The Shape of a Mother

(Lisa)

I have a 6 month old son, first pregnancy. My issue is this- I am over 200lbs. I had gained some weight before I got pregnant (met my now husband and became comfortable with him,slacked off and ate things I usually didn’t). Got pregnant, was so sick the entire time, I ate what I could. [...]

Struggling With My Body Image (Anonymous)

I was 125 lbs.at 5’9″ pre pregnancy. I am 29 and this is my first child delivered via c-section. I was extremely sick for the first five months of pregnancy. After that i rapidly gained weight. I had severe edema and my doctor wanted me to take off work the last four weeks but with [...]

Postpartum Depression or Hypothyroidism? (Anonymous)

~Age: 32 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 18 months Hi, It’s been 18 months since I gave birth. It was a wonderful experience. I was surrounded by family, love, and affection after I came home with my dear daughter. My husband was supportive [...]

Discomfort is an Understatement (Anonymous)

~Age:22, Pregnancies: 1 (this is my first) I’m not sure I’ve ever totally been comfortable with my body. I’m 5’1″, and am nearing 195lbs right now. I’m also 37 weeks and 3 days into my pregnancy. Before I got pregnant, I wasn’t the thinnest of girls, weighing in at around 145lbs. This is still heavier [...]

Everyone Tells Me I Look Fine… NOT (Christina)

Age:23 Pregnancies/Births: 1 pregnancy 1 birth Childs Age: 14 months Ok so I was 196lbs in March of 2010. I went on weight watchers and got down to 160lbs. June 8th,2010 I stopped weight watchers and my doctor said I had gotten pregnant that first week of June. So long story short, nine months later, [...]

Ashamed and Unsatisfied (Kristen)

age 20, one pregnancy, one birth, little girl, 7 months postpartum I carried a 100% healthy little girl a little over seven months ago. She was born 1 day after her due date, September 15, 2011. She weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces. I have never been the skinniest girl, nor will I ever be. I’m [...]

I closed my kanga in the oven door (Britne)

Age-26 1 pregnancy, 1 birth, Zoey, age 16 months. Photos: 1- 15 weeks pregnant, 2. 40 weeks pregnant, 3. Kanga!! (16 months after birth) After being told I would never have a child (due to PCOS) I did the impossible; I conceived naturally and quite by surprise. Now, my bright and beautiful 16-month-old daughter lives [...]

Mother of One (Anonymous)

Age 21; Pregnancies 1; Births 1. I had to have my son by c-section after 16 1/2 hours of labor and never dialating past 1 cm. I was 18 when I become pregnant with my son and 19 when I had him. He is about a year and a half now and he is my [...]

Learning Acceptance (Anonymous)

Pregnancies/Children: 1 7 weeks Postpartum Growing up I had self esteem issues and I struggled with an eating disorder up until I found out I was pregnant. When I found out I was pregnant everything changed, I knew I needed to care for myself for my child. My mother didn’t do a very good job [...]

I Want My Body Back (Anonymous)

~Age: 22 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1/1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5.5 month old ds/5.5 months pp As long as I can remember, I have struggled with body image issues. All throughout my school years, I was always the big/fat/chunky/chubby/amazon woman or what have you. I was [...]

No bikini for me… (MotherOfOne)

This site is so wonderful! A big thanks to the creator.. These stories have made me feel a lot better about my situation.. Knowing I’m not alone. These photos are 11 months postpartum. I got pregnant with my first, a beautiful baby boy, at age 21. Being young, I assumed my body would bounce right [...]

The Stranger in the Mirror (Miserable)

Before my first pregnancy in 2008 I was relatively slim: 9 stone 7 lbs ( 133 pounds in American money!) although I don’t think I carried it well as I’m short: 5′ 3″, and I’ve always had a big bottom and wide hips, but even so I was in fairly good shape. I was a [...]

I am a woman reclaiming my body. (Anonymous)

Aged 33. 1 beautiful six year old boy. 1 plus size single mum. What a fantastic website, have just taken a look and I love that women are taking the chance to say ‘hello, this is what real women look like’ and having their joy and pain witnessed. Some women come through pregnancy and childbirth [...]

Does Your Boob Hang Low? (Amanda)

I had my beautiful baby boy in October 2010, ventouse delivery on his due date! I became absolutely massive as my pregnancy progressed with swelling in every part of my body. I think I was 52 inches around the waist the last time I measured my stomach when pregnant. I gained around 30 kg’s with [...]

