The Post-Baby Belly I Didn’t Expect

I heard it a million times: You will probably still look pregnant after you have the baby. I had seen lots of photos of women who took post-baby belly shots soon after giving birth. The thought of this stomach all saggy and weird after NOT having a 6+ pound baby inside wasn’t exactly appealing. It’s not that I cared about what I looked like but I did really wonder what the emptiness would reveal!

I gained a total of around 32 pounds in my pregnancy and did not weigh myself right after. Nearly two weeks later, I’m down 22 pounds. I had no idea it could come off that fast.

As with my labor and delivery, it seems I was blessed with good luck. The day I gave birth, I took an “after” photo and was shocked to see I did NOT look pregnant or even all the bloated, etc. I guess it helps that I’ve never been one to value rock hard abs. I’ve never had a 6-pack and always been a little soft in the tummy area. Here’s the post-baby belly about 20 hours after giving birth:

Since coming home from the hospital, I have paid little attention to what I’m eating. I mean, I’m attempting to stay healthy but not overthinking it. I have decided I’m not going any kind of working out, even stretching, for 4 weeks. Then I will start to ease back into it — and maybe start to care about fitting into my jeans again. Thankfully, I feel really great and am healing exceptionally fast in general.

I had one pair of jeans pre-pregnancy that were big for me and they are currently the only ones that fit me. I have been wearing my maternity jeans, but mostly just those ultra comfy yoga and stretch pants! It’s a shame so many of my cute work clothes may never be worn again since I  no longer work in an office!

I’ve definitely been eating sweets at night as a comfort/reward but trying not care and just enjoy it. It is winter and all that matters right now is taking care of my baby and making sure he is fed and cared for. While I’m sure I will want to fit back into my jeans in a few months…for now, I could really care less.

Here’s a pic I took this morning:

So the post-baby belly was nothing like I expected. And…kinda doesn’t look that different from two weeks ago, ha ha. Not a stretch mark to speak of either! I did use “body butter” stuff on my tummy throughout pregnancy so that may have helped. Or maybe it’s just first-baby luck? Who knows. Of course even if I had come away looking 9 months pregnant with stretch marks galore, I can’t imagine caring much considering the perfection that appeared when it was all said and done 🙂