Pregnant body

[autumnberry]

I am feeling miffed about my pregnant body and fancied sharing. It is not ugly or awful, and love feeling my little baby growing, but I really, really miss the freedom of my slim pre-pregnant body. I did not realise I was so vain and spend a lot of time thinking that I'm just waiting this pregnancy out. Does anyone else feel the same? Any positive stories about post-pregnancy bodies would be welcomed.

All bodies react differently to pg, first time round I put on a stone in the first trimester and put on a good 4 stone in total, I felt better physically after having the baby (bending down, stretching etc) but everything was so flabby . I tried a bit of walking etc but it didn't drop off (unsurprisingly) and I felt it never would.

However. Even with no particular extra excersice, just running around after a baby, and no particular extra effort with diet, the weight slowly dropped off and my body returned to nearly pre-pg size and weight over the course of about a year I am now 4 months pg with no. 2 and so far have not put on any weight at all and don't intend to either, I have still had biscuits/choc etc but instead of stuffing my face day and night like I did with my first pg I am just eating normally. So far so good.

I guess to sum up my story, I pigged out, put on loads of weight, hated my post-pg body but then without trying to hard it sloooowly went back into shape so it is possible to do it without sweating down the gym etc, it just takes longer! My tip is to keep an eye on your weight during the pg, still have biscuits just 3 with a cup of tea instead of 6

Gettofalkirk, we're just having babies not signing our lives and looks away as women just because we are having babies!

Looking good and having a baby are not mutually exclusive, although I suspect that's been your experience. You do sound a tad bitter.

Want2beSupermon I had my 5th DC in late August in the midwestern US and the humidity outdoors/ AC indoors combination was nearly the undoing of me. Take care in the snow watch your footing.

It is lovely to look forward to seeing your toes and being flexible again -- but don't dwell on the negatives of pregnancy if at all possible. You'll feel better if you make a conscious effort to see the glass half full. It's a nine month marathon and trying to keep your spirits up is worth it.

What shape you end up in and how you get through this is up to you in large part.

Hello!
I'm preg with baby number 2, and at 20 weeks, loving it.

I've been feeling like crap for ages, but am coming through the other side of that, and really enjoying having a bump again. We tried for 2 and a half years for this one, so we were beginning to think we might not have any more and the sight of other ladies' bumps was making me feel sad that I wouldn't be able to have that again. Also just beginning to feel little baby movements too, so loving that.

I do remember the uncertainty of my first pregnancy though - not knowing how my body would cope with growing - the birth - breastfeeding - and then post-pregnancy. It is scary not knowing what might go wrong or not work properly. But in the end, everything seemed to go pretty much ok! All the water I'd retained went, especially with breastfeeding constantly! and I could wear my rings again. I got quite frightening-looking red stretchmarks right at the end int he last week, but I think that was because I had an allergic reaction to washing powder and my skin was under stress.
So be gentle with yourself, and if you're planning a family of more than one child, be reassured that it can be less stressful next time around!

I have found that wearing maternity clothes helps to emphasise the bump as a bump shape, so I love them. If I just wore bigger clothes I would probably look lumpy and yuck.
Trouble is there don't seem to be many interesting ones around at the mo.

Good luck with your babbies!!

I'm afraid I'm with GetToFalkirk on this. A lot of these posts do seem rather image obsessed and vain.
I know not every woman relishes being pregnant and some have it tougher than others, but at the end of the day your body is creating a new life and any lumps, bumps, stretch marks and swollen ankles are just testament to the amazing job your body is doing all by itself. I am 30 weeks pregnant with my second child, and yes, I am uncomfortable, struggle to put my own socks up and suffering with heartburn, but my god, i LOVE being pregnant!
Everyday I grimace at my much wider hips in the mirror, but admire the huge bump at he front. Embrace it ladies, its for 9 short months out of your whole life, and a new experience.
A lovely post from thell enjoy the experience and stop worrying about how you look or others perceive you.

I absolutely loved the feeling of having my normal body back (well, nearly) after the baby was born, especially the bit just below the boobs! You will never feel skinnier than when you've recently given birth.

