Bridesmaid 4 weeks after EDD

[DitzyDoo]

Hi
Bit of a silly subject in the grand scheme of things but concerned about my Brothers wedding, I am a bridesmaid 4 weeks after the EDD (assuming baby arrives on time)
Due Date is 12th Jan and wedding 4 weeks later.
The bridesmaid dress was fitted a bit roomy anyway I am normally an 8-10 bridesmaid dress is a small 12 to be taken in (or not as the case may be)

Anyone have any experience of this I think it will be really soon to lose baby weight or bump!

I was 2 sizes bigger than normal after giving birth and didn;t start shrinking again for a few weeks so you're 12 is probably fine. You can always shave a few extra inches of with a pair of spanx!

hmm IME bridesmaids dresses don't come up very big anyway

we've all been fitted recently for my friends wedding, and everyt single one of us had to go up at least one dress size

i would have said that as an 8-10 you may well need a 12 normally anyway, and post-baby possibly even a 14

bear in mind, they can take in... but it's very hard to let out.

hi there, is it your first baby? bear in mind first babies are often late, and you may not feel up to standing on ceremony so soon after giving birth. my sister got married four weeks after my due date. i was due to be a bridesmaid but pulled out well in advance as i didn't think i'd be up to it. as it happened, DS was ten days late, and was just two weeks old on her wedding day. i had a nasty case of mastitis; hadn't slept for two weeks; and there is just no way i could have been a bridesmaid. i don't want to be negative and gloomy, i'm just issuing a warning in case you feel as crap as I did! incidentally i'd go for a 14, but it obviously depends how much weight you put on during your pregnancy!

my best friend was in the same situation as you (same size, same size dress etc) and she managed to fit into it (was skinnier than me even - just not fair!) However bless her she managed to do the church and totter down behind me in her heels, managed to come and eat and toast us, then I sent her home - she was still coping with no sleep and a c section etc and as much as I knew she wanted to be there she would have been dead on her feet - I appreciated that she was there for the important bits and that she needed rest. It may be worth speaking to the bride way ahead and just having an informal chat to say that you may not feel upto the evening do but really want to be there for the rest and see how it goes - she might not be as lovely as me

Agree with sotough I'm afraid. I don't think it's a question of the dress size - I think it will need to be altered to fit the state you are in. If the baby comes 2 weeks late you will still have a big empty tum, and MASSIVE leaking boobs, so work around that rather than the dress size. If you have had a c-section you may need huge knickers too, that go over the scar and you will likely still be bleeding too, so will need to be wearing maternity pads.

4 weeks after my due date was only 2 weeks after a c-section; I had breast thrush and was really struggling to feed DS, was in extreme pain and weepy. Doing anything, let alone being a bridesmaid, would have been out of the question.

But if you are 2 weeks early instead, have an easy birth and easy time bfing, then maybe you'll be OK. Sorry, just being realistic!

EVen if your baby is early so, say, 6 weeks old, you may find even being at wedding stressful, let alone being bridesmaid. The baby may still be feeding very frequently and the fatigue from night feeds can be at its worst then.

If you've got the dress, then wear it but don't commit to doing anything on the day, other than popping in to a few pics!

Although size-wise, I was 8-10 before, then back to a size 10 pretty quickly - after CS a few weeks, after a natural birth, within a few days. A lot depends on the style - I carried more weight on my thighs and hips than stomach.

Blimey I don't think I'd do it. DS was 2 weeks late, I was induced and had emcs. 4 weeks after due date (so 12 days post-partum) I could hardly walk and was just about thinking about a first venture out with DS in the pram.

If you are BFing then at that stage you will be feeding v.frequently so you'll want to be wearing something you can feed in....

Yes also, if you have a section then your stomach doesn't go down for a while - I was still in maternity stuff and enormous knickers for 5-6 weeks.

That is what I thought but my brother is really organised and ordered the dresses well in advance months ago so I don't have any option over the size. (They are really organised booked the church and reception before I got engaged and I am now married 10 months after a 2 year engagement!)

This is my concern really as I have been thinking of all the options such as if the baby is late and difficult birth, Breast feeding etc. When we had the dress fitting the 12 was quite roomy on me we went for the 12 as it had more length and I am quite tall.

Probably shouldn't have asked really as no one has said anything I don't know already and I don't have any option over the dress either.

Its my brothers wedding so need to be there and will have help with the baby on the day I'm sure they won't mind if I leave after the toast or anything we are staying in the hotel where the reception is anyway and I can easily get changed or skulk off.

I'm going to the gym to try not to put on too much weight and my mum had no problems fitted into her size 10 jeans to take me home from the hospital but it does seem too ambitious.

The style is A line ish over hips stomach and legs so quite roomy there also quite roomy on the bust we got the 12 with the intention of taking it in was fitted however high on the waist around the rib cage.

I wouldn't be keen on that so soon after a baby.

You'll have to get a dress you can get in and out of easily if you are bf. Does it have a big skirt to it? A big dress would hide the big pants and maternity pads.

