Yes this is vain but tell me what the body is like after twins

[elf]

For starters: I admit I have issues with body image. I have never been big or small. Just average but I must hold myself to some terrible standard. Having one baby wasn't that big of a deal on my body. I can't wear a bikini but things could be worse.

I am pregnant with twins. I have been eating like a mad woman every single second otherwise I feel like barfing or passing out. Totally different than when I had one baby in me. Anyways, I am 10 weeks and I have gained 11 pounds. I struggle with this. Since I know how small the babies are, and I see how much actual "fat" i have gained on my body....I know the weight gained isn't going to the babies. My OB is no help. He told me to gain 35 pounds (have a normal BMI) and anymore would only be extra on my body and it would be stuff that would be hard to lose. He said gaining too much weight only increases my chance of diabetes and pre-eclampsia.

I look in the mirror and I already don't recognize myself.

So what is the real deal with weight gain and twins. What really happens to your body after you have them? Is breastfeeding/pumping twins that much different where the weight will kind of come off? Is gaining all this weight going to help my pregnancy in any way? My first baby was 6 pounds. So this time if I have 12 pounds of baby in me but gain 70 pounds....what happens after I have them? Am I left with 50 to really work hard at losing?? I really struggle with this. I have a friend that is an OB herself and she is 9 weeks pregnant with twins. She is still running high mileage every day and her stomach is washboard flat (clearly hasn't gained a pound). Here I am wearing maternity clothes already. What is the right way to do this? I am mad at myself that I stress about things like this but I do.

[DeerMother]

I don't think it's vain. Every body is different. I gained 75 lbs, babies horn at 39.5 weeks weighing 5.14 and 7.1. I had gest diabetes. I lost all the baby weight within six months while eating 2500 (?) calories aday bc I ebf. I have stretch marks on my legs. My stomach has two giant flabs of extra skin. The only way I could get rid of that is via surgery.

It irritates me when obs say you should gain x amount of weight. I think it is more important that you listen to your body. I think other mamas here have followed Elizabeth Noble's pregnancy diet.

[Dena]

I don't think its vain either. And I don't think there's any one right way to do this.

I only gained 37 lbs, but I was about 20 lbs overweight to begin with. The low weight gain was NOT from lack of trying, btw. I ate every two hours, practically around the clock. Lots of protein, healthy fats, etc. I gained a ton of weight up front, and a pound or two - maybe - in the last trimester, despite eating like a horse and being on bedrest for a few weeks. My babes were born at nearly 38 weeks at 5 lbs 5 oz and 5 lbs 6 oz. I followed the Brewer Diet for twins throughout. My OB didn't care how much weight I gained as long as the babies and I were healthy. There was no discussion of risk of pre-e or GD with regard to weight gain. In fact, the only time he expressed concern was when I didn't gain weight.

I have stretch marks on my stomach. Lots. I have about 25 lbs still to lose - I am one of those who does not loose easily while bf, mostly because if I exercise too much or eat to little my supply drops like a rock - but it is slowly coming off. Not sure if I will have skin flaps when the weight is gone, but it looks likely. I have not ruled out surgery at some point in the future if it bothers me too much after I give it a few years of diet and exercise.

That said, I look at these incredible little babies, and it was all more than worth it.

[herdingkittens]

you just never know how things will turn out.

i had never had real stretch marks with any of my other pregnancies until my twins (even though I gained the same amount as I did with one of my singletons). that being said, the marks are not all that bad, in my opinion. they faded fast and are noticeable to the point only where I would not wear a bikini, but i am not the bikini type anyways.

i went back to ballet when the twins were around 18 mo, and firmed right up, but before then, my tummy was a bit poochy. i was never able to get back into shape without getting some good exercise, so for me that was key.

before my current pregnancy (I am 23 weeks), i was pretty darned pleased. yeah, sure, when i am parallel to the ground, there is some extra skin that falls a little lower than the rest of my tummy, and yes, my breasts do not look like they did when I was 20, but hey, i have to say, that change is worth having two little twin boys who think I am the most wonderful woman on earth! when they say, "you pretty mama!", I have to soak it in and take it.

I do remember being concerned when I was preg with them and feeling similar to you, and feeling that was HAS to be normal, as I know so many other mothers who went through that (even with singleton pregs). Try not to stress too much - that first year, you will be too busy to think much about it anyways, and after that you will be in awe at how amazing your body really is. Really. I'll be praying for you and those little ones. PEace!

