How much weight did you lose in the first 6 weeks?

Leabyrd

Curious how much weight comes off right after birth and in the following weeks after? I am IN my brothers wedding 6 weeks after my due date and I'm so nervous I am NOT fitting in that dress, even though I bought 2 sizes larger. Thinking I may need to order a new dress

JaqiDec04

With DD, I only gained about 10-15 pounds the whole pregnancy. I walked out of the hospital 10 pounds lighter and then lost another 10 when the swelling went down (high BP). I was wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes within 3-4 weeks. But I wore a belly fit every single day, and I think it made a huge difference.

Telebell

I think I lost everything but the last 10 lbs in that period.  So like 25 lbs.  I also had no appetite for almost 2 weeks after my c section.

rms924

Telebell said:

I think I lost everything but the last 10 lbs in that period.  So like 25 lbs.  I also had no appetite for almost 2 weeks after my c section.

Your post made me happy

amiejl

I still had about 20 pounds to lose at six weeks. Hope you have better genetics!

Telebell

Well I really think it was dependent on not being hungry for a while.  And it took me like 9 more months to lose the rest.  I am deciding whether to try for a VBAC or have a RCS now and I will admit that my vain self put "not hungry for 2 weeks" and in the pro-RCS column.

mandala1107

I lost all 34 in the first 6 weeks. HOWEVER, I didn't look like I lost 34 pounds nor did my clothes fit like I did. I EBF and didn't have much of an appetite while recovering from my csection. Though you may lose the weight, you might not be exactly as you were before you got pregnant.

CocoR04

I lost 20-25 lbs the first few weeks after the PP swelling went away. Give yourself room in the hips and tummy in the dress, get some spanx or a PP girdle meant to be worn with nice clothes. You'll be all good!!

amberrmariee20

Even if you lose it all, your body shape and size could change. I lost 25-30 lbs right after having my son and within 4 weeks I lost 15 more. So 40-45 lbs and I barley looked like I lost any...

jem89

I lost all of it within 2 weeks for both pregnancies. I think that breast feeding did it for me. With that being said, I didn't have my pre-baby body so I would have used a shaper/corset to create that illusion lol. I kept getting pregnant back to back so I never worked out to get back "in shape" so I can say that the number was good but I will put in more work this time

MadBloom

I lost 20 pounds by the time I got home and stepped on the scale and was only 10 pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight after like 3 days.
The weight comes off quickly BUT your body shape is very different.

nbpa3027

A month after I was probably holding on to about 10 or so of the 40 I gained, however, it did take quite a bit longer for my hips to return to closer to what they were. When I had finally lost the weight, I weighed less than pre pregnancy, but I barely fit into my prepregnancy pants.

rm0nique

Within a week or two I lost at a good 20 lbs but the rest of the weight didn't come off as easily for me.

Leabyrd

Thanks ladies! Definitely need to invest in a girdle/ Spanx if that's the case hopefully if I have a c section I'm healed by then!

LiveNLove44

I was in my sister's wedding 5 weeks after I had DD just a couple years ago. I bought the dress way too big because the women at the shop said I'd look 5 months pregnant at 5-6 weeks PP. That just wasn't the case for me. I stayed active throughout pregnancy, gained a healthy 29 pounds, and didn't focus on "losing weight" for her wedding, but just figured out what my body needed after the first week or two home. Because I maintained my lean body mass (muscle supports an increased resting metabolic weight--the greatest determining factor for energy (calorie) expenditure), my body was more prone to burn through calories as I was breastfeeding and just taking care of a newborn than an average PP woman who doesn't lift weights/maintain a higher lean body mass. I make this point because it was not genetics that made that happen as my entire family struggles with obesity and eating issues. I was back to my normal weight by 5-6 weeks PP, but my body was quite different for awhile. I thought I'd want Spanx or some other shapewear so I bought it right before the wedding, and it was horribly uncomfortable so I never wore it. It sounds like 2 sizes too big for a dress size should be okay, but if you're worried, perhaps you can get together a plan B at this point to ensure you can still be in the wedding and wear something that the bride approves of!

Louisl

If I could piggyback on the OP's question...I'm just curious since everyone has said that your body shape will be different even after losing the weight - what if your body shape hasn't changed that much other than the belly? I just want to have realistic expectations, but at 35 weeks my hips and thighs are pretty much the same as my pp body. I'm just one of those torpedo shaped pregnant gals, it's all belly. Everyone says from behind you can't tell I'm pregnant, even though the belly is definitely big and I've gained 30 lbs.

alinic916

@Louis1 Everyone is different.  While some may never have their same body after pregnancy, others will go back to looking like they did before.  It just depends on genetics, body shape, etc.

Leabyrd

@LiveNLove44 that's a good point, I have gained about 35 pounds already but it seems to have balanced out now I'm hoping not to gain much more in the next 6 weeks. I have been working out my entire pregnancy and lifting weights as well. Crossing my fingers and if I seems to gain much more I'll prob end up buying another dress or maybe some extra fabric to take it out haha

CocoR04

Louisl said:

If I could piggyback on the OP's question...I'm just curious since everyone has said that your body shape will be different even after losing the weight - what if your body shape hasn't changed that much other than the belly? I just want to have realistic expectations, but at 35 weeks my hips and thighs are pretty much the same as my pp body. I'm just one of those torpedo shaped pregnant gals, it's all belly. Everyone says from behind you can't tell I'm pregnant, even though the belly is definitely big and I've gained 30 lbs.

