What was your body like straight after birth?

Hi everyone

I guess I'm just wondering what to expect my body to be like straight after the birth. I know I'm going to be exhausted, bleeding, all the things like that, but what did your body physically look like?
You see all these tv shows where the mother has given birth and 2 hours later her tummy's all flat again... obviously I know this is not the case, but just wondering what happens? Is it all saggy etc? What did you feel like?
I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question, I feel silly asking it!!
:)

Not a silly question at all....No one prepared me for how much bleeding there was, I was a bit freaked out at first, especially when you get out of bed and there is a puddle (lol) I wish someone had warned me it was normal.

The other thing is your belly looks like a big deflated ballon for a while. It feels soft and pudgy and jiggles. If you have stretch marks they also look totally different and much closer together. If you are B/F you might find you are thirsty all the time and labour is exhausting so you might have a crazy hunger.

Oh and lets save the best for last, your vagina will most likely be swolen, you might have stitches and it feels stretched and for me numb. But it does go back so don't stress.

It all sounds very glamorous I know, but trust me, at the time you will just be so focused on your bub you most likely won't notice anything going on with you.

HTH
Spring

Ummm... my tummy looked like a deflated balloon, or cake even... all dimply and squishy... and I still looked about 5 months pregnant for many weeks. I hadn't thought about it beforehand, or realised thats what would happen, so it was sort of dissapointing when heading out to the shops to buy new clothes - I remember being in tears!
But otherwise its not something you will probably focus on very much straight after the birth anyway, as your new baby will be much more interesting :D
Thinks will go back to normal in their own good time (or close to normal anyway!)

Well for me it took about a week or so for my tummy not to look pregnant anymore. I looked about 6mths preg until my uterus was back to it's normal size. The skin is saggy because its been stretched a lot and hasnt had time to tone up yet.

Sorry hun, you won't look like the movies. Your belly is like a big saggy empty sack. LOL. It just hangs there, looking disgusting. But the good news is that it does go back pretty fast. Perhaps not as tight as it was, that part takes time, and a fair bit of it.

*Snap* with what the other girls have said. My feet swelled up sooo much after I had Oscar so be prepared for that too! They went down within the first week though. Be prepared to look like you have just had breast implants when your milk comes in, it doesn't last for too long though when you get into a feeding habit (if u are bfing) and if you don't bf they will go down soon enough.

As the others have said.... you wont even care or really pay any attention to your body as bubs will be taking up all your time.... you WILL just sit and stare in awe!

I forgot about the feet swelling - worse after birth than when I was pregnant. Jelly belly was gross for a few weeks, now still a bit jiggly but probably no worse than pre-pregnancy.
Big golf ball sized clots every time I went to the loo, TMI but sometimes when I pulled my undies down a huge one would slide off the pad onto the floor. Yuck.
Cramps in you tummy when you bf. Apparently the hormones when feeding help shrink the uterus, it hurts.

Yep all the above lol! Don't do what I did and take pre-preg clothes into hospital with you - I ended up going home, in tears, in my pyjamis!

Your belly goes really strange. I remember prodding mine and I couldn't get over how soft it was! What else...Like Oshani said - huge boobs! My eyes went all puffy but I think that was from lack of sleep so keep some cucumber or an eye mask in the fridge.

Good luck with everything!

I agree with the wobbly belly, mine was jiggly too but you have to expect that as you have been carrying a baby in there for 9 months. No-body will even notice because they'll all be looking at your gorgeous new bub anyway!

My vagina was sooooo swollen (at least it felt like it was!) & I had stitches too. I was scared to "push" for any reason when sitting on the toilet. I think that lasted about 2 weeks?? Could have been a little less or a little more but it does pass soon enough.

I was hugely suprised & very happy that I went straight back into my pre-baby clothes the day after DD was born so you dont have to be a movie star to have it happen, just lucky I guess. Don't rule it out as you may be pleasantly surprised too. I did have the "baby belly" underneath of course haha.

