During pregnancy, I gained about 27 pounds. A woman of healthy and average weight can generally expect to gain between 25-35 pounds during a singleton pregnancy, and so that basically means I was average in my weight gain, as well. Within the first week after giving birth, I lost 11 pounds. This is likely due to the baby (about 6 lb), plus the loss of the placenta, umbilical chord, as well as the amniotic fluid that protected the baby within the uterus. I was told that with breastfeeding and pumping, I would be back to my pre-pregnancy size and weight in no time. But I was checking my weight once a week each week since giving birth, and my weight loss so far has stagnated to just 12 pounds overall despite consistent nursing and pumping, which confused me. My stomach is almost back to pre-pregnancy size, and I assume that the excess flab I still have there is not from my uterus, but rather from the fat that my body created in my core to protect the womb. This just means that once I start going back to the gym more regularly that I’ll need to rely on exercise to get back to my pre-baby size and weight… whenever that will be.