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CurlTalk

So frustrated...

cosmicflycosmicfly Posts: 1,814Registered Users
in Pregnancy & Parenting
My baby is 4 weeks old tomorrow, and I feel like I lost a reasonable amount of weight the first two weeks and have not done so well since. I have to return to work in less than 2 weeks (a whole 'nother thread about how much that sucks is in order) and I need to look presentable. I especially hate the belly. I don;t expect it to disappear so quickly but I wish it could at least reduce. Any suggestions, exercises, etc. that anyone knows?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]tt1a1f9.aspx

Comments

  • marielle448marielle448 Posts: 1,823Registered Users
    have you considered belly binding? Not so much for losing weight but for putting things back in place in the abdomen.
  • cosmicflycosmicfly Posts: 1,814Registered Users
    Hey, i'll try anything that won't mess with the baby or nursing. Besides, it sounds like it could improve appearance.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]tt1a1f9.aspx
  • marielle448marielle448 Posts: 1,823Registered Users
    something like this would be super simple to use (just be sure to keep it centered right around your hips, uterus, abdomen area.

    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000F4J8T0/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

    some people do an ace bandage and apparently in asian countries there's a whole method:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU2thhFGnw4
  • cosmicflycosmicfly Posts: 1,814Registered Users
    Ooh- maybe a wrapped bandage at night and something sleeker like what you linked for when I have to be out and about. Thanks, marielle!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]tt1a1f9.aspx
  • deezee02deezee02 Posts: 1,509Registered Users
    Spanx. Seriously, I still throw them on under dress clothes somedays when I am feelng poochy and S is 21 months old!
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    SCxkm4.png

    Come swag with me!
  • AmnerisAmneris Posts: 15,117Registered Users
    Don't be so hard on yourself - it's WAY too early to worry about weight loss (and yes, I did/do too - I don't take my own advice!) You aren't even supposed to think about it till at least 6 weeks postpartum. I'd find a few outfits that you look OK in, eat healthy foods and give yourself time.
    Get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me. -Muhammad Ali


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  • KaiaKaia Curl Connoisseur Posts: 8,815Registered Users Curl Connoisseur
    When I went back to work, I still had to wear maternity clothes. Don't worry too much about it beyond some body shaping undergarments like someone metioned above.
    *Poster formerly known as Bailey422*

    Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid. ~ George Carlin
  • RedCatWavesRedCatWaves Curl Connoisseur Posts: 31,259Registered Users Curl Connoisseur
    The uterus is still involuting at 4 weeks. You need to give it at least another 2-4 weeks before it's back to pre-pregnancy size and you can evaluate how much blub you're left with. In the meantime, belly binding is a good idea, but also treat yourself to a couple new outfits...interim tops and pants in forgiving fabrics, before you go back to your tailored wardrobe. Wearing maternity clothing post-partum is too depressing. You deserve a few new things.
  • fuzzbucketfuzzbucket Curl Connoisseur Posts: 996Registered Users Curl Connoisseur
    My bella band helped. But yes, 4 weeks is really early. Everything is still getting back to normal. Give yourself time - at least until your 6 week check-up. :wink:
    Hair type: 3A/B
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  • SimbathekatSimbathekat Posts: 140Registered Users
    It's weird, because a co-worker was just talking to me yesterday about belly binding so to speak. I've never heard of it, but she told me to purchase a tight girdle and wear it everyday beginning the day I give birth. She claimed that afterwards, she was smaller than her pre-pregnancy size.
  • realisticrealistic Curl Novice Posts: 2,222Registered Users Curl Novice
    I was still chunky until about 12 weeks. :sad8:

    Wrapping your belly is a good idea though. I plan on doing that next time. You should also buy some flattering clothes so you don't feel uncomfortable. Flowy shirts are your friend post partum.
    Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not;
    and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board.
    -Henry David Thoreau
  • marielle448marielle448 Posts: 1,823Registered Users
    Although the benefits of belly binding seem to be the slimmer tummy over the course of a couple of months I'm more looking to the reduction of the after birth pain intensity as well as it helping the uterus along in contracting back to size as well as the abdominal wall separation to heal.
  • SpiderSpider Curl Neophyte Posts: 3,381Registered Users Curl Neophyte
    Even if you lose weight (water, fat...) you still have some skeletal changes (wider hips) that may keep your body from being perfectly "pre baby" for some time. 15 months I think for the average woman that eats normally and doesn't workout for 3 hours a day. And there is that age thing...
    Don't let your heart be broken. Let it love.
  • cosmicflycosmicfly Posts: 1,814Registered Users
    Thanks, guys. I know it's only been 4 weeks, but I just feel so blah. I'm going to try the belly binding- too late for it to help with afterpains (though they were mild), but maybe it will help everything fall back into place better.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]tt1a1f9.aspx
  • webjockeywebjockey Posts: 2,786Registered Users
    i remember that feeling of my guts falling out and feeling all out of sorts in my abdomen. I think it was as much of an emotional thing as a physical thing for me. i'm also going to try belly binding this time around. nothing wrong with feeling crappy. it does , well, feel crappy.
    hello.world.
  • medussamedussa Posts: 12,993Registered Users
    {{{Hugs}}}.
  • inheritedcurlsinheritedcurls Curl Connoisseur Posts: 2,954Registered Users Curl Connoisseur
    webjockey wrote: »
    i remember that feeling of my guts falling out and feeling all out of sorts in my abdomen. I think it was as much of an emotional thing as a physical thing for me. i'm also going to try belly binding this time around. nothing wrong with feeling crappy. it does , well, feel crappy.