18, Overweight, and Pregnant (Trish)

I have always been over weight for as long as i can remember, at 18 i met my fiance and he was 33! he was so fun and it was risky and fun to be with an older guy and i knew my family would hate it. but 4months in i found out i was [...]

This is Me (Leanne)

23 years old, 1 pregnancy 1 birth, daughter aged 4 I fell pregnant a month after my 18th birthday. It wasn’t planned and came as a total shock, but once the initial shock was over, I was happy. I prepared myself mentally for everything that was to come; except the changes to my body. I [...]

7 Months Pregnant and Scared (Anonymous)

I came across your site after seeing it in the DM, I don’t feel easier, (yet) but am glad I am not alone. I have never been a size 8, always a 12/14, after my daughter was born a size 14 was most comfortable. I grew up with a women who made food and weight [...]

Loving My Mommy Body (Raven)

My name is Raven, I am 20 years old and I have one son that is now 18 months old. I had him via cesarean section. I had a lot happen to me after I had my son. I had just assumed since having a baby was one of the happiest and greatest things that [...]

I’m Not Perfect, But That’s OK With Me (Kate)

I am 25 years old. I have a beautiful 19 month old son. I LOVE this page and visit often. I have always had problems with my body, as I am sure most women do, but I have never hated my body. I have always been curvy and thicker than most girls. I am 5’9″ [...]

7 Month Update (Shantel)

7 months post 1 pregnancy age 24. So I made a post about 3 months ago it can be found here. It has been tough but I am finally beginning to have hope for my body. My skin is still sagging badly but the abs are coming back together and my tummy is flattening out [...]

5 Months PP and struggling with PPD and body image (MB)

Age: 25 Number of births: 1 Months PP: 5 I am 25 years old and a stay at home mom and wife. I had Hyperemesis during the entirety of my pregnancy and only gained 5 lbs, but seeing as I was already “obese” at 196 lbs when I found out I was expecting my OB [...]

My husband loves my body, why can’t I? (Anonymous)

Age-24 Pregnancies/Births-1 Today I am 17 weeks postpartum. Just a little background- I had always had self image problems. I remember puking in middle school until high school were during my junior year I met my now husband.He immediately was putting “meat” on my frail 80lb body. I am 5’2”. So I was really starved [...]

Uncomfortable In My Skin (Amber)

Age: 21, Pregnancies: 1, Births: 1, Children: 1 girl, age 3. I was 17 when I found out I was pregnant, half way through my senior year of High School. I had my daughter one month after my 18th birthday. I conceived my daughter the very first time I had slept with my new boyfriend. [...]

A Never-Ending Struggle (Anonymous)

Age: 20 Number of Births: 1 Child: 7 Months Old i’ve posted before, but not on a topic as specific as this. so, no pictures this time– just a story that i’m hoping some other women can relate to. not exactly the happiest, but i’ve found that people find comfort in relating with others, regardless. [...]

Update (Dee)

Original post here. Age: 18 # of Pregnancies/Births: 1 Age of Child: 17 months It’s been 1 year since my first post and I’m now 17 months postpartum. My body hasn’t changed drastically in that time, but there has been some progress. My once pink stretch marks on my stomach, butt, and hips are now [...]

Face of a Single Prayer (Allyshia)

age: 17. Pregnancies: 2 // births: 1 and 1 on the way! Age of children: 13 months and 9 weeks pregnant I was 15, struggling through anorexia and I was 78 lbs. I was 4’10″ and still am at the moment! I was about 87 lbs at the time I conceived my daughter and my [...]

Great Pregnancy – Nice Body (Rada Bond)

~Age: 29 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 preganancy – 1 birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: my son is 1 year and 4 month old today My name is Rada, I am from Moldova and I am 29 years old. My baby boy – Karim – is 1year [...]

Scared to Look Down (Ana)

age: 24 1 pregnancy mother of 4 yr old princess natural birth you would think that 4 yrs would make it easier to accept the changes in your body.. but its definitely not, for me atleast. i was never the “skinny” girl, and that always bothered me.. and after giving birth the list got longer. [...]

