THE 5 POSTPARTUM BODY CHANGES NOBODY REALLY TOLD ME ABOUT

MOM LIFE, PREGNANCY

THE 5 POSTPARTUM BODY CHANGES NOBODY REALLY TOLD ME ABOUT

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You hear bits and pieces of how pregnancy changes a woman’s body but I guess you dismiss it, because as they say, ‘different strokes for different folks’. I just assumed it wouldn’t apply to me. Lol! The joke’s on me. So, these are the ways pregnancy and childbirth changed my body.

Hair Loss

I still have not gotten over this one. My hair was thriving throughout the pregnancy. As soon as the little man came out, I started shedding hair. One morning, I had tried to braid my hair myself and couldn’t feel hair in some places. I told Mr.O to take a picture of what my hair looked like at the back. I screamed when I saw it. I literally had bald patches on my scalp that I ended up doing the big chop.

Big Boobs to Shrunken Boobs

Oh, how I rocked the cleavage that pregnancy and breastfeeding gave me. My breasts were so flipping cute. I’ve never had big boobs, so I was loving these new breasts that I had not paid for. These ones were God-given, not man-made! Unfortunately, I didn’t realize these babies were not here to stay forever. Then weaning happened and my breasts did not only shrink, they ended up smaller than my pre-pregnancy size. Sad much!!! I still haven’t recovered from this. I’m heartbroken.

via GIPHY

Stretch Marks

Honestly, I feel like this was the most shocking. Dude!!! They tell you to lovingly slather coconut oil, shea butter, argan oil, all the oils on that belly. Some lotions even claim to prevent stretch marks. I diligently and consistently did this. It was like I was feeding my belly with breakfast, lunch, and dinner with snacks in-between. Week 38, I show up for my prenatal appointment and look at myself in the mirror. Those stretch marks appeared from nowhere. No jokes! I almost had a heart attack.

via GIPHY

Mommy Pooch

Skinny me thought my snapback would be so on point. It’s goodbye to a flat belly now because Diastasis Recti hit me. In a nutshell, it means separation of the abdominal muscles. This is as a result of the pressure pregnancy puts on the belly, and if untreated can lead to back pain and other problems. I’ve embraced my pooch with love. If you see me in a crop top, please sip your coffee and mind your business. Loooool.

via GIPHY

Bigger Feet

This one I don’t care too much about. My feet grew half a size up. I still have small feet regardless, so it’s okay. I can still find cute shoes in my size so no hard feelings.

via GIPHY

Honestly, I’ve come to terms with my new body. I’m not going to lie that I love it because I really do not. I think I’ve just accepted it. I miss my flat belly and acquired boobs. I look at Jidenna and forget all about the scars and marks so really it is fine.

Did you experience any other body changes I haven’t mentioned here? Please share with me what changes your body went through post-baby. I’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to share and subscribe to get more updates. Lots of Love!

Featured Photo by Mustafa Omar on Unsplash

35 Comments

  1. Amber Myers

    December 24, 2019 at 1:57 am

    Ugh yes. I still have the mommy pooch and my youngest is 12. And the stretch marks!

    1. Chinenye

      December 24, 2019 at 4:49 am

      The stretch mark was heartbreaking. I thought I was going to escape it. I guess it had other plans for me. Lol.

  2. Natalie

    December 24, 2019 at 2:31 am

    This is definitely good to know as someone who has not gone through a pregnancy. I have heard about hair loss post-pregnancy, that’s a bummer!

    1. Chinenye

      December 24, 2019 at 4:48 am

      I know right! Surprisingly it doesn’t happen to everyone. Some people actually have healthier and fuller hair. Lol.

      1. Fiyin

        January 21, 2020 at 11:22 am

        100% so trueeee!!!

  3. Julie

    December 24, 2019 at 2:51 am

    Sorry I can’t relate, I’ve never been pregnant, however I’m happily sharing your post on Mix! Love the gifs!

    1. Chinenye

      December 24, 2019 at 4:47 am

      Thanks Julie!

  4. Tara Pittman

    December 24, 2019 at 3:13 am

    I do have that mom pooch. After 5 kids, it will not go away

    1. Chinenye

      December 24, 2019 at 4:47 am

      Sighs! I guess we have no choice but to love it.

  5. Krysten Quiles

    December 24, 2019 at 3:30 am

    Eek. I think the bigger feet would mess with me. I have quite the shoe collection!

    1. Chinenye

      December 25, 2019 at 4:45 pm

      Haha…I can only imagine. I gave out most of my shoes. Lol

  6. Lisa @ Midwest Glam

    December 24, 2019 at 6:33 am

    I experienced many of these minus the larger feet. Mine did swell up briefly. I called them Shrek feet lol.

