I'm trying really hard to just tone up - and I'm losing weight by doing so but seeing no huge improvement to my soft stomach and the little "pooch" that being pregnant left behind.
I was trying on all my old jeans and they all fit GREAT but they are all low-cut and my stomach hangs out over them unless I'm constantly sucking it in... I could be able to wear them all again if I am able to get rid of this pooch!
Was anyone able to tone up? Most moms keep telling me it will always be soft 
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
With baby 1, yes.
Baby 2.. omg. I have no idea. My skin is so much looser now it's freaking me out.
nectarine / 2039 posts
My tummy is back to the way it was before; but it was always a little soft (even though I'm a thin person and have very strong core muscles)....it's my soft spot and I'm okay with that.
coconut / 8279 posts
@Mrs. Pen: yes! everyone told me I never would either and I was really sad about it. It took a LOT longer than I thought but it did go back. I gained almost 60lbs!
I feel like I post pictures of my belly everywhere, but ah well, I want to tell every mom I know that all is not lost & don't let anyone get you down. I felt awful about myself for too long PP, if I could go back in time...
(eta: adding a 39 week photo for comparison, haha)
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@rachiecakes: yay! I remember your pic on IG you look amazing! Did you have a toned stomach before? Cause I didn't... it does seem that most who were toned pre-pregnancy are more likely to get it back??
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
@rachiecakes: loooove zexy mama. you are my inspiration for pp body!
coconut / 8305 posts
@Mrs. Pen: I was toned pre-pregnacy wtih DS and got TONS of stretch marks.... I never got my tummy back, I also never dropped on the weight though. This time I've lost all the weight and am back to about the same "squishiness" as I was before. I'm hoping that I'll be able to lose more and tone up atleast a little bit more!
honeydew / 7488 posts
@rachiecakes: wow I'm so impressed!
But I really think I can't get my flat abs back without a tummy tuck.
coconut / 8279 posts
thanks!! 
the skin is a little softer, especially on my lower abs but I'm not complaining, not even a little bit. I took almost a year PP for me to start feeling better about myself and lose the weight. I was told over and over, friends, coworkers, family, that it would never go back and to just get over it. I wish I would've been kinder to myself, it does take time.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@rachiecakes: it's been almost 11 months for me. I lost all the baby weight by working out 2-4x a week by 6 months, and I'm down another 5 lbs so all my clothes fit now but I am very soft with a pooch.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
My abs came back - I'm not sure exactly when it happened but by 6 months PP, I had my flat tummy back with the outline of my ab muscles starting to show again. I always heard that your stomach never goes back to pre-baby days but I am happy to see that's not always the case!
coconut / 8279 posts
@Mrs. Pen: That's amazing that you did that in 6 months!
I have this weird indent where like, lower ab meets pubic bone. I'm also up a cup size, but my boobs are flatter and saggier - totally different shape and density. I'd probably have to lose another few to fit into all of my old clothes but if it happens, it happens, if not, I'm sure I'll find something to wear
coconut / 8279 posts
Here's Gwen Stefani in 1998 and 2009 after two kids. Obviously she's a freak of nature, haha. But her abs look better now than 15 years ago! (And the 2009 photo isn't airbrushed/altered - I took it myself!)
GOLD / pear / 1845 posts
no, my tummy is brutal. But to be fair, I haven't done any core work.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@rachiecakes: it seems all celebrities are freaks of nature
@Mrs. Superhero: that's exactly why I ask this question - everyone who tells me to give it up - it'll never tone up - is coming from moms who never tried and just expected it to... Not saying that's you - but I'm just wondering if I try, if it will
pomegranate / 3225 posts
I'm 8 weeks pp and HOLY MUFFIN TOP! I've started working out and doing planks but I'm not going on any crazy diets. My skin is definitely stretched out and I'm worried about fitting in my Closets full of beautiful expensive clothes ever again.
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@RachieCakes: Good for you for pushing through and not believing all of the negative comments. I am trying to be kind to myself and be patient, but my self-confidence has really taken a nose dive! Folks at work tell me I look great (my tummy is pretty much flat already, and my waist has narrowed), but I still don't feel like me, and I miss me! I could kick myself for being so critical of my pre-pregnancy self!
I still have a long way to go, but at 4.5 months pp, I am starting to see my old self in glimpses now and then, i.e., my ribcage has narrowed and I am starting to get definition back in my belly. I have the most work to do on my butt and thighs though . . . I am just trying to keep the faith and believe that it will all come back in time.
