I'm nearly 7 weeks PP and finally went shopping at Old Navy to get some cheap clothes to fit my PP body...was sick of wearing the few summer maternity things I had. I was 123 at 5 ft 3 per pref and I am now 145, so just over 20 lbs to still lose. I usually wore a 4 and sometimes a 6. I was shocked to find that a size 12 was the most comfortable size for my new body. I expected to be a few sizes up, but this really surprised me and made me feel like not only am I heavier than normal, but my frame (hips) must be basically changed as well. I am proud of what my body went through for our beautiful boy, but I am a bit down in the dumps about this. It feels superficial, but it is how I feel. Will I ever be able to remotely approach the old me once I am cleared for exercise? Right now it seems impossible!
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Don't be discouraged.
It is necessarily your weight, it is the distributuion of it. For example, You might need a size 12 because your belly is bigger or your chest is obviously bigger, but maybe not so much your arms and shoulders.
I had a ahrd time finding pants for those first couple of weeks because my hips and butt were huge, but my thighs and calfs were still small.
Same with shirts, they were snug to the belly but loose on the shoulders. I had to just look sucky until I lost the weight, because the distribution of things was all out of whack.
I know this isn't what you want to hear: But, I lived off of maxi dresses, and leggings with tunics, open cardigans with camis underneath...things like that. Leaving the cardigan open will allow you to wear your old size because it won't have to fit your breasts and belly. Leggings will accentuate your calfs but will stretch for a bigger butt or hips. -
I had the same issue. I was a size 2 prepregnancy and got sick of wearing maternity jeans and ended up buying a size 10 or something and was really upset (not that I think it's a big size at all, it was just so far off from where I was before). Now at 7 months post partum I and 10 lbs below my pre pregnancy weight. I feel my body looks almost the same as before. Just bigger boobs from nursing and stretch mark (boo!). My hips have definitely shrunken back to how they were before.
Lucky for me I delivered in the winter so I stuck with my one pair of jeans, leggings and cardigans. Also flowy shirts disguised things pretty well too.
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My frame definitely changed- postpartum I lost the weight quickly but still couldn't ft into prepreg jeans for a few months after that. Now like @mamaj I'm below prepreg weight and recently bought yet another size because prepreg clothes are now too baggy. I have done zilch except EBF and chase my baby. I know it is hard but be patient! It will get better. Cut yourself lots of slack your body has done amazing things .)
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This was me.
I totally thought I'd be back in my pre pregnancy clothes after giving birth but uh, no..
Give yourself time. For me, it was around the 9 month mark that I could fit in my pre pregnancy jeans without muffin top. I couldn't shake the last 10lbs while breastfeeding on demand.
Now at a year and a half later, I'm still a cup size up - so lots of my old dress shirts won't fit. But I weigh less than before pregnancy and the rest of me is thinner. -
I was a 6 pre-preg, and at around 8 weeks pp I went shopping and was buying 12s. But it did come off! By 10 months pp I was in a 4.
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You're only 7 weeks pp mama!! I feel like it takes a while for everything to fall back into place. I'm now 9 months pp and while I can wear all of my old clothes things do fit differently - mostly still bigger boobs from nursing and this belly that I can't kick (still always ravenous, I blame the BFing).
Anyway - when I was 7 weeks I still think I was swollen from the labor! I couldn't get my rings back on until about 12 weeks or so - and it was winter! You've got the heat to contend with also.
I wouldn't worry too much.... Give yourself a little time still, and know you can save those old navy items for your next babe pp
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@Maybebaby: I was a 4 (a 2 in many dresses, but mostly a 4 in jeans) pre-pg (5'7" and 135) and I couldn't even fit into a pair of size 10 jeans when I first got home from the hospital. I am still up 20 pounds from my pre-pg weight, but now I am currently (as in this very moment) sitting in my office in size 8 jeans. I also wondered if my hips had widened, but at this point, I know that my chances of fitting back into all of my pre-pg jeans are really really great once I lose the rest of the weight. I am also 10 months pp though, and BFing has made it so much harder than normal to lose weight! (I am *not* one of the lucky ones!) But I am being patient, and have set a goal of losing the rest of the weight by LO's first birthday.
FWIW, I never in a million years thought I would hold on to the weight for this long. It has been difficult emotionally, but I am learning to be patient with my body, and more appreciative of my body! I want to kick mahselfs in the ass for ever letting myself think that I was *fat* at 135! *shakeshead* I don't know what the hell was wrong with me!
