Does having a baby change your appearance?

It’s a question that my friends and I have discussed at length.  We all know someone who since having kids looks a lot older due to lack of sleep and stress, but we also always know of someone who’s the typical yummy mummy – continues to look stunning throughout pregnancy, birth and post-baby, and loses all that baby weight seemingly straight away.

I think losing the baby weight straight after birth helps if you’re a slim build in the first place, and if you’re younger when you have your baby.  In my baby group, we’re all 28+ and it’s my theory that it gets harder to shift weight once you hit 28.  It also doesn’t help if like me, you love cake and chocolate and you have friends where when we regularly get together, it revolves around meal times.  Yummy, but definitely not good for the weight loss.

So my tips for making yourself look and feel better (if only to yourself!):

• Pray you have a child who sleeps well from early on.  Let’s face it, we all want to get back to 8 hours a night sleep.  Luckily I’ve had this from around 3 months and it definitely helps you feel more human if you’re someone who needs a good nights sleep
• Find someone to buddy up with to lose weight.  My online group has a ‘fat club’ which is great to share experiences, weekly weigh in, and get motivated…even if it did take me a while.  But if you’re breast feeding, you need to take it easy to avoid struggling with milk supply.
• Use good make up and concealer.  I’m the type of person who always wears it, even if it’s only minimal.  But concealers & highlighters like Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat and Garnier 2 in 1 anti circles concealer are brilliant and will definitely help brighten under eye circles.  Bizarrely I have dark sections on the outside of my eyes rather than under them, but these 2 do the job brilliantly.
• Drink lots of water, eat fruit & veg (and not just cake despite the fact you may still be craving after pregnancy).
• Get a hair cut – same as always, or new style/colour.  If you enjoy going to the hairdressers, book yourself some time in.  Chances are, they’ll love having a little baby to look after and coo over, and you’ll enjoy the pampering and feel & look great afterwards
• Exercise – walking with a pram’s great, plus it has the benefit of getting you and baby out of the house.  They also say that it’s important for children including babies to have at least a good hour outside each day, so walking’s a good excuse.

And the biggest one – don’t go swimming if you’re paranoid about your weight. There’ll always be one mum who’s really slim, doesn’t look like they’ve had a baby so you don’t want to see yourself in the mirror next to them. However, it can create amusement for your baby to see you struggling into your swimming costume before heading out. You can’t hide away forever, and while there might be someone who’s got an amazing post birth figure, there’ll always be someone who you look better than.

When I look in the mirror (apart from extra weight), I don’t feel I look any different.  Although you don’t know what other people think, it’s what you think and feel that counts.

How do you feel you look after giving birth?