Just remember there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a "baby belly" it's something you should be proud of, not everyone can carry their own baby so its something we should all appreciate (& I'm sure all of us here at BB do)

Everything will be back to normal in no time because you'll find time will fly with your little one & you'll wake up one day & think where did my baby belly go?? Hey I can go to the toilet without feeling like everything might "fall out" (how I felt) etc

I hope this has helped & made some sense!! I agree there are alot of things that people dont tell you about PG & having a baby which is why this site is so fantastic! Everyone is so helpful :)

Good luck for when your time comes, I hope its as short & pain free as possible.

Soft tummy looking 5 months gone, but shrank 80% really fast. I was swollen plus even my arms and thighs, feet were awful. Boobs were impressive! They took attention away from the tummy!! I had a c section so had those staples and scar but it healed really well. I have no stretch marksbut have some spare loose skin now.

The leakiness was what I didn't like, boobs and bits, for weeks.

Ditto to everything that's already been mentioned for me. Even now Alister is 7wks old I still have a tummy, but the worse thing is there is a little bit of overhang now too that I never got with the other three - I carried him quite low and I think that's what the difference is. I'm another one who still can't quite fit into pre-pg clothes again and that's a bit depressing, but after my first bub I never took pre-pg clothes to hospital, just mat ones because 1 it saves you going home depressed that they don't fit and 2, your DH doesn't have to rush home to find you something that will fit.

Another thing was my skin looked terrible! all over I was so dry and my face was yuck, so take a good moisturiser for your body/face.

Saggy of the tum and puffy of the face and ankles.

My tummy looked like a deflated balloon. It's alright now though. Reasonably flat besides the loose skin

I looked about 5 weeks pregnant but it wasn't hard like in pregnancy, just soft & spongy EEWW!

I also swelled up ALOT in my legs. So much so that the pant I wore before going into the hospital wouldn't get up past my knees. M entire legs were swollen & stayed that way for about three days then went down over the next two weeks. That said, I'm not sure if that was to do with the emergency c/s or if it's normal.

Yep flubby tummy here, but I had my pre preg tummy back within about a month. I only put on 7kg in total and had 3-4L of fluid and 2.8kg baby so not much was weight. I went 4 weeks early too, so didn't really have the time to pack on weight at the end.

Sarah did you have a GA with the emergency CS? I was puffiest after Angies birth and I had a GA for MROP. I'm certain that it contributed to my puffiness.

Nup I already had an epi in so that was just topped up.

I had emergency C/S my tummy looked yep like a deflated balloon I still have a bit of a pot belly 5 month on....

I remember when the Doctor pressed my tummy to feel my uterus etc and her hand almost got swollowed up it was so grose...

Oh well was just a thought ;)

:lol: at all our descriptions! Beautiful stuff isn't it!

Much the same here...Tummy was like a big ball of dough (you know after it has risen, but before you cook it, and is all soft and stretchy?!)..Lying down mine looked flat, but when I stood up my 'baby bump' returned...I also had a tear and FAR OUT my peri was SOOO black and bruised (didn't expect to see that)..I didn't have that much bleeding..I did feel really short of breath for the days and weeks following the birth..and yep, when that milk comes in it was exactly like having a boob job and very ouchy...think that's about all.

All the best, curse those damn tv shows/movies lol

Straight after my daughter was born my tummy looked triangular. The next day it looked like a pot belly with a little bit of sagginess. It looked quite yuk actually becuse I got a lot of skin pigmentation on my tummy and my linea nigra was very dark, and it all looked darker because of the skin not being stretched any more. This gradually faded though and its not so noticeable now. It didnt take long for my tummy to go back to normal size though - maybe about 2 weeks or so - as I didnt put on any weight.

umm I was also very sore as I had a long pushing stage of labour resulting in a huge amount of swelling and bruising down there. It looked terrible! Really not what I was expecting.

My fingers nd feet were also still a bit swollen nd I wasnt able to put my rings back on for a week or two.

