How long does it take for the swelling to go away after giving birth?

[Anonymous]

I am 39 weeks and incredibly swollen from head to toe. I am curious how long it took for your swelling to go away once you gave birth.

[Anonymous]

Took about 2 weeks for me. My swelling - sorry to say - actually got worse right after birth, esp in my feet, ankles, and calves.

[Anonymous]

For me it was within a few days. I remember thinking, "My legs! Oh look, my legs!"

[Anonymous]

It took about 2 weeks for the worst of it to go away, but an entire month until I could put on my wedding ring again! I was so happy when that day came, since I had to stop wearing my rings at about 7 months due to swelling in my fingers.

[Anonymous]

I gained 54 lbs while pregnant and was hugely swollen with water the last few weeks, especially lower-body. Within 3 days of giving birth, I'd lost 34 lbs. (8 lb baby, placenta and a buttload of water.) That day, I looked at my feet and saw veins for the first time in 3 months (they'd looked like swollen watermelons before) and almost cried with happiness. Then I just had 20 lbs of milkshake weight to lose.

Some people get swollen from the IV fluid and have to lose that post-partum. I was probably already retaining so much water I couldn't retain any more.

The stomach took at least two-three months to look more like what I was used to. there was just more skin there for awhile, and the uterus was definitely still not its normal size. I didn't fit back into my normal jeans for about 3 months; I wore my maternity stuff and looser, more forgiving pants for awhile. I normally have an awesome stomach (all my fat goes to my ass/thighs) so it was kind of weird for me, but I rolled with it.

[Anonymous]

The next day all I could keep saying was "The baby is so cute! And look I have ankles again! I can't believe I have ankles again!" They put those air compress things on my legs in the hospital, so maybe that sped the process along. Similar to PP, I lost at least 25 pounds within 5 days and felt SO much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I gained 54 lbs while pregnant and was hugely swollen with water the last few weeks, especially lower-body. Within 3 days of giving birth, I'd lost 34 lbs. (8 lb baby, placenta and a buttload of water.) That day, I looked at my feet and saw veins for the first time in 3 months (they'd looked like swollen watermelons before) and almost cried with happiness. Then I just had 20 lbs of milkshake weight to lose.

Some people get swollen from the IV fluid and have to lose that post-partum. I was probably already retaining so much water I couldn't retain any more.

The stomach took at least two-three months to look more like what I was used to. there was just more skin there for awhile, and the uterus was definitely still not its normal size. I didn't fit back into my normal jeans for about 3 months; I wore my maternity stuff and looser, more forgiving pants for awhile. I normally have an awesome stomach (all my fat goes to my ass/thighs) so it was kind of weird for me, but I rolled with it.

I was very similar. Gained 30 lbs on a 5'2" body, and much of it was water. Lost 20 lbs. within 3 days, which probably included the major fluids they ran through me for delivery. (The post-delivery photos of me are hilarious -- my face is hugely swollen!!) All the crazy swelling in my face and legs was gone within a week. It was so great to see my normal ankles again!!

After that, it took awhile (4-6 months) to lose the rest of the weight and look normal around the belly/waist. Probably because I was eating like a horse while I nursed and not actively trying to lose the weight.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

If you don't have an IV for delivery, you lose much of the water weight after the birth. I could put my ring on again when I got home from the hospital.

[Anonymous]

If you don't have an IV for delivery, you lose much of the water weight after the birth. I could put my ring on again when I got home from the hospital.

This. LOVED not having an IV, especially when it came to night sweats.