Postpartum bodies - am i being ridiculous?

[User1706]

Hi, question to mums of several or older children (as i'm very much a confused first time mum!) my ds is nearly three months old now and during all the running around after him (and constant breastfeeding!) I am trying to get back to my pre pregnancy weight. For context I gained a total of 2 stone whilst pregnant and since baby was born I have lost 24 pounds. So whilst im by no means a gym bunny/diet queen I am om the way.

Whilst the scales seem to be fairly positive (which as long as I'm healthy/feel happy in my clothes/feel comfortable naked in front of my husband I couldn't actually care less about the number). What I have noticed is that whilst my weight is going down and I'm now out of maternity clothing my body has certainly changed. I've alway been pear shaped and have a big bum but I'm now noticing that whilst my tummy has gone down a lot I'm struggling to get some clothes a size larger than what I'd usually wear over my hips in particular.

So do I just need to be more patient and put some more effort into exercise if I'm that bothered or do I need to accept I'm a mummy now and that has massively changed my figure?

It’s still really early days. I think a lot of it depends on how active you were before pregnancy and how active you will have the time / energy to be now really.

Give it time to heal and figure out your routine first though! Your body has been through a lot!

I think pregnancy does change your shape and it is probably permanent. I was a skinny little size 8 with my first baby at 26 years old and I lost all the weight I gained plus more but my tummy/upper abdo shape have never been the same. I think it’s really okay, you’ve grown an actual human being (I’m now on my third and apprehensive slightly.. about what I will look like pp) but you can still be healthy and find flattering clothes to fit you and make you feel confident, even if not necessarily the same as pre baby.

You're body was stretched for 9 months so it's not going to spring back within 3 since giving birth.

Deffo do some exercise but do not put pressure on yourself. I'd say more like a year you're body would be more what you're used to but do keep in mind it may not bounce back to what is was exactly.
You've done so well losing 24lbs already :)

You might have changed. My ribs are wider, feet bigger and stomach less flat than before. It is early days though, some of it might gradually move back.

I went back pretty well after both. Never tiny tiny again but still a 6/8 just slightly bigger hips. Took about 9/12 months and my chubby face took about 2 years to slim down!! Only out 2 stone on 🙄

Thank you for all your comments I had quite a difficult pregnancy/c-section and both me and ds have had health problems since birth so I imagine the stress of that has been a contributing factor to weight loss. However agree that in the next few months when I feel well enough I do need to start a bit of exercise although atm I'm happy to just spend time cuddling my boy 😍

At the end of the day massive hips and a big bum just gives me somewhere to rest him when im carrying him about 😂

I agree try and go easy on yourself! After my first I was huge (I put on 3.5 stone!). It took me about a year to lose most of it and even did a PT block to get there. After my second I lost the weight quicker, but I’ve never been able to get back into my old jeans. Even weighing less than I did originally.

For me, my ribs have separated more so my waist isn’t as small and my hips seem to have widened too. Often I think I don’t look too bad, then I sit down 🙈