35 Weeks Pregnant (Anonymous)

This pregnancy took me by surprise. I wasn’t seeing anyone seriously and when I found out and told the father, whom I’d been seeing casually for about six months, he acted so shamefully that I knew I wouldn’t have his support in the long run. I was right, a couple months of no contact later, [...]

Struggling With the Changes (Anonymous)

I found this website in a moment of weakness I was having with myself over issues with my body and I decided that since reading everyone’s stories and seeing their pictures that I couldn’t resist posting my own photos/story to maybe help someone else. I am 20 and actually planned a pregnancy (with my boyfriend [...]

Taking One Day at a Time (Anonymous)

Previous post here. AGE:23 POSTPARTUM: 24MONTHS PREGNANCIES: 1 Taking one day at a time. This has been the only way I have been able to move forward after giving birth to my daughter, who was stillborn, 24 months ago. Since I last submitted to SOAM things have changed. After issues with my husband and a [...]

Young and Feeling Hopeless (Amelia)

Hi there, first off I would like to start by saying that when I found this website I was so happy to be able to relate to other real woman who feel the same way that I do. A lot of stories on here have helped me to begin to accept my new body, but [...]

Feeling Myself Again, Even Though I’m So Different (Amanda C)

~Age: 24 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 9 and a half months daughter Sadie… My name is Amanda I am 24 and have had one pregnancy where I gave birth to my daughter May 17 2011. She is almost 10 remember being about [...]

Inverted Nipples? (Kelly)

Hello, i would like to know If some more pregnant has inverted nipples? I would like to know if they breastfeed?

Trying to Accept My Body (Candy)

I am 20 years old, I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant. I was really excited, and my baby is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am a single mom and it TERRIFIES me to look for a relationship because of the stretch marks the pregnancy left on [...]

I Feel So Insecure (Rebecca)

age: 20 pregnancies: 2 births: 2 children: 2 girls aged 4 and 10 weeks PP: 10 weeks Keywords: second pregnancy, belly, normal delivery, stretch marks,breastfeeding. “My body has changed so much”. Thats the first thing that crosses my mind when i look at my body in the mirror. Nothing will ever make my body the [...]

More Than a Shape (Melissa)

Age – 20 # of Births – 1 P.P – 1 week I had the greatest love of my life ask me to marry him last year. Of course I said yes and wedding plans were in the air when I found out I was pregnant. Side note – I told him at 3 in [...]

Learning to be Proud of My Body (Rach)

age 21 1 pregnancy\1 birth I am now 21, i have always been over weight i am 5’2 and i am 240, i have always found it hard to love myself but i wear my weight well. (most ppl dont know how much i really weight) when i was 19 i fell in love with [...]

Tigers are tough, so that’s why I have stripes (Megan)

Age-21 Height-5’2 # of pregnancies- 1 miscarriage.. 1 full term Weight gained during pregnancy- 45lbs I am 37 weeks pregnant today. And when I look in the mirror I see warrior. My story is unfair, but I love that it happened to me. It has given me the strength that I have needed for each [...]

Pregnancy I of III (Sam)

I’m now pregnant with my third child, but I thought I would better start with the first…. so here we go…. I was always curvy, so I didn’t really experience any more stretch marks than the one I already had…. And I must say that the body just got more mature…. from a chubby teen [...]

Hello Again, Friends (Anonymous)

Previous post here. This is my new entry I made a previous entry approximately a year ago describing my issues with body image and trying to love my body. Am I there yet? I wish I could say that I am but it is a long process. I have had my struggles and to be [...]

I Feel Like a Woman! (Dessy)

Hi! Thank all you beautiful mommies for helping me feel so much better about my body! I am 23, and 18 weeks into my first pregnancy. The body changes have been hard for me to accept. I suffered from an eating disorder in my teens, so much so that I didn’t start having my period [...]

Trying to Find Beauty Among the Stretch Marks (Dani)

Pregnancies/Births: 1/1 Age: 21 My sons age : 1 month I had a beautiful son January 8th, 2012, and on that day, I felt like a new person. All of a sudden, life had a meaning. I look into his eyes and I see his crazy, but amazing personality. And I cannot believe that I [...]

C-Section, Droopy Tummy, & the Bright Side (Anonymous)

Photo 1: PUPPS rash and stretch marks at 7 months pregnant Photo 2: 38 weeks pregnant. 1 week before my delivery Photo 3: 4 months PP boobs and stomach (front view) Photo 4: 4 months PP stomach (side view) Photo 5: Close up of stretch marks Photo 6: Close up of C-Section scar Photo 7: [...]