I can see that you have plenty of answer but no-one mention ( or maybe I was the only one) that after my 1st I really remember quite clearly that when I had to walk down to where they were keeping DS ( came to fast so he had to have some oxegen for 24hrs ) that my sagy defated tummy swayed with every step I took it was horrible. I didnt last long only a few days but that is the strogest memory I have of the 1st few days.
I am only a small girl so I went back to what people thought was my shape within a few mths ( as I can wear alot of dress's and lucky for you they are the big fashion right now), but really to get me back to my real size takes me about a year as I put on over 25kgs I cant see the scales after that and they dont weigh you up here, so I would have put on more as that weight in around 30weeks LOL but who cares you get a wonderful baby at the end. Good luck and enjoy whats to come.

I agree about the skin - mine was really dry too. Also, because my 2nd stage was about 1.5 hours, I had pushed so hard I had burst lots of little blood vessels on my face! No one else seemed to notice it... they probably looked like little pimples. But when I looked in the mirror before going to bed that night I was so weirded out by my face, LOL!
I was also frightened to push when on the loo... It did feel very different down there for a while.

I agree with Amy, I was terrified to push for fear of everything falling out, I had an episiotomy too so tht added to the fear. I think I felt alright down there in regards to pain and pooping about 5 days after birth.

Someone mentioned they were out of breath - I was too! I lost a fair amount of blood though (not TOO much but more than the norm) and they put it down to that.

Haha yeah I was scared to go to the loo for a poo as well. When I was leaving the hospital, they gave me a laxative to help me along. I'm so glad I took it!

umm yeah I was in a lot of pain and unable to sit without having tears in my eyes. That was one of the hardest things for me i think. I just couldnt get into a comfortable position at all, especially when brestfeeding.

Not a silly question. On my back in recovery I was thrilled my tummy was flat, the next day I sat up and it still looked 3-4m gone, gutting! It was really hard to do up my pre-preg jeans on days 2-6, but by day 7 it was back to normal.

I look about 2m gone still, it's just the skin shrinking back and I hate it! I want my flat tum again.

Breasts never really increased, I'm still only just a B-cup, my episiotomy scar is still uncomfortable and I'm still psychologically scarred from the hand (DH really annoys me about that because he keeps "forgetting" about it - wish I could!), but otherwise I'm "normal" again and was from within a week of giving birth. Oh, aside from I can no longer do 8-9 hours without a wee, it's more like 3 hours at a time.

Edit: you girls push on the loo? Mine are still pretty liquid, like in pregnancy, is that not normal?

I had an emeregency CS so didn't have much bleeding at all really just like a normal period.

My tummy was very soft though and still quite pudgy. I remember my niece saying to me in hospital "you still look pregnant" Thanks for that!!!

I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight by a week or so after but I only put on about 8 kg and it just fell off BF, this time though it's more like 15kg so I think I'll have to work at it.

My tummy was never as flat and hard afterwards, and I think my hips were a different shape too but when I look at my precious little man and feel my princess kicking I don't care. I'm not 22 anymore and I don't have my size 8 22 y.o body anymore (it's well and truely gone forever....) but I'm a Mummy and I'm happy and that's the important thing.

I was in pre preg clothes the day after, but as I said, I gained no weight.

Caryn-Never had liquid stools, but now 6 months on I do?!?!

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Edit: you girls push on the loo? Mine are still pretty liquid, like in pregnancy, is that not normal?

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Is it 'normal' for you? (ie was it like that pre-baby?) Your diet got plenty of fibre? In any pain?
Hmmm, I thought my preggo poos were kinda 'thin' because I was eating so much darn fruit. Maybe that's just another preggo thing I wasn't aware of... But I don't remember them staying that way... If it doesn't feel normal to you, I'd check it out. Just had a tummy bug on the weekend which reminded me that I HATE having the runs *shiver*
Other thing about that - the middies asked constantly the day after DD was born if I'd pooed yet. You'd think it was a matter of national importance. (Some of them were nice about it, a couple spoke to me like they were toilet training a child.) FHS, I'd been in labour for 24 hours, and had eaten a chuppa chup, a peppermint and a spoonful of jelly. Like it was surprising I hadn't been to the toilet yet :rolleyes:

Oh yeah tali, I hear you - the swaying wobbling middle section when you walk afterwards, how could I forget!!! Particularly obvious for me as I had bad SPD and had got a nice waddle up, which made the post baby belly wobbly beautifully in hospital!!!

