Baby weight: how long did it take YOU?

I am just curious, for the moms out there who have had success getting to their postpartum goal weight or close to it...how long did it take?

I delivered 4 weeks ago today. I was a good weight when I started and then packed on 60 pounds. In the first 2 weeks I seriously lost 30 pounds and since then the scale will not budge. I am exclusively breastfeeding, FYI.

Stats: 5'6" / pre-preg: 137 lbs. / weight at delivery 197 lbs./ current weight: 166 lbs.

This was back in 2003 but...

Pre-preg then I was 150.  I gained 40 lbs with my daughter.  So, the day I was admitted I weighed 190.  Within 2 weeks of giving birth I was back to 150.  I didn't exercise or anything.  Just ate better and breastfed which helped.

Goo luck!! 

Edited to add:  I didn't officially start to 'lose' weight until my daughter was almost 2.  I lost almost 30 lbs.  I went down to 122.  Over the past 3 years I've crept back up but I quit smoking, let go of my good eating habits, etc. 

I am back on board and ready to go!

Awww, I just realized your little one was born on my birthday!  How sweet.  Congrats.

Let's see my youngest is 21 and it's not off yet so ............. tee hee just kidding...it took me about 6 months to get to "pre preggers" weight.

I'm in the same boat as you, jazzygal. I gained 40 pounds while pregnant, lost 20 in the first week and haven't lost any weight since then (it's been 8 weeks). I've been pretty strict on what I'm eating but I haven't really been exercising. I'm fairly certain my body will not lose weight while breastfeeding.

When I had my daughter four years ago, I gained 70 pounds (I was underweight when I conceived). I lost 24 upon delivery and didn't lose any more weight until I stopped breastfeeding. The weight melted off at that point then plateaued again until I started to be more active.

I never made it back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. My body changed while pregnant. I no longer have extremely high metabolism and I'm more curvy now than I was before. I still looked skinny when I was at my lowest post-pregnancy weight of 118 which was 15 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.

Anyway, it took time to put the weight on, it will take time to lose it. Thank God for Spanx!

Thanks for the replies, ladies.

Bier, I have heard from more than one woman that breastfeeding seems to actually prevent weight loss. I guess it helps some women but maybe it really does cause some to store the fat. It's frustrating when you hear how easy it is for some but...it's good to hear about people with different experiences.

My body composition is totally different too! Never have I had a squishy mid-section like this..it's all soft and squishy with normal arms and legs.

I had my daughter and packed on almost 70lbs due to a high risk pregnancy (she was 10000% healthy when she was born though :])

It took me a good 3-4 months to lose all the weight with severe calorie counting

i had my baby 2 years ago and it only took about 4 months to lose my 30 pounds gained during pregnancy but i wanted to lose more so I did weight watchers and lost another 16 in 4 more months. i kept it off for a few more months and then, i had a month of very severe PMS symptoms- sore breasts, cramps and VERY moody and within 3 months after that i had gained back almost 10 pounds. and now i'm back up and need to lose 20 pounds!! i think i had something hormonal going on that made it so easy for me to lose weight at first and then something kicked in and now its really hard for me to lose even 5 pounds! UGH!!!!

Congratulations to the two posters above for losing the weight so quickly.

jazzygal, do you feel like all you here about your son from strangers is "Oh my goodness, look at his HAIR!"? My son was born with and still has a ton of reddish blonde hair and that's all I feel like I hear.

My daughter is almost a year old and I had started using CC before she was born and had lost about 20 pounds. During my pregnancy, I gained about 35. It took me about 4 months to get that 35 pounds off. BUT that was with VERY diligent calorie counting and crazy exercise. She was my third and I am now over 30. Several people told me that I wouldn't be able to do it b/c the third baby really changes things compounded by being over 30. Honestly, it was WAY easier the third time around then it ever was with the first 2. I lost my baby weight from my first child in about 6 months and never really lost the baby weight from the second until I joined CC.

Good luck to all of you. CC really is a great tool. 4 weeks is a bit soon to expect too much weight to be gone. Your uterus hasn't fully shroken back to its pre-pregnancy size (I've read it can take 6 weeks).  You can do it!!!!

