Nope. I wasn't tiny before, or super fit, but after 2 kids I'm 10 lb below where I was before kid 1 and generally a size smaller. I have a bit more of a belly but I haven't put much effort into not having one. #1 did more damage to my poor vag than kid #2 did, and happily I only pee when I want to at this point.
Post by loskadoodle on Oct 19, 2014 20:39:12 GMT -5
Baby 2 gave me tons of stretch marks but he was 1.5lbs and an inch bigger than ds1. I'm only 2 months pp but still have 10lbs to lose from ds1 and 20 to get back to pp weight.
3 was much much worse. After the first I had all the time in the world to make myself look good and feel better. And the depressed/stressed state I was in, I lost all the baby weight ASAP.
2 was all right. Lost all the weight by 9 months but shape was just different and not necessarily in a bad way. I was fine with it. Physically though it took awhile. H dislocated my hip and that was pain. I still felt it pregnant with number 3.
3 kicked my a$$. Too much weight gain that I'm still trying to drop 8 months later that I can't seem to make happen no matter what I do or try. The dr. told me that non-sleeping baby wasn't helping in that regard. Now that he sleeps at least better I've noticed a drastic difference in just the past month.
I did luck out in the stretch mark department..so there's that I guess.
1 I got stretch marks under my belly button but no serious long term damage.
2 I didn't really get any new stretch marks & my stomach bounced back pretty quick. First kid I nursed & some mild changes.
3 my stomach got a permanent pooch/flap...it is awful. I got new stretch marks above belly button. My boobs looked like crap after nursing her. My vag & bladder got messed up. I blame her size more than her number. She was 1.5lbs more than any if my others.
4 my body didn't change at all except boobs from nursing #3 extended. They suck now. She was less than 7lbs & I swear the size played a big part for me...I certainly much older (8.5yrs older than when I had my first).
Ugh as I'm currently pregnant with # 2, this thread scares me. Dd did very little damage.. I'm worried now ;('
Take comfort in hearing that many of us who say our body isn't the same also recognize that we're not doing enough/anything to change that. Some of it is just aging and would happen to some people anyway, thoug some people certainly get lucky in that department! I don't blame DS2 for my body not being bikini friendly...I blame the McDonald's I had for dinner tonight as well as the unused gym membership that I have. I'm busier now, and have less time/motivation to be healthy...but it's not that I COULDN'T get my body back in shape, it's that I HAVEN'T. My fault, not the kids!
My mom claims it was the third child that fucked her body up forever.
Anecdote I have told before. My mom was always going on diets to make weight for the Reserves (I think their standards were different back then, she had to be approximately 140 pounds at 5'5" if I recall correctly). Normally just like 10 pounds or whatever. She finally got out and she was on a diet again and we were all like WTF mom you look great. And she kept making herself separate gross dinners, etc. So one night we were giving her a hard time (we were teenagers) and she finally LIFTED UP HER SHIRT to show us her stomach and was like "DOES THIS LOOK FINE TO YOU?"
My eyes. Genetics are not in my favor for a great naked post 3 children body. Luckily (?) I only plan on two.
ETA: My mom still looks great for her age in most situations, including in a bathing suit, but I now know what lurks beneath
Yeah well my mom at almost 60 can still rock a bikini in the backyard and look better than Me! That is worse lol!!! Dh and I know two people who have had their 3rd in the last year and I have to say seeing them struggle with weight after bouncing back twice really makes me think I will stick to two!!
I'll be the outlier. I'm in better shape now at 32 after three kids than I was before I had my first.
Do I have stretch marks? Yup. Do I care? Nope. I'm back to a size medium, size 6, the noticeable flub is gone, my hips aren't any wider than when they started. I really don't feel all that different than before kids. I have a slight little bump above my csection scar but that's only really noticeable when I'm naked.
I bought a bikini for Hawaii and if I get the nerve, stretch marks won't stop me. But I have literally worked my ass off the last few months. My weight isn't dramatically less but that's because I've toned up. Now, my boobs are sad after BFing three kids, lol. Oh well. Maybe I'll buy some fake ones someday.