So Much Stronger (Hannah)

Age: 19 Number of pregnancies/births: 1 Age of child: 4 1/2 months My story of motherhood begins on New Year’s Day of 2011, when, only eight weeks after our wedding, I handed my new husband a pregnancy test with a big blue “+” on it. We had been hoping to have children soon, so we [...]

The Clothes Hide the Ugly (Anonymous)

Age: 19 One child who is 2 years old. Hi, I love this site and love to see real bodies. I just wanted to confess that I have a mommy body. My stomach hangs like a W, I have stretch marks so large and small that cover my breasts, butt, stomach, hips, thighs, and behind [...]

Adjusting to the Changes (mommy2m)

Age: 19 # of pregnancies and births: 1 7 days Postpartum Prepregnancy weight: 155 lbs End of pregnancy weight: 197.8 lbs Current weight: 178 lbs Height: 5’1″ My husband and I have been together since I was 13 and he was 15. We moved in with each other when I was 17 and planned to [...]

Turning Trauma into Triumph (Raashida)

Age: 26 Pregnancies/births: 1/1 1 year post partum I am so glad I found this website! Here is my story: I had a petty easy and uneventful pregnancy. I had few to no pregnancy symptoms. Food craving, a little emotional and hypersensitive sense of smell but that’s about it. I was active duty military when [...]

My struggles with weight obsession, addiction, depression and an unplanned troubled pregnancy (Lauren Elaine)

~Age: 20 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, due march 21st 2012 It started after the winter of 2009 when I was 18, I had made some very poor choices that year, endured physically abusive relationships. I was very depressed and self loathing. Then I weighed 190, at 5’ 4” I was considered overweight. [...]

4 Months PP, Breastfeeding, and Struggling with Eating Right (Anonymous)

I was 19 and in my sophomore year of college 1000 miles away from home when I found out I was pregnant with my first baby. My boyfriend was in school 800 miles away, and I had gotten pregnant while we were both home for Christmas Break. I was shocked, scared, etc. We moved back [...]

3 Years PP, Just Accepting Myself (Anonymous)

Hello ladies! First of all thanks for reading this, and thank god for this site! I am now 3 yrs pp, and I absolutely have to say time DOES heal! At least for me, and I hope it does for you too. I had a very good pregnancy, I gained a lot of weight but [...]

Frustration (Anonymous)

My story is LONG and exhausting, but I like to tell it. I hope that I can be inspiration to other females that find themselves where I was, and where I am now. Previous to my night of conception, I was a vibrant young 20 year old female. I was nearing the end of my [...]

Is She an Angel (Anonymous)

I’m 22 years old and I’ve had a rough couple of years with love, I started dating this guy and he wasn’t exactly treating me the best, I knew I deserved better but didn’t have the self respect to care. After four months of dating him, we found out we were pregnant, when I told [...]

Struggling (Nicola)

Nicola, age 26 1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth 1 Year PP When I was pregnant, I really believed that I was going to enjoy motherhood. I was sure that I had prepared myself as much as one can. When my baby was born, of course it was difficult from the start. Not only was I recovering [...]

The Shadow Fear Casts is Often Bigger Than the Fear Itself (Anonymous)

My husband told me that I was beautiful every day of my pregnancy, including while I was in the hospital in labor. From day one, I was deathly afraid of the changes that my body would undergo. My mind was filled with all of the horror stories that I had heard about pregnancy and the [...]

Hating My Body (Shantel)

age 23 1 pregnancy 3.5 post partum. I have always loved my body for the most part, I’ve always been attractive and confident. It is very difficult to see myself the way I look after I had my son because this isn’t the me that I see when I think about myself. I honestly think [...]

I Love My Body (Gwen)

I have been so thankful to have found this site; it helped me through a period in my life where the physical changes of my body were difficult to keep up with. My self-image and esteem were in a young, and unstable place when I got pregnant. As much as I have always been thankful [...]

Something I Cannot Fix (Marissa)

Age:19 One daughter (Lily), one birth/pregnancy. I gave birth at the age of 16. Big life change after that moment. I have done great as a mother and as a student. I tried to be perfect in every way and love my daughter to the fullest! She makes my day. =) But many obstacles have [...]

