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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

How does it feel when you suddenly don't have a baby in your tummy?

85 replies

bumperlicious · 24/03/2007 09:25

I know that sounds like a really weird question, but after carrying this LO around for 9 months I am wondering what it will feel like when suddenly there is this big empty space.

Also, just so I can get a sense of perspective, how long before your tummy 'goes down' and you no longer look pg?!

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oxocube · 24/03/2007 10:58

Oh yes Annabel, no more heartburn. That was fantastic!!

BigCremeEggs · 24/03/2007 10:59

it will feel really weird and for a few days after i had the baby i was sure that i had another baby in there as i felt small movements. You will feel about 10 stones lighter!!!! as i feel like i was walking on air!!!!

SSShakeTheChi · 24/03/2007 10:59

It's ok feelings-wise since you're very occupied with the baby in front of you IYSWIM. I never felt a sense of loss or something like that but I did get depressed looking at all that sagging flesh...

beansprout · 24/03/2007 11:00

I wondered about that too but in the event it was amazing as I was finally holding this little person that I had waited so long to meet.

Had phantom kicks for a long time afterwards though.

dither · 24/03/2007 11:00

squishy. light. a nice change, to have your body back, your organs can move back to their rightful places, you can get closer to things like furniture and sinks etc, without reaching over tummy... is nice

beansprout · 24/03/2007 11:00

Best advice: don't look down!!

colditz · 24/03/2007 11:06

Wonderful

You can roll over onto your tummy and just wallow about on the bed. Your hips and back will forgive you instantly for the pounding you gave them for 3 months.

colditz · 24/03/2007 11:07

after i had ds1 i leaned towards a sink to wash my hands and fell over because the bump wasn't there to 'catch' me at the sink!

BigCremeEggs · 24/03/2007 11:07

and also it was weird for me as i went back home in the clothes that i came into hosp to give birth - that was mad!! as half of my bump disappeared

powder28 · 24/03/2007 11:15

I felt like my insides were being pulled downwards!

SSShakeTheChi · 24/03/2007 11:24

Actually I think I just forgot about that part of my body because I was so taken up with what was happening to my boobs. They were monstrous and hard like rocks. Kept feeling like if I bent over, I'd never be able to straighten up again.

jalopy · 24/03/2007 14:24

Loved having a good wee! Toward the end was fed up with constant trips to the bathroom to pass micro-amounts of urine.

wellieboot · 24/03/2007 22:09

I felt as light as a feather and super slim after giving birth but actually looking back at photos of the first week I was still the size of a house!

Tummy goes down pretty quickly - within the first month I'd say. Any excess baby flab, not so quickly. But hey, you will have a gorgeous baby to take your mind off it!

MrsSpoon · 24/03/2007 22:17

Like a big blamonge and surprisingly slim as you can tuck it down your trousers with ease, I found as the skin and muscle tone came back I could no longer do this and had to face the fact that there were some serious lbs to shed.

I didn't enjoy being pregnant, especially the last few weeks so there was also a great sense of relief.

trixymalixy · 25/03/2007 21:36

Weird, it didn't feel like my body. I felt really puffy and flabby.

Glad to hear other people had phantom movements as well, I didn't realise that's what it was.i thought it was maybe my internal organs moving back into their normal position or just me hallucinating through sleep deprivation!

It didn't take my tummy that long to go back down, just a couple of weeks.

LilyLoo · 25/03/2007 21:40

Agree Colditz. That the best bit lying on tummy in bed !

CountTo10 · 25/03/2007 21:42

Errr weird. I have to confess I actually almost mourned the passing of my bump!! It wasn't until afterwards that I realised how attached and bonded I was with it. I mean obviously I was busy with bubs but when i was on my own i did find myself patting my tummy and talking to it as I did when i was pg - I know I'm just strange!!!

PrettyCandles · 25/03/2007 21:43

If I'm lying in the bath, or floating in a quiet swimming pool, and feel a bit of wind inside me, then it feels oh so much like a baby's early movements. Gives me a (pleasant) shock every time - and makes me broody all over again.

For the first few months after giving birth, I miss my built-in shelf! It's much harder to eat while vegging out on the sofa if you have to hold the plate yourself .

Nikki76 · 25/03/2007 21:45

Really pleased to hear am not only one with phantom kicks! Thought I was weird!! I really miss my bump but like being able to lie on my back and not have carpal tunnel syndrome anymore!

wpcanniecartwright · 25/03/2007 21:47

wiered, still big tummy but no kicking...

nikkie · 25/03/2007 22:40

I still have phantom kicks 5 years on think its more wishful thinking though!

Pelvicfloornomorechocolate · 25/03/2007 22:43

Feels like an empty jelly mould.

crystalpony · 25/03/2007 22:43

Floppy

TwinklemEGGan · 25/03/2007 22:55

It looked almost back to normal but really strangely squishy.

madamez · 26/03/2007 00:18

Your post-birth center of attention apart from your newborn may well be your sore fanjo and arse. (or is this me who had to have about 200 stitches?). I do remember, an hour or two after hatching DS, looking down at my suddenly-collapsed tummy and thinking, oh, well, that's what I look like, but being easily distracted by ravenous hunger and looking at DS. In the days afterwards, though, there were times when all I could really think abou was (look away if you don't want TMI) my sore flaps and my v. uncomfortable ringpiece. Yup. Piles. Don't half take your mind of the joyous womanly bonding process.