1  | 

I found this helpful Thank You! Your vote will be tallied soon!

There are hundreds of pregnancy books to take you step by step through the changes your body will go through during pregnancy. You'll know what to expect regarding stretch marks, expanding breasts and belly, swelling in your feet, etc.

But what most of the books fail to tell you about are the changes that happen after the baby is born.

Earlier this week, I was taking a shower and as I ran my hands through my hair, I felt something strange. I looked at my hand, and caught between my fingers were several strands of hair. I'm not talking about four or five. There must have been 15 or 20 hairs on my hand. I continued to wash my hair, and even more strands came out. After the shower, another handful came out while I was combing my hair.

When this happened with my first pregnancy, I freaked out and thought I was losing my hair. Visions of being a bald new mama haunted me. This time, however, I know it's simply a result of the body adjusting to no longer being pregnant, so I'm not worried. My lush locks from pregnancy, nurtured by the crazy amounts of hormones coursing through my body, are now deprived of those hormones, and that extra hair has to come out. However, it's still awkward when I'm shedding all over the place - I leave a trail of hair wherever I go.

And speaking of hair, why is it that the hair on my head is falling out like I'm a dog in spring, but I have yet to lose all of the other strange hairs that sprung up? I now have a few dark hairs on my chest, my breasts, and my neck that will not go away. Again, these hairs are a result of hormones, but they aren't as willing to go away. For now, I must pluck, pluck, pluck.

I think the biggest shock for many women after giving birth is how they may quickly return to their starting weight, they're not necessarily the same size. Growing a baby forces the body to shift and rearrange everything internally, and not everything goes back to where it was. My hips are a good example of this. The hipbones are actually wider than they were before I had children. My clothes don't fit the way they used to - I'm curvier now.

Perhaps the weirdest changes, though, are my feet. They're slightly longer, and a lot wider now. I still wear a size 10 shoe, but occasionally I have to go up to a 10.5, and wide shoes are a must. I didn't gain much weight with either pregnancy, so I don't know how my feet grew.

I don't mind most of the changes to my body. The hair loss is temporary, thank goodness. And the stretch marks, wide hips, and big feet are a small price to pay for my beautiful girls. (I wouldn't mind if the hairs on my chest and neck disapperaed, though.)

What body changes did you experience after having a baby? Are there any you wish you could change back?