[Strong Mama]

I think everybody is different. I am 5 months with twins now. I have two singletons. I gained 40 pounds exactly with both singletons,and no stretch marks at all. I weighed 140 when I gave birth to them. They are 17 and 6 now. AFter I got on the depovera shot, I shot up weight to 221. I do not have stretch marks from going from 140-221...I am at 180 now with the twins. I weighed 139 when I got pregnant. I have gained a pretty good amount of weight. It is all belly and boobies and nothing else. You cant even tell I am pregnant from the back of me. No stretchy marks, yet. I know I can lose the weight. I lost from 221 to 139...so I can do it again. I eat and eat. My dr told me the more weight I gain in the beginning, the better, because you dont gain as fast towards the end. He is very happy with my weight gain for 5 months. some weeks I gain 1 pound a week, some 5, it varies with the growth spurts I can tell the babies are getting. I was very sick like you in the beginning and gained 11 pounds by 10 weeks, too. I couldnt help it tho, I was not active at all cos I was so sick, and I had to eat alllllll the time. I got sick of eating. I am NOT an eater normally. It finally has tapered off to where I eat maybe just a little above normal now, I do wake at 5am to eat lately again. But not sick anymore so that NEED to eat isnt there.But I had gained 30 pounds by 24 weeks, not 24 pounds by 24 weeks.

[attached2mason]

I sound a bit like you, elf. I have always had issues with body image and have a fairly average sized frame. When I got pg both times I was in good shape, little excess body fat, you get the idea. After DS1 I was left with a boat load of stretch marks, but by the time I got pg again the skin was fairly tight again and the stretchmarks were faded - I even wore a bikini a few months before I got pg again .

I gained 65lbs. Did I need to? Dunno. All I know is that my boys were big, healthy and full term - 38 weeks and 7lbs 3oz, 7lbs 11oz. They might have been that big with less weight gain, but it makes the gain worth it. At 4.5 months post partum I still have 30lbs hanging on and I have lost SO MUCH strength. I'm not gonna lie . . . I went from being in very good shape (sprinting, pushups, pullups, olympic weightlifting a la crossfit) to feeling weak as an old woman. Blah. Weight is not coming off with bfing (I have been the same weight since 2 weeks pp), but then I'm eating like crap and getting no sleep. If those two thngs changed I'm sure the weight would start to come off. I'm trying not to obsess, but I don't like feeling this way.

But, I know it will be gone when I have time/energy to make it disappear. Alas, I think my skin will always be loose, although it should improve with time, just not as well as last time. There was just TOO MUCH BELLY for the skin to come back from . I got way more stretch marks to add to my collection - they used to be up to belly button, now they are above belly button and run horizontal, not just vertical. Awesome

Somehow, though, I am more at peace with it than last time. Could be that I'm older (wiser? ), could be that I am to busy to care .

[dividedsky]

i was worried about this, too. i don't have real body issues per se, i just like to stay on the thinner size because i really like clothes and i really like to be able to wear what i want. kind of stupid, huh? anyway...

i gained 50lbs, and had my boys at 32 weeks. if i went longer, i surely would have gained more. i breastfed them for 15mos, ate healthily and well afterward. i am not really into exercising for the sake of it, but pushing them around in the stroller, picking them up, running around with them, etc keeps me moving enough! my boys are now 20mos and i am basically back to my pre-pregnancy weight. all of my old clothes fit, and i think my body looks good. my stomach isn't flat like it used to be for sure - it's a little poofy, and i think my hips got a little wider. i have that weird thing with the c-section scar, where it poofs a little on the top of it. so i definitely don't look how i did when i was 18... but i am back in a size 6 no problem. now, i just have to pick the shapes that i wear a little more carefully. i can wear a fitted dress that has some structure... but my tight knit dresses don't look quite right any more. instead of going for jeans with a very fitted knit top, i'll pick something a little more flowy to hide the bit of stomach poof. when i weaned, my boobs looked really sad and deflated (i was a b to start). but now, 5 months later, they filled out a little and look fine! not super-perky pre-babies amazing, but really, totally fine!

i was really worried about the weight coming off. i don't look like a supermodel now, and i definitely won't be wearing a bikini anytime soon, but i really do feel good about my body.

[nudnik]

I still look 3 months pregnant (babies 3 months old) although I have lost all the weight (I do think that could improve, but they aren't my first either).

I think you should read up a bit more on weight gain guidelines for twins - gaining LOTS of weight is the single most important thing you can do to help carry them to term. There should be no weight limits.

[dolcib]

Hi there:

I gained 40 lbs with my twin boys and I'm not a little girl to start with. I am 11 weeks post partum now. What I have noticed is my stomach is still pretty poofy and I don't recognize my boobs. I have been pumping and supplementing and the weight has come off slowly but not fast enough for my taste so it is back to Weight Watchers for me! I think the hardest thing is to find transitional clothes so I'm still in maternity pants but regular tshirts.

