Did your body barely change in pregnancy or should I expect the worst?

[reafl]

I’m 27 weeks pregnant and in the last week I’ve had a bump properly emerge and sleeping is a bit achy. When I say bump has emerged, I still don’t look pregnant in most clothes

I had a very slim frame and apart from some sickness early on ive been ok. I’m suddenly panicking that I’m going to balloon and my body will go to shit. I’m wishing away the next few weeks as I’m genuinely scared that I’m going to be a physical mess soon. I know this isn’t a ‘problem’ im just feeling emotional today.

I had a really lovely neat bump - very obviously pregnant from the side but couldn't tell at all from behind. Didn't experience any swelling or discomfort and loads of energy right up till the end - was pushing furniture around and squatting to clean everything at 40 weeks! Afterwards was a different story though - weak tummy muscles meant I struggled to stand up for the nighttime nappy changes!

@Ladylovesbooks I agree because I’ve been using all the recommended creams and oils. Last week a (childless) woman at work gave me a tiresome lecture about how keeping skin moisturised meant stretch marks will never appear..

As everyone says, every woman is different. I was a size 10 before both my pregnancies, gained about 2-3 stone each time (both babies just under 9lbs) and then back in my size 10 jeans within 6 weeks with no real effort on my part.

There have been some noticeable permanent changes to my body that will never go away (youngest child now 5 so if it was going to rectify it would have done so by now):

My feet have widened slightly. Not enough to go up a size or even half a size, but enough that some old shoes no longer fit.

My rib cage has also expanded. Again not enough to change whole sizes but enough that some snug fitting pre-pregnancy clothes no longer fit comfortably.

The obvious mum tum - yes if I hit the gym hard and dieted intensely I could probably get rid of it, but my squashy little pouch is here to stay for now!

Be kind to yourself, your body is growing a whole new human from scratch which is utterly miraculous.

I had a 9lb baby three months ago. I was showing from about 17 weeks and enormous by the end, but it was all bump. I’m tall and was very fit before pregnancy, and kept active until DS was born (I was at a pregnancy hiit class the day I went into labour).

I was lucky not to get stretch marks. I now look no different from pre-pregnancy in clothes; my stomach is still softer than I'd like, but I’ve started running and weight training again in the last couple of weeks and I can already feel an improvement, so I think I'll be back to normal fairly soon 🤞🏻

So it's not inevitable that your body will change irrevocably - but I do think it's important to keep active whilst pregnant and get back to (sensible levels of) exercise as soon as you've physically recovered from the birth.

Oh, and I’m 37 and had an EMCS!

Everyone is different! I've been incredibly lucky and at 23 weeks with my third, the only body change I've had with either was weight gain, which I managed to lose after each of them fairly easily. I've had stitches with both previous deliveries but not had any lasting side affects. Praying this one is no different!
But my sister has said she feels like a completely different person since having her DS and that her body doesn't feel the same anymore 🤷‍♀️ there's no consistent with pregnancy unfortunately (or fortunately, whichever way you look at it).

It took me a year to get back into my old jeans but 20 years on, my body certainly hasn't been ruined by 2 pregnancies.

It’s different for everyone. With both my pregnancies I really only put on weight around my stomach and with DD I went back to pre baby weight quickly, (can’t say what will happen with dc2 as still pregnant). But I have got stretch marks on my thighs and boobs and bum, none of my stomach though which is weird as that felt like the only place I gained weight

I went back to normal both times. Was absolutely fine. It's probably genetic as my mum was the same.

Not everyone has a ruined body!

I definitely became more orgasmic and periods less painful so all round I benefitted from pregnancy!

This is an understandable reaction and I am sorry that you are having a bad day today, OP.

To answer the question, I had my children at a relatively young age, which I think probably helped my body to recover. No, my body wasn't quite the same (developed a "Mum-tum" which never went back to pre-birth state or shape, with an interesting pattern of stretchmarks, and then a second lot over the first lot later), but I don't mind and neither has any partner since (and if they did they could get lost anyway)). My breasts changed a bit and then again after breastfeeding, but they have changed much more as a result of aging, and the start of menopause and my weight going up and down than they did from breastfeeding at the time (and anyway I loved feeding my babies so wasn't that bothered about related changes, although it'd be unfair to say that I didn't/don't occasionally lament my lost youth and pert bosom, but just as a passing thing).

Personally my SPD resolved itself after birth, my pelvic floor has been fine, didn't have any long term effects from my 2nd-degree tear, just a barely-there scar which causes very-little to no problems at all, sex life and continence have been fine all along. I am very well aware that I am at the fortunate end of post-birth body experiences though, but at the same time, you probably hear and read more about the bad stories than the good. I've always been comfortable in my own body though and not prone to lingering on thoughts of wishing it was more perfect, so I think that has helped too.

Everyone is different though, in both how their body does or doesn't change, and how they feel about it and deal with it. It's really a very wide spectrum and your feelings on this are always going to be valid. If your thoughts get out of hand though, get some RL help to talk it through and perhaps change perspective.

I’d second looking at The shape of a mother. A lot of people on here seem to have had very good experiences with pregnancy. My first was fine, some small stretch marks, lost all weight, boobs fine after breastfeeding. Second was an emergency c section and I was butchered. Doesn’t matter what I weigh what I gain or what I loose. I have a permanent red, raised, angry scar across my stomach.

Some things change - I reckon my hips have stayed wider, my rib cage slightly too. But otherwise I look the same. If you were fairly fit and slim and had strong stomach muscles before and don’t put on too much excess weight on (baby bump contents not included) it’s not that tricky to ‘get back to normal’. Stretch marks are luck of the draw I think, I didn’t get any but neither did my mum. It can be genetic apparently.

This was me also during first 2 pregnancies minus the stretch marks. I also ballooned during my 3rd and had a bump by 10weeks. I still don’t know how I never got stretch marks with him as I really did end up with a huge bump I could barely walk, had him at 38weeks. pictures 10weeks and 38weeks the day before I went in labour