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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

How long does it take to regain your figure after birth?

79 replies

ncagain222 · 01/04/2020 17:26

How long will it take for my pregnancy stomach to return to normal after giving birth - is it a matter of weeks? Months?

I'm due to give birth soon and have put on about 1 and a half stone during this pregnancy, so I've probably gone up at least one dress size at a guess.

I don't have any clothes to wear post-birth except my maternity stuff, which will be quite baggy round the stomach, and my pre-pregnancy wardrobe, which will probably no longer fit!

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SparkyBlue · 01/04/2020 19:16

After my first baby I came home and put on my size 10 jeans but after my second and third I was a size bigger. Im a slim person with a naturally petite frame . It's not really weight that you gain(in my case anyway )it's that your body is completely out of shape and it's been stretched so clothes often just don't fit or sit right on you. My hips were definitely wider and bizarrely my feet have never been the same. I have awful trouble nowadays finding shoes to suit me.

Flowersforpowers · 01/04/2020 19:18

I lost the weight I gained in a few weeks, and could fit back in my old clothes. But, my shape was totally different, I carry more weight on my stomach and hips than I did before. So just be gentle with yourself and flexible in your expectations.

GrumpyHoonMain · 01/04/2020 19:20

I put on 5kg during the pregnancy. Lost the extra weight immediately after the birth. Got down to my pre-pregnancy size at around 9-10 weeks. It has been nearly 20 weeks now and I now have a better figure /flatter stomach / better breasts - I think that is down to a combination of breastfeeding, sticking to 2k calories per day, and exercise

TorchesTorches · 01/04/2020 19:21

Child 1, three weeks (put on 10 kilos in pregnancy). Breastfeeding helped considerably. Child 2 put on 13 kilos in pregnancy and it took 7 months! Those extra 3 kilos took that time, plus having 2 kids and stress eating!

elQuintoConyo · 01/04/2020 19:22

8yo here and I never did.

My ribs widened so I've gone up 2 dress sizes.

My feet grew a size and a half, had to chuck all my shoes.

I managed, somehow, to wrangle my wedding ring off two weeks ago and that's the first time I've been able to get it off since April 2011.

I'm the size I am and that's the end of it. I exercise, I eat well (try very hard to eat well), I buy clothes that fit the new me, i don't compare myself to either the old me or other people, life's too short. I don't obsess over my weight or what I eat, it makes one utterly boring

Gammeldragz · 01/04/2020 19:23

I'm hoping 15 years... This is my year!

ShyTown · 01/04/2020 19:23

Everyone is different, there’s really no way of knowing. I didn’t really gain weight that wasn’t baby, I’m quite tall, had an elective c-section at 39 weeks, baby was almost 8lbs and bottle fed from the beginning. Aside from the scar (which is tiny) and the fact my belly button is a bit rounder than it used to me, my body was pretty much back to normal within a week or so. I didn’t feel like eating much after the section so that probably helped a bit!

Bienentrinkwasser · 01/04/2020 19:25

I lost the weight in about 6 weeks and was back in a 8-10. However my figure will never be the same again. My ribcage and waist are slightly wider, my tummy skin is slightly looser, my boobs are a different shape... and I couldn’t really give a shit.

Runningonempty84 · 01/04/2020 19:28

Don't think I ever got back to "normal" as such, as my body changed a lot.
I ended up a stone lighter after each DC, and it took 5-6 months each time. I now have a new "normal" with a flatter stomach and smaller boobs. I wasn't overweight to start with, and I'm at the low end of a healthy BMI now.

Goostacean · 01/04/2020 19:28

First baby was perfectly average in size but I gained 24kgs in pregnancy and had an EMCS. My stomach took a good 8 weeks to go down, wish I’d known in advance because I found it very depressing at the time. Got back in my pre-pregnancy wear at 5 months postpartum. At 14 months pp I was ridiculously slim, not really sure what happened. Was breastfeeding and tightened up my diet around 1y to get the last couple of kgs off, but it was like something switched and the weight just fell off- and more.

