Mother of a precious 18mth old boy, learning to appreciate my battle scars!!! (Jessica)

This site is such an amazing inspiration. I have battled with issues with my weight since I was very young and the present is no exception. I have one child who is turning 18mths old this week. He is my world and brings such a joy to my life, but I can’t help feeling a void inside. I’ve never thought I was ugly and have always loved my stomach.. it was my one attribute that I absolutly loved and showed off, but not anymore!Im thankful I have a supportive husband and I have been blessed that at age 22, I am able to be a stay at home mom and go to school to achieve my dreams and aspirations. One dream I have always felt will never come true, is to appreciate the body God gave me because I know he has made me in his image, but I can’t help looking in the mirror and wanting to change a thousand and one things about myself. After graduating highschool I focused on work and the infinite party scene and the weight stayed pretty steady since I worked out 6days a week, but my hours changed and became lazy in my work out routine. When I got married 3months later I had gained 10lbs hitting 145lbs and I’ve yo-yo’d ever since. My husband is in the military and after being married 2 years and going through 3 deployments we decided to try for our first baby. At the time I was a little hesitant only because I had hit an all time high with my weight and my 5ft even frame was a whopping 178lbs! I didn’t want to break my husband’s heart and I desperately wanted a child myself so, weight asside we went for it and 2 weeks later after our first attemt, we were pregnant! With all the excitement I forgot about my weight issue and proceeded to eat whatever I craved. PaneraBread Iced Mocha’s being at the top of my list, Dairy Queen Blizzards next, and then dark soda! I’ve always been a water drinker so the soda was what my husband and I considered my weirdest craving! Needless to say I craved the worst items to put into my body at that time in my life. Until about 7months I had only gained about 20lbs and no stretch marks on my tummy were to be found (I did break out really bad with them on the back of my legs though, but that doesn’t bother me too much). After that I had officially popped and my tummy was covered from right side to the left, I was devistated! The day my water broke (exactly 38wks) I had hit 216lbs. I Breastfed and walked alot after coming home with my beautiful babyboy and dropped 20lbs in 2weeks, then I hit a plateau. It wasn’t until I was 10mths postpardum and decided to try weight watchers and finally dropped another 30lbs in 3mths, but when I hit a 3wk plateau I lost motivation again and then came the holidays and well here I am almost another 4mths have gone by and I’ve put back on about 10lbs. I have consistently done pilates 2x a week since August and I’ve slowly started back up on weight watchers and trying to add more into my workout routine. It’s a very slow process, but reading the other mothers stories on this site, It gives me that extra motivation to go forward. Day by day I’m learning to appreciate my new body and everytime I look at my baby boy I know that my body is just a simple reminder of the beautiful gift God gave me!

**Description of the pics I’ve included..the 1st one is my gorgeous family taken @ 3mths p.p., 2nd one is a recent one of my babyboy, 3rd one is me 11mths postpardum, and the last 2 are me now underneath the sheild of clothing!**

7 thoughts on “Mother of a precious 18mth old boy, learning to appreciate my battle scars!!! (Jessica)

  • Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 12:16 pm
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    You look soft, curvy, and beautiful!

  • Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2:11 pm
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    Actually, I think you look a lot slimmer than you probably think! You have a small waist, you seem in good proportion, and most importantly, you have confidence! Try to remember how you were pleased with yourself before you were pregnant and what you told yourself to feel proud of your body. Maybe you can whisper the same things now! :)

  • Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 3:32 pm
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    You look great! Your tummy looks really good and you are so beautiful!
    Congrats on your weight loss!

    Your little boy is so precious!

  • Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 7:51 pm
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    I think you look awesome. Beautiful and feminine :)

  • Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 9:09 pm
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    Girl, you look great! Your tummy looks really toned and I can barely see the stretch marks. You have a beautiful family and a great outlook on life. Stay positive and remember muscle weighs more than fat… so all that pilates might be building lean muscle. :D

  • Monday, March 15, 2010 at 6:33 pm
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    wellcome to the “mamis” club, i have 3 children myself but i have like a million of strech marks:) it doesnt add up but every single one is worth it.
    the secret is fell beautiful and the rest of the will find you beautiful as well, smile and love your self. “it is what it is”

  • Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 9:29 am
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    I think you look great! You give me strength ! I just gave birth to my 1st son 3weeks ago and I’m still trying to get use to my new stretch marks. They popped up a week be4 I had my son! I think you are beautiful!

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