Your shape will be different for a while because your skin/weight settles in different spots after baby. Your tummy will be like a deflated balloon (for a while - all temporary) and some women end up with an "apron" of skin, even if their hips and bums look the same from PP. Also, a lot of women's bums get flatter and wider than before. Don't ask me why, but I've had my friends complain about that. I dealt with the skin apron and these weird love handles around my hip bones. Don't get me started on the boobs that were once perky C cups. They are now saggy DDs and won't ever return to normal except with surgery. I invest in really great bras!!

silly514

Lost all 30 within 6 weeks and was back in prepreg clothes by 2 weeks, I don't weigh myself at home so I don't know when it was actually all gone. Vaginal birth, insane appetite. I out ate my husband for months while I was still losing.... Breastfeeding for the win! Within the first year I felt sexier than my high school skinniest self. It is definitely genetic and different for everyone though...

MamaOwl15

I lost 20 lbs (of the 57 I gained) the first two weeks after DS was born, and by 6 weeks PP, I didn't really look pregnant anymore. But that extra 40 lbs made me HUGE. I was about a size 8/10 pre-pregnancy and needed a 16 after . . . It took another 2 years to shed another 20 lbs. I will say this was at least in part due to being inactive and not eating as well as j could, so not to worry anyone.

Every body is different, and if you have maintained a healthy level of weight gain throughout pregnancy, you'll be able to fit in a dress 6 weeks PP . . . Look into getting a girdle like Bellefit if you're concerned about the squishy tummy (they even make c-section recovery girdles so no worries!).

I'm one of those women who didn't notice much change in my body shape. My hips were already ample, though not huge. My boobs got more saggy, but I expected that. My belly is the only thing that really changed dramatically, but how much is extra weight remains to be seen. There's really no way to predict what your body will look like PP.

adriennerose80

I was hoping to ask for lipo while I'm getting my c-section. If they can pull out a baby, they can suck out the fat in my thighs, right? I'm a FTM so I don't know what to expect. I just hope that since I've really only gained in my belly that it means I will have an easier time losing the weight. I'm assuming (and yes, I know it's not great to assume) that when you gain a ton of weight due to poor eating habits and an inactive lifestyle, that's going to be harder weight to lose than the stuff that comes solely from the pregnancy.

oceanlove13

@Louisl I'm in the same spot as you with my second pregnancy. First one was the same. Gained 35 lbs total, looked all belly, etc. The weight does distribute out weird after the baby and some of it is fluid that comes out pretty quick. I looked horrible post-partum for 4 weeks. I didn't want to leave the house! I still wore maternity. I lost most of the weight in the first 4 weeks, by 6 weeks I was wearing normal clothes, but a bigger size and by 3 months in all of my normal clothes with my body being back to mostly normal. I continued to lose weight up to six months because of EBF. My body was the same tone, fat distribution, etc as before pregnancy and I was wearing even a smaller size in some cases by six months. I wasn't working out. You will get there! Give yourself time and make sure you go back to your pre-pregnancy eating and lifestyle.

jefinley1

Honestly, I feel like there is really no way you can know or plan for this, no matter how much anecdotal experience people share. I know we hear it all the time, but for good reason: we are all so different, in our starting weight, our gained weight, how our bodies handle fat, how much we exercised before and during pregnancy, how our metabolism and hormones re-acclimate, how they respond to breast feeding... The list goes on.

For me, it doesn't matter how much I've gained, I am absolutely positive that my hip bones have spread by at least two dress sizes. So no matter how much fat I lose, and muscle tone I gain back, I have no clue if I will ever fit my pre-preg clothes again. My bones may simply be too big. For some women they go back. But between that and my magical non-stop growth boobs, I'm just preparing myself to rock even more of an hour glass for the rest of my life. Sophia Loren fashion inspiration here I come. I would wait til after pregnancy to even think about it, and be ready to love whatever body you have. And find a bangin' tailor. 

LiveNLove44

@Louisl, when I say body changed, it took longer than 6 weeks for my abdomen to shift back to normal. My hips shifted, but the part that made my jeans fit differently was just my lower abdomen and working on my core strength again. Weight wasn't the issue, and I am a pretty active person, so it was mostly about regaining muscle and cinching my waist as it used to be. One of my friends did a fitness competition 7 months after having her daughter, and I can assure you, my body was definitely not in any shape to be on stage in a bikini showing off sculpted...anything; however, I did have a pretty normal muscle tone PP as I did pre-baby. 

OP: As others have mentioned, we'll all vary in how our bodies react. I definitely understand your desire to ask for anecdotal feedback. I remember feeling the same way as I neared the birth of my daughter and thought about my sister's wedding and how unsure I was of everything that was to come. Even if you don't find answers that are the same for you, perhaps these responses give you peace of mind.