post-delivery underwear

[jojo2324]

How big am I going to be exactly? I don't expect to walk out of there in my jeans (phooey to all who were able to!) :) I just figured I would wear my maternity underwear for a bit, until necessary to get something else or I could fit into my old stuff. I don't exactly have a special place in my heart for the maternity underwear, so I don't care if they are stained and gross and disposable. What did everyone else do? thanks! joanne

[Rachels]

Hi, Joanne. I just wore my maternity underwear for a few weeks after my daughter was born. That and big, big pads did the trick, and now at 4 weeks postpartum I am wearing slightly more normal underwear. Good luck!
-Rachel

[luvbeinmama]

Yes, wear your maternity underwear for a while. I used regular bikini underwear during pregnancy and couldn't stand the thought of wearing those over my c-s incision, so I went to Target right after getting home and bought very large full briefs (pkg of 6) which worked great for me until I was back in my bikinis. I'm planning on doing the same after I deliver #2 in Oct.

[egoldber]

It was probably four weeks before I could wear pre-maternity underwear. FYI, I also had a C-section and had no trouble using my maternity bikini underwear. It never even occured to me NOT to wear it :) . I also just wore the mesh underwear in the hospital. I thought it worked great, it was "free" and I didn't have to worry about keeping it "nice" during those heavy flow days post-partum.

HTH,

[suzska]

Well, I never wore "maternity" underwear. Just regular Hanes Her Way bikini or hi-cuts. They were pretty stretched out by the end, though. (When I was pregnant I didn't like anything up over my stomach.) I think I just wore those for a while (after I ran out of the mesh things from the hospital in a day or two). But once I started to return back to almost "normal," I had to go out and by more underwear, but one-size up. :-( I only weigh 10 pounds more than before I was pg, but I don't think I'll ever get rid of this "gut," so I'll never be back in my old jeans. :-( FWIW, I gained 45 pounds when I was pg, and lost about 20-25 during delivery if I remember. I think you still look like you're a few months pg after delivery. And it usually takes a few months (if you're lucky) to get back to "normal."

[zane]

In a dream world, people wear their jeans home from the hospital, LOL. Stick with your maternity panties. I never bought maternity panties, just inexpensive, full butt coverage (lol) larger sized regular panties, and wore them afterward too, and happily chucked them when the heavy flow subsided. I think the mesh panties worked great in hospital and for a few days home postpartum ( even if they seem disgusting to you, pre birth, you won't CARE afterward, you will be too tired. Also, stick with strecth pants/sweats for the first few months, or shorts now that its so hot, and don't beat yourself up about the weight afterwards. Its much more depressing to see the fat AFTER the baby is out, than it is to see your huge belly with them still in there. It takes a good 9 months to really lose it all. I got lucky the 2nd time. I was so tired & busy chasing after 2 that i lost it all at around 6 mths, it helped to have DH away on business for 6 wks, not great for me, but no big dinners to cook /eat/clean, LOL and thats when i found this board and started reading instead of eating, LOLzane

[suzska]

I had maternity leggings from Penney's that I wore for a lllooonnnnggg time after delivering. In fact, I still wear them sometimes. Only because I still have this little "gut" and nothing else fits--my hips will never be the same, of course, and my waist went up a size or two. With a big enough shirt nobody can tell they're maternity leggings. I really don't want to spend the money on new clothes right now.