10M POSTPARTUM suddenly gained weight

[Firsttimemama01]

I don't know if this is the right topic but I wasn't sure where to put this. I am 10M Postpartum with my first child and have gained 3 stone AFTER giving birth. 2 weeks after she was born my body seemed okay, was shrinking back but I now am huge. Nothing fits me not even my maternity clothes and I'm not even overly eating too much? I move as much as I can (walks etc) and my baby is so incredibly active I don't get to sit for a minute and also is bored easily so we're out in the pram alot. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I have a huge belly and previously never had this body shape. I'm more of a pear shape but turning into an apple shape body type

And you're definitely not PG again?

Have you recently stopped BF but still eating the same amount?

Or, in my case, are you eating DCs leftovers?!

This happened to me, it was hashimotos (underactive thyroid). There were other symptoms such as hair loss and fatigue which I dismissed at the time, but if the weight gain truly is unaccounted for then might be worth getting a blood test

@PinkMimosa £60 worth of clear blue tests says I'm not so I'm hoping they're accurate! Lol

@OldTinHat I had issues BF so baby is formula fed and I thought about this but I have been very aware of what I'm consuming so no, plus DC enjoys weird things that do not appeal to me 🤣

@Chasingbaby2 thank you I will definitely get to the doctors are it's truly a mystery. I'm always tired and always ill. I don't think I've had longer than 2 weeks since she was born where I haven't had a cold or been sick (vomiting)

Worth looking into then, the symptoms sound familiar and really easy to dismiss as other things. In fact my GP specifically tried to tell me it was metabolism slowing down, baby weight ect. It was around 9 months pp that it started for me and childbirth can quite commonly bring on thyroid issues, I know of 3 other people amongst colleagues and friends.

OP you need to see your GP and have some bloods done. Could be lots of things but first on my list would be underactive thyroid which is easily ruled out with a blood test. Hope you’re ok

Another vote for thyroid issue. My GP friend checks all her patients after a pregnancy as it's very common and often missed.

@Justforxmas2023 thank you, I honestly feel like I'm drowning sometimes. The weight gain, feeling unwell all the time and my baby is pretty active aswell which is great but does tire me out lots

@Chasingbaby2 thank you will book an appointment with the gp after new year! Can I ask what treatment you were given if you don't mind? Or any things you did to help it

Bloods is a good idea, if your thyroid seems fine check your prolactin levels. They are naturally increased during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Personally for me, I carried until 14 weeks in January and then miscarried. This caused me 3 stone weight gain in 3 months and I'm someone who took 7 years to put on one stone previously! I wasn't comfort eating, infact I was probably eating less! They kept checking my thyroid thinking the same as everyone has suggested above and it was always fine until I contacted regarding some bumps on my nipples, that's when a doctor thought to check my prolactin and the levels were still sky high! For me it's likely as I went into second trimester but then miscarried so my body didn't complete the pregnancy/breastfeeding stage and the prolactin stayed up high, almost like my body was confused but I'm guessing it's possible post having a baby too.

Worth a check! They monitor it with a couple of blood tests to check if it's increasing or decreasing etc I eventually fell pregnant again so they had to stop checking for the meantime but there are things they can do to help if it is that 🙂

Standard treatment is daily medication (levothyroxine) to replace the thyroid hormones. Has to be increased gradually to find the optimum dose. I was already a keen exerciser so that was never an issue but combined with cleaning up my diet a bit (nothing drastic just sensible) the weight was all gone within a couple of months and energy levels back to normal!

Bless you. It is hard with a baby at the best of times. Hope you get to the bottom of it and feel better.

This happened to me. When I was waking for night feeds I'd eat some biscuits as I felt peckish. Soon knocked that on the head and got slightly better.