Apron Gut - Arrrghhhhhhh!!

[MilkOnTap]

I had my c/sect 3 months ago (to the day) and I still have an apron gut. Admittedly I had a bit of a gut before I fell pregnant, but now its even worse :(

How did you get rid of yours? Can you ever FULLY get rid of it? Or is a Tummy tuck the only option for me :o ??

[punkbaby]

Just giving you some advice from a freind of mind who had the same prob after her 3rd cs she had the same thing she has found that walking and also doing very gentle stomach excersizes to really help shif it, of course its never going to be flat but after not seeing her for 6 months i really noticed. She layed flat on her back and just lifted her shoulders about 3 inches fromthe ground using her stomach and held it for a few seconds, gradually holding it longer as she went along and got used to it. She also put her knees up to her belly and sat bubs on her shins and gave bubs a ride, moving her legs back and forth from her stomach. I know she didnt start these till 6 months after though :)

Not sure if these will help but it helped her :)

[vanillabean]

I still have one after 2 1/2 years after my last c-section.

[3liddleducks]

I have had 3 c/s and definetly still have mine. I have been told that the only way to get rid of it all together is through plastic surgery eg: tummy tuck :(

[Mamaduke]

I still have mine...3 years later.
Just wait until you get pregnant again - I've got the weirdest baby belly. There's the baby belly and then there's the apron hanging for dear life at the bottom...it's revolting!
I think my only option is to be 'ring barked'

[pegasus]

Okay - going against the grain a bit here.

Some people can get rid of them. Don't be too hard on yourself - 3months down the track, in winter with a newborn to look after - exercise is hard to get into.

They say it takes about a year to get back your body after having a baby regardless of whether you have a c/section or v/birth.

I know posting that I don't have one doesn't help you, but I only got rid of it through lots of walking - pushing pram, and toning exercises - abdominal tucks etc. Also massaging the area to minimise scar tissue is a great help.

It will probably depend on how your surgery was performed - my second one was harder to shift than my first one (which I don't remember having any "apron" from anyway), but you may be able to shift it without surgery. Maybe not, but you really are still in early days.

[oleander]

I had a c/sect and don't have an apron belly. I just eat sensibly and am back to pre-baby body 10 months on. I think the breastfeeding has definately shed the kilos because bubs takes so much from you. I think it just takes time.

[SilverStarfish]

Mummy Tummy can happen regardless of which exit the baby takes :yes: It's pregnancy that gives you the extra skin, not birth. I think it depends mostly on your diet, exercise and fitness levels, skin elasticity etc etc.

It's just anecdotal evidence, but a friend of mine had 3 vb's and is a perfect size 10 all over. She eats very sensibly and we hit the gym 2- 4 times a week together - her program includes 2 sets of 55 crunches, non stop. :eek:

And she STILL has a mummy tummy!

[DJWebb]

My belly dosnt look different after my c-section! I had some stretched skin, but that was there from after I had my 1st baby naturally! My tummy was pretty much flat 4 months after my c-section! And i have a perfectly round belly now that Im 24 weeks pregnant, dosnt look strange at all

[Shanaynay]

Yep I still have it 3 yrs on too - sorry :laughing:

[ShadyCharacter]

Yep, as much as I hate to say it, VB AND c/s's can cause baby apron. And there is a big difference between baby apron and a bit of a floppy tummy... baby apron does NOT go away without surgery unfortunately, as it is loose skin, and skin doesn't regain elasticity no matter how great you get your muscles.

I have one from my first pregnancy, and afterwards I lost a lot of weight, and got my tummy muscles into really good condition... I had virtually no fat on my tummy (could see muscles in the top part), and the baby apron got a little smaller (the muscles lifting and pulling the skin), but its still there.

Surgery for me once I am done having kids :)

[flib]

It's nearly ten months since my 3rd bub was born and I'm back to size 10 and wouldn't want to lose any more weight - I'm about 53kg.

Anyway I had a c-section with my first and while I don't have apron belly I do have a slight overhang because of the way the scar tissue is less elastic than the rest of your skin. There's no way I can get rid of this by exercising but there's no way I'd have surgery either!

Your c-section is still very recent and you have a very young baby. I say if it takes 9 months to grow a baby, you've got to give yourself 9 months to allow your body to get back to 'normal'. It's never the same just different!

Don't worry about the scar. Unless you plan on wearing a skin tight bikini, it will never be seen anyway! And the most important people love you no matter what. Really, the hardest thing is for us to love ourselves unconditionally! Beats plastic surgery!

Best wishes and look after yourself!

[SassyMummy]

I agree with ShadyCharacter that there is a difference between a mere bit of post-baby flab and a full-on apron. The apron is skin... just like a heavy person who loses weight quickly or loses a drastic amount...it can't disappear without surgery.

TBH, while I absolutely hate my disgusting apron, I don't hate it enough to have it operated on! A good pair of sucking-in granny undies (or even a full on bodysuit) will help... but yeah, unfortunately, it always makes you just look fat...

[*babygirl*]

i have a bit of an overhang but i dont think it is an apron :confused: lol.... but i've al;ways been a little bigger
hopefully gym will make it a big better but to be honest it doesnt really bother me.

[justtwogirls22]

i still have mine after 2 c-sections - even asked after my third if they could cut a bit extra out while they were operating -dr wasnt amused!

[Lila]

3 c/s here and .............YES an apron....
the more you exercise and lose on weight the more the excess skin will hang....at least that´s the case with me....:gloomy:

[pickles]

I had two vaginal births ( second 9 pounds ) and although i dont have the 'overhang' i look like a very wrinkled dehydrtaed prune. At present i am not going to do anything about it but eventually when we have definetley finished having children i iwll have a 'tummy tuck' and breast lift / implant.
my sister in law had the same problem ( after putting on 40kgs with her first) except that she had the wrinkled skin and the overhang. she has just had a tummy tuck - looks fantastic but the recovery is really hard.
In terms of exercise sit ups are actually really bad as it forces the seperated rectus muscle to bulge out rather than come back together. the best exercise is walking and gentle pilates / yoga moves to regain the strength of the muscles.
There is little that can be done surgicaly until you have finished birthing and breastfeeding and are in a position where you have enough help - you are literally unable to drive for 4- 6 weeks.

good luck
And there are so many of us out there going through the same thing.

Pickles
DD 02/03
Ds 03/05

[tootiredtosleep]

Still got one after a year and a half. Makes buying clothes very interesting.

I am hoping to find a super doctor that will give me a caesar, tummy tuck and tie my tubes all at once next time.

[ShadyCharacter]

Still got one after a year and a half. Makes buying clothes very interesting.
Yep, the old 'tummy over undies, or tucked into undies' debacle :laughing: :laughing:

[DjF]

Well - even though im trying not to worry over it as i only has c/sect 10 days ago - i have a definate apron - and i hate it, i feel very unattractive with it. I also seem to have stretching under the skin so i dont think it will ever go back to its elasticity. All i can do is accept it for now, be healthy and hope that it shrinks enough - im not a vain person but id like to look like a nice ,almost yummy mummy in summer in my swimmers, not like flabby mummy!

[amumslove]

After 3 c/s in 5yrs mine is still there. I should have asked my dr to give me a tummy tuck while she delivered DS and took out my tubes.LOL

[whatwasithinking]

I've had 3 c/sections and have never been able to get rid of the "apron gutt" (never heard that term before but I love it!).

Think you might be stuck with it!