belly misgivings

[Jellymaker]

Hi girls,

Now I want to state at the outset that I know that giving birth is a beautiful gift and that my baby will be worth all the pain and changes to my body, but I would like to take a minute to be shallow and vain.

What are your experiences with post belly droop? I was a little overweight when I finally got pregnant (85.5 ks, not huge, but not bikini model) and have seen some post pregnancy photos of saggy tummies. I have had one super skinny friend who got hardly any stretchmarks and looks the same now as she did pre-pregnancy and another friend who was a little larger (just a bit smaller than me) who also looks the same now.

Does pre-pregnancy weight make a difference? I am 33 weeks (pretty big though, belly only, have hardly put on any non-baby weight, only 5.5 ks in total) with only a few very faint stretchmarks down low and was wondering if I will ever wear a bikini again?

I don't want to make anyone feel bad about themselves and like I said above I know it is quite narcissistic of me considering what I get for it (My little Jellyman!!!!) but I would like to know.

Any takers?

[Vixstar]

I have found each pregnancy I have not managed to loose a few kilos afterwards..


when I had DS#1 I started at 60kg - blossomed out to 90kg at birth and only mnaaged to get back down to 65kg.

DS#2 Started at 65kg...blossomed out to 8okg-ish and got back down to 66/67kg.....and now I am blossoming out again......

I wear a tankini.....and feel pretty good about it too! Less exposure to the sun too......

[MrsFabuloso]

I have a horrible baby belly now. No amount of dieting or exercise will ever get rid of it. The only thing that will work for me will be plastic surgery! I was about 75kg when I fell pg with DD (and I'm not tall, at 165cm) and got some pretty bad stretch marks starting early at about 16wks, and a bit of extra skin around my hips after her pg, I only put on about 9-ish kg too.
But with DS I was 80kg when I fell pg and ended up at about 90kg. DS was 4.2kg when born and I also had polyhydramniosis-extra amniotic fluid around bub in utero, so I was absolutely HUGE! (I have pics on FB if you wanna see ) I got terrible stretch marks from my ribs to my pubic bone and around my sides. My tummy is pretty stretched and saggy especially around my hips. I absolutely hate it. If I can convince myself to go through with it (and we can afford it!) I will be having a tummy tuck. But I'm not sure if I could go through with the op becasue my fear of the pain!

[Trillian]

I always had a bit of a belly to start with due to my body shape (at my lowest weight I was under 70kg but still had a pot-belly) but it was only small. After each pg it does go back to what it was if I lost all the baby weight that I put on, but atm it isn't pretty because I am still overweight having not lost the all weight gained after my 2nd, 3rd and 4th pgs. There is also the smallest sign of an overhang but I think that if I lost the weight that it wouldn't be there. I got stretch marks with each pg and they got progressively higher, so that after my 4th baby they are in line with my belly button. Some women will go back to their pre-pg body due to a lot of factors - genetics, skin condition (elasticity) and stomach muscles. If you have good stomach muscles then your stomach should go back to what it was, but if your skin has poor elasticity (which it has if you have stretchmarks) then you could be left with some saggy skin that no amount of exercising or diet will change.

When I lose all the extra weight, I will still have a belly, because I have always had one, so it's not that big an issue for me, because it's not like I had a flat stomach to start with kwim? I would love a flat belly, but the only way I will get one is through surgery and it is hard for me to reconcile the fact that I gave birth 4 times and still have an intact abdomen and no surgical scar, only get a scar if I chose to have an apronectomy so I will probably never do it.

[Inanna]

There is an interesting report here that Kelly posted a few months ago.... THE SHAPE OF A MOTHER

[PumpkinZulu]

a little OT as I have never carried to term, or even past the first trimester, but my (.Y.) changed sooo much after my first pg...and stayed like that. Pre-pg they were 12 DD, now they're 14 E Can't wait to see how they fair when they're full of milk So I guess going by that logic I'll probably be left with a bit of a mummy tummy

[Jellymaker]

Argh,

O dear! I am already a 14E-F! I shudder to think what my WMD's (Wobblies of Mass Destruction) will look like after my milk comes in?

(having mental flashes of japanese people running and screaming ala Godzilla style!)

[Rahjah]

I think breastfeeding can play a big part in post-baby weight loss. I found I did absolutely nothing but the amt of BFing I was doing just used up so many calories and the weight dropped off. After a year or more people were actually suggesting I looked a bit gaunt because I ended up even smaller than when I started.

Don't know if that helps. But it is an added bonus of BF

My boobs were the saddest part I missed them when I stopped BFing - the sad little sacks! Doh! BUT I figure if they remind me of the gift of mothering my kids then it's a no brainer choice.

GL

[MrsFabuloso]

I think breastfeeding can play a big part in post-baby weight loss. I found I did absolutely nothing but the amt of BFing I was doing just used up so many calories and the weight dropped off. After a year or more people were actually suggesting I looked a bit gaunt because I ended up even smaller than when I started.

Don't know if that helps. But it is an added bonus of BF

Not for me. I bf my DD part time for 7mths, then got pg and she weaned fully, and now have been bfing DS for 18mths. I'm fatter than ever. So bfing isn't a weightloss solution for everyone. I had been hoping it would help me, but it never did