Bier, yes. I went to Target with my babe today and got harassed by probably a good 12 people!

People are obsessed with his hair. Also, I think people (and by people I mean women, mostly) go crazy for newborns 'cause they're so little.

I know I am probably getting stressed to early, but I just want to feel good again and wondering how long it will take for me to fit into non-maternity pants.

It's been to long since my last baby to comment (17 years), but I just had to say.  That is one of the cutest babies ever!!!!!!  Good Luck Jazzygal, and remember  your body nourished and grew that beautiful human being.  Try not to stress about your weight right now and just keep doing healthy things.  Enjoy this time... it passes QUICKLY.  Best of Luck

It's been 9 months since I had my daughter and I have lost 50 of the 80lbs I gained. It is taking some time but I hope to be almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight by her birthday.

It took me 12 days! But my pre preg weight was 194, then I got up to 215 and it was off within 12 days!

My daughter is now 7 months and I am 142 lbs. So I have lost over 70 lbs. in 7 months! You can do it!

P.S. Breast feeding helps but you definitely need good diet and excercise! But until you are done breast feeding don't lower your cal intake!

Well, I was 142 when I got pregnant but due to serious morning sickness I dropped to 130 then I topped out a 178, so I gained 50 lbs! Alot was due to water weight because of my preclampsia though. Anyways I have a 10 month old and I am down to 133, which is less than I weighed when I got pregnant. I lost about 40 lbs in the first 3 months, it was that last 10 that was giving me trouble. See, the less weight you have to lose the harder it is because you don't have many calories to play around with. Just eat healthy, count you calories, and workout. Also, don't stress about your weight, stress causes weight gain and messes with your horomones! In 5 or 6 months you'll be where you want to be I bet, just take care of yourself, AND DO NOT STRESS OUT!

I went from 129lbs to 181lbs in my second pregnancy. My son was over 10lbs, so I lost almost 17lbs at delivery.

I'm down to about 135 now, 10 months later. So, all in all I've lost about 50 lbs. I'm still breastfeeding ( trying to wean the little booger!) and working out about 30-45 min five times a week. ( I'm in the military, so we have mandatory PT in the mornings.)

I weighed 125 lbs before I got pregnant.  Than I gained a whopping 54 lbs.  Within the first two weeks I lost 25lbs, and than it slowed down to a crawl.  It wasn't until my daughter turned 3 months old that I started losing on average about 8-10lbs a month.  ( This is because I started doing cardio).  Before I would just walk with her for 50 mintues in the stroller.  By Four months I was within 14lbs of my goal.  5 months I was 6 pounds within my goal, and by six months I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Now I am even thinner than before I got pregnant, 118lbs!

  It felt like forever, but really truely, if you think about it, losing 54 lbs in 6 months is amazing!!! 

Don't be so hard on yourself.  I know it seems like its taking you forever to lose the weight, but I'd rather lose weight slowly than lose it fast and have to give up muscle and milk for my baby.

Oh, and I Breast Fed and ate normal, as in whenever I felt hungry.

Original Post by sunnyd52:

Oh, and I Breast Fed and ate normal, as in whenever I felt hungry.

 Oye, if I did this, I would be in big trouble. I feel like I'm hungry all the time! It's worse than when I was pregnant. I thought that it might have been cravings instead of hunger so I chug a glass of water and am still hungry! It's especially bad right after I pump at work.

with all 3 of my babies I was pre pregnancy weight within 1 month of delivery.  But I didnt gain much during pregnancy though.  I breastfed on demand and walked everyday just to get out of the house.

I see alot of moms saying they didn't lose weight breastfeeding.  It may be they were only eating enough to make milk and other than that, their body thought it was starving.  You need to add 300-500 calories to your diet when breastfeeding.  It sounds crazy but if you are breastfeeding and having problems losing weight, try adding 150 calories a day and wait a week to see what happens. 

I added approx. 300 calories/day to my intake after both pregnancies and still did not/have not lost weight while breastfeeding (granted, I haven't weighed myself in 3 weeks at this point). I just don't think my body is programmed to lose weight while breastfeeding which is okay by me.