    1. Chinenye

      December 24, 2019 at 2:26 pm

      Lol @shrek feet. It’s all #joysofmotherhood.

  7. Marie Phillips

    December 24, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    I actually did not get stretch marks. And the mommy pooch went away when I did sit ups every. single. day. Until I decided I would rather just have the pooch then do that every day for the rest of my life. And I lost a lot of hair, but no huge clumps. I wish that I had been encouraged to embrace my post-pregnancy body instead of made to feel like I had to instantly bounce back. That is something I want to pass on to my daughters. It’s okay to look like you had a baby because you did!!!

    1. Chinenye

      December 24, 2019 at 2:25 pm

      I know right. And most times it is other women who put women under that pressure to snap back. Unfortunately, I can’t do situps because of the diastasis recti but there are other exercises that I can do. Honestly, I think I’m just too lazy and do not care about that ‘snap back’. After all, I just birthed a human being.

  8. Alvern Success Unscrambled

    December 24, 2019 at 5:06 pm

    It has been a while since I was last pregnant but I must say that I don’t recall losing any hair at all. I remember my hair got thicker. Do your feet really become bigger? Gosh, as far as I know, my feet remained the same. The one thing that happened was the dropping of the pelvic floor. It was so bad for me that I had to use crutches.

    1. Chinenye

      December 25, 2019 at 4:44 pm

      Oh, that’s crazy.I’ve heard about the dropping of the pelvic floor/pelvic prolapse. The things us moms go through though. Sighs!

  9. Ewa

    December 24, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    I have never been pregnant so it is good to know about all these changes that our bodies may go through! My feet are small so that would probably not bother me either but I hope I can avoid the hair loss since my hair is so thin to begin with!

    1. Chinenye

      December 25, 2019 at 4:43 pm

      I know right. The hair one sucks, but you know some people end up with thicker hair. No pregnancy is the same.

    2. ohmummymia

      December 27, 2019 at 4:50 am

      I still loose a lot of hair and my son will be 4 in April. It’s so hard to get prepregnant body back

      1. Chinenye

        December 27, 2019 at 11:37 pm

        I know the struggle. Lol. Hopefully, my big chop helps my hair grow back.

  10. Candace Hampton

    December 24, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    It’s really interesting to read all of this. I can’t relate, because I’m not a mom, but I like learning new things. When the time comes I want to be informed and prepared.
    Happy Holidays!

    1. Chinenye

      December 25, 2019 at 4:42 pm

      Haha….information is key.

  11. Eloise

    December 24, 2019 at 9:11 pm

    ahhh yes, the postpartum body! I remember all of those things you’ve mentioned (both times) The 2nd time around it hit even harder… but it’s all worth it to have beautiful kids ; )

    1. Chinenye

      December 25, 2019 at 4:42 pm

      Very true! You can’t help but look at your kids and be grateful.

  12. Monica

    December 25, 2019 at 4:24 am

    Girl! I can testify to all of these!!! Babies are a blessing, but the things we go through are no joke!

    1. Chinenye

      December 25, 2019 at 4:41 pm

      Yup, I agree 100 percent!

  13. Debbie

    December 26, 2019 at 12:17 am

    Postpartum changes are definitely hard! I dealt with hair loss too and it sucked.

    1. Chinenye

      December 26, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      I know right. It really does!!!

  14. Chi

    December 29, 2019 at 4:26 am

    These little humans are worth it, great write up hon.

    1. Chinenye

      December 29, 2019 at 9:21 pm

      Yes, they are. Thanks hun!

  15. Justine

    January 3, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    Ugh the mommy pooch is the worst. I’ve always been skinny, I still am, but I can’t get rid of that bloated look ever since having my son. ? On a separate note, my feet didn’t grow my first pregnancy. I’m still holding out hope they do with this pregnancy ? I’m a size 4.5 and I’d love to find normal shoe sizes haha

    1. Chinenye

      January 3, 2020 at 3:18 pm

      Oh wow! Fingers crossed for you. And I thought I had tiny feet. Haha. The bloated look is here to stay. I keep convincing myself that when I’m done having kids, I’ll take workouts seriously.

  16. Dolapo

    January 26, 2020 at 4:29 pm

    Joys of motherhood indeed! All these ‘great’ things to look forward to??‍♀️ #Imnotevencrying

    1. Chinenye

      January 26, 2020 at 5:35 pm

      Haha!!! Save the cry for when it’s time o. Lol. Just be prepared!!!

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