Wow, thanks for your replies everyone, atleast I know what I'm in for now, so much to look forward to :)
All jokes aside, I just want to meet my little man and have some idea of what I'm going to feel like, thanks for that!!

My tummy is still a bit jelly like.
My tail bone hurt for about 2 weeks afterwards. VERY swollen feet and ankles for at least 2 weeks.
Felt like I couldnt walk properly for a good week. At 5 w pp, I couldnt coordinate my legs to run! lol
I too was scared to push, but everything was bvack to normal down there, apart from teh stitches, pretty quickly after the swelling went down.
I was worn out for days, probably cos I had a 36+ hour labour, although I didnt lose much blood.
not sure what else.
Good luck:)

i remember having a strip down my belly where my stomach muscles were parted...

i had a home birth, so spent the first few days of my babymoon in bed, being waited on my DP :) in my pj's, when i did get out of bed... i put on jeans. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to fit into a pair of jean i wore after i had put on a little bit of weight... i was an 8, i got into a 10. So everyone is different. everything was very swollen, and peeing was a nightmare, i had some grazes... but i had a jug of warm water ready each time i went for a wee... it sounds weird, but pouring warm water over your vagina if you have grazes is a godsend.

My mum warned my about haemmeriods (sp?) but thank goodness i didnt get them...

good luck!

Does anyone else have the little saggy bit ? Had a c/s and now when i look at the mirror side on (and suck my tummy in hehe) i still have this saggy bit at the bottom of my tum..it just hangs there.. have been going to the gym...ok once a week might not be enough but i didnt have much weight to loose either...just wanted to tone the saggy bits.. i feel like clothes dont look the same and dont wear some of them coz of the saggy bit being visible.Its almost like the 6 kgs i put on during pregnancy all sunk down to the bottom of my tum!

From the head down:

My throat was sore and my voice was hoarse because they told me not to push so i ROARED (to let the pushing pressure out my mouth instead of letting it push down into my bum - your diaphragm engages to push no matter HOW hard you're fighting it, so mooing then roaring was all i could do to not push) for the last 90 minutes of the labour. Until she was crowning and they said (in shocked voices - first time mum, <4 hour labour) i could push, then i pushed and she was born in that one push.

My boobs were ok right after birth but my milk came in on day 3 and they were in both shape and size EXACTLY like two footballs (rugby, not soccer) and about as hard too. They say feeding often can help you avoid getting engorged but DD was feeding every 90-120 minutes so i guess i'd have needed twins to avoid it. They were really sensitive but i wouldn't say painful. That eased a few days later. I was unprepared for the fact that when DD cried, once my milk came in, i got strong let-down i couldn't feel in my boob but i could feel when it dripped onto my feet! The 4th night i was changing her nappy and she was crying and i had freezing milk (the room was cold) soaking my t-shirt and dripping onto my feet!

Because of the roaring and the pregnancy in general my ribs were sore. Also, the weirdest thing (i'd LOVE to hear from anyone else who had this!) my diaphragm was exhausted. In the shower, after the birth, i couldn't breathe out! I had to lean forward and let my belly hang so the muscles were more in the pre-birth position (when they were stretched over bubs) so i could breathe out. I could breathe in ok, but somehow the tone when i relaxed my diaphragm was gone. This wore off to a great extent by about day 4, but i did feel quite breathless at times for about a week.

My belly was still big and spongey/flabby. There was actually less fat there than before i got PG as i lost weight when pregnant, but the extra skin and poor muscle tone meant nothing was "held in". Pulling my muscles tight had little effect for about a week, then i began to be able to get a flatter look by sucking it in.

