no postpartum weight loss, argh!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

just wanted to vent. it is 11 weeks since i've given birth, i have been exclusively breastfeeding night & day and my weight loss since then has been......a grand total of (drumroll please).... 0 LBS!! ARGH!!

i know weight loss can be slow after having a baby, but SERIOUSLY....NO weightloss in almost 3 months?! WTF. I am still wearing only maternity clothes, it's soo sad..i live in nursing tanks & maternity velour sweatpants. It is very hard for me to deal with, as i've been the same clothing size & weight for the past fifteen years (since high school). i NEVER really had a problem with gaining weight..i don't eat much usually and i'm not a foodie at all (i eat to live, not live to eat). and now, i am suddenly four sizes too big for EVERYTHING in my closet. Yes, i figure with BF'ing none of my blouses/tops would fit, but none of my pants fit either. I basically look like i'm 5-6 months preggo still. It sucks. Getting asked if i'm still preggo sucks too.

i'm on a few other pregnancy/parenting forums and i am sooooo tired of hearing how everyone lost their baby weight within a few weeks of giving birth, how they were back into their pre-prego jeans within a month post-partum (and they gained MORE weight than i did!!). I'd give anything to have just lost a finite amount (as in, non-zero) of weight.

also, i am sooooo sick of people telling me how breastfeeding is so great for weightloss, how it will make you lose the babyweight faster. IT ISN'T, at least for me. that is the most disappointing part..i didn't expect rapid weightloss post-baby but i thought i would lose SOMETHING esp since i was EBF'ing. i really do love BFing and am thankful i was able to do it without many problems, and i love the bonding that comes with it but a part of me cannot wait until my DS begins to wean so that i stop feeling like such a cow, in more ways than one. sorry if that sounds vain, but that is how it is.

thx for letting me vent.

[twowhat?]

You are WAAAAAAAAY too hard on yourself. Don't expect to lose any weight until you wean your little one! (Or at least don't expect to lose ANY until you get past the 4-6 month mark). You are just going to be more and more hungry until you get past 6 months (remember your little one will max out at nearly 40 oz of milk per day at this age)!

eta - I didn't start losing the extra weight until 8 or 9 MONTHS post-partum!

[AnnieW625]

i'm on a few other pregnancy/parenting forums and i am sooooo tired of hearing how everyone lost their baby weight within a few weeks of giving birth, how they were back into their pre-prego jeans within a month post-partum (and they gained MORE weight than i did!!). I'd give anything to have just lost a finite amount (as in, non-zero) of weight.

also, i am sooooo sick of people telling me how breastfeeding is so great for weightloss, how it will make you lose the babyweight faster. IT ISN'T, at least for me. that is the most disappointing part..i didn't expect rapid weightloss post-baby but i thought i would lose SOMETHING esp since i was EBF'ing. i really do love BFing and am thankful i was able to do it without many problems, and i love the bonding that comes with it but a part of me cannot wait until my DS begins to wean so that i stop feeling like such a cow, in more ways than one. sorry if that sounds vain, but that is how it is.

thx for letting me vent.

\

I had issues losing weight too esp. after my last D&E sx. last spring. It took me 4 mos. to lose 8lbs and voila ended up pregnant. With DD I didn't lose anymore than the initial weight loss until she was 6 mos. old. and I breast fed and or pumped exclusively for four months! I also did find Weight Watchers to be helpful. Maybe you can find a mommy n me meeting near you because I know you aren't the only one. Also talk to your mom if you are close because weight gained in pregnancy and how quickly it's lost is really hereditary because you inherit your body type from your parents.

[catroddick]

DD is 13 months old, and only nursing morning and night. I can now finally start loosing weigth. (5lbs off, 35 to go!)

Everyone's body work soo differently. For me, any reduction in calories obliterated my milk production. I had to decide that fat and nursing was more important than skinny (heck, I'd just settle for "not fat").

I know you dont want to hear that it wont come off in the near term. But just relax and go easy on yourself. You have been blessed in the past, and now you are blessed with a baby to care for. You will have plenty of time to get yourself back together. And you will.

[citymama]

11 weeks? Give yourself some time! I found that the 5 month mark was a milestone for me - I nursed till DD was 18 months and we did no formula, and I think the BFing was definitely responsible for the weight loss. To twowhat? I actually gained back a few lbs after weaning - everywhere but my breasts!

I agree with catroddick that you need some fat to be able to produce enough breast milk, and some of the weight that remains is your body's insurance that you will be able to keep producing milk.

You're also probably not able to do much exercise and if you're like I was, probably eating a lot of PBJs and chocolate cake while nursing! Go easy on yourself and realize that this will take some time.

[elizabethkott]

(((((hugs)))))
It can be so frustrating, especially with all those women (read as: b!tches) online who say that the baby weight just melted away. You compound that with the unrealistic expectation set on us by celebrities who have trainers and nannies and nutritionists preparing their meals or who just get lipo immediately post-partum and of course we have an unrealistic expectation of ourselves!
I am *still* not back to my pre-preg weight (well, at least I wasn't before I got pg again!). Every body is different.
Have you been feeling tired, cold, achey, with dry skin, brittle nails? You could possibly have post-partum thyroiditis (which I had, which unfortunately for me led into hypothyroidism). Your thyroid could have gotten really wacked out by the hormones of pregnancy and is not working the way it should now. Over 75% (I think that's the stat my endocrinologist quoted me) of women diagnosed with PPD are actually misdiagnosed cases of PPThyroiditis. And many, many women go undiagnosed because their doctor tells them that their symptoms of not losing weight, being tired, hair falling out, dry skin, are all results of having been pregnant and having just delivered, because they have a newborn, etc.
If you suspect you might have post-partum thyroiditis, INSIST on having your thyroid levels checked via a blood test. You'd ask them to test your T3, T4 and TSH levels.
Again, (((((hugs))))). WW never worked for me after my pregnancy because of the PPT. It can be so frustrating, but you are not alone. Don't beat yourself up.

[citymama]

As my pre-natal yoga teacher says: "You've got your body pre-baby, during pregnancy and post-baby. None of them is going to be the same and you've got to learn to love each one of them!" And I'm finding you have a totally different pre, during and probably post preggo body with subsequent kids! It's so frustrating to see the Heidi Klums of this world on the runway in 6 weeks - I mean, good for you Heidi, but try and keep it to yourself!

[BabyMine]

Don't be to hard on yourself. I didn't start losing until 9 months pp. I would keep losing and gaining the same 5lbs no matter what I did. It will happen.

[ncat]

I considered my large nursing chest as camouflage for my large post-baby belly!

It takes time to lose the weight and everybody is different. I remember being so upset leaving the hospital after DD was born because I didn't lose any weight between being 9 months pregnant and delivering a 9 pound baby. How is that fair or even possible? I was mortified to have to wear my maternity pants when I returned to work after 10 weeks leave! But, I lived through it and eventually got back into normal clothes again.

I found the stroller class through my local Y to be really helpful for my all around physical and mental well being. I am really sad that I couldn't do something similar the second time around because I am working full time.

[alirebco]

I didn't start really losing a lot until 3 months. I also figured out I wasn't eating enough so my body was holding on to the weight because it thought I was starving!

I did Weight Watchers (since they have a program for nursing moms and you get extra points) and it worked great. I actually ate all my points, plus my flex, plus a little more and was still losing 2 pounds a week.

How much did you gain? I gained 50 pounds so I lost some right away and since I had more to lose, it came off quicker than some others.