Am I the only one with severe anxiety about my postpartum body..?

Question

Please tell me I'm not alone on this one. I'm 20 weeks pregnant and a first time mom. I'm scared. I lost 150 pounds in the past year and I was finally comfortable in my own skin. Then I found out that I was pregnant. I'm over the moon excited about my baby boy, but I would be lying if I said that I'm not worried about how my body will be afterwards. It's something that I don't feel comfortable talking about to my mom friends because I know this worry is a selfish one. Is anyone else in the same boat?

Answer

100%. And I know what you mean about not speaking about it--I did mention it a few times and got a couple of negative responses alluding to the fact that I was being vain and selfish. I was in the best shape of my life before I got pregnant and I'm super excited to be a mom, but I'm really worried about losing the weight and being happy with my body after. I already have a hard time with my preggo body....

Answer

You are definitely not the only one. I've always struggled with my weight! I'm currently 35weeks and while my main concerns is my daughters health and I can't help but worry about how difficult it will be for me to get the weight back off. I want to talk to family and friends as well but I feel that they will definitely be annoyed with my concern over "my looks".

Answer

I'm terrified. I have a horrible self body image and don't even want to think of all the exercising I'll be doing after my girl gets here

Answer

You're definitely not alone! I've been worrying my entire pregnancy (37 weeks now)  because I was starting to feel comfortable again wearing more fitted clothing after struggling losing weight. I had gone off my medication 5 years ago and gained about 60lbs. I had always been thin til then. And struggled losing it. I wanted to get to the point I was confident before getting pregnant but that didn't exactly happen. I've been self conscious the entire time I've been pregnant because I feel huge and watching the scale every appointment creep up isn't helping. But It did help me to make an effort  to not take that whole eating for two seriously. I eat when I'm hungry and try not to indulge in cravings too much( which thankfully I haven't really had any)  the weight I was at my heaviest is what I am now. I'm just looking forward for my baby girl to be here and get the ok to really start working out again.

Answer

I had major body image issues pre-baby but actually love my post-baby body more than ever even if there is a little more jiggle than there once was. Try to embrace what an amazing thing pregnancy and birth is. I think if you opened up to your friends you'd find many had the same concerns.

Answer

I was in decent shape before baby number 1, and I won't lie it was hard looking at my immediate postpartum body. Remember to give yourself grace. It takes 9 months to grow a person and you should allow at least that long to recover. It took me about 10 months to actually get in better shape than I was pre-pregnancy. It might have taken less, but my pelvis took some damage from labor so I couldn't go back to running like I wanted, only elliptical and walking.

Try to maintain a healthy diet while pregnant that you can sustain postpartum. Stay as active as you comfortably can. Drink lots and lots of water, now and after baby comes. Your body holds on to water when your dehydrated which can look like chub.

I was 27 after first baby and am 30 now. I definitely don't have the metabolism I did at 21, but I lost the weight the first time and have plans to do the same this time.

Grace and patience are key.

Answer

You're not alone.
I always have anxiety about my body after baby. This will be my third delivery, this summer and not knowing quite what I'll look like after or how long it'll take to get in better shape, makes me anxious. I am a recovering bolemic and definitely have lasting issues with body dysmorphia. 
Just remember it'll take time to get back into shape. You gain the weight over 9/10 months, so you're not going to look like youbsisbpre pregnancy right away!

Answer

I think it's normal to feel that way! I'm pregnant for the second time, and even though I bounced back from baby within a few months the first time, I worry about it all the time now. That was seven years ago, I was 21 and now I'm 28 so I know my body will be different. I've just been trying to maintain my exercise routine, eat healthy (though I do give in to cravings), and drink plenty of water. I've also been using cocoa butter at least twice a day since the day I found out I was pregnant.

Am I the only one with severe anxiety about my postpartum body..?

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