“I HATE the marshmallow tum and the stretch marks!! My husband says they aren't so bad and he loves all of me anyway - but I still can't make myself feel better about it...”

“I looked like a train wreck straight after the birth: big saggy belly swollen from the c-section, plus my whole tummy was numb and bruised from hip to hip and belly button to girly bits!”  

“I stood for the longest time looking in the full length mirror in the bathroom while the shower was running when I went for my post birth shower, staring in disbelief at my belly, it felt so...."weird" I think I cried and said a quiet thank you for the job it had done over the past 10 months. I did that both times. It took a while to get used to not having a baby in there and learning to move like a normal person again.”

“I think the thing that surprised me the most (and does again every time) is that my post-delivery belly looked like I was still 7 months pregnant, just floppier!” 

“I’ve still got the linea nigra, I hope that fades soon!”

“Saggy tum!!! I hated it, have always liked my tummy as it has always been relatively flat - not anymore!!”

“I hate my saggy tummy, I mean really hate it. Not enough apparently to not give into chocolate cravings mind you, but seriously, I had abs before and now there is nothing but flab. It makes me miserable. It's the one type of surgery I would consider!! I loath the way there is a little ‘apron’ Ugh!”

“The marshmallow tummy after birth was the biggest shock.”

“The tummy! Mine has never been great but it was firm fat now it is squishy fat. I was very scared to touch it the first few days and I remember very carefully lying on my tummy a few days after.... I was too scared to do it. I was a tummy sleeper before but have only just got back into it now.”

“The first time I slept on my tummy again was total bliss!”

“With my first Baby I didn't really get the squishy tummy I bounced back to just fat not preggers looking. But I still couldn't sleep on my tummy as my bloody boobs hurt too much. The next two I got the squishy belly.”

“The marshmallow tum! Where did all the tone go?”

“I had fun playing with my jelly tummy afterwards. I did find it felt weird though, especially after being rock hard. My tummy went down about 3 days after I had him as I went to the gym and was still toned while I was pregnant. After having him I stopped going to the gym so muscle tone turned to fat.”

“I wasn’t told that I would still look 6 months pregnant after I gave birth!”

“My belly went down really quickly and when I left the hospital both times, it had pretty much gone and I just looked like my normal cuddly self. I still have a squidgy mummy-tummy, the ‘apron’, yuck, but I guess it’s there for a reason.”

“I hope my stretch marks will get better, they are still so big and fragile.”

“For me having a saggy marshmallow belly is now really affecting my confidence, something I am trying to work through at the moment as its affecting me quite badly. I never thought it would be as bad as it actually is.”

“The stretch marks are still there, but I do expect them to fade a bit over time.”

“I'd heard about marshmallow tums, but nothing can prepare you for the "nothingness" that is in your torso where the baby used to be before the organs move back. It was a pretty funny game to feel under my ribs while lying down and to press almost thru to the back without resistance - I felt like Aeon Flux!”

“My stretch marks have started to fade a bit but its early days.”