6 Months Postpartum and Still Healing (Jillyn)

I am posting my postpartum pictures here of my body after my second pregnancy. My previous post is here.

This pregnancy came a bit unexpected for my husband and I. After the birth and death of our first daughter we planned to wait a year before TTC again. But just 6 months postpartum we found out i was expecting again. By 6 months PP i hadn’t lost any of my pregnancy weight and I actually gained a bit. I believe i started my second pregnancy at around 215lbs (i am 5’5″). The pregnancy was an emotional time for me because i was still trying to deal with the emotions and grief of loosing our first daughter. We tried to keep things as peaceful as we were able. We had a midwife for the pregnancy and planned a homebirth.

I delivered our second daughter at 41 weeks and 2 days. Everything went wonderful and we have a very happy and healthy 6 month old (she was 7lbs and 20″ long at birth). I’ve still been struggling with my emotions this postpartum and i’m trying not to slip into depression but sometimes it’s hard, especially with a very high needs baby (most would say she had Colic). But there are many good times and she is such a blessing in our life. Our “rainbow” baby :)

The day i went into labor i weighed 250lbs and a couple weeks postpartum i believe i was around 230lbs. I’ve struggled with accepting my new body but i don’t 100% hate it. I hate how much my belly and hips droop with extra skin, but other than that i’m not too upset. I actually like my stretch marks and i think they are pretty cool (i thought they were cool before as well). One thing that i thought was neat was when i was pregnant with our first daughter i got stretch marks and they started to heal and were more white. Then when i started to stretch more at the end of this pregnancy you could see where my old stretch marks ended (from first DD) and my new ones began. The day i took these postpartum pictures (6 months) i weighed myself and i was 213lbs (and at 6.5 months PP i’m 208lbs!).

The pictures i posted are from 6 months postpartum. I tried to take pictures of all the changes. I included pictures of my worst stretch marks, ones inside my thighs. I have one on each side and they actually split so bad that sometimes they bled and i wasn’t able to walk properly. Even now one of them still splits sometimes (as you can see in the photo). Of course they were much bigger during the pregnancy (about 1/2″ wide and 3-4″ long!). I also took a close up shot of my stretch marks on my belly. And I included a couple pictures from at the end of my pregnancy :)

~Age: 23
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies, 2 births, both vaginal
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: First DD died after birth, Second DD is 6.5 months. Pictures taken when i was 6 months PP.

14 thoughts on “6 Months Postpartum and Still Healing (Jillyn)

  • Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 9:28 am
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    You are my everything twin…

    the skin, the belly, the breasts, the fold. I have been 125lb and 245lb. I love myself more now than ever before. I have 6 kids but still take 5-6 days a week to do yoga. Period. I feel soooo much better and my core is finally trying to get some strength back. at 150lb, and fit, I flaunt my body all over because it CHALLENGES people and their self-esteem and judgment. I am not afraid anymore.

    Congrats on your beautiful family, husband, beautiful life! I am so sorry to here of your loss, but all things work in perfectly beautiful ways.

    Peace and Blessings!

  • Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 9:52 am
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    I am so sorry for your loss. Congratulations on the birth of your second sweet little girl. I love these pictures. They’re so honest! I especially love the last picture with your hubby – so sweet! :D Thank you for posting!

  • Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 10:29 am
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    So sorry to hear of your loss, but truly inspired by your story :) You look absolutely radiant! I know you must be so in love with your baby right now. Congratulations, and prayers for your little angel in heaven!

  • Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 6:04 pm
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    I have been looking on this website for years and I have finally found my belly twin. My stomach looks exactly like that.

  • Friday, April 15, 2011 at 4:28 am
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    My stomach looks exactly like this- Im here under Plus size mamma” in the general category I think. I still look the same, just a little thinner.

    You are one strong mamma!

