14 Women Reveal How Long It Took To ‘Get Their Body Back’ After Giving Birth
1. “The last ten pounds are HEINOUS. You get a false sense of optimism right after giving birth because you lose like 15 pounds just from getting the baby out plus the placenta and the amniotic fluid. But then you’ve got the rest and it just seems to stick for. Ev. er.” — Mary, 29
2. “When I had my first baby I was in my mid-twenties and I kind of just snapped back into shape immediately afterwards. At least that’s how I remember it. With my last kid I was in my mid-thirties and the baby weight was a lot harder to shake. Took at least 15 months. But whatever! You’re a mom now! Who cares?” — Victoria, 37
3. “The struggle is real. That’s all I have to say about that.” — Chia, 28
4. “The idea of getting your body back is repulsive and unfeminist. Not to mention, impossible. Your body is never the same after pregnancy and birth. You’re stretched to your limits and things don’t just magically go back to the way they were. But who cares??? You built a human life! Why are we talking about mothers’ bodies when there are so many more important questions to ask?” — Rory, 29
5. “Um, who said I ever got my body back?” — Arya, 25
6. “Women are amazing. Our bodies are capable of such magnificence. The price we pay for it is that our bodies aren’t necessarily our own forever. We lend them to our children and they’re never quite the same thereafter. My youngest is five now and I haven’t returned to my pre-pregnancy self yet.” — Stephanie, 32
7. “What you have to remember is that your body was designed for this. It’s difficult but you do eventually go back to feeling like yourself. You have to be kind to yourself. It takes time. In my case, about six months.” — Elsa, 26
8. “I look at photos of myself naked or in lingerie from before I had a kid and I’m honestly astounded. I was so hot!!! It took me 8 months to lose all of the weight I gained during pregnancy but I’m still not quite as fit as I once was. I’m softer in certain spots.” — Alexa, 27
9. “Rude. Not answering.” — Blaire, 35
10. “It took me an entire year—and a fuckload of discipline—to get back to my normal weight. I was determined not to have one of those mummy tummies.” — Sherry, 30
11. “During my first pregnancy I gained 45 pounds and it took me 7 months to lose it all. Second time around I was a lot more careful about what I ate and I exercised a lot more throughout so getting back in shape was easier, by about 3 months.” — Sarah, 33
12. “I wanted to get back in the gym right after giving birth, but I couldn’t last five minutes without peeing myself. It was awful! It took 12 weeks just for me to regain control of my bladder and start to re-introduce an exercise routine into my life. I’m still working off the last 12 pounds and my baby is 5 months old now.” — Melinda, 31
13. “There’s a preconceived notion that pregnant women should just eat whatever they want. But you really only need 300 extra calories a day, which isn’t much. The truth is that the less you let yourself go during pregnancy, the easier it is to lose the baby weight later. I gained 20 pounds during pregnancy and I lost it all within two months.” — Juliet, 30
14. “When I was pregnant, I knew I shouldn’t be eating dessert after every meal, but at the same time it was my only real pleasure and I was craving cakes and cookies constantly. I gained more than I wanted to and it took me a year and a half to return to my pre-baby weight. That said, I didn’t really care that it took me so long. You’re so distracted caring for your child, you don’t have time to bother yourself with such nonsense.” — Maria, 31 
