how fast is too fast of weight loss after pregnancy?

[song_of_the_soule]

I gained 40 lbs with my baby. i birthed her 2 weeks ago and seem to have lost 30 lbs already. I find this odd, she is my fifth baby, none of the others were this fast. I nurse a lot and have to do everything i would normally do due to the fact that daddy will not even come and help me with anything. I was out cutting trees and branches down yesterday, hand saw in one hand, newborn in the other, then dragging them to the back yard, with two year old in tow helping me with branches. I have not overly bled so far, thank god. I have to do these things as life must go on, it will not wait until i am fully healed or i get someone else to do it. But yeah, the weight loss is curious. I am not a young girl either, i am 38

[Bokonon]

I left the hospital under my pre-pregnancy weight with both kids. I lose weight while pregnant due to hyperemesis. But I haven't had a problem was a result of the weight loss.

That said, I don't think cutting trees and sawing while carrying a baby is ever a safe idea, especially at 2 weeks PP. Life may not wait, but if you overdo it and injure yourself, you'll be in a worse situation.

[kittywitty]

My mom did the same thing-went home in size 3 pants after gaining a massive amount of weight with my youngest brother. I think over 60 lbs or something crazy. She was fine and bf him with no problem.

[song_of_the_soule]

Don't worry, i was cutting them safely, no way for branches to fall on us or anything. No one could find my house because the address was covered by the over growth of trees, so i had to cut them back.

I do know that many women loose fast, but i never have until now. I guess it is a blessing being that i cannot go out and buy new clothes and i have to work hard to not let myself get depressed because of the situation with my DH. So looking trim will help me feel good about myself, i hope i get rid of the belly fast too LOL!

[MamaChicken]

Any way it was mostly water weight? I did that with only one pregnancy, lost 45 of 75 before I left the hospital. All others have been normal rate of weight loss.

[La Sombra]

With dd I remember that I lost something like 40 of the almost-60 pounds right away--I don't remember exactly how soon, but I want to say within a month, easily, if not sooner. Curiously (or not--other people have echoed this experience and there seems to be some biological evidence to explain it), I didn't lose the final 10-15 until AFTER I weaned my dd at 2+ years old. When I weaned her, that final weight came off almost effortlessly.

My sister lost loads of weight with both her dds (she hadn't gained an incredible amount to begin with--certainly not with her dd1). She was almost scarily underweight at one point, the babies just seemed to suck it all out of her!

The point of these two anecdotes, I guess, is to say that anything's possible! But if you are concerned maybe you should see your midwife or doctor. But if you are feeling fine, I suppose that's a good sign that whatever your weight loss trajectory is, it's within what's normal and healthy for your body.

That said, I agree with the PP that you should take it as easy as you can, mama! I'm sorry about the situation with your dh, though, and I hope that you heal well from all this--physically and emotionally! Hugs!

[SilverFish]

i was back at prepreg weight within a couple weeks (maybe sooner, just didn't weigh myself before then)... but i only gained maybe 15 pounds to begin with. i don't think there are any real rules to weight gain or loss in pregnancy. if you're taking proper care of youself, it doesn't really matter how quickly or slowly your weight changes.

[MegBoz]

As long as your milk supply still seems good, I wouldn't worry about it.

I only gained about 20# & was down at least 15# by about 1 week.

As for the chores, could you consider asking for some help from friends & family? Honestly, if a friend of mine just had a baby recently, I'd be more than happy to help with a chore like that. (& would feel guilty if I knew she needed the help & I wasn't providing it!!)
& also, might be a good time to use a wrap or sling so you at least have 2 hands. (I've done yard work, like raking leaves, with DS on my back once he had good head control.)

[BetsyS]

I gained 40 lbs with my baby. He's 11 days old, and I'm down 26 pounds.

For me, this is pretty normal, though. I gained 47 and 27 with my other 2, and both times, I was about 10 lbs lighter than ppw by 4 weeks postpartum.

[Smokering]

I don't know about weight because I didn't weigh myself, but I did look drastically skinnier a few days after I had DD. It was pre-eclampsia - my swelling went down and I suddenly had bones again. Could it be something like that?

And yikes, hon, is there any way chopping tree branches could wait for another few weeks?? Could you hire someone, ask at a local church for help - anything? That really sounds like a perfect bleed-and-crash situation to me.