  • Friday, April 15, 2011 at 9:13 am
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    So sorry for your loss but you now seem blessed with a wonderful family. I looked at your photos and what I saw was a very beautiful lady. It’s easy to see a post-pregancy body in terms of the ‘damage’ caused, but anyone with sensitivity to what the body goes through during pregancy is able to take a completely different perspective. Your current appearance reflects the process that has brought your cherished daughter into the world, so I’m sure that every time your husband sees your stretch marks, etc, his heart is filled with admiration, gratitude and love!

  • Friday, April 15, 2011 at 9:57 am
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    you’re beautiful because you beared life and we all are and u kno what girl i got saggy skin and i was 190 on a 5ft6 frame and unlike most lucky latinas my weight was not in my butt but my tummy and back and now i have a little sagging pouch but i do cardio everyday at least 20min and like u my husband loves me and when i hold my tiny bambino id do it a million times WE ROCK!! WE;re BBW big beautiful women

  • Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 11:56 am
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    wow, thank you so much for your post. I gained nearly a 100lbs with my first pregnancy. everything was normal, i just had a big healthy boy (9lb 8oz) – not chunky, just big. I have been having a hard time accepting my folds, droops, sagging on top of all the weight gain (i was about 240 when I had him 8 months ago). Also, no one I knew had the same stretch marks as me… just like yours. thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this (and everyone else who has shared as well). My stretch marks still itch, but are getting smaller, but i know they always be there… my battle scares

  • Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 10:38 pm
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    Your story is an amazing one. It was very emotional for me to read both of your posts.

    I know I am a stranger, but I’m very proud of you. You are an amazing woman!

    I almost lost my first child to a defect that we didn’t know he had. You are a very strong person indeed to open your heart to us and share your inspiring photos and emotions!

  • Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 6:38 pm
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    Belly Twins!!! My post is coming, I sent it in a few weeks ago, but seriously, same tree like rings. I too struggled with slipping into PP Depression, especially as my boyfriend and I were living at my mothers house at the time. I have a big beautiful almost 7 month old girl, am 205 (got up to 230 from 170 5’6) and am working with it to slowly get down. You are awesome and it is so nice to see your husband supporting you! It’s nice to here your beautiful and sexy everyday even when you don’t feel like it, and you know you don’t look the same. :)

  • Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 8:33 am
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    This is my first time posting anything on this site, I stumbled across it after searching for ways to lose the excess “drooping skin” (as you put it)…

    I am truly thankful for your post, it’s inspiring and it’s great to know that I am not the only one who looks and feels that way post-partum.

    I had my first daughter 6 months ago, at 23 years of age, and thought I was the only one in the world who had this issue! I couldn’t live with myself after birth for the longest time, and to this day, I STILL find it hard to look in a mirror… the kangaroo pouch just taunts me!

    Looking at your post and your photos, and literally seeing myself, has inspired me to look at my life, my body, and what it’s created in a whole new light.

  • Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 12:15 am
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    After doing L&D work for 20 years, I’m still always inspired by the courage of moms with a history of perinatal loss going through pregnancy again, with hope. I read your other post, and this one. The grief process of “good-bye,” I believe, is never really over until we say “hello again,” at the end of the journey. I wrote a poem of hope for maternal loss some years ago. If you still need it’s comfort, it’s online, “Baby’s Farewell” (easily found by a Google search).

  • Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 4:23 pm
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    Thank you for everyone’s kind words, they still mean so much to me. I’m now almost 17 months PP now and i feel my body is still a lot of the same LOL. My waist has gone down, and my stomach a little but there is still a lot of droop happening and i still hover around 195lbs.

    My goal this year is to get my body healthy and on track so our next pregnancy my body can deal better. I’m having NAET done to cure allergies i have and next month i am buying a blendtec blender so i can start drinking a green smoothie every day. I’m excited for this year and for what it will bring <3

  • Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 7:34 pm
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    I love that last picture with the watermelon holding! You both look so radiant and happy. Thanks for posting this- it brightened my day.

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