Amazing Stretching Skin (Ann)

When I found out I was pregnant, post-baby changes were one of the more minor things on my mind. That said, I was very careful to eat extremely healthy during my entire pregnancy and ended up gaining about 30 pounds. My daughter was a waterbirth with a midwife, born at 39 weeks. She weighed 6lbs. [...]

Almost 7 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

~Age: 27 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1/1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 7 months ~pre-pregnancy weight: 160. Final pregnancy weight: 230 ~gave birth to 9 lb baby girl I have a ridiculously beautiful baby girl. I had a lot of support from moms on an online message board [...]

The Before, During, and After of My Belly (Anonymous)

age 28 number pregnancies: 1 pregnant 25 weeks with next I have always been pretty active and fit, I was 26 when I got pregnant with my son, it was unexpected and my husband and I had only been together for 6 months at the time. I tried and tried to avoid the stretch marks [...]

30 Years in the Making (Anonymous)

My journey from hating myself to, well, not hating myself as much. Age: 30 Pregnancies: 1 Births: 1 via C-Section on 4/26/2011 Stay at home mom I am almost 8 months PP and think I am finally becoming more comfortable with myself after being insecure for most of my life. I gave birth to a [...]

Postpartum Psychosis Survivor (Pinay Mom NYC)

Hearing things that weren’t there was bad; keeping silent about it was worse. For months after my daughter was born via C-section, I felt miserable and pathetic. I had been so independent prior to giving birth at 31; then I saw myself as this needy, ugly thing, financially dependent on a husband who was suffering [...]

No Comparison (Anonymous)

We hear so often that celebrities aren’t comparable to real people because they have things we regular mortals can only dream of: trainers, laser treatments, personal chefs, plastic surgeons on site, maternity fashion stylists, spa treatments, etc. And I guess all of that’s true. And I guess I can accept that and not compare myself [...]

Postpartum Hair Loss (Samantha)

~Age: 22 ~Number of pregnancies and births: one ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 13 months I spent most of my childhood battling alopecia. I went to some of the top doctors, including Johns Hopkins, and they still couldn’t figure out a reason for my hair loss. By the time [...]

Not Even Halfway (Anonymous)

19 years old. 1st pregnancy. 17 weeks. I’m only seventeen weeks and I have been struggling with my weight gain. My doctors and family say its completely normal, I know I haven’t a lot to be so upset about I’m not gaining more weight than I’m supposed too. But I’m very stressed, I was in [...]

Update (Elivert)

Original post here. PP: 9 MONTHS AGE: 21 After my first post I have had many changes in my life, I have a beautiful baby I love and a wonderful husband that every day brings more smiles and joy in my life and supports me unconditionally with my new body and outlook on life , [...]

Feel alone, but trying to stay positive. (Sophia)

Its been 4 months since i had my baby boy , hes my everything my whole world, But i cant help feeling so upset about my body now and could really use somone to talk to, Im 18 years old and had my boy by c section its left me whole body in a state [...]

What Makes Me Valuable? (Ginni)

I’m much more superficial than I care to admit, even to myself. I’ve always talked a lot about how looks don’t matter, but it’s easy to say that when you’re skinny without even trying to be. When my husband and I started trying to have a baby, I was thrilled, but I secretly freaked out. [...]

Moving On (Anonymous)

Previous post here. 1 Vaginal Birth 1 Pregnancy 20 months PP Age 22 After my first post, I wasn’t going to post again until after having a second child, to see where I was and how I felt about my body after having 2 children. But I feel like I need to share what has [...]

4 Years Later… I Am Still Afraid of Showing My Body (Natalie G)

Age 26 Number of pregnancies : 2 preg. 1 birth Child: 4 years old. 48 months 1 week PP Four years and 1 week ago (as of 11/08/11) I gave birth to the most amazing kid in the world. My son Jacob, who is the sweetest little boy ever, weighed in at 9lbs 11 oz [...]

Sad Moments (Myeia)

Previous post here. Hello SOAM I nvr thought id be writing soi soon, but I’ve been having some real sad moments the past few weeks, where I’ve come real close to giving up hope, with thoughts of me never regaining the confidence I once had. I’m 2 months post partum and felt better when I [...]

