Breastfeeding

More Changes (Sarah)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Belly, Breast or Body Art, Breastfeeding, Child Loss, Four or More Pregnancies, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 7 Comments

Since I submitted my story and pictures all that time ago I have been pregnant another two times. The first of those was stillborn in the middle trimester and recovering some sense of my body not being broken is very hard! I’m now pregnant again (my 6th pregnancy) and not far off due.

So much has changed, and changes day to day, it’s hard to know where to begin. But right now, I’m so grateful for all of the good – even though I still have hyperemesis through my pregnancies, even after losing three children, after *everything*. My two girls are amazing (they are four and two years old respectively). I’m looking forward to tandem nursing. And I love this bump, stretch marks and all. :)



Breastfeeding

Bonnie (SOAM) Breastfeeding, Question 18 Comments

There has recently been some discussion here on this site about breastfeeding beyond toddlerhood. I decided to go ahead and make it an entry of its own so that it does not overtake the actual submission.

I want to be clear here that this post is merely to ask and answer questions about the subject – it is not here to make anyone feel judged on how things work in their family. If you breastfed for seven years or never at all, you are welcome here because this site is about motherhood, not the choices we make within it. I hope we can discuss this with gentleness and open-minded respect.

Some thoughts about nursing beyond the normal (Western society) length of 6-12 months are that it is unnatural, sexually wrong, selfish on the mother’s behalf or just plain weird. Here are some links I’ve dug up to hopefully shed some light on these ideas.

An anthropological view on the natural age to wean a human child.
La Leche League’s page on nursing beyond one year.
Extended Breastfeeding Fact Sheet on Kellymom.com
Benefits of extended nursing from Mothering.com
An article from an episode of 20/20 with links to videos. (I used to know the woman, Robyn, when she lived here and was a LLL leader, it was a surprise to see her on TV!)

So feel free to discuss, but do be polite. I will moderate comments only so far as to delete trollish ones. If you are going to say something, let it be valid not merely cruel.

Mum to 3 boys and 1 girl (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breastfeeding, Breasts, Four or More Pregnancies, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 12 Comments

Original entry here.

I had my little girl 7 weeks ago today. She was born 1 day after her due date. I let the Dr. induce me after he said “she’s going to be big, over 8lbs” so he broke my water and put me on a pit drip and after 4hrs of labor our 9lb 21″ girl was here! I gained 40lbs and have lost 22 already, that’s just with breastfeeding though. I haven’t had the energy to workout yet. When I do get back into a routine I hope to lose another 20lbs to fit back into my old jeans. I didn’t get any new stretch marks and the old ones are fading again. It is hard to look in the mirror and feel sexy or beautiful but maybe that will come again in time. I’m just amazed once again at what a woman’s body can do! I feel so very blessed to be given the chance once again to be pregnant and deliver and now nurse a healthy new life! I spend so much time now trying to think of ways to teach my girl to love herself and her body no matter what it looks like and teach my boys to honor the women who may come into their lives. Thank you again Bonnie for creating this site for everyone!
1st pic 8 months pregnant, next pics 7 weeks postpartum, pic of newborn baby girl and last pic of nursing babe.









Postpartum Beauty (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Breastfeeding, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Reader's Favorite, Submissions 24 Comments

From the time I was 13 years old, and experienced my first stretch mark on my suddenly grown breasts, I have been ashamed of my body. I was a chubby teenager who would hide my body under large sweatshirts and jeans even in the dead of summer so that no one could see my rolls and marks. My body was an obsession, I tried everything I could to change it. I was ridiculously insecure and eventually dieted down to a size 6 by my late teens. Needless to say when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter in Sept of 2007 I immediately began to worry how I would change, whether I would ever get my body “back”. My mother has never had a stretch mark in her life, not one during pregnancy and in her mid 50s somehow her breasts were perkier than mine were pre-pregnancy! It added fuel to my fire. All the insecurities of my teen years swelled up just as powerful as ever. I obsessed about the 50 pounds I gained, the stretch marks during the final weeks of pregnancy, my breasts becoming saggy and whether my husband would ever look at me the same way again. When my daughter was born in June of 2008, every pregnancy ache and pain became a distant memory. I realized I would have gained 90 pounds and had stretch marks on every inch of me if I had to in order to bring her into this world. My breasts are less perky, my stomach less tight, I have stretch marks that weren’t there before, and I still have 10 pounds to lose but I feel more beautiful today than before motherhood, happily my husband vehemently agrees. I grew her inside me and continue to nourish her with my body; it’s the greatest honor I have ever known. Well done all you gorgeous Mommys, you are truly incredible women. I am constantly moved by the pictures and submissions by the brave women on this site. Be confident in yourselves, you are more beautiful than you know.