    I remember this same feeling and it really freaked me out. Has anybody done this after a c-section??? I"m thinking it might be harder because of the incision.
  • cosmicflycosmicfly Posts: 1,814Registered Users
    webjockey wrote: »
    i remember that feeling of my guts falling out and feeling all out of sorts in my abdomen. I think it was as much of an emotional thing as a physical thing for me. i'm also going to try belly binding this time around. nothing wrong with feeling crappy. it does , well, feel crappy.


    It was by far the worst after my first baby, especially emotionally, because I did not expect to be fat after I had my baby, and nothing fit me. At least this time around, I have pants in a couple of sizes, so I fit into something. I'm looking for a few cute (and cheap) tops that are long enough to cover my belly all the time and that do not fit like a muumuu over my currently unreasonably large boobs.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]tt1a1f9.aspx
  • webjockeywebjockey Posts: 2,786Registered Users
    cosmicfly wrote: »
    webjockey wrote: »
    i remember that feeling of my guts falling out and feeling all out of sorts in my abdomen. I think it was as much of an emotional thing as a physical thing for me. i'm also going to try belly binding this time around. nothing wrong with feeling crappy. it does , well, feel crappy.


    It was by far the worst after my first baby, especially emotionally, because I did not expect to be fat after I had my baby, and nothing fit me. At least this time around, I have pants in a couple of sizes, so I fit into something. I'm looking for a few cute (and cheap) tops that are long enough to cover my belly all the time and that do not fit like a muumuu over my currently unreasonably large boobs.

    Sing it.

    I've never been this fat in my life. Everytime someone said "oh,it's just temporary" I just wanted to yell BITE ME.

    Ok fashion stuff. gap also has 40% off on maternity clothing. I saw a dress or two that I liked. I've also recently taken to putting a brightly colored or pattered sash around my belly, over my belly or below my belly and wearing dark, or monocromatic top and bottom. Target may be a good spot for you to find loose fitting pants and tops (not the maternity stuff). Kimono tops may also be a good bet. Look for big sleeves and a nice sash below the boobage.

    Caution: do not do a search on etsy for kimono. you may be distracted by the cute baby kimono shoes.
    hello.world.
  • RedCatWavesRedCatWaves Curl Connoisseur Posts: 31,259Registered Users Curl Connoisseur
    cosmicfly wrote: »
    I'm looking for a few cute (and cheap) tops that are long enough to cover my belly all the time and that do not fit like a muumuu over my currently unreasonably large boobs.


    Check out SoftSurroundingsOutlet.com. They have many nice tunic-length tops on clearance, and if you use Code 2197370, you can get $10 off of $50:

    $15.99

    m20328.jpg

    $17.99

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    $27.99:

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  • AmnerisAmneris Posts: 15,117Registered Users
    The bottom top of RCW's looks PERFECT for post-partum belly and boobs. Reminds me of a kameez top, too.
    Get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me. -Muhammad Ali


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    534Pm5.png





  • cajuncurlscajuncurls Posts: 270Registered Users
    Love those tops, and may I add I'm loving the fashions right now - I don't even have to shop maternity!!!

    I know all about how frustrating it is not to get your pre-baby body back right away, especially when you're standing in line at the checkout and the magazines are shoving "How I Got My Body Back" stories down your throat. Makes you want to grab a Snickers and call it a day. But it DOES come off. You gotta remember it took nine months to put it on, give yourself that long to watch it go. Your body IS in there somewhere!
    Did you do it for love? Did you do it for money? Did you do it for spite? Did you think you had to, honey?
    - Eagles

    age.png


    age.png
  • sundaysunday Posts: 535Registered Users
    I'm sorry. I know how frustrating this time can be. Even though I lost most of the weight right away, my body was a mess. At 4 weeks I still looked pregnant and was nowhere near fitting into any of my prepregnancy clothes. The best thing I did was buy a pair of Spanx Higher Power Panties. I swear they sucked in every inch and made a huge difference in how I looked and felt.
    3 something
    fotki pw: sunday

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