Second baby was gigantic and a vaginal birth, and stomach went down much quicker - within a month? Back in clothes at 2 or so months pp but with lockdown I’m not bothering and am still in my maternity wear (he’s 4mo now).

user1493413286 · 01/04/2020 19:30

At the end of my pregnancy I’d gained 2 stone but still in size 10 maternity stuff; a stone of that went almost immediately and now 4 weeks later I’ve got 11 pounds to lose. I’m still in maternity jeans but that’s mostly because i don’t want a waist band pressing up against my c section scar and I’m wearing my normal tops again. For the first couple of weeks i just wore my more loose tops.

tallah · 01/04/2020 19:39

My tummy stayed for 2 years. Got pregnant again and am going to have to have a personal trainer after this one as can't have that again!

userabcname · 01/04/2020 19:40

My first I put on loads of weight - I think about 3 and a half stone. I breastfed a ton (he breastfed every 2 hours on the dot 24/7 for the first 6months) and I still couldn't shift it. It was only when I stopped bf-ing that it started to come off and I only managed to lose a stone before I got pregnant again. With my second I gained 22lbs and lost it all in the first 3 months. He is also ebf but I think having a baby who actually sleeps is a lot more helpful in terms of weight loss than breastfeeding- I was so sleep deprived the first time I around that I lived on sugar and caffeine. DS2 has been a pretty good sleeper from day 1 and I have snacked a lot less.

rottiemum88 · 01/04/2020 19:46

Gained 3 stone when pregnant with DS (who was 9lbs 13 when born!) and had lost all the weight by 6 weeks, but could wear most of my pre pregnancy clothes after a week or so once the swelling went down from my section. Also EBF and am about a stone lighter now than I was pre pregnancy as the weight's just continued to come off. I dread what will happen when I stop breastfeeding as my appetite is huge now!

Umberellaellaella · 01/04/2020 19:46

With my first, I lost it quite quickly I was pre-pregnancy weight when I found out I was pregnant again when eldest was 9 month old, I hadn't actually weighed until then just seemed to fit into them, however after 2nd was born I definitely lost some but seems to have crept back on and she's now nearly 4 haha I go through phases of trying and then seem to give up for a but I breastfed both times and that definitely helped but I think I'd got into bad habits when I'd needed the extra sugar when feeding only cant break the habit now!

HarrietM87 · 01/04/2020 19:51

I put on 3 stone! Lost a stone giving birth (big baby, placenta, waters), another stone within the first 3 months, then it took until I stopped breastfeeding when DS was 13 months to lose another half stone. I still have half a stone to lose and now pregnant again so that will have to wait! I was a slim 10 pre pregnancy and now a 10-12. Bf didn’t really help me lose weight like everyone said it would!

Temple29 · 01/04/2020 20:28

I was back in my pre pregnancy jeans 3 weeks after the birth and bump totally gone by then. But my hips and ribs were wider than before until around 3-4 months after I’d say. For the in between stage I was comfy in jeans or leggings and tops that weren’t too tight and dresses.

Original poster

ncagain222 · 02/04/2020 07:49

It sounds like I will have to buy more clothes then. Not ideal as I’m totally skint!

OP posts:

Original poster

ncagain222 · 02/04/2020 07:54

Honestly, I don't think it's healthy to ask this question.

@Pentium85 Why not? I don’t give a damn about how I look, but I do need to budget to buy new clothes if I can no longer fit into my old ones. Not all of us can just buy a new wardrobe at the drop of a hat.

OP posts:

PatchworkElmer · 02/04/2020 07:57

I reckon about 3 months to look quite like how my body was pre-pregnancy. I was exercising a lot before I got pregnant, so my shape did just change a lot with inactivity (couldn’t exercise as was too ill)- I put on about 1.5 stone.

However, 4 years post partum:

My stomach is ‘wobbly’ at the bottom- it was flat as a pancake before. This is to be expected though.
My stomach muscles and core still aren’t as strong as they once were.
My rib cage expanded and never fully ‘went back’- so whilst the rest of me is now slimmer than it was pre-pregnancy, I can’t comfortably wear some clothes I once did. For example, pretty dresses which zip up at the back- I can wear them but they feel tight, like I can’t take a deep breath whilst wearing them.

PatchworkElmer · 02/04/2020 07:59

I also wore my maternity clothes for months post-birth: they’re comfy and I didn’t care what I looked like!

Pentium85 · 02/04/2020 07:59

OP, because the majority of the time the question is asked and it then gives women and unhealthy image of they should look within a certain time frame.

Wifeofbikerviking · 02/04/2020 08:02

I put on about 2 stone. It took around 9 months for my uterus to shrink.
Weight wise, I've been left with low thyroid after pregnancy and weight loss is sooo bloody hard. I'm still trying to lose weight. I have 1 stone to go. My son is 2.

Saying that though I want another so will do my best to keep fit and then worry about this weight after I have the second.

I'm still breastfeeding and that can be an added barrier to weight loss too.

Inappropriatefemale · 02/04/2020 08:03

Everyone is different, I was 21 when I had my DD and figures are easier to regain when your that age. I put on 1.5 stones when I was pregnant and I didn’t wear maternity clothes, I just wore a size 12 from an 8-10 and I had PND so didn’t eat anyway but my figure was back in about 4-6 weeks.

Inappropriatefemale · 02/04/2020 08:03

Didn’t breastfeed either.

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