@MrsPen: I don't think you should give up! When I hear comments like that, I understand where they are coming from . . . the toll pregnancy takes on your body is incomprehensible to anyone who has not experienced it . . . but at the same time, it seems silly to think that it can't at least be improved!
I can totally relate to wanting everything to just bounce back on its own and for the weight to lose itself, but it's not gonna happen without some serious sweat and clean eating effort on my part. And this shouldn't be a surprise to me - I worked out hard and ate clean to maintain my body pre-pg, so why should I expect anything different now. Well, crazy hormones may have something to do with it . . . like, I just went through pg and child birth, so the least that could happen is that I get my body back, kthxbai! 
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
I think it just takes time for your body to snap back. Loose skin takes awhile, it's not like you can just lose fat; there are elastic properties to skin.
I've known women who have stayed soft and I've known women who have gotten their hard abs back...I think some of it's genetics but a lot of it is time and hard work!
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
@rachiecakes: That's a rocking body you have there! What an inspiration. As for Gwen Stefani - holy crap!! She does have a better bod 15 years later post-baby thatn pre-baby. Craziness.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
@rachiecakes: of course you are one smokin' hot mama!!! You look fantastic!!
My core is so much stronger after having 2 kids (I think my stomach muscles separated with WJ but not with LMW since they healed back after the first pregnancy and I carried her much wider and lower rather than all out front like my first). So after my second pregnancy (I'm 6 months PP now) I can definitely feel my ab muscles a lot more and my tummy is a lot flatter than after my first pregnancy. That being said, my tummy is crazy flabby and saggy. Time will definitely firm up the skin a bit, but there's no way I'll have a Gwen Stefani tummy without a tummy tuck. And major laser treatments for my stretch mark damage.
But that's ok... I never had a flat tummy before!! I was a little sad postpartum after the first, but this time around at least my stomach muscles are firm. The skin over my tummy is gross but no one sees that but me and Wagon Sr. (from time to time... heh). Since I never had a flat tummy I'm not worried about bikinis.
pomegranate / 3503 posts
My stomach was way better after my first. My skin feels even more stretched this time around. No matter what I do, I think there will still be some skin flab but that's okay, only my husband and I see it anyway.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
I did sit ups during my first two trimesters so I had a good starting place but after giving birth something was not right with my tummy. I kept trying to do stuff and it kept hurting. I'd back off for a month and then try to start sit ups again just to feel a not nice pain. This went on for awhile so I feel like I kinda got scared off sit ups. I had no qualms about wearing a bikini this summer though since it was a year after birth, tummy was flat just wasn't quite as tone as it once was. But I've started to do sit ups again and they've been fine. So I think it might just take some people awhile for their abs to recover, or at least it did for me.
pomegranate / 3329 posts
I still had a soft spot, but could feel my abs under it after my second. I am really worrying about how I'll look after this pregnancy. I had 10 years between the first and second, and I was 13 months pp when I got pregnant this time. I was about 7lbs lighter the second time as well. I'm going to be ordering a pregnancy DVD called Expecting More, and hopefully I can get off my lazy @ss and get in a routine! I want my body back once and for all 
squash / 13199 posts
yes I am going to be 9 months post baby on sunday and my stomach is now toned. I didnt do much , aside from breastfeeding but I have always had very fast metabolism
coconut / 8234 posts
As an alternative to Gwen Stefani, I wanted to show a celebrity who is very toned after pregnancy, but still has flabby skin (and stretchmarks!) issue. Seeing Katie Holmes' pictures makes me realize that not all celebrities are perfect beasts!
I am so thankful that I will never be a celebrity. I think I will probably end up being more like Katie--I've been losing the weight and my stomach is getting flatter, but I don't think anything's getting rid of that flabby skin outside of surgery.
http://hannahsreductions.blogspot.com/2011/06/katie-holmes-looks-awesome.html
eggplant / 11716 posts
My older sister is 40 this year, had 2 kids (youngest is 6) and somehow has no visible stretch marks and good abs. It's not genetic for us (we tend to have big bellies in our family), but she's always been a big gym goer and runs half marathons. She also gained only about 22 lbs per pregnancy, and she was thin to begin with.
I'm sure I won't be so lucky. =)
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