Coming home/body immediately after giving birth

[RGxo13]

Hello everyone!
First time pregnancy here. I’m 24 weeks and very excited so have started to think about hospital bag etc. One thing that keeps coming up is a comfy outfit for coming home. I absolutely love over the bump leggings at the min (life saver) but will they fit me once I’ve given birth? I’m quite a skinny person usually and everyone keeps saying to me ‘oh you’ll be one of those people who can come home in their pre pregnancy jeans’ - I can’t think of anything worse right now haha - but surely your body doesn’t just snap back to how it was? I’m usually a size 8, i’m currently buying size 14 expandable waist trousers at the min which are really comfy. Is it wise to pack something around this size for myself? Sorry, I know this is a total materialistic question but just want to know what to pack. Scared the over the bump leggings will be round my ankles haha!

I sh*t myself in my going home outfit so went home in pink velour tracksuit bottoms 3 sizes bigger than anything I'd worn my whole pregnancy my husband bought from the hospital shop- so I wouldn't stress and just pack maternity Leggings 😂

I couldn’t wear anything other than dresses when pregnant, hated anything on my bump.
every pound gone by 6 weeks with both sons

Are you due in August,ish? If so you might not fancy maternity leggings if it's hot... But I definitely wore mat clothing home both times, i used to be skinny and I did pop back into shape reasonably quickly with DD1 in terms of my bump, not so much with her sister, but I did still easily fit maternity clothes to go home and well beyond. I was really surprised, to be honest!

With my first I'd had a hard time and an episiotomy with stitches, in the summer, I'd got some loose hareem type of overbump things that were comfortable so went home in them..I wouldn't have been happy in a dress due to bleeding etc but I wouldn't have worn normal leggings either.

My second was a much easier affair and I think I just went home in normal maternity leggings, I can't really remember so it's likely that's what it was.

DD is nearly two and I still wear some of my maternity tops because they are comfy and longer than normal t shirts!

I loved my immediate post partum belly 🥺. It was all squishy and soft and comfy again and not this massive rock hard bump that restricted my breathing and gave me heartburn! Yes echo what others are saying and just wear comfy clothes home. I wore my maternity leggings and a big jumper

When I had my first I looked down at my tummy soon after birth and beneath my ribs it was like flesh over a skeleton, the most surreal thing ever. You know how all your organs move up? I guess they hadn't moved back down yet. Once they moved back into position I had no hint of a bump, but I was only 21 and a size 8-10. With my second I was 28 and I think I had a brief small bump for a couple of days, third at 30 I definitely still looked pregnant for about a week. I don't know if this is down to age, increase weight or subsequent pregnancies. I'd suggest packing some leggings because they fit several sizes, or joggers with a drawstring waist just to be sure. Both will come in handy even if just as pyjamas.

@Stressedoutforever 🤣🤣 that made me laugh. The joys of post-partum! All worth it of course - but what a bloody weird stage of life 😂

@RGxo13 Everyone has already given great advice 😊 Don’t underestimate the amount of bleeding afterwards (I did - massively 😳). Pack a couple of options, preferably in dark colours! Leggings with plenty of stretch, loose fitting joggers or a nice loose dress etc. Make sure any trousers are high wasted incase of c-section 😊 Maternity pads are pretty massive so you’ll feel like you’re wearing a nappy!
I also massively underestimated how uncomfortable my whole downstairs would feel afterwards 😅 obviously I knew about the possibility of tearing/stitches etc and I knew that would cause pain after birth but for whatever reason it did NOT register that there would be other pain 🤣 I had no tearing/stitches at all and still felt like my vulva had been battered 😳😅 pretty swollen and very bruised feeling + the massive pads = pack COMFY! 😬

You’ll be wearing a pad or modi bod type pants so thicker tracksuit style trousers are better unless you like the nappy look. A tunic or longer top that lets you feed if you might need to. A hat/scrunch to keep your hair out of your face. Flat shoes you can slip on.

I had hyperemesis and didn’t gain any weight during pregnancy. (Note, this is not a good thing for you or the baby). So when dc was born, between baby, placenta, and fluid, I actually ended up 30 pounds lighter. My belly was still quite distended, plus I had a C-section. I wore a pair of pre-pregnancy, but extremely stretchy and soft sweats pants, so soft and stretchy they could have been pajama pants, home.

I actually lost weight during my first pregnancy with DS1. After giving birth I wore leggings and a top to go home in the next day. My stomach was much smaller than I expected it to be. The next day I wore a stretchy miniskirt and opaque tights and a shirt. DH and I took DS1 out in his pram for a walk and walked a couple of miles.

When I had DD I was back to normal weight in 6 weeks but a different shape and definitely still had a belly.

Took about 8 months with DS2 and I don't think I'll ever have a waist again and he's almost 4. Not that I ever had much of a waist.

My DS was a summer baby and like many other posters I just wore a maternity maxi dress to/from the hospital (with a massive pair of comfy pants underneath).

Didn't have to worry about what size I was going to be or anything pressing on a scar if I needed a c-section (I didn't).

So that would be my recommendation as it worked perfectly, especially easy getting dressed/undressed after your body has done at lot of hard work!

I also took a lightweight cardigan for over the top in case the weather was a bit cooler.

This.

I am one of those who ‘snapped back’ I had home births but was wearing my size 8 skirts the next day.

your stomach will feel the most unusual soft squishy thing though! And take a few weeks to tighten again but again this happened quickly for me.

I will caveat this with I was a small size 8 pre pregnancy and didn’t put on a lot of weight. I wore size 8 maternity clothes so was my usual size with a bump. If you are requiring larger clothes sizing, it’s unlikely your usual clothes will fit and as everyone has said, the pads are so chunky and I can’t tell you how much my stitches hurt and the swelling was unbelievable! I could only wear skirts as leggings would also have been too painful for me. I’d take yourself 2 choices. A dress/skirt in the size you are wearing when you are due and the leggings if you are enjoying them then you can decide

You'll want something loose and comfortable, even if your tummy is a lot smaller. I took loose tracksuit bottoms. Also I wasn't prepared for how swollen my legs and ankles would be, I couldn't get my trainers on for a week so went home in my slippers.

I ended up wearing my pregnancy tracksuit bottoms for about 3 months after birth! Everyone's body reacts differently to pregnancy and birth.

Oh my god I forgot about the swollen legs and ankles.