That said, I loved my pregnant bump - right until about 36 weeks when it started to get uncomfortable. I am 12 weeks with no 2 at the moment and at that annoying stage where I look fat not pregnant!

sittinghippo- not everyone loves being pregnant and that doesn't make any of these women a bad person. Please tell me how I can enjoy being pregnant when I suffer with PGP, irritability, huge weight gain, breathlessness, swelling, insomnia, restless legs, constant nausea, heartburn? I'd love to know. Maybe you're just lucky? It's easy if you experience pregnancy differently to me to be able to say 'to hell with what everyone around you thinks, just enjoy it'. I am not vain or image obsessed. I don't wear make-up everyday and can barely be arsed to brush my hair some days but I am self-consious and shy and that makes it hard being so obviously pregnant and coping day to day with the comments I get from friends, family and strangers. It is not vanity.

I'm afraid I must be very vain as I prefer being in good shape and being able to wear fashionable clothes than trundling around like a beached whale in maternity clothes.

I love my boys and find pregnancy a fascinating and awe-inspiring experience but don't really like the look of myself pregnant.

I should be too old to care about these things at the age of 40, but hey I'm obviously a very shallow and superficial person

TheBreastMilk I suffer too with all of those symptoms, minus the nausea at this stage, and I agree, not every woman enjoys the experience, of course not and I feel for those that really do have a hard time of it. However, it seems to me the OP was mainly about image and being slim and most of the following posts have been ladies commiserating each other about how awful they look now.

Self-consciousness is very different to vanity.

Being slim is not just about image sittinghippo.

I found being pregnant really hard. I am usually very slim and have lots of nervous energy, don't really sit still much, always running round doing stuff. Not so much sporty, just sort of 'on the go' all the time.

As I got bigger and heavier, I got slower and I hated it. I couldn't just 'nip up the stairs' to get something, everything was an effort, and I felt like I was dragging myself around.

I'm happy to report that this disappeared virtually 5 mintues after the birth, whereupon I almost jumped out of the bed. Not having my bump anymore was a relief, and I'm back to my normal running-around self (DD now 10 months).

I don't see pregnancy as the opposite of slim and trim. It's a stage of life that escapes the categories and pressures that women are slotted into.

Hello :)

I've had 4 babies in 6 years, I ate pretty sensibly throughout all of my pregnancies, but it didn't make much difference. ( and I am very careful with portion control) My mdwife said that metabolic changes because of pregnancy hormones seem to affect some women making it hard not to put on weight.

It didn't help that my stick thin sister was pregnant at the same time, eating double my portion sizes and hadn't put on an ounce

After baby number 4 I lost 5 and a half stone in roughly 7 months.I'm now in a size 12.

I did it the sensible safe way using WLR which meant I was able to track my weight loss carefully and make sure my daily protien intake was high enough to protect my milk supply.

I still need to lose about a stone and I'm aiming at losing that this year.

To me it felt very frustrating at times being unable to move easily, change beds or do allsorts of things, but its a waiting game. :)

A time for all things...

Kickarsequeen you are my role model..I am currently preg with my fourth and already worring how much will I put on...thank you that there is silver lining at the end of the cloud

'A time for all things...'

Very profound and wise.

mathanxiety - We were going to start trying in March 2011 so I wouldn't be huge over the summer months but we had a oopsie. I am in fear of sliding in the ice as I am so full of gas that a sudden movement will result in a very loud fart or burp! We had 3ft of snow so there isn't that far to fall.

With regard to all the side effects of pregnancy, I started telling myself that this is a self inflicted temporary condition. This line of thought has kept me sane as the symptoms build up.

simmylou - "Looking good and having a baby are not mutually exclusive"
Are you saying that gaining a few pounds or indeed a lot of pounds means that you don't look good?

I was fat before I got pregnant and was still fat after I had my 2 children. Big deal. Not bitter in the slightest. I am fat, this is the shape that I am. Anyone who thinks that is not normal can go f* themselves imo.

There is no such thing as "normal". Everyone is different. Some people keep the pregnancy weight on, some don't. Some change shape some don't. Most likely your body will change. It might for the better, a few extra pounds might suit you?

If there are people out there who comment on how big you are or how big your bump is then (unless it's a nasty comment) surely it's just an observation they are making?
If it's a nasty comment then tell them to f off. End of.

