Hellobee

In this edition of the Swarm, the Bees share how their bodies have changed postpartum. The answers are organized according to our little ones’ ages!

Baby Tricycle – 6 Weeks

At six weeks PP, I’m not sure what HASN’T changed!! My whole body feels different! I tried on some button down shirts, and I couldn’t do up any of the top buttons – a strange phenomenon for this former A-cup! I’ve lost about 20 of the 38 pounds I gained, but my belly is jiggly (and I’ve always loved my waist line) and my butt and thighs are still big. No stretch marks and no bladder issues (yet).

Baby Scribble – 4 Months

I have a ton of stretch marks on my abdomen and very saggy skin and flab on my tummy. My hips seem wider and thighs are much thicker, probably due to needing to lose about eight pregnancy pounds and a few vanity pounds as well! My breasts are much larger and definitely far less perky.

Lil Miss Wagon – 5 months, Wagon Jr. – 36 months

1) I never had a flat belly but now I have lots of loose skin that is covered with severe stretch mark damage. It was worst after Wagon Jr. and now, after LMW, it’s strangely not as bad as the first time around.
2) Like a lot of others, I pee a little when I laugh or cough or jump. Yay for pantiliners.
3) My boobs are exactly the same size but definitely look different. That’s all I have to say about that.
4) My feet seem to have settled around the size 8.5-9, when I used to wear a 7.5-8. Goodbye all of my old favorite shoes.

Sienna – 6 months, Mavrick – 30 months

1) My memory – boy oh boy do I forget things. It’s ridiculous. I hoped it would come back, but alas it hasn’t (yet). I’m still being hopeful.
2) Stretchmarks / flabby belly – I had big pregnancies alas the stretchmarks. I’m hoping they will go away and that my tummy will tone up a bit because right now it’s more than a muffin top. It’s the whole muffin.
3) My feet grew – After my first pregnancy my feet grew half a size and almost all my shoes were too small. I was devastated.
4) My teeth – In a matter of a year (I do my yearly checkups), I went from all clear to getting a root canal. Be sure to check those teeth.
5) Can’t handle caffeine anymore – Prior to my pregnancies I could have coffee and go straight to bed. Now, I’m up for hours regretting taking a coffee at 9pm. So sad, so disappointing.

Sadie – 8 months

1) Extreme pain in my right foot (think it’s from a previous stress fracture that returned post baby!)
2) Feet are smaller than they used to be (any high heel I try on in my previous size flips right off my feet! I now have to go down 1/2 to a full size smaller in heels)
3) A gut that I’m hoping will go away!
4) Really dry eyes (probably from breastfeeding) that caused my vision to be blurred for quite a few months.
5) All of the hair fell off of my arms after I had the baby. It’s slowly starting to return.

Liam – 9 months

1) Numbness from c-section incision.
2) Skinnier legs and butt, but bigger tummy and BOOBS.
3) Knee pain – I never had this before I was pregnant, so I assume the extra weight is what caused it.
4) Carpal tunnel –  It started at the very end of pregnancy and it is still awful in my right wrist. I went to one physical therapy appointment when I was on maternity leave, but I didn’t like it and haven’t been back. I’m sure I’ll regret that one day if I have to have surgery…

Cobi – 10 months

1) not necessarily incontinence, but decreased bladder control. Especially if I laugh, sneeze or work out!
2) a stomach mapped with stretch marks. No bikini for me ever again!
3) Tummy pooch – I lost all the weight but it still sticks out a little. I must remain conscious to suck it in!
4) TMI sex is different!! Everything down there is definitely more sensitive and prone to pain by doing certain things… lol!!

Wonder Baby – 11 months, Toddler Girl – 34 months

1) Stretch Marks. Thank you Toddler Girl. My stomach is the proud owner of loose and streaky skin.
2) Umblical Hernia. Thanks to Wonder Baby I have a permanent outtie belly button. I’m pretty sure I also have a diastis, which leads to the poochy tummy (and the hernia) so pretty much my daughters tag teamed on my stomach and stole all its former cuteness for themselves.
3) I’m no longer lactose intolerant. I wasn’t while pregnant both times but was again between them. Now, I can still eat dairy without any issues. Strange.
I’m sure my body shape is a bit different over all, but it’s hard to say while I’m still breastfeeding and have 15 lbs left to lose.

