Changes to your body?

[TheNewMrs]

So here I am, almost 14 weeks pregnant, starting to notice more changes to how I look (hello spotty back and hairy tummy )
Nothing major at the moment but it has got me thinking ahead to what's to come and what I should 'prepare' for!

What were the biggest changes to your body during pregnancy? And the biggest changes that you were left with after giving birth?

If you went back to your pre-pregnancy body, what do you think helped - good genes? Exercise?

I know in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter, but I would like to prepare myself for looking different...

I've given birth three times. The first pregnancy gave me multiple stretch marks on my thighs and tummy , they faded to silvery lines but remained. With subsequent pregnancies I didn't get any more stretch marks.

My tummy didn't go back to being firm after my first pregnancy either , it's small but wobbly! No amount of exercise has changed that.

My breasts are bigger with each pregnancy but I've lost volume at the top of them each time so have to choose bras carefully.

It's all worth it though

Pregnancy I was lucky and didn't get any stretch marks but I did get a lot more hair everywhere!

My breast feeding boobs did cause me stretch marks all across them though! Went from an A cup to a DD in days.

4 months after giving birth and I can fit back into my pre pregnancy clothes but my belly is wobbly, no longer firm. I've stopped breast feeding and now got very saggy B cup boobs. Also my general body shape has changed, no longer have a tiny waist and feel my hips are larger and higher.

OP a big hi5 on the spotty back and hairy tummy. DH is dreading the outie and I'm howling with laughter at him doing a peek-a-boo act at my bump everyday to check if it's still an innie 😂
I'm 18+4 and no stretch marks on the belly yet (Thank God!)
But bigger breasts are definitely a plus
Watching the thread carefully as def interested to know the answers to your very interesting post. 1st pregnancy here as well.

I never got my firm tummy back.

Nipples stayed pointy.

Other than that, nothing really.

Hairy tummy and odd patches of discolouration on my chest which disappeared afterwards. Have a legacy of bit of a pot belly but only a bit. Avoided stretch marks through sheer luck. Hair loss after babies arrived was a bitch but it does grow back. Heavier periods and things in my undercroft not quite as they started . But just different. Not bad. I feel like my face changed, filled out (probably cake related) and my feet defo got a little bigger! Pregnancy is weird. Amazing but weird. I honestly loved having that pregnancy glow though. Never felt as healthy.

Permanently bigger rib cage and feet, needed to replace all my shoes and bras.

C section overhang even after going back to pre pregnancy weight. Breasts bigger and less firm. Stretch marks that did fade to silver. Still a size bigger in trousers despite going back to pre pregnancy weight.

All worth it

For a while everything felt untoned, even though I didn't put much weight on in pregnancy. My skin just felt not so tight. That soon went back to normal though.

The main difference I noticed was my boobs. They were noticably softer and not so full. I'm a little disappointed about that but now I'm pregnant again they're back to being full and heavy. I didn't breastfeed with my first pregnancy so it was literally just down to pregnancy

Yep massive feet now I’m on 3rd pregnancy! Half a size with each baby!

I stayed hairy, horrid saggy boobs!

It’s great. Oh and my teeth are ruined!

My hair has changed. My youngest is 28 months and it’s darker and feels different. I’m pregnant again so who knows what’ll happen this time ...

I had a little pot belly after giving birth both times, but it went back to nearly normal after a few months - the skin will never be quite the same, but it's not far off. No belly stretch marks. My hips are wider, and maybe ribs too. My face has also thinned out, but I was young when I had my first, so I think that's just natural aging, regardless of childbirth status. Boobs are absolutely ruined, they were amazing before I had my eldest, stretched so badly during pregnancy that there was no normal skin left for the stretch marks, and bf afterwards then deflated them into sad little droopy, empty balloons, and they stayed that way. They recovered a bit with DC2, but went back to being sad when I stopped bf. Am now 14w pg with DC3 and they've just started to look a little bit fuller, but they're definitely wrecked beyond repair. I don't care. The rest of me came off pretty scot-free, so it's a fair price to pay, and my kids are worth it a million times over.

I’m pretty much back to my pre pregnancy body 6 months post birth but if I don’t think my boobs will ever quite be the same. Breastfeeding made the weight fall off for me and after a bit of time everything else seemed to go back.
All the things like spots, hairy belly, bigger rib cage went after baby and I found that eating healthily during my pregnancy and exercising helped but I was lucky that I didn’t get excessively hungry during my pregnancy so I didn’t eat much more than normal.
I also religiously used stretch mark cream and bio oil twice a day and didn’t get any stretch marks but from what I read online that’s probably more genetics and luck than anything else.

