My PP body :( (I want my old body back!!!)

[Super~Single~Mama]

So I know I need to be patient, and I know that my body is still recovering but...

I went to the store to try and find pants that fit me yesterday, and I was a size 2 pre-pregnancy and yesterday not even the size 10 pants fit!! What happened?? I know that I gained 40 lbs - but it didn't look like I did!! I wore the same pair of maternity pants my ENTIRE pregnancy and they were the same size as my normal pants! Did my baby spread out my hips that much when he came out?? Gosh and my belly! I want it GONE!! I can't exercise yet, and I won't be able to for a while (I have to go see the midwife b/c some of my stitches healed wrong, I probably have to get more ) Every time a pair of pants would fit me yesterday in the hips, it wouldn't fit above my hips b/c my belly got in the way!

To top it all off, I don't have a scale so I have no idea how much I weigh, which means I don't know if I've lost any weight since I had Lincoln. I know that the day I had him I lost about 15, but since then I have no clue.

Ugh....I'm so ready to be back to normal. And I'm SO MAD that I healed wrong. Its totally TMI, but basically where the hole for my vagina is a peice of skin healed across it, so there are 2 holes essentially. Which means I have to call and tell the midwife, and she probably has to snip that - which means more pain!! And I'm terrified that she's going to tell me that something else healed wrong, or that I need more stitches for something else...Why can't my body just be NORMAL?????

[wahlmn]

I understand the frustration, believe me... but didn't you just have a baby this month??

Even if you lost all of the weight you gained, your body would still not be in the shape it was before at this stage of the game due to hips spreading, skin stretching, etc. Give yourself a few more weeks, you will likely lose a few more lbs every week, and at some point once you have been cleared to exercise you can step it up a notch. It took me 8 weeks to lose all the weight from my first pregnancy (35 lbs) but I still was in a slightly different shape, and needed a few more months for my hips to go back to normal. And it took me almost 4 months to lose the 40 lbs I gained with my 2nd pregnancy. And I am a fitness instructor, and work out quite a bit. So what I'm saying is, GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!!!

Get some cute yoga pants for the next couple of weeks and then try to go shopping again after you've had a chance to lounge and enjoy your baby a while.

[leerypolyp]

Aw, it's rough, I know.

Although, frankly -- I think in a lot of ways your body *is* normal! Only Heidi Klum gets to look like a supermodel postpartum. The rest of us are wearing yoga pants.

It's too soon to get back into constructed pants. Even if you did find a pair that fit, they'd probably be all wrong in a week or two. If you need something new, get something with some give to it (that looks nice if you're sick of being in pajamas all day) -- and know that a lot of things will eventually shrink back down. It takes months, and you may have some more skin left on your belly later, but your abs need time to get back to where they were.

On my midwife's advice, I made a makeshift girdle out of some queen-size control top pantyhose -- I cut off the legs and just wore the top around my belly for a few hours a day. I think it helped support my abs and back. In fact, I need to go get that thing right now...

[Super~Single~Mama]

Yeah, I'm only 2 weeks PP - I know I need to be patient!! I also seem to be getting the baby blues...last night I put Lincoln in his crib b/c I was all touched out and just didn't want anyone touching me while I slept. It doesn't help that he's been fussy the last few days and has a really hard time going to sleep at night after he eats. Last night we were also at my boyfriends family's house for the first time (it was his dads b-day) and there were just too many people for Lincoln - it was overstimulation at its worst!

Even though I KNOW I need to be patient, its just not something I'm good at

[katmann]

I can totally sympathize with the vagina thing - I'm two weeks PP and starting to have that same feeling. When will my girly parts (not to mention my behind) be back to normal? I know it takes time, but it can be so frustrating! And I didn't even need stitches, so I can't imagine how it feels for you mamas who did. But everyday I feel a little better, so I know it won't be like this forever.

[racidoodle]

be patient with your bodies, ladies! look at the amazing changes they just went through! give them time to heal and "bounce back." you'll probably never be exactly the same (as my OB said to me last time, "this is your new normal"), but it will get better. it took me at least 6 months to lose my baby weight the first time around. i was HUNGRIER nursing than i ever was pregnant! it wasn't until i dropped dairy from my diet (DS had an allergy) that i lost the last 10 lbs.

be patient, and avoid full-length mirrors for a while!