Getting There Finally! (Heidi)

Previous post here. 19 years old 1 pregnancy, 1 birth 9.5 months PP When I first wrote back in May, I was really in a rough spot with my weight and self-esteem issues. I still don’t feel I’m at my “ideal” weight, but I do feel a lot better about myself. My Stats as of [...]

Learning (Trying Really Hard) to Accept and Love Myself (Rebecca)

i am 21 and i have had 2 pregnancies and one birth. this is my body 1 year post pregnancy/c section. i was a self harmer before baby, so i have some scars mainly to my thighs, i had almost come to accept them when i got pregnant. the babys father left when i was [...]

Surprise Pregnancy & 3 Weeks Post Partum (Anonymous)

Age: 21 Pregnancies and Births: 1 Child: 3 weeks old January 2011 Plans are moving along, Just ordered my wedding dress and invites, had a wonderful weekend away with my fiance. Next week, got confimation that everything was ordered. End of the week I didnt feel right. (Let the fun start) I took a pregnancy [...]

An Everyday Battle (Grace)

Age: 21 Postpartum: 21 months Number of pregnancies: 1 Everyday my mind changes about my body. One day I will be fine and the next day I’m angry. I have a beautiful baby girl whose 21 months old. Shes happy, healthy, and she knows her momma loves her. I gave birth Jan 4th 2010, via [...]

My Body After Twins (Anonymous)

Everyone told me when I was pregnant that I would never be able to wear a bikini again because being pregnant with twins destroys your stomach. I want to tell you that that is not always the case. People also said that if your mom has stretch marks you will too. My Mom has stretch [...]

Defeat and Angels (Anonymous)

Age: 22 Pregnancies/Births: 1/1 Age of child/how far pp: 3 months I was 21 when I found out I was pregnant, and though it was not planned we could not have been happier. I had always wanted a baby, and now I was going to be a mother! The pregnancy was very easy and I [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

Pregnancies : 1 Age:19. I had a beautiful baby girl almost three months ago and I am so happy with my life besides one thing…my body. P re-pregnancy I weighed 130 pounds but it looked more like 120 and I am 5’3 I had very toned abs smaller hips and a 34 C bra size. [...]

Tanner’s Mommy (Chelsi)

Age- 20 Number of pregnancies and births- 1 Age of of your children- 2years I was 17 when I found out I was pregnant. I was so terrified, I didnt know what to do. My boyfriend, tanners dad… Was there for me threw everything and still is. When i was 3 months pregnant I told [...]

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful (Sia)

Most recent post here. age: 18 months pp: 15 months (WOW time sure does fly!) weight: 96 pounds Hello again lovely ladies! This is my last update on SOAM, again I would like to say how much this website has helped me through my struggles with my pp body! All of you woman are amazing [...]

Sad But Not Giving Up Hope (Myeia)

Hi, I’m Myeia (Mya), I’m writing to you all the from Jamaica. I’m 23 years old and 3 weeks 1 day postpartum. Maybe its too early for me to submit my story since I’ve not yet healed properly, but I just wna share my story. Also, I must say that I read the stories of [...]

The beauty of my twin shaped body. (Stephanie M)

This was my first pregnancy and I was 19. I had complication after complication. First I ended up in the hospital at 8 weeks because they thought I was miscarrying, only to find out I had been blessed with not one baby, but two! Now before 19, I was a runner and in shape. I [...]

Learning to Love My Pregnant Body (Anonymous)

Age: 24 1st pregnancy; 25 weeks along I’ve always been naturally skinny. I guess you could blame good genetics. I’m almost 5’9″ and have always weighed anywhere from 124-128. As of right now I am 25 weeks pregnant and I’ve already gained 22 pounds! (150 lbs) I am having such a hard time loving this [...]

I Feel Like a Woman Now, 20lbs Heavier (Ashley)

I have always been a rather thin girl. Perhaps bordering pre-pubescent. I was never one to be hit on or even complimented. Instead I got the, “omg do you need help. Lets get her to a clinic right away.” Standing 5’7″, I was 130 lbs pre-pregnancy and wore a size 7. I had a fairly [...]

The Best Thing About My Pregnancy is That it’s Over (I.L.)