11 Months Postpartum and Very Happy With My Body (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breastfeeding, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 13 Comments

I had my first baby, a little girl, at 21 years old. I had a really great pregnancy, I gained about 35 pounds and didn’t get any stretch marks on my belly, I have a few now on my boobs, but they are white and don’t bother me very much. I loved being pregnant and I would do it again in a heartbeat if we could afford it. I had a really beautiful and peaceful birth at a birthing center after only 7 hours of labor with the help of my supportive husband. I feel so proud of what my body has done, and so lucky to have given birth naturally to my beautifully baby girl, who I am still breastfeeding and loving every minute of it! I remember taking a bath at home the morning after having my baby and looking down at my body and having this amazing feeling, I felt so beautiful. I have never felt that wonderful about my body. And lets be honest, I had just had a baby so we all know I didn’t look that great. But I felt it, I felt a feeling of self acceptance, that I had never had before. I don’t know if all women go through that after giving birth but it was life changing for me, the times that i have felt the happiest and the best about myself have had nothing to do with my outer layer. Now I love my mom body, I do wish my boobs were a little more perky and didn’t have stretch marks but they been through 11 months of nursing so far so I’d like t think they are holding up just fine. These are pictures of me at 38 weeks pregnant, 40 weeks pregnant, 7 months pp, 7 months pp nursing, and 3 of me at 11 months pp.









My Story (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breastfeeding, Breasts, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 4 Comments

I admit that I am at constant odds with my body. I have yet to learn to accept that body may always look this way.
I was 150 when I became pregnant with my now 2 year old son. I had a very difficult pregnancy and ended up on bedrest for the last four months and gained over 70lbs. I was 223lbs the day I deliver my 9lbs 11oz son by c/s. I dropped down to 170lbs within 3 months of delivery and my weight has stagnated there ever since.
I love being a mother and would take my new body for him any day but it doesn’t change the fact I cringe whenever I see myself naked. I hope one day to be able to afford a tummy tuck because I dont think I will ever be able to accept myself this way.



What I was made to do: Create (Katie)

Bonnie (SOAM) Breastfeeding, First Pregnancy, Submissions 5 Comments

I have posted here before, but I have to admit I’m not nearly as confident as I was then. I’m trying to work on that, I’m ashamed to be ashamed.
Since my son weaned from breastfeeding, my relationship with my body changed. My body feels alien to me, I have ignored it’s shape and feel since my son was born. My body used to be a foreign, magical thing that grew and then nurtured my son. Now I feel like I have to learn it all over again. I feel hollow and unfamiliar, but it feels like mine again.
We plan to have many more children, but we don’t plan to try for #2 until next year.
However, I dont feel that I’m done making babies. I was given an amazing miracle, and I want to share it. Thus I began researching egg donation.

I think back to a period in my life when I feared I could never bear children. The thought was life changing.
As it turns out I have a completely healthy, functioning reproductive system. Something I will never take for granted. My mission now is to give that ability to women who could not otherwise have children, and it’s something I’m very passionate about. I have applied at dozens of clinics in my state, and hope to begin the process in one next month. Some friends and family members did not understand. Some where even shocked or offended, asking things like “Won’t it be weird to think you have kids out there somewhere?” My answer is “No, I wont have kids out there.”
I may have a few chromosomes in common with the child, but that baby was grown, carried by and given birth to by another woman- the childs mother. A woman who might not have had that magical experience otherwise.
It might be a little off topic, but I have found new purpose for me and my body, and I feel whole again.
This is what I was made to do: create.