Ok, personally I wouldn't do this, regardless of the dress size.

At the least you MUST stress to your bro that it's quite possible you won't be physically fit to be bridesmaid, much as you'd love to.

What if you're late then end up with an EMC? I hope you won't - but it's not an impossible scenario that you could still be in hospital at 4 weeks post EDD.

Also if you're planning to breastfeed, have you thought about whether you will be able to in the dress?

Small babies usually don't go for more than 2 hours without a feed, so you ideally want a dress that you can feed in, not one where you have to sneak off to the loo and strip every couple of hours

I am in pretty much the same situation, I am due to be cheif bridesmaid at my best friends wedding a month today and my baby was due 30th July...i'm still waiting
I would normally never have agreed to it but i got married last year and she was absolutely amazing and did so much for me so i want to do a good job for her too.
I am normally a size 12 and my dress arrived the other day...its a size 22!!! I actually haven't put on weight anywhere except my bump but the seamstress seems to think it is fixable!!!
My biggest worries are feeding (BM dress is strapless and not practical at all) i am hoping to express some milk and we have a room at the hotel so i can sneak off for a feed... I've got to be honest tho, i'm already stressed out about all the wedding stuff, its so hard to predict how you will be feeling and how baby is doing...i'd rather be sat in my pj's at home but its not an option for me.
I'll let you know how i get on! x

I really feel for you. I tried to hard (after dc3 so you'd think I'd have learned!) as I felt fine. I always do after giving birth - pg & birth are not so great, afterwards I bounce back pretty well. BUT, I pushed myself and ended up with ds having oral thrush, me with breast thrush, me with sinus infection on antibiotics causing the thrush etc. I then had to give up bf as he couldn't suck (too painful for both of us) and I had no milk courtesy of antibiotics.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying make sure it's the only thing you do post-partum. I know how important family occasions are but give yourself a break and a chance. Your brother will only get married once (hopefully) but equally, your baby only has one chance to breastfeed so don't do what I did.

Be realistic (I didn't put on much and with a pair of spanx type knickers was back in my normal jeans after a week - boobs another matter though!). Get your shopping online. Get help with the housework. All the normal advice, but instead of just getting on with it - follow it!! Your reserves will be severely limited so make sure this is not the most important thing on your list - you and your baby are.

I hope it all works out for you.

Blimey, I think you're brave! In your shoes I'd back out. Other than that, pretty much what everyone else said - you may have a 2 week old baby if you go overdue, who wants to feed anything from 20 minutes to 2 hours apart, for up to an hour at a time. You'll be leaking lochia, wearing maternity pads and big pants, breastpads and may not yet be able to sit down with any degree of comfort. To be honest I think the dress would be the least of my worries.

Gosh I wouldn't chance it TBH. Perhaps give up the role of bridesmaid but say you will try and attend.

I thought I'd be ok post DC but I took four weeks to recover and DS was 8 days overdue! I could only sit on giant cushions, could barely walk up stairs and have no idea what clothes size I was. When I tried to do too much (for me that would be going for a walk down the road), I'd start having heavy bleeding again and be wiped.

I was a bridesmaid 5 weeks after ds was born. And he was 9 days early. It was a fantastic day. Luckily it was in the village my mum lives in so she looked after him. He was ff so that helped! It was just nice to feel human again. have a bit of pampering, hair & make up done etc. the dress shop was brilliant & left my dress till the week before. Your Sister will totally understand your problem but I think it'd be a shame to pull out because of a lot of what ifs!

Actually, DH was best man at a wedding when Ds was just a week old. We all went. That was slightly more difficult. Sitting in the Church was a tad uncomfortable but again it was a great day & there were plenty of people who wanted to help with the baby.

Everyones different and everyone copes differently. Just because you've just had a baby you don't have to hide away inside, slobbing in tracky bottoms with greasy hair.

Gosh you are v brave. My DS2 was a week early with easy delivery and recovery and I would have been totally fine to attend by a bit at the idea of wearing a bridesmaid dress.

If the baby is late and if its not straightforward then you will hardly feel up to attending let alone being a bridesmaid.

Two sizes up might not be enough (I'd order it three sizes up as easier to take in than let out) and also it will be very hard to feed in such a dress and your boobs might be very very big. I am bigger now overall (baby 3 months old) than I was at 24 weeks.

I'm in the same situation, my sisters wedding is 4 weeks after my EDD and I'm worried about the dress, the stress and the travel as my sister lives in Ireland. The dress shop insisted on putting me in a size 18 and I was a 12 before I got pregnant. Their argument was that the dress can be taken in but not let out. I'm hoping the bump shrinks back in time but not counting on it! It's unfortunate timing but would never consider missing my sisters wedding unless going put baby at risk.

I was a bridesmaid 9 weeks after giving birth. I normally wear a size 10-12, bought a size 14, and ended up hunting down the same dress on eBay but in a size 16 - mainly to accommodate my boobs which I had no idea would expand to such a size! The waist and hips had to be taken in though.