Noah – 12 months, Paige – 3 1/2 years

Baby Stroller – 12 months

1) My boobs got HUGE and then when Little M turned one they deflated quite suddenly and we’re still breastfeeding! I really hope they go back to their former size again.
2) My joints hurt after I run. I used to run a lot, but now I find that it takes a day or two to recover. I think it might still be from breastfeeding hormones.
3) I have extra “padding” on my tummy. I know this also has to do with not running as much as I used to, but even at my pre-pregnancy weight, there’s a little bit o’ jiggle that was never there before.
4) Leading up to my first two cycles post-partum (at 10 and 11 months) I had outrageous PMS with horrible mood swings. The third cycle was fine. Several close friends said that the same thing happened during their first two or three cycles too, so hopefully it’s not permanent!

Chloe – 14 months

1) My hips got really wide. I lost all my baby weight AND 5lbs, but I’m one pants size larger than before I got pregnant because my hips are so wide.
2) C-section scar that’s partially numb.
3. My asthma and allergies worsened with pregnancy, and remained that way postpartum. I take maintenance medication to prevent asthma attacks when I never had to before.
4. I have all kinds of extra skin around my stomach, which makes me look pudgier than I am. I’m really self conscious about it!
5) My feet got bigger. Depending on the shoe, I’m anywhere from the same size to two sizes larger. I can’t wear most of the shoes I already own!

Olive – 15 months, Charlie 3 years

1) I’ve had some incontinence ever since having Charlie. When I have the urge to pee, I’ll be walking to the bathroom and leak a little pee. It happens a couple times a month. Luckily I work from home!
2) I’ve only had 2 periods in the past 4 years due to pregnancy/breastfeeding woop woop! I can’t say that I’m looking forward to them returning.
3) I’ve always had a little bit of a belly, but I was able to suck it in so you didn’t notice too much. Even though I lost all the weight from both pregnancies pretty easily, my stomach is much bigger than it used to me. I would seriously get liposuction if I weren’t so scared! I don’t know if any amount of exercise and dieting is going to be able to get rid of it!
4) I have a c-section scar from having Charlie. It was kind of itchy and tingly for the first year. Now that feeling has definitely gone away, but alas the big, dark, 6 inch scar is something I’ll have for the rest of my life.
5) I got really car sick once when I was pregnant with Charlie, and ever since then I get car sick a lot more easily. Pre-kids I could read novels in moving cars without a problem.

Lily – 15 months, Joseph + Nicholas – 3, James – 4

Stretch marks, Stretch marks, Stretch marks!  With twins I planned on getting stretch marks and I was ok with some icky marks on my stomach.  But I was not prepared for stretch marks everywhere.  I have them on my arms, chest, side, hips, stomach, and all down my legs.  About two weeks after having my twins I went to go get a pair of pants and I saw the back of my legs for the first time.  I sat in the dressing room and cried.  I am not normally a vain person so I am going to blame it on crazy hormones, but it did take me awhile to accept the  marks all over my body.  Now I don’t mind as much.  I learned to ignore them.

Baby Yoyo – 18 months

1) I never had a flat stomach, but now the pooch is even worse. I’m hoping to remedy that with some cleaner eating this year. And the stretchmarks don’t help matters!
2) My feet grew about a half size. Some of my shoes were still OK, but many weren’t — particularly dress shoes without as much wiggle room. I’m lucky that I don’t need dress shoes nearly as often now!
3) If I laugh really hard or even jump when my bladder’s full … well, you know. Sigh.
4) My boobs are still bigger. Again, I’m hoping just general weight-loss will help out here, but I had D cups to begin with, so I wasn’t really looking for a boost in this particular department.

Baby Checkers – 18 Months

1) Belly is jiggliER. I never had a flat tummy to begin with, but it’s pretty jiggly in my lower abdomen now.
2) Boobs feel slightly droopier, but they are bigger (I’ve heard from a lot of moms that theirs actually shrank postpartum to smaller than they were pre-pregnancy, so this was a surprise)!
3) Like Mrs. TicTacToe, I’ve had worse carpel tunnel in my right wrist as well.
4) Feet are slightly bigger. Maybe a quarter of a size?
5) PMS is much worse than before. Especially my hormones. Just ask DH.

Noelle – 2 Years

1) It’s not quite “incontinence,” but I will pee a little if I sneeze too hard or have a coughing attack. Thank god for pantyliners!
2) Haha, like Mrs. Pen this is probably TMI, but I feel more “dry” down there all the time, and sex can be painful/uncomfortable sometimes. Not as enjoyable as before!
3) Pelvic pain – it comes and goes..
4) SMALLER boobs – after I stopped breastfeeding, my cup size dropped a full size. I have flatter than pancake books now. It’s actually really depressing! And even though I’m in my 3rd trimester of this 2nd pregnancy, my boob size is smaller than they were when I was pregnant with my first. I fear this is a permanent change. Le sigh.

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How has your body changed postpartum?