Gabrielle

Mommy to Franklin & Callan July 2010

[sweetgrass]

I'm at 40 weeks and waiting on my girls to arrive...

At the beginning of my pregnancy when I was really worried about my body, my midwife told me to expect about 1 1/2 times everything from twins as compared to my singleton. I gained 30 pounds with my son and have gained 50 with the twins. If I hadn't made it this far, it would be a little less. I do have "stretching" marks that i imagine will look like wrinkles when this is all over (they are horizontal above my belly button, not vertical).

I have eaten a healthy diet packed with protein and i think this is why I've been able to carry them so long. I didn't get into the pints of ice cream until the end.

Best of luck to you and remember that your diet and ample protein are the best things you can do for them.

Paige

[OGirlieMama]

I only made it to 29 weeks, but I had gained about 37 pounds by then. Good genetics got me out of stretch marks, I think (my Mom never had any, either) and breastfeeding the two of them really helped me shed the weight. I had a moment around 3 months where I was losing, but still wearing pants 3-4 sizes bigger than my normal, because my hips hadn't returned to normal. Then one day they did and I was actually really skinny 6 months after giving birth. When I weaned, I gained about 15 pounds, mostly because I was still eating like a pregnant/breastfeeding mama of multiples, and because I was too exhausted to work out. That last bit still holds true, since my 4-year-olds still don't sleep through the night.

[nd_deadhead]

I was a bit overweight to start with, gained 65 pounds, and lost 45 pounds in the first week after the babies were born! They weighed 8 pounds each, so it was 16 pounds of baby, several pounds of placenta and amniotic fluid, and a fair amount of water retention.

Neither of my doctors (my beloved family doctor and an OB) were concerned about my weight gain, as long as I was eating healthy. I let my body be my guide - I ate when I was hungry, drank when I was thirsty, and slept when I was tired.

I think that we are way too concerned about numbers in our socoety, to the point where we no longer trust - or even know how to listen to - our bodies. Do what feels right to you, and don't let anyone bully you into going hungry!

[JenChaffee]

I gained 90 lbs which was more than half my original weight (They were big, healthy babies!). My midwife gave me an excellent tip. It took nine months to put the weight on, expect that it will take nine months to take it off.

My babies are just now 9 months old. I have been breastfeeding. In the last couple of months, my weight has stabilized at about 15 lbs up from what it was. The babies are not nursing as much, and I don't get any exercise. I am optimistic that when I manage to reincorporate some exercise into my routine, I will manage to get rid of those last pesky pounds.

My bigger image issue is the strange squishy, poochy belly that I have been left with. So, no bikinis. But when I wear normal clothes, it isn't obvious. It isn't quite flat, but I am hoping that one day when I tone up my flabby ab muscles and lose that last 15 lbs, it will help.

It's funny to think that previously, 15 lbs seemed like a big deal. Now after having gone through a 90 lb gain and a 75 lb loss, 15 seems kind of minor!

[lindsay t]

i have some good news (please don't hate me, i am not bragging just saying it can be done). i am 2.5 weeks out, no stretch marks, my belly button looks fairly normal and i am only 6#'s away from my prepregnancy weight. i can wear my 'fat' non maternity jeans too. my pregnancy only went to 35.5weeks and i only gained ~30 pounds (was gaining a#/week but that slowed down in the end) but still it's gone so much smoother than i could have ever expected. my tummy will probably never be the same but so far i am fairly pleased.

[Gena 22]

I have some good news too. I'm 2 1/2 years PP, and for a long while my belly bothered me. Getting to pre-p weight isn't too hard, especially if you breastfeed. But my belly was messed up after 39 weeks and 50+ pounds.

Then I got a balance ball, which I use as an office chair at work. Problem solved! My muscles are pretty much back to where they were pre-p if not better.

Yes, for me skin is an issue. There is a little sag and some stretch marks. But I'm hopping some of the sag goes away in time now that my belly is tighter and I'm eating better. And it's really not that bad.

I might consider a bikini!

Balance ball for those transverse abs. Had to share. It's magic!

[MamaChicken]

I am two years pp, and gained 50 lbs by 37.5 weeks when the boys were born at 6.5+ lbs each. I don't have a single stretch mark, skin roll, or anything. I was about 15 lbs higher than pre-preg, but recently lost that. Had a bad diastasis, but used the book "lose your mummy tummy" or something like that to get my abs back into shape.

Not that I think that it is common, but you never know what you will look like and there's not much you can do either way.