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My body has just.. Shifted? If that's the right word to use?
I gained a lot of weight trying to get pregnant, a lot of weight while pregnant, and it took me a REALLU long time to lose all the baby weight.
I'm currently 10lbs less than I was before I got pregnant, but still one size bigger (pants and shirt) than before. It's like my hips permanently widened, and my boobs never went down in size.
Maybe I'm one of the unlucky ones?!
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@MsLipGloss: you think BFing has made it harder to lose weight? Why? I have secretly been thinking this! I thought in the beginning it helped, or maybe it was just time... But now I feel like its making me more hungry than I would be if I wasn't BFing! (Sorry for the sidetrack maybebaby)
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@hellobeeboston: YES. In a nutshell, a BFing body is in many ways like a pregnant body. Hormones (nasty lil' buggers!) produced during the breastfeeding stages *help* a woman maintain fat stores to help feed her and baby (although this is not the kind of *help* I wanted or needed! lol) Once babies are weaned, many women see weight loss as hormone levels return to normal.
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You'll get there!!! My body is now starting to look like itself now that I'm not lactating anymore. Looking back, I was still really bloated and puffy 7 weeks PP.
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Thanks for all the feedback--makes me feel more normal! I know I need to be patient. And I should have said earlier--it isn't the size I am bothered by, just how far that size is from my pre-preg size!
It is heartening to hear that generally people do get close to where they were, it just sounds like it takes time. After all, 9 months to put it on, right?
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@MsLipGloss: Ahhh - thank you!! I'm down to morning/evening nursing and sometimes pumping once a day at work, but trying to drop it... Eventually I guess I will be down to once a day nursing but I'm not sure how to do it - a want to TTC again soon and no AF yet for me! I attribute your theory to my belly chub.
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@maybebaby: I've been optimistically trying on my pre-preg jeans at 2w pp, and I reaaaaaally need to stop. I'm already below my highest weight pre-preg, and nothing is even close to fitting. I know I'm being stupid as I'm 2 flippin weeks pp, but gahhh... I just want my clothes to fit!
So really, just commiserating with you
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Mine just sort of permanently changed PP. I was also one of the lucky ones that did not lose at all while BF. I am 5'10" and was an 8, sometimes wore a 6 in dresses pre preg, and at a year PP, before I got pregnant again, I was a size 10, some 8s for dresses. I could wear some of my 8 dress pants again. I was still up 10 lbs, but my hips are permanently wider, my rib cage is wider, and my boobs after BF actually stayed 2 cup sizes bigger- enough that the extra 10 lbs lost wasn't going to put me back in my pre-preg size. I've made peace with it- our bodies do amazing things when it comes to growing, birthing and nourishing a little human. Also, 7 weeks is still so soon, even celebs aren't back in shape yet! Go easy on yourself, mama.
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I am almost 7 weeks PP too and I'm in the same boat! Nothing fits at all. I'm happy to see all these other posters saying they eventually lost the weight, because mine hasn't budged much since 2 weeks postpartum.
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I am 18weeks PP and I have lost all the weight but still up at least a pant size since everything shifted. I am sick of wearing maternity pants to work, so I am just going to suck it up and buy some pants in a bigger size. I have one pair of jeans I can wear, but aren't super comfortable.
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@maybebaby: I'm 12 weeks pp and within 2 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight. I lost it all within 6 weeks, without any real exercise and with breastfeeding I guess. Don't hate me though, because all of my pre-pregnancy clothes still don't fit and I had to buy some bigger clothes too. 1-2 sizes bigger depending on what they were. I could have worn size 6 shorts before, but now I have 10's and they squeeze my waist/belly.
I feel like it's not my overall size/weight, it's more of a different shape now. Like I have the little jelly belly/pooch that depresses me most
And of course bigger boobs.I need to find the time/energy to exercise because I'd love to lose more weight and firm up a little.
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I was a 4 pre pregnancy and had to wear size 10 for the first few months after baby!
It was all officially gone by 9 months pp....it took a while.
I got back down to a size 6 with all the weight gone, but probably won't be a 4 again because my rib cage, hips, and boobs are all much bigger. I went from a 32D to a 36DD.
And of course bigger boobs.
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