Age: 30 Pregnancies and births: 1/1, my toddler is now 22 months old. I got pregnant a few weeks before my 28th birthday. Pregnancy and birth have not changed my body that much on the outside. I have a hypertrophic-but-fading lower segment cesarean scar on my belly right above the pubic bone, a few stretch [...]

Body Image Issues, Husband Not Helping (Anonymous)

Age: 23 Number of births: 1 Age of Child: 2 months Currently 2 months post par tum My story goes back all the way to elementary school when I started struggling with body image issues. I had precocious puberty which is basically going through puberty way too early. I started my period at age 8 [...]

Obsessed with this jelly belly (B.J.)

I’ve struggled with my weight since I was 9.At one point in time I even became anorexic. I’ve always been one to exercise and diet to stay in shape. In high school I had a really nice body, and for once I was kind of proud of it. But at the age of 16 I [...]

How can I love my new body? (Anonymous)

~Age:17 ~Number of pregnancies and births:1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 monnths PP I got pregnant at 16 with a beautiful baby boy. hes my world.. before getting pregnant I weighed 115 pounds and I am 5″6. wasnt fat looking just normal size. After i had my son [...]

Comfortable in a new body? (Anonymous)

I never thought I’d be posting on a website like this. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mean that in a bad way I just assumed I would be one of those lucky few women who bounced right back after having a baby. You know no stretchmarks, toned and taut tummy less than 6 months [...]

The Real Teen Mother (Katelyn)

I’m tired of only seeing the prom queen that just happens to have a baby, pop a bottle in their mouth, and go out to party in their size 0 miniskirt a week later… it’s like I’m supposed to be like that. but I’m not… I was 15 years old (2wks shy of my 16th [...]

If only I loved myself as much as I love my life… (Miss Meliss)

I really do have a wonderful life. I have a beautiful son, a loving husband, a supportive mother, a best friend of almost 30 years. I am a student-nurse. I live in a nice, modern home. I drive a decent car. I have a dog, 2 cats and some fish. I laugh often, I love [...]

They Say it Takes Nine Months (Marz)

Previous posts start here. 23 years old one pregnancy, one birth (an adorable son) I’m now 9 months postpartum. I have a few dresses: size 6, size 8, size 9. I have several jeans: size 8, size 9, size 10, size 13. I have shirts: S, M, L. I am between an A cup and [...]

Jealous of Your Breast Complaints, Terrified of Post-Pregnancy Body (Wren)

pictures: -4.5 months pregnant (closest I have to pre-pregnancy) -6 months -last three are me at 7 months Age: 20 Number of pregnancies: 1 (8 months along) I couldn’t wait until after birth to post something because every time I come to this website I ache to share my own story. I’m not generally an [...]

My body has changed, but I feel better with myself. (Silvia)

Age: 27 Nr. of pregnancies and births: 1-1 Age of my baby girl: 3 months When I learned I was pregnant, I tried a mix of emotions, fear, happiness, surprise … I thought it was a miracle, because I thought I could not get pregnant due to some problems. I was frightened by the thought [...]

Genetics is Everything (Anonymous)

I am 31 years old, my little one was born about 15 month ago, in May, 2010. Before my pregnancy my belly was absolutely flat, I was so proud of it. Although we needed c-section, because my baby’s head did not find its way out and my doctor did not want to risk anything after [...]

Update, 15 Year Old Mother (Terressa)

Previous entry here. This is an update from my first submission here on SOAM. When I first typed this I had this whole long story about what I’ve been through the past year, but I realized it would be a VERY long story. So here’s a summary of my first year of motherhood (although it’s [...]

Worth it All (Anonymous)

24 years old, first baby, 4 months old at the time of this picture. Took 20 months and a miscarriage to get to where we are now. These are what I jokingly refer to as my “tiger stripes”. They do make me sad sometimes, but I try to think of them as a natural form [...]

Suddenly Androgynous! (Jan)

1 Pregnancy 1 Child, eight months old My name is Jan. I am 25 years old and I am currently eight months postpartum. Before my husband and I even started trying to get pregnant, I was concerned about what might happen to my body. I had always been slim, my tummy flat, and my breasts [...]

45 pounds up, 40 pounds down. learning to love my new body… saggy skin and all! (Ruth)

25 years old, first (and only) pregnancy, cesarean, baby boy Pre-pregnancy weight: 110 lbs. (best shape of my life!) Weight gained in pregnancy: 45 lbs. Current Weight at one year postpartum: 115 lbs (5 lbs to go!) Before baby, I was working out sometimes 2 hours a day (don’t worry, I ate a lot to [...]

