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I'm almost 9 months postpartum and still feel like a frump. I'm working on it and trying not to be too hard on myself. 5 weeks is so early after delivery. You should really be proud you only have 8 lbs left. You'll get there. It just takes time.

@PrincessBaby: I know how you feel. You're only 5 weeks out but whether it's 5 weeks or 5 months postpartum it still stinks feeling that way. Don't go crazy, Harper's gonna get so big so fast. It's important to feel good about yourself but enjoy your time with your baby too. I was borderline depressed when it came to obsessing over weight/looks and looking back, it was such a waste of time. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and abs intact, no stretch marks and even got to keep some extra boobs! I'm 1000% more confident than I ever was before, it was worth the wait

Right there with you. 9 weeks pp now and feel like that all the time but DH strangely loves it and says he's enjoying both shapes, lol. I can't wait to get back into my 30DS...which is actually what I was doing when I got the phone call from the clinic to say I was preg! But my knees took a battering in pregnancy so I'm a bit worried about pain when I start working our again. Ahhh I just want to be thin, lol.

5 weeks PP and you only have 8lbs to lose, that is awesome! I know we are own worse critic but don't be so hard on yourself. I am sure you DH still thinks you are super sexy. Enjoy the time with Harper!

@PrincessBaby: I think you are being too hard on yourself. Don't they say it takes 9 months to put it on, give yourself time to take it off? Not to mention, you haven't had a relaxing 5 weeks, with all the jaundice issues you and H had to deal with! It sounds like you are doing it just right-- enjoying your time with your new baby. The rest will come!

(This comes from someone who A) sucks at pushing myself to go to the gym as it is, and B) is only 11 weeks pregnant... so take it for whatever it's worth

@PrincessBaby: Point 1 (coming with love from someone with an eating disorder and body image issues): This seems to be more about your self esteem than your actual physical condition. Do you have a history of an eating disorder and/or body dysmorphia?
You are only 5 weeks postpartum. It takes a long time to heal and for some reason America has changed us to think that as soon as baby pops out your body just goes right back. It does not.
I am almost 8 months pp and I have 1.4 pounds to go. I feel like a frump when I wear crappy clothes but I look pretty much like my old self. The tummy is a little softer than before but fully clothed I look the same. At 5 weeks pp I still had a good sized tummy going and my ribs were wide.

Try your best to do affirmations or something that will help with your self image because your body will come back to its own at its own pace.

Point 2. Be good to yourself. You are responsible now for one more person. Your LO needs you and can sense what you are feeling. Think positive. I know it is very hard but it matters.
Don't call yourself names on the internet--even if it seems like it is in jest you will remember it later. You just made a miracle. You are awesome, so is your body.

I totally know what you mean but you look great! H shouls start sleeping more soon.

I'm back to prepregnancy weight but I was overweight when I got pregnant. I really want to use this opportunity to bring my weight down even more.
Because of my c section I'm not even cleared to drive, let alone work out.

@eeh: Yeah, I wasn't cleared to workout besides (not fast) walking until 10 weeks.
Give your body time to heal. If you push it too soon, it will push back.

@PrincessBaby: First off, I think you done an amazing job during pregnancy. I would kill to look like you postpartum than I looked prepregnancy.

I think you should focus on exercising and doing some fun stuff for yourself but don't try to hurt yourself by doing too much. I know that my doctor wouldn't have approved me doing that much and I didn't even carry full-term.

Cut yourself some slack - it's been 5 weeks, your body will return to normal before you know it. I'm similar to you - was always in shape with a flat stomach and pretty happy with the way I looked. Like you, I struggled with the post pregnancy body but pretty quickly decided that it wasn't something I was going to fixate on as I wanted to savour every second with my beautiful baby girl. I just continued living my somewhat healthy, normal lifestyle, minus the working out as I just didn't have the time or energy, and eventually my body came back.

I didn't realise I'd returned to my normal body until 5 months pp when I started trying on winter clothes to pack for our trip to the northern hemisphere. I pulled out my skinny jeans, sure they weren't going to fit, but I pulled them on and voila, they fit brilliantly. I had just started working out about three weeks prior to that but had only done so maybe 5 or 6 times so I knew it wasn't because of working out. It was just my body returning to the shape it naturally gravitates to, which is what will happen to you too. My flat stomach has returned and my hips and butt have slimmed down again, and I'm pretty much at my pre-preg weight.

Moral of the story - you WILL return to your former self give or take a few small changes and there is no point in stressing yourself out now to hurry the process along. 6 to 12 months seems to be the norm for when pre-preg bodies return so just give yourself time. To help in the interim, go buy yourself some nice clothes in a midway size - not maternity, but not pre-preg either. Wearing properly fitting, NON-maternity clothes did wonders for my self-esteem.

Sorry for the novel, just trying to let you know you're not alone and it will all come back in time.

