Does your tummy go back to normal after giving birth?

ED23 · September 2010

Does your skin go back to being tight after it's been stretched so far for the baby? If not, I'll deal. A healthy happy baby is a good trade off and worth losing a flat tummy for....

nikki04vb · September 2010

I've seen plenty of women go back to having a flat, sexy stomach after having kids. You'll need to watch your diet and exercise obviously, but I've seen it done. Most of the people who don't go back hold on to a lot of extra weight, so I think it's just a lack of effort. My mother gained 60 lbs. with both her pregnancies. She went right back to bikini ready with a little hard work. She actually said she was in the best shape of her life after she had my brother.

Fashiongal1973 · September 2010

I have friends who have had that happen and then friends who have what we like to call the empty baby pouch. It is squishy and jiggly. I am sure that some exercise would help. I lost all my weight by 2 months after DS but still have the squishy tummy. I don't exercise but am trying to motivate myself.

mtbmama · September 2010

My belly is just...different. The skin isn't saggy or anything, but my stomach is softer and takes more effort to keep it sucked in! But I fit in with the pp's comment on "lack of effort". I hate doing ab work, so I guess that would explain it. Stick out tongue

(I have about 6lbs to still lose). When I wear regular clothes, people wouldn't notice, but I do.

nomadica · September 2010

I must say that I was certain I'd have a terribly flabby belly with stretch marks after baby, but was pleasantly surprised. Shocked that I didn't get stretch marks (because I have them other places), for sure. I'm not quite back to pp weight and could certainly be exercising more, so my belly is a little bit soft, but nothing dramatic and I think losing a bit more weight and toning will get it back at least close to before.

Haven1 · September 2010

I think it really depends. Everyone is different. It depends on some things you can control (muscle tone, weight gain, eating habits) and some things you can't control (skin elasticity, how you carried, genetics).

My stomach isn't quit back at 10w pp, but it will be. )

(Also keep in mind that cardio is just as important than toning. Doesn't matter what the muscles look like if they're covered with "cushioning".)

ED23 · September 2010

Well that was pretty encouraging :-)

Thanks ladies!

wifeofaussie · September 2010

mtbmama2b:
My belly is just...different. The skin isn't saggy or anything, but my stomach is softer and takes more effort to keep it sucked in! But I fit in with the pp's comment on "lack of effort". I hate doing ab work, so I guess that would explain it. (I have about 6lbs to still lose). When I wear regular clothes, people wouldn't notice, but I do.

Haha this. I just finally began working my abs again last week though so hopefully it will firm up a bit and the doc said I likely won't lose my last 5lbs til I wean DD. I didn't get very many stretch marks and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the few I got faded, without any creams or anything. I definitely think it's doable. You may never be totally back to 'normal' but you can absolutely get closer to normal than you may think. Good luck!

ilovejud · September 2010

It's definitely how much you put into it... I was in the best shape ever a year after I had my first baby. However, my skin did appear a little more lose than before...esp. around my lower belly. It's only natural your skin won't be as tight after all that stretching... it's common sense really, it breaks down the elasticity... But if you work at it... or are just blessed with amazing genes... you will be just fine. It's amazing what our bodies go through for our children!!

kirkette · September 2010

Everyone is different, but mine did go back to normal. I also didn't get any stretch marks from pregnancy. Yay, genetics!

SFAug07 · September 2010

Mine was back to normal a couple of weeks after giving birth.

kg_08 · September 2010

It takes time. I'm just over 5 weeks PP and my skin is hanging around. When I tighten my muscles up it's far less noticeable, so I know I need to start on some ab workouts soon. The midwife told me that since I'm young and was in decent shape before, I should see it go back pretty much to normal in about 6 months.

shadowboxerkd · September 2010

Has anyone looked into skin tightening creams? I did a little searching online to see if any of them really actually work and I found some info on creams with CinergyTK which is supposed to stimulate collagen. Apparently creams w/ actual collagen in it don't work b/c the molecules are too big to be absorbed by our pores. There are also ingredients that are supposed to help stimulate the elastin. Here is a site I found w/ info. What do you all think?

https://www.skin-and-health-site.com/

I've been working my butt off for up to 2 hours almost every day at the gym since may (w/ almost a month off for vacation, but a little working out mixed in). My stomach's looking pretty good, but not back to the way it was before. My skin is loose and I'm afraid as I get older (i'm 30) and have more kids, it's just going to get worse!