Your post makes me really happy. For you, and for me for future #2. lol
My body is softer in areas and my hips are wider but overall it's hanging in there. I was at my normal weight 1 week PP with #5. I need to tone my tummy and would not wear a bikini but I am lucky. I also have small breasts and don't anticipate much droop after I wean.
Post by bunnymendelbaum on Oct 19, 2014 22:17:46 GMT -5
Somewhat.
I lost all my weight quickly both times, but now I have a little pooch below my belly button. It irritates me so much that I've start core exercises and I hate core exercises. (I like to run.)
My boobs are tiny and sad, but they were never super awesome anyway. Meh.
I will say, sexy after DD1 felt the same. I thought the same after DD2, until about a year later when I realized I've lost some sensation. I'm really bummed.
ETA: I still wear a bikini because I like to, DH says I look good and IDGAF what anyone else thinks.
When TTC #1, I wore a size 6. I gained 50 pounds while pregnant.
After baby 1, I was up to a 12 right after birth. It took me a year to be happy with my body again, and 2 years to get down to a size 8, right before we started TTC again, lol...
Right after having DD2, I wore a size 12 again. I got back down to a 10 within a year. I've been working out like crazy (but not dieting at all) and I feel very happy with my body right now. I wear a size 10 but I have huge boobs and a big butt.
I just rocked the hell out of a bikini last week in Vegas. So, no, I don't think my body is wrecked, at all. I'm not 25 and childless anymore, my body has made two humans...so I'm very happy with how it looks now.
Not really. I actually got lower weight wise after DS2 than I did with DS1. Didn't get stretchmarks with either pregnancy. Had/have low hanging belly fat after DS1 that took a bit longer to reduce after DS2 (it's never really gone away and it may be here to stay).
Ask in my in 6 months about what baby #3 has done...
I mean, that labor/delivery was physically harder on me (she was twice as big as my tiny DD1 was, lol) and my appendix ruptured 2 weeks later (unrelated, but fun to mention), and my whole bottom half was a lot more roughed up than the first time around, but after the healing period, I was solid.
I started working out and watching what I eat when she was about 8 months old and I'm back to the same size now that I was before kids.
Post by formerlyllizzyb on Oct 20, 2014 7:01:25 GMT -5
I'm clinging to those of you who said nope. I was back at pre pg weight by six weeks pp after #1 and got even lower through bfing. My stomach was a bit softer and boobs less perky, but overall I felt okay about my appearance.
I'm now pg with #2 and inching close to the weight I delivered at with #1....and I have 11 more weeks I started this pg 5 lbs heavier and the weight has gone straight to my butt and thighs. Blah.
The weight just melted off last time and I ate like a pig. I'm not hopeful for round two.
I didn't need to read this either lol. I didn't gain a lot of pregnancy weight with #1 but I've held onto all of it. That's typical me though. It's hard to gain/lose but I can maintain like a champ.
I don't even much care about the floppy tummy - I've had that since high school.
Post by undecidedowl on Oct 20, 2014 7:59:19 GMT -5
I'm due with #2 in a week and there are definitely some parts that will be worse this time. I got a lot more stretchmarks and gained more weight. For now, I'm just going to cross my fingers for a good recovery.
Post by narockshard on Oct 20, 2014 8:08:49 GMT -5
I've only had 1, but I feel like that completely wrecked by body and I can't imagine it getting worse I mean, I guess I still fit into most of my old clothes, but I highly doubt my boobs will never be the same, I have stretch marks, and my stomach is soooo floppy, and my belly button isn't where it used to be anymore With clothes I look fine I think, but I'm not sure I'll every be in a bikini again. Granted, I'm 4 months out and haven't been working out consistently, but I don't know if my issues can be fixed with exercise anyway (i.e. the loose, stretch marked, gross belly skin I have now).
Post by runblondie26 on Oct 20, 2014 8:49:45 GMT -5
I definitely don't have my pre-kids body anymore, but all the changes came with the 1st pregnancy (slighlty wider hips, went up a 1/2 shoe size, etc).
As far as my c-section scar goes, it healed very flat an smooth again this time. I don't think I look any different after having baby #2. I'm fit and (mostly) happy with my body.