There is another thread at the moment about what people are going to do in 2011. Almost every post mentions losing weight. Just a thought.

Well, I grew a massive bump (people would stop on the streets to look at me, which is not something Londoners usually do!) and I put on 15kg (2.4 stone). I grew gigantic tights and very "strong" arms.

The good part of the story is that after 4 months I was back to my pre pregnancy weight, and then lost other 5 kg. My tummy looks very well (but my belly button is completely different now, which I don't like, but still think I was quite lucky in the end).

I believe that exclusive breastfeeding was a major factor on the weight loss (that and all the physical work of taking care of a baby, compared to the sedentary life I led before).

However, my immediately post partum body was a shock! I didn't expect my boobs to get that big! That, together with the huge arms and tummy, meant that I had no top at all that would fit me! I had to run to Sainsburys and buy all the size 18 tops they had! (I'm a size 8/10 normally).

And I wore a tight band on my tummy for the first few weeks (months, really). It's what every woman does where I come from, and it helped me enormously. I felt very uncomfortable with that big saggy tummy and hated if anything touched it. Felt much better with the band (I bought a belly bandit - www.bellybandit.co.uk/ , but there are cheaper ones available). Supposedly it helps the tummy go back to place as well.

Bottom line is that my body is better now than pre pregnancy (and I'm 32, so not exactly young), so I guess it's a positive story.

(now let's see how things go on the next pregnancy...)

mathanxiety: "I don't see pregnancy as the opposite of slim and trim. It's a stage of life that escapes the categories and pressures that women are slotted into."

I totally agree, pregnant bumps look absolutely beautiful on all women - there's something terribly exciting about the magic that's going on in there, and the new, innocent life beginning. I love it!

...and thought I would love being pregnant too! But rather than the aesthetic change in shape being the issue, it's the physical difference - the feeling of having a football (basketball?!) strapped to my front which is the issue. And now the effort of normal movement, the aches and pains that so many women don't show (so much respect for them!). It took me by surprise (yep, I am naiive and I like it!).

In addition, I think we're all entitled to feel the way we feel. Especially in such dramatically changing times as pregnancy and parenthood. And we are also perfectly entitled to express the way we feel. To have the support of people who feel the same way is very liberating and reassuring (I felt my feelings were validated, when I came across this thread).

And those who disagree are entitled to look at a different thread, and keep their negativity to themselves.

Hi just to weigh in (!) here - I had a real problem with the idea of getting big in pregnancy and puffed up with loads of fluid so really looked v odd BUT post pregnancy I have found the weight has come off very quickly, especially with breastfeeding, sure I'm smooshy and need to exercise but otherwise it's all good. I think if you're a bit active and so on as Petalouda says, it's hard to accept the need to slooooow down for a while! Good luck though OP, I hope you feel better soon!!

Some women struggle with the idea of a baby growing inside them - you expect them to feel beautiful whilst doing it?

But as petalouda said sometimes it's the loss of mobility/ability, not being able to run around because I get more out of breath walking from the car to my door than I did after an hour on the treadmill 6 months ago and my blood pressure goes through the floor when I stand up but those things I accept are kinda necessary for growing a baby. What gets me, particularly because its a 1st pregnancy, is the uncertainty. I'm fairly happy to admit that I have control issues and losing control doesn't come easy! Not all women like pregnancy - there's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't mean they love their baby any less.

mmmm getofalkirk, its no biggi just because some people dont like there pregnant bodys there entiteld to there own opinions just as you are. but to be rude about it is just not on really. it doesnt mean that a person is vain at all.
im half and half at the moment i love been pregnant and my little belly, but after giving birth i will work on getting back my body, im 20 years old, and i think thats normal for any 20 year old to feel like they want to get there body back. but as for the stretch marks on my butt that i got from last pregnancy i dont care about them, to me there the signs of the wondeful thing my body as done (grow a baby) but that doesnt mean to say i dont want to be healthy and maintain my shape after giving birth, every woman is different and different size

I agree everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I'm not being negative. My point is that people come in different shapes and sizes. Some people who have children look exactly the same as they did before pregnancy, some don't. The point is not to get hung up about it. There is WAY too much emphasis on getting back to pre birth weight nowadays.
What will be will be.