Question to successful moms!

I had a baby a month ago via c-section and was wondering what was effective to moms to lose that saggy pouch belly.  I've been doing crunches and trying to make it stronger but i'm not sure what to do to make my lower abs stronger.  I also have what they call an "overhang" which is just flesh that stops at the scar and hangs over it instead of filling the area in.  Does that ever go away?

please help.

thank you so much

I can't help you with "overhang", because I don't know about it, but I will say that you are probably starting exercise too early.  Your body needs to heal at least for 6 weeks, and probably more with a c-section.  I had one with my twins, and it took me quite a while to get back to normal, much less start exercising.  You should also not be dieting at this point, although I don't even know if you're doing that.  You have to remember that your muscles and nerves were cut open, and that takes time to heal.  I still have numbness on parts of my belly 18 months later - nerves take longer to heal, and sometimes they never do.  You don't need to start working those muscles yet because they need to grow back together first. 

I'll let you know about the saggy pouch belly (haha).  I've been trying to get rid of mine for years.  Maybe this time I can do it!
twinmama

Wow twins!  Ouch!

I have been on a low food diet but not purposely.  I've been busy with the baby and my budget is sooooo low right now that I don't eat much.

I also still feel numb in some areas and my tummy still feels tingly. 

How long until the muscles come back?  I asked my doctor if it's okay to start working out and he said it was fine now that the stitches fell.

Also... give me hope with stretch marks...  did they get very light to the point that you don't see them anymore?  (crosses fingers and hopes for a yes)

My baby was 9 pounds and did a lot of damage.  lol

Hi there! I had my three babies in a four year period ( crazy!!!) and I was only 18 when I started so I had a severe 'overhang' - it gets a lot worse with the more weight that you have on and I thought that it was permanent, though if you swim / lose weight it will start to reduce naturally and crunches make a huge difference if you do them every single day and build them up while doing your usual exercise. I do a reverse sit up, where I lay flat on the floor and lift both of my legs up at once and repeat that for 10 times in a row - but I would DEFINATELY check with the doctor to see if this is ok to do so soon. YOu can work up to doing lots of these 10 at a time intervals and it makes a huge difference, but go slow and be careful :) 

I'm with you on the stretch mark question.  My daughter is 15 months old and I still have a lot of stretch marks that are pretty dark.  Some of them have started to fade but the ones on my sides are still pretty nasty looking.  I was hoping they would have faded by now.  Now I am just hoping that they don't come back with my next pregnancy!

My first daughter was born when I was 15 I had no idea about what it would do to my body and fortunately I never got stretch marks and ended up smaller then when I started. Ten years later the 2nd baby came but I worked in a gym and worked out right through and my bod almost bounced back. However three years later baby number three came along and now I'm totally in need of dedicated exercise!!! Basically children do change ya bod and it is never the same but just keep healthy eat right and exercise and you will always look better then if you ate junk and never moved off the couch.

Wow so many poochy-belly mamas here..I'm right at home!!! Both my daughters were born c-section, they were 20mos apart, so I definetly got the shelf thing going on.

My girls are now 7yrs and 5yrs old, and after much reflection, I have come to accept and YES even embrace my scars!  They are a testament to the power of being a mommy, my badges of motherhood, if you will.  I am not a hollywood starlet with docs at my beck and call.  I must be realistic here.  I will never have the perfectly flat belly I had B.C. - "before children".  But I will always have my girlies.