@PrincessBaby: I think you look great. Shall I email you a pic of my belly so you feel better?
Be good to your body and don't push yourself too hard. The weight will come off--trust me! I gained 50+ with dd and it took a while, but I got back into my size 26 Hudsons before I got pregnant with DS.
I didn't take super good care of myself after I had my daughter and I paid for it during my 2nd pregnancy. My body hurt SO much it was misery. My mom warned me over and over again to be good to my body and to take it easy, but I didn't listen and learned my lesson the hard way.

I"m 3 months PP and I finally started working out again. I was bad and didn't work out much during my pregnancy besides walking in the evenings (however that was also due to a cyst so I was banned from all physical activity) but it felt good to get on the treadmill, even if it was just for 25 minutes. I am doing the couch to 5K program, and signed up for a 5K in May to keep me motivated.

@PrincessBaby: I understand how you feel, but I agree 100% with @rachiecakes:. I was very fit before and during pregnancy, and the new body really had me down. Even at 5 months pp, I was still holding on to 17 extra lbs. It took me 8 months to lose all of it. What really made a difference in how I felt about myself during that time was buying a few new clothes that complimented my new body.

I can tell you have drive, so you'll get back to it quickly. Just try to enjoy all the fun moments with your LO that go by so fast.

@PrincessBaby: It is tough. You have to do whatever works for you to give yourself some slack. For me, it was tracking my weight (which I know is a total no-no for some).
You will get your body back--and you may even feel better about yourself in 8 months than you did several years ago. It takes some effort and some love.
Also... hold back on exercise until you get officially cleared by your OB or you could injure yourself and then it will take even longer to heal (I messed up, tried too hard, couldn't work out till 10 weeks and was not doing very well at that point).

@ArtBee: "You win." This. Exactly.

@PrincessBaby: @PasteMoo is right (for so many reasons!) More specifically, if what you're calling yourself online is even a tenth of what you're saying to yourself in your head (and if you're anything like me, well, then wowsa) . . . (((hugs))).

I am 4 mos pp and still have a l-o-n-g way to go. I gained 60 pounds (that's right: 6-0) on my 5'7" (previously) 130 lb frame. A good bit of this was just fluid, so I've lost 30+ pounds already, but I won't be shimmying into my skinny jeans any time soon (god I miss my Paige's!). I also didn't get any stretchmarks, and you would think that would make me happy (and it does!), but I find myself focusing instead on the fact that I still have part of my linea nigra. WTF is wrong with me?! The emotional weight is almost debilitating!

BUT, I am trying to fight the good fight in that I am trying to be patient with my body in an effort to build a great relationship with myself (to limit the sometimes incessant negative self-talk), and to remember that my baby girl is going to see me as a role model in the real near future, and that while what I may never call myself fat/frumpy/gross etc. outloud, she will be able to sense how I feel about myself. And I don't want that for her! I want to her love and accept herself . . . but it has to start with me. And the same goes for you . . . fight the good fight!

As an aside, I pushed myself (physically) too hard too early, and got sidelined from physical activity for an additional few weeks. : /

@PrincessBaby: Di d you read "Does this pregnancy make me look fat?"

Have you heard the "9 months up and 9 months down"? Well, it's true. Your hormones are still out of whack, your body is in crisis mode trying to recover. Cut yourself a little slack.

I was told absolutely NO exercise until after I was cleared at 6 weeks pp. Things have to have a chance to heal. If you try to do too much too early, you can damage your muscles and tissues even more.

Also, BFing doesn't always equal weight loss. Some women (especially women who are very tiny) can hold on to a few extra pounds until they wean because their body needs the extra weight to keep up production. This happened to a friend of mine. She BFed and thought she was going to lose all her weight really quickly. She held on to the last 5lbs until her son was a year old. She weaned him and BAM that 5lbs was gone with no effort on her part.

I think 8lbs is ridiculously fantastic at 5 weeks pp. Give yourself a little more time to relax, enjoy your bebe, and take it easy. You're gorgeous, girl.

There is a lovely song by Ani Difranco called "Present/Infant"-
one of the verses is:
but now here's this tiny baby
and they say she looks just like me
and she is smiling at me
with that present/infant glee
and i would defend
to the ends of the earth
her perfect right to be

I have a tendency to be very hard on myself about my acne, which has gotten much worse during pregnancy. When I catch myself beating myself up I try very hard to remember that I want this little baby to feel so good about him or herself, and so I need to set the example of self love.
Try to be gentle on yourself. If you have a history of an ED, and you are noticing some of those old thought patterns coming back, it may be worth seeking out some counseling to help you get through this time.

You should read the new US weekly with Kourtney Kardashian on the cover...she talks about how she tried to do too much too quickly after the birth of her first child because she so badly wanted her body back and she basically passed out on the beach one day because she overdid it and wasn't healthy in her approach.

She also talks about what she did differently with this pregnancy and how much better it was that she took it slow.

@yoursilverlining: Totally agree.

I hope that you can get into a healthy mindset about your body and weight. I know how difficult it can be.