[quietserena]

FWIW, I'm 4+ weeks PP and things are more back to normal than at 2 weeks.

A whole human being lived in your body and passed through your birth canal. Keep it mind! It took about 9 months for your body to change like it did, it needs time to change back.

You are an amazing human! Look at that little person you carried to term and birthed!

[esmicosaquehago]

Definitely, your pelvis will tighten up more in the coming weeks.

[rockportmidwife]

I am 2 weeks Postpartum. I only gained 18lbs this pregnancy, but I started out horribly overweight. I am already about 10lbs below my prepregnant weight, but things are still definitely not back to normal. My little fat roll is an even bigger fat roll still. My stomach still has the extra fur on it. And because I had a C-section I am not able to sleep on my stomach yet. That was one thing that I was looking forward to after having the baby. The staples are finally out, but the incision is still a bit sore.

[papschmitty]

I'll be 3 wks post partum tomorrow. I totally understand your frustration! I'm not expecting to have my pre-pg body back so soon but it's really frustrating that nothing fits. I keep recycling the same stupid 3 pairs of pants over and over again. I gained 45 lbs this time and am absolutely horrified at the size of my @ss! I've always had a lot of junk in my trunk but this is just plain depressing. I really hope things get better soon. I'm planning to hit the thrift store next week to try to find at least a couple more pairs of pants. I'd like to start exercising a little but I'm still bleeding so I'm trying to hold out until I'm done healing. It's a good thing we get a cute baby out of the deal!

[acory23]

My maternity clothes dont fit... NONE of them. Not even the ones from earlier in PG. They are too small. My later clothes are too big. My shirts arent fitting my new boobs.

I cant wait to have my body back but I want to keep my boobs. I wish I could have kept my lips but they are gone. My rings will never fit again.

And how long will it take for my vagina to feel normal?

[quietserena]

Oh and I just wanted to add that I'm still wearing my big preggo underwear. THe preprego ones are a lil tight - so my hips haven't quite gone back to where they're supposed to be, though I lost about 10 lbs in pregnancy.

[rockportmidwife]

Originally Posted by papschmitty

I gained 45 lbs this time and am absolutely horrified at the size of my @ss! I've always had a lot of junk in my trunk but this is just plain depressing.
!

That is not fair. I have a very flat butt and was hoping it would get a little bigger, but nothing. I have large breasts and they just kept getting larger. It seems that pregnancy increase what you have in abundance already instead of adding where you would like to add.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by acory23

And how long will it take for my vagina to feel normal?

This is the most frustrating!! I called my midwife today about the little piece that seems to be attached wrong in my vagina, and found out that I tore in a very very strange way that was impossible for the midwife who attended the birth to even explain to the other midwives in the practice

I feel like I'm never going to have sex again

I have to say though, the one thing I am SO HAPPY about is that breastfeeding is SO EASY for me so far!! I don't even have trouble pumping, I pumped some milk while Lincoln was asleep before I left him with my mom and I got 3oz in 10 minutes! And that was only 1 boob! It's also helping my baby blues a little b/c I just LOVE breastfeeding Lincoln, and him being super healthy and gaining plenty of weight is just so amazing to see!

[_betsy_]

Honey, your body is totally normal. You just gave birth. it's not going to bounce right back to what it was pre-PG, in fact, it will NEVER be the same. You just have to accept that, in some ways, your body is changed forever.

Don't go clothes shopping until you're feeling like you've lost most of the baby weight. Wearing maternity pants is FINE for a couple months after giving birth.

[leerypolyp]

nak

a note to those new to tearing: things don't have to go back to the way they used to be for sex to be good! there might be a longer healing time than you expect, but with lots of lube and gentle action, scar tissue will stretch and loosen up. even if things look very different, it might end up better than it used to be. not that that is the case for everyone... but a different vagina is not always an unmitigated disaster!

[Super~Single~Mama]

So I went to the midwife today, and she sent me to her back up OB b/c she had never seen this before!! And, neither had the OB!! WHY ME??? I have to go get my little extra piece of skin snipped next Thursday! I'm so upset, I really didn't want to have any more pain down there!! I guess at least I will have a weekend to recover.