Postpartum body

[Rose1999]

Is it just me?…..

I’m 12 months postpartum and I despise my new body, despite knowing that it produced my beauty.

None of my clothes fit me as I was a size 8 and I’m now a 12. My shape has completely changed too, so I seem to have lost my hips and my bottom 😫

It’s not helped by the fact that I’m always so hungry as I’m still breastfeeding. I walk lots though but that makes no difference 😔

I’ve not been intimate in any way for over a year. I won’t even show my partner any part of my body that isn’t covered by clothes - not that he’d want to see it anyway!

I feel disgusted in myself and I can’t shake this feeling 😢

I wish I didn’t feel this way - and almost feel guilty for admitting it, but I do feel the same. I have a 10 year age gap between my 2. My second is almost a year old. I got to a place in my life, after my first, where I accepted my “mum bod” which included stretch marks, deflated chest - I eventually went back to being a size 10.

This time around, I feel like my body is more saggy and I haven’t been intimate with partner and I can’t even show him my body ( we are on a break for other reasons) - but I’ve realised it’s all mental as he isn’t bothered by the changes.

As I’ve been through it once I know I can learn to love my body again. Our babies are still young, overtime find a sport or fitness that you like. I’ve got a moodboard on Pinterest with baggy oversized but elegant inspiration which has helped me to dress better for my body which has helped.

Im so keen to hear other methods of getting over this.

If your still breastfeeding then you need a bit of extra weight for supplies! 12 months isnt long, they say it takes 9 months to make a baby and over 9 months for your body to go back to how it was..... but realistically for a lot of us it never does

At a size 12 your not exactly massive are you? That's still quite slim! A size 8 is very very slim, especially depending how tall you are

I'm 5'1 and 2 years ago I was 6 stone ( underweight ) I'm 8 stone now and somtimes feel really horrible about myself but i just ignore those awful thoughts

And i dunno about your body, but actually I looked even worse when I was extremely thin! All the loose skin from pregnancy went all wrinkly and empty on my stomach, when I bent over the skin literally folded in on itself sideways and I could pull it a lot further from my body, now I've filled out a bit my stomach looks a lot better

And if your hungry its because your body needs the fuel

Unless your a midget your not overweight at a size 12, stop being so hard on yourself.

With my first I only really started to get my body back once she was one. I had a wedding to go to and had to lose 15kg to get from a 14 back down to a 10 (I'm 6foot, an 8 is unrealistic for me). Also breastfed until she was almost 3. I got around the hunger by filling my house with fruit and veg and every time I was hungry I'd grab a large piece of fruit. Stuck to a strict diet and rarely allowed myself anything sugary or fatty - but I found the more fruit and veg I ate, the less I wanted those things! Because my weight loss was very sudden, I had a bit of loose skin on my tummy but that soon tightened up. It was quite rewarding and really helped with getting a sense of myself back.

But a year is really early. Had I not had to squeeze into a bridesmaid dress I wouldn't have had the motivation and it'd have probably taken me another year...

I'm sure you look great but if you really feel this way there's alot you could do to change it

i got back to my pre pregnancy weight/ clothes in 3/4 months. I’m not here to make you feel bad, but just to say it is possible. I am also ebf. I did it by just doing a ton of exercise, which I always did anyway including throughout pregnancy - yoga, gym, rock climbing, walking 10k steps every day whilst carrying baby, and I didn’t find I was any hungrier bf as I was not bf. So I didn’t eat anymore than before. I’ve got a massive baby (and I’m tiny) so I didn’t have any supply issues by not eating extra.

It felt good mentally to be back in my old clothes and also I feel so much stronger and fitter than before. But ultimately this is a lifestyle choice, and everyone finds their own way. Don’t beat yourself up about anything. If it’s really important to you, then prioritise it, and if it isn’t just accept that you’re a different stage in your life now and things aren’t as they were. It’s just part of an evolution of you!