My pubic bone ached from the actual delivery, i really felt it cranking open as her head was born, and it felt a bit bruised for about 3 days. My vagina felt like a horse had kicked it. It was swollen and hot and felt bulging. I had a little tear (no stitches) into my perineum but i didn't feel it happening and i only felt it after when i put my aromatherapy gel preparation (made by my midwife) on it, which felt warm and burny but not unpleasant. I pooped the day after labour and had no problems. My bladder control was a bit hit and miss for a few days. But you know what, i got the impression that it wasn't that i couldn't hold my urine in (weakened muscles) but that i couldn't FEEL when i needed to go (numbed nerves) as it felt like i got the urge to pee just as it began to run out of me - i only ever leaked a little as i dashed to the loo and the meternity pads always caught it. My midwife told me to do a set of kegels after let-down everytime i fed DD and that really helped me get sensation/control back.

I lost my water retention really fast, and was less swollen after birth than before. I can remember on day 3 the midwife said to me "how are your legs?" (meaning did they hurt, checking for possible thrombisis) and laughed at me because i exclaimed "They're really thin! Look!" and swung them out of bed to be examined.

HTH

Bx

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My bladder control was a bit hit and miss for a few days. But you know what, i got the impression that it wasn't that i couldn't hold my urine in (weakened muscles) but that i couldn't FEEL when i needed to go (numbed nerves) as it felt like i got the urge to pee just as it began to run out of me - i only ever leaked a little as i dashed to the loo and the meternity pads always caught it.

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OMG Me too. I was secretly hoping I wasnt the only one who had this. My husband didnt wnt to know about it when I told him. He made me feel like a bit of a freak!

*My lips were all cracked and my throat was very very sore

*My boobs were ok but my milk came in on day 3 and I just had to much milk (Went from A cup to C- D cup) that I was always having to express (& when I would get in the shower they would just spray,lol)so after a few days of this they were rock hard, everytime I lift my arms abit they would hurt.. I couldnt sleep cause they hurt so much.

*Right after having DD my tummy looked like a deflated balloon then after a month I was about a size 8-9...then shortly after returned to a size 6 (I was happier with my body after having DD, just wished my tummy was toned)

*Down there I was black as..very very bruised and I had a sharp pain whenever i stood up for like a week or so.

Straight after I gave birth, I looked a lot thinner because I retained fluid like nobody's business when I was pregnant. I have stretch marks on my calves instead of my thighs, thats how bad the fluid retention was!!

Straight after my waters broke (before I gave birth), my tummy became quite soft and looked a bit deflated. Straight after I gave birth, I thought I looked terrible. Everything was so saggy and wobbly and hung funny lol. Nearly four months after, the situation has improved dramatically. My tum is still fairly soft and hangs a little, but it doesn't look all deflated and wonkily stretched out. It still sticks out a bit because my muscles haven't finished regaining their tone (not because I'm a tad fat or anything lmao), but I look a lot better than I thought I would.

well yep to all of the above the 'waterbed belly' swollen vagina, stitches, I managed to miss the swollen feet but nobody else mentioned the unmentionable........Hemeroids!!!!! I'm still battling with mine and the dc's won't do anything to fix them because I want to have at least one more baby.

haha all of the above!!! I also have bad pigmentation on my tummy and not to mention it is so saggy. Oh well, the things we go through to have babies, but its all worth it

Straight after birth my tummy was like an empty sack of potatoes, it made me pretty ****ed off as I had the weird idea that id look like Carmen Electra 5 min after the birth! It took me probably until my daughter was about 6months old until I regained my post baby weight (and to my suprise I ended up weighing less that I did pre-baby)
However....certain things have never sat quite the same and my tummy is not as strong or as tight looking as it once was... my stretchmarks are very vague and barely noticeable.
How your body looks after having a baby really is not a priority at the time, you may think it will be but you will have so many other things to occupy your time with that you'll forget about what you look like, including what day it is, whether its day or night or what your name is. Just buy a pair of tracky daks and a bonds tshirt and stress later... it wont happen over night but it will happen.
You need to eat well also, dont skimp on food to lose weight if your breast feeding, you need all your energy and goodness in your milk for your little bubs. You'll be fine :-)