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teen mom and wife (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breastfeeding, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 23 Comments

Hello so somehow I discovered this site, Im not sure how but ive known of it for a few months now. I finally got the guts to post some pics of myself as I see women that look just like me. It isnt like im alone out there anymore after looking around on here. I am 19, married and have my first child, Aiden. Its hard being young and taking on the wife and mother role. I love it though and I wouldnt want it any other way. I used to be really skinny and I was never happy with my body until right before I became pregnant. I was never fat but i always thought I was. At age 12 I was anorexic and I came out of it from help of my mother. I now know that I should have appreciated my body a lot more than I did. I was 119 lbs. before I became pregnant. A month before that I was 109 lbs. but I just stopped exercising and started eating badly again making me gain weight. I gained 70 lbs. during my pregnancy. I didnt eat too much more than I did prepregnancy but I was on bedrest b/c of preterm contractions from 7 months although my contractions started at 7 wks.! Allowing to get no exercise in. I wouldnt trade my old body back for my son, he was all worth it. But seeing girls my age, I shouldnt have a body the way I do. I mean come on, Jamie Lynn Spears dosent even look like she gained a pound. She was all belly. Her legs look amazing!I have stretch marks on my tummy, boobs, legs (even down to my calves!), sides and even a little on my triceps. I am now down to 144 lbs, need to lose 25 more pounds. My husband is encouraging me by putting me through a hard workout and a diet. We exercise wrestling style together 3 x a week and do Tae bo every other day. I eat no more than 1800 calories a day as I am breastfeeding. The photos I attached are me 6 months postpartum and I attached a photo of myself and my gorgeous son, Aiden Michael. The first one is me when I was 2 months prego and then I attached a pic of me breastfeeding my son. Please leave comments, I would love to talk to other mommies!



Two months postpartum, if I ignore it, will it go away? (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breastfeeding, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 19 Comments

A friend referred me to this site when I told her, in shock, that I couldn’t fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothing. I guess I had assumed, having always been a rather thin girl, a model and a dancer, that I would somehow magically bounce back into pre-preggo shape right after birth, like the Hollywood stars do. But that’s obviously a myth, and I’m slowly learning to accept it.
A lot of my previously held illusions were shattered by pregnancy. I thought I would be “lucky” and escape the Stretch Mark Monster, but I didn’t. I thought I’d be healthy and not gain too much weight, but at 42 weeks, I was 170 lbs. I had started at 120 lbs. I thought my breast wouldn’t get too big, since I barely fit an A cup before pregnancy, but they’re grown and grown to the point where I think bigger isn’t better, even where boobs are concerned!
After my labor, I forced myself not to look at my body, because I knew that if I did, I would freak out. I thought to myself “maybe if I ignore it, by the time I look at it again, it’ll have gotten better”. Having taken these pictures of myself standing naked in the bathroom, I realize that I won’t be going back to who I was before. I had worked so hard to keep myself in picture-perfect shape, I had used all the lotions and potions to keep my skin smooth and young, and suddenly, everything about my appearance was totally out of my control. I think I didn’t let my husband see me naked until a week ago.
It’s been a long road and I know I have more healing to do, both inside and outside. I have to let go of my illusions of the “perfect hollywood body”. I have to accept that I am forever changed by my maternity, and that the new form I will gradually achieve is just as beautiful as the one I wore before. And when I look at my beautiful daughter, somehow, it doesn’t matter or hurt as much.



Angelina Jolie

Bonnie (SOAM) Breastfeeding, Celebrity Beautiful 22 Comments

I have seen this stunningly peaceful photograph of Angelina all over the net recently, but had not gotten around to reading the article until a reader prompted me. I found this beautiful quote within,

‘I’m with a man who’s evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful, because of the journey it has taken and what it has created,’ she says.

‘He genuinely sees it that way. So I genuinely feel even sexier.’

Thanks, Christina, for the link!