[Alicia~in~MI]

I'm a week PP and my belly is still very round and hard, think 4 months pregnant. It's not squishy or fatty feeling, it's very hard. Is this normal? I've lost nearly 20lbs of my 37 and I really only gained in my belly and a little in my butt and thighs, yet my belly is still very pronounced.

Does it take longer to go down with a c/s? Is it swollen inside from the surgery and that's why it's so hard still? I know it takes 6 weeks for the uterus to shrink back to normal but this seems odd to me.

[Mommy02]

I had a c/s with my daughter and it took a while for my belly to go away. I still looked pregnant 2 weeks after she was born

[tm501]

Alicia give yourself some time! You just gave birth to 2 beautiful babies. Your belly needs a little time to shrink back.

[Barbgsx1]

I am 4 weeks post c/s and my abdomin is still swollen...I am down to my pre cycle weight but can't get my belly in my Levi's!!! I think with the c/s you will find that your bleeding is different and much better than with a vaginal.

Are you feeling good otherwise???

Barb :)/>

[rrmom]

Some days, I'm glad for the post-c section amnesia...LOL! but today, I wish I could remember how that first month or so was after the surgery. I do remember being disappointed that my belly wouldn't allow those jeans to zip for awhile, but I don't remember the hard feeling that you describe. Are you in any pain?

Mandy

[Karen1229]

This last c/s, my belly stayed it's biggest the longest of all of my other deliveries, but I chalked it up to this being my first twin pregnancy. Also, at my 6w pp checkup, my uterus was still that of an 8wk pg woman, to which my OB said was totally normal..."you just had twins at 38w, hun, it will take extra time to go down" she told me. I'd be willing to bet that your uterus is still fairly large. As long as you don't feel any signs of infection, I'm sure all is ok.

[Alicia~in~MI]

Barbgsx1, on Jul 23 2009, 05:29 PM, said:

I am 4 weeks post c/s and my abdomin is still swollen...I am down to my pre cycle weight but can't get my belly in my Levi's!!! I think with the c/s you will find that your bleeding is different and much better than with a vaginal.

Are you feeling good otherwise???

Barb :)/>

The bleeding is much better this time as you said :)/> I'm feeling very sore still when I'm active, I end up limping on my right side when I walk too much. If I feel the cut it's very hard on the right side on the inside...which I would imagine would explain the stabbing pain and soreness just in that side. I'm going to ask at my 2 week check next week about that.

[jennkelly72]

i found that my "shrink time" after my section was the longest, too...and my PP bleeding didn't stop till 10 weeks...

i was squishy though, not round & hard...

BTW, i limped for a while too...favoring my left side, which was the most painful for me...i think it's fairly common after abdo surgery.

sending you lots of recovery vibes....take care !!

[texasmommy]

my OB said that it's due to your uterus not doing the post-birth contracted as heavily as it would with a vaginal delivery. but yes, completely normal and it does go away! keep taking care of yourself!

[4ofmyown]

even with twins your uterus should go back to normal size in just days. Your abdominal muscles will be stretched to heck though and those will take some time to get back to normal.

If by chance it is your uterus, this is serious and you need to be seen soon.

After 7 pregnancies, my stomach is all stretched out and the even though it is squishy(from a layer of fat), the muscles underneath are firm just stretched out.

Also, after surgery, most people have a LOT of extra fluids and will be swollen and bloated for a few weeks afterwards. (blah!)

The hardness you are feeling in and around your scar sounds normal though. Just healing and stuff. Watch for redness, hot to the touch, unexplained swelling, stuff like that.....that would indicate an infection.

[Charbearx3]

My last c/s was horrible. I was swollen for weeks. It was the longest I had ever worn my maternity clothes after a pregnancy. Hang in there. I hope the swelling goes down soon. And remember, you still need to take it easy. you did have surgery. So try not to over do it!

[Alicia~in~MI]

Thank you all for the encouragement and advice. I've been very emotional since the birth and my self esteem from my belly issue was a big part of that, reading what you all wrote helped me :)/>

I'm happy to share though that today, after 4 nights of sweating my @ss off/water weight I woke up looking non-pregnant FINALLY! I have 15 more lbs to lose to get to pre-preggo weight but being I'm just 12 days PP I have a few more weeks to lose that too!

I'm happy to not have that round hard belly anymore! :bliss:/>

[Momma2Twins]

You look great!

I didn't have the swollen belly after my girls, or any other pregnancy, but I did have the "pain" on my left side from the section (they told me it was the part they "rip" a bit), it was never really painful, but it felt like it was rubbed raw.

[hannahbutterfly1997]

WOW GIRLY!!! YOu look fab for just havng twins 2 weeks ago. I looked like that at 2 weeks PP also. Gotta love the twin diet. LOL. Keep up the good work and just know that you made two very special people parents with those cuties. Congrats again

[blessedmomof4]

YOU LOOK WONDERFUL, Alicia!!!