Stomach overhang and wobbly belly... Does it get better?

[Nesski]

Hello everybody,

I had a c section just over 4 weeks ago, and without sounding over dramatic, I am mourning my old body. I'm 5kg away from my pre-pregnancy weight but my entire trunk is wobbly and soft, i have accumulated fat everywhere so nothing fits anymore and I have this overhang, which has shrunk a lot but I can't stop looking at it and pinching it and grabbing it. I'm not depressed by any means and the baby has kept me busy to not care and my husband loves my body, but I look in the mirror after showering and have to look away. How can my body look so different even though the weight difference isn't so much (I've been more than this weight before and looked much better). Is it just going back to the gym that will make everything return back to semi normal?

Anybody with words or support or advice would be appreciated

It will get better, it’s normal to be flabby and loose 4 weeks after birth. Within 6 months to a year you should look more like your self. I’ve had 2 csections and fat does tend to accumulate above the scar. If you keep yourself trim it should look a lot better though. Congratulations though and it will get better.

Your body took 9 months to grow so it's not realistic for your body to spring back after 4 weeks!
In a couple of months you will see a difference and then in a couple more after that again.

My tummy never went back. I’m saving for a tummy tuck, that’s the only way to fix the mess left by a c section.

4 weeks? You need to give yourself a break. Recovery from a c section can take a long time. Focus on your mental and physical health and your baby and celebrate what your body has made.

I've had 2 sections so far (having a 3rd soon) and even when back to normal weight and quite fit I always had an overhang - it's just a big deep scar so there's not a lot that can be done about it. I felt good though and it wasn't noticeable.

You'll get there eventually, but for me it was when my youngest was turning 2.

Thanks ladies, I'm just finding it very difficult when it's just basically a blob in the middle and so soft. The scar itself is super wonky and long, nothing like how it's on Google, think this was partly to do with the fact it was an emergency, just feeling a bit hacked up!

Of course you are AND your hormones will be all over the place too right now.
Try to focus on the newborn time right now as it honestly passes so fast and give your body time to settle back so you know what you're then working with.

It takes 9 months to grow a baby, so give yourself 9 months to recover. It will all gradually go back to normal, or close to.

Im not sure 4 weeks is even long enough for your organs to have truly moved back into place yet/shrunk back?

You will look different in a few months. But you may never look 'the same' - I'm the same weight as pre preg (although was 2stone overweight regardless) and still look softer in the tummy but a lot firmer than I did initially after birth. Random fat deposits are starting to melt finally!

I weigh a bit less than I did before either of my pregnancies. My body is not the same . My feet went up a size , my rib cage is wider and my tummy is soft and flabby . My legs look so toned though 😆 🤷‍♀️ . I’m 8 months postpartum so I’m assuming this is the end result . I keep reminding myself I made and grew TWO humans over two pregnancies. Im also at a healthy BMI ( I worked hard to get there ) and I try and focus on my health and not my flabby soft tummy .

Thanks ladies! Our bodies are really amazing at being efficient, all 'problem areas' pre-pregnancy are, surprise surprise, the parts which have just clung onto/become the flabbiest!!! I guess it's where all the fat cells are so naturally storage is gonna take place there! I think I'm going to chuck my skinny skinny jeans as I won't have the pressure/aspire to get back into them...