own body. Unfortunately 6 months after having DS I still look about 4 months pregnant (small bump) and my tummy is quite flabby. That's because I haven't done much exercise at all since he was born and I've been stuffing myself due to breastfeeding (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!). Some women bounce back really fast, others still have the belly years later. I don't mind mine too much to be honest. Maybe in another few months I'll start to do something about it but I can live with it for now.

Enjoy those newborn cuddles and don't worry about the belly for the time being

depends on the individual really

and how much weight you put on during the pg, and how big your bump was

Breatfeeding can help with loosing weight. I went down a dress size after BFing DS. (Put it back on a year later though).

I still look like I'm pregnant 2.5 years on, but then I did before I got pregnant, unfortunately! (I have a weakness for beer and cheese!)

It depends on your build, how much weight you put on and if you breastfeed.

My uterus was back down to its original size after 10 days because I breastfed, and I was back in my size 12 jeans when DD was three weeks old. I didn't diet at all because breastfeeding uses up so many calories and I was hungry all the time. I couldn't eat very much when pregnant, so I didn't put on much weight in the first place. Also, DD was a small baby so my stomach wasn't as stretched and flabby as it could have been.

Hummm so as my bump blocked out the sun I might have a while longer to go then! I guess I'll start worrying about it in earnest after my 6 week c-section recovery time is up. Thanks Ladies.

Same as Bunbaker although DD was a big ish baby. Breastfeeding was like a crash diet for me, went skinnier than my pre pregnant slender build pretty quickly.

13 years and counting/

6 weeks for all 3dc, despite the fact that i am small & slim, put on under 2 stone each time and had mahoosive babies... think it's just "one of those things"

9 years or so. But then I had a belly before my first child was even concieved - flat-stomached relative was flat-stomached again within days. I think it depends on general toning/abdominal muscle strength.

You had a cesarean?
Ask your midwife to recommend a physiotherapist for some help to exercise the muscles, as the nerves will have been cut also...

For me it's 7 years and I still have a bump post section (crash) that's even with physio, as my crash section incision was over a foot long.

Congrats btw. I'm sure your tum will be flat as a pancake in no time with a physio's help.

i went straight back to normal, left hospital in my skinny jeans lol but then i didn't show at all while i was pregnant, i looked about 12 weeks right up until birth, it took a week or so for my tummy muscles to tighten and retract tho and about 6 months at the gym to get my abs back. I'm hoping it will be the same this time, i'm 38 weeks now and keep getting asked if i've had my 20 week scan yet (people always want to know what you're having lol)

Breastfeeding very much does not work for lots of us. I took a year, really, after DD1 to get back into my jeans. OTOH I took about three months after DD2. All varies.

i knew there would be a smug git someone who left the hospital in their skinny jeans come on to this thread :o

lucky cow. and how do people stay looking "about 12 weeks" through out their whole pregancies, grrrrrrr

(you don't need to breastfeed to lose the baby weight tho i didn't) get one of those workout dvds as you can do them in your living room. I've got a pussycat dolls one as my other half doesn't mind it being on lol men pfft, i'm going to do what i did first time round and use it when babies sleeping, and go for a run on a weekend when dh can spend time with baby also sit ups sit ups sit ups and you'll have a flat stomach again in no time but wait till you've had your six week check, my moto is it took nine months to make a baby and ruin my body so it's going to take nine months to fix it!

Nooo to sit-ups if you had diastasis rectii though. Or if you even suspect you might have. Plank really helps in that case.

I took me about 3 days - also left hospital pre-pregnancy size - but I was very fit, lucky enough to not have a CS and exercised through pregnancy. Tummy is still a bit flabby but I can't do the sit-ups to sort it.

2 months on and unless I'm undressed you can't tell.

Weight has nothing to do with stomach I don't think - I had lost the baby weight within 10 days for DS1 and 5 days for DS2 but not the stomach. My shape changed and it was a couple of weeks before my stomach was flat again (I remember because it was the 1st time I took DS1 to nursery with DS2 and I had several comments about my stomach being flat)

I'm not fit, not even particularly slim, I just used to be blessed with naturally strong stomach muscles and a flat stomach - that was before I fell for the line that bf makes you lose weight and I ate my way through the first year of my DSs' lives and ended up heavier than when I was pregnant.

I think the key is how strong your stomach muscles are/were and whether they parted too far during pregnancy - if they part too far they never go back (this is fairly unusual though). I reckon a month is a pretty reasonable expectation though.

4 weeks on after DD arrived. Wearing most of my normal clothes, still got a bit of a tummy, and have half a stone to lose to get to pre pregnancy weight. I put 2 stone on. I have noticed my arms are much firmer, no bingo wings from lifting DD and her car seat etc. When i'm winding her i pick her up and hold her upright above my head etc. Haven't done much exercise, did walk with the pram in the first couple of weeks, not far just to papershop etc but the wet weather put a stop to that, now its too hot to take her out. I'm in no rush to lose the remaining weight, i was slightly over weight and a size 14/16 before anyway, just need my uniform to fit when i go back to work next feb.

NB The OP has had a c-section.

"Joannezipan Sun 26-Jun-11 19:35:03

Hummm so as my bump blocked out the sun I might have a while longer to go then! I guess I'll start worrying about it in earnest after my 6 week c-section recovery time is up. Thanks Ladies."

I think the cesarean has a part to play also as the muscles and nerves are cut. I recommend a trip to a physiotherapist as it sounds like all these ladies who have posted had vaginal births. IME it;s very different to recover from a section birth as it doesn't matter about the extra weight - your tummy needs rehabilitation after the operation.

Breastfeed by all means to tone the uterus, and to lose weight, but you will need a physio to get a flat tummy after a cesarean.

I gave birth on the 15th of June and was asked last week wen I was due. I look about 5 months pregnant today. 3rd C-S though, and not particularly muscled tummy before...