With My first pregnancy I found my ears stayed permenantly waxy! No idea why, she’s 3 now and they are still like that from pregnancy!

Boobs definately not as full and I didn’t breastfeed. Went up two cup sizes and it stayed also my hips much wider permenantly,

Gained a shoe size, stretch marks are now silver and haven’t returned for this pregnancy (yet!)

I’m 29 weeks pregnant. No stretch marks so far, not noticeably hairier. No linea negra. Also using bio oil but agree it’s prob luck and genetics. My boobs are ridiculous having gone from a dd to a gg, the possibility they might get bigger is ridiculous. I don’t need bigger boobs and realising that I could wear one of the cups of my bra on my head like a little cap was a source of great amusement to boyfriend. For the first time in my life I wish for smaller boobs! I will miss pre pregnancy boobs if they go but eee we had a good run ;).

the outy belly button is weird. I think that realisation was the most traumatic ;)

I appear to have more back than I used to. I am a rectangle shape with not much waist or bum usually, will be interested to see if hips and bum stick around. Feet slightly wider. Feel like I’ve come off fairly lightly so far, particularly as I’m an older first time mum (37).

With my first pregnancy I was lucky and got the thicker, fuller, silkier hair, 'glowing' skin etc. got a grand total of one stretch mark throughout the entire pregnancy but about 3 days after DS was born my stomach erupted in to stretch marks. Not sure whether it was because he was born via c section or not, but I'm just putting it down to my skin not handling the 'shrinking back' process too well.

I then fell pregnant around 14 weeks after our son was born and with this pregnancy, my hair seems to get greasy twice as fast and my chin is constantly going through insane breakouts which isn't great for me as I'm a 'picker' so I've spent 90% of this pregnancy so far with a scabby face which is just marvellous. No new stretch marks as of yet, just the ones I did have seem to have expanded!

Oh I have so much to look forward to 🤣

I'm 14 weeks and was a H cup before pregnancy, currently in Molke bras as they're the only thing comfortable. I desperately don't want bigger boobs, I didn't like them pre-pregnancy!

Hair has been super greasy and this week I noticed my belly getting hairy....yuk!

I had a gorgeous little bump until 28 weeks and then boom - covered in stretch marks! I found it quite upsetting to begin with, but I can’t control or change it so have made my peace with it now!

Definitely bigger rib cage, marginally bigger boobs but they were E cups to begin with - haven’t got much bigger, and no stretch marks on them.

Am now 37 weeks and in the last week my feet have swollen - don’t know if that’s permanent yet!

No real change to my hair or skin, everything else has stayed pretty much the same!

Luckily no stretch marks but my hair did fall out terribly after birth, it started to regrow after 6 months but now 2 years on I still have a wispy 6 inch fringe! I'm still breastfeeding but hardly at all now and my once lovely, full, perky DD's are a bit sad and empty! My rib cage is definitely wider and my belly is distinctly podgy but I'm really not as upset about all that as I thought I would be. It could have been a lot worse!

Admittedly I am sad about the boobs as they were my best asset lol. Breastfeeding did cause the weight to fall off me and I was the thinnest i'd ever been (before returning to work and having time to sit on my bum and actually eat lunch again, now i'm back at pre pregnancy weight and having to watch what I eat for the first time in 3 years!

I would say other than getting bigger and slower and a bit more sore in low back and pelvic area, there were no significant changes. Maybe things are a little bit more round in the belly area than before, but that's less because of pregnancy and more because having kids means it's hard to be active like you were before. Hair, skin, feet all that is all the same. Boobs the same pretty much (I'm a DD anyway). I suspect it's because I don't do much differently when I'm pregnant, my diet is the same, lifestyle virtually the same (though I don't drink obviously when pregnant, so that can only help, though I also don't work out as much). I never really put on much weight, so I get a bump, but I'm not huge and it all goes after. I only gained about 18 lbs with my first. Really wasn't a big change to be honest. I think some of it is probably genetic (though my mum gained a lot of weight with pregnancy and hated it), though probably just lifestyle related. I just carry on as usual and I think my body does too.

Ah thank you all for the replies!
Some of those posts made for really good reading - seems to be good and bad for everyone...

I especially appreciate how many of you commented how your children are all worth it not that I think mine won't be of course! It's just nice to see so many people say that it doesn't matter how their body changed, it's all worth it.

I will just have to make my peace with whatever I am left with