Bloated Belly after C-Section

Hello Mommys!

I had the boys a week ago today via c-section, and my stomach still has a bloated look. It is pretty firm and I was wondering if it could be gas I am carrying. Should I expect to see some resemblance of my former belly. With DH I was flat immediately after giving birth (but that was a vaginal delivery), so I guess I came in with the same thought, because I hadn't gained much weight. Infact only 27 pounds. DH and I are newly married and I would hate to lose sex appeal so early in the marriage. I still want to entice him. How long should I give myself before I truly begin to worry.

Also, how long does it take the breast engorgement to go down??? These things are killing me! I am not breastfeeding..

 

Umm....I don't mean to alarm you but I still have a bit of a belly. It is MUCH MUCH better than what it was at one week PP though, I think you need at least 6 weeks for your uterus to even contract fully back to it's normal size so I would give yourself at least six weeks. You need to rest momma!!, don't worry about your belly yet.

And as for your breasts, have you tired cabbage leaves and a tight sports bra to help with the engorgement?? I hope you find some relief.

Congrats on the birth of your boys and try not to worry about your belly quite yet!!

 

Yep, it is gas. Try Gas X and taking a lot of short walks to move that out. As for the breasts...a tight bra and don't let warm/hot water run on them. DONT WORRY about enticing your DH! He loves YOU and will love you no matter how long it takes your belly to go down (which can take a little longer with a section than vaginal delivery). CONGRATULATIONS!

 

After each of my pregnancies it took longer to get back to normal than the one previous. And, like Katie said, your uterus will take 6 weeks to return to normal, maybe longer after having twins. I haven't had a c-section so I'm not sure how that will affect things, but I'm sure someone else here will have that info for you. Congratulations on your babies!

Not sure about the breasts, but I hope the pain gets better soon! :hug:

 

Yes it's gas, yes it's normal, ditto using gas-x and lots of walks. Stay away from food that causes gas like onions, caffeine, chocolate, carbonated drinks, it'll make it worse.

As for when does the belly go away, well this was #3 and 4 for me and I still have "twin skin". But it really depends on your age, how big you got (I only gained 28 lbs), how big babies were, and how many times you've been pregnant, as well as the elasticity of your skin. I hope your body goes back the way you want, but after twins, there's really no gaurantees

And for the engorgement ditto the cabbage leaves, and a tight bra day and night, and advil for the pain. If you develop a fever get to the dr ASAP, it could be the start of mastitis! I think it was about a week before I started feeling better (I nursed the twins for 6 wks). :hug:

Congrats on your little ones!! :wub:

 

It's going to be a while, but not to worry it will go down. It's not the weight that's making you bloated it's the fact that you had major surgery. The days when I pushed myself too hard after my c-section always led to more swelling and at night I'd look 4 months pregnant at 3 months PP. After a good nights rest though I'd look normal. I wore a bellaband for a little compression and that helped. There are also other great PP bands out there that will provide support. Good luck and rest up, that will help so much!

 

I am thinking it is gas but after two weeks, it should have already subsided. Is it painful gas? With my c-section, I had abdominal gas in the abdominal cavity and after that subsided, I had gas from constipation from not being able to go to the bathroom. It was really painful for me and actually more painful than the incision. If this is what you think it is, I was given a remedy by this wonderful nurse in the hospital. Mix 1/2 gingerale and 1/2 milk, yep it sounds gross but is actually pretty tasty and I hate milk, and drink it when you feel uncomfortable. This actually worked wonders for me and much more than the gas x. It also could just be that it is your uterus and the swelling of it from the surgery, in which case you need to just be patient and it will decrease in size.

From my experience, it takes two days for the breast engorgement to get much better. The first day is by far the most painful and the second day is still painful but 100 times better than the day before.

 

I am 7 weeks post partum today. I was used to a toned stomach. This belly thing is new to me. At one week PP, I looked about 8 months pregnant. After 2 weeks PP, I looked about 6 months pregnant. After 4 weeks, I looked about 5 months pregnant. Now, at 7 weeks, if I wear control top underwear, you can't notice a belly on me....I just look bigger than I was...I still have 11 of my 60 pounds to go. If you look at my naked belly, it's pooching a lot still, but the control top underwear...and I mean the HEAVY DUTY stuff... works well so you can't notice it through the clothes. I also sleep with the binder on from the c-section and sleep on my back. I feel like this also might help it go back down to normal with letting gravity do it's job whilst on my back and keeping it close to my body to help guide it to where it's supposed to be....My OB said it's stretched out muscles and connective tissue. So, when I work out, I contract my abs constantly. I still can't do crunches and actual abdominal work, but just the contracting and tightening of my abs while I work out seems to also help. When I came home from the hospital, my extra skin was hanging past my vajayjay....Now, the extra skin has come up, and I can see the incisionIt's getting much better. My OB thinks it will be flat enough for me to fit into my clothes in another 5 weeks (when I go back to work), however she said it could take up to a year for it to look normal. Anyway, I totally understand about freaking out about it...I'm also a therapist, so I've been doing my own body image therapy on myself!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

I did not breastfeed...My engorgement lasted two days. I wore a tight sports bra and an Ace bandage wrappaed around for 10 days, which was when I stopped leaking. GL!

 

I looked 6mth pregnant for about 2wks after the section but once the gas givesway it flattened dramatically, in fact i felt skinny! I am 6mths post section and my stomach is still rounded but i have made no effort to lose the weight yet. I was pumping so when i became engorged i pumped and oh my what a releif it was!! Congratulations Momma!