Learning to Surrender (Anonymous)

30 years old, two pregnancies one birth. Currently 8 months pregnant. 15 month old daughter. I used to be a dancer and circus performer and suffered with eating disorders, self harmed and abused alcohol for many many years. By the time I reached 25 I had recovered and was able to maintain a normal and [...]

Loving My Mommy Marks (Izzy)

Age-20 1 birth baby will be 2 in September Hello beautiful moms!! its been well over a year since I last posted. But I have been a daily visitor for the past 3 years. In my last submission I was 6 weeks pp with my little man, he will be two in September time sure [...]

Same Weight, Different Body (Anonymous)

-Age 24, 1 child -5 months PP My pregnancy was awful. Since college, I’ve been a pretty healthy person at 5’1 and 145 but I’ve slowly crept up in weight from 120-145 but I feel comfortable at 135. Well, when I graduated from college last year, I discovered that I was pregnant–my boyfriend whom had [...]

Perfectly Imperfect (Blondiebroken)

I am a teen mother, I got pregnant my first time having sex at the age of 17. I am now 19 years old and my son is 19 months old. When I was pregnant I had gained around 70-80 pounds and now that I am 19 months P.P. I still have 20 or 25 [...]

Follow Up, A Year After Childbirth (Ann)

Previous post here. When I read over my previous submission from a year ago, my stomach clenches and my chest feels tight. I sounded so sad and hopeless, like pregnancy was an entry into a beauty contest that I had already lost. I have almost zero pictures of me and my baby when she was [...]

Base Kennedy (Jessica)

I was always very skinny pre-pregnancy, now I’m thicker but the same weight. Just padded everywhere. ~Age: 18 years old. ~Number of pregnancies and births: One. ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 7 months and almost 3 weeks postpartum

(Un)expected Miracle (Proudmama)

Previous entries here and here. Age: 31 Number of pregnancy and birth: 1 Age of child/months postpartum: 20 months I’ve been meaning to post an update for a while. I realized the other day that the reason I hadn’t was because I was waiting for a miracle. I kept waiting for that day where I [...]

Momma of Twin Girls (Danica)

First off I’d like to state that the first picture posted is of me at 37 weeks & 2 days pregnant… it is also the day right before I gave birth to my twins so it gives you a nice glimpse as to how large my belly was. The second picture is of myself 7 [...]

1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth (Anonymous)

I was 16 when I got pregnant. I was just starting to live out my life after years of being shy and to myself. I had met the father of the baby about a year before I got pregnant. Luckily the father of my daughter is really good to me, loves our daughter and where [...]

Hard to Feel Good (Chelsea)

Hey there, I’m a 22 year old first time mother of a 7 month old beautiful little girl. While pregnant with my daughter I gained 80Lbs making my weight a whopping 220. At my age I feel like being a mom has certain expectations, one of them being that you shoudn’t look like you just [...]

Mommy Belly (Sarah)

I’m 26 with 3 pregnancies, 2 births. I have a 4 year old son and 5 months and 2 week old daughter. I was 21 when I had my first child and I weighed 150 pre pregnancy, I wasn’t the skinniest I have ever been but I liked the way my body looked. I wore [...]

Why Me? (Rachel)

Age~18 (17 when pregnant) Number of pregnancies/births~1 Age of children/PP~8 weeks I was 17 and had just started my senior year when I first found out I was pregnant. As you would have guessed I was very scared and cried lots over the subject. Loads of thoughts soared through my head, but instantly I knew [...]

Summer Lovin’ (Kayla)

Previous posts here and here. My daughter will be 3 months old on the 4th of July. That is coming way too fast for me. I really thought 6 weeks after birth I would be back to pre-pregnancy…Seems like every girl I know bounces right back. I lost 35 pounds in the hospital after I [...]

I Control My Body, My Body Does Not Control Me! (Danielle)

My age: 35 Number of children: 2 – Daughter 3yrs, Son 5 months No one ever told me anything about what happens after pregnancy – the fatigue, depression, mood swings, bleeding for weeks, body changes – the list goes on. I was prepared for my baby, but not prepared for what pregnancy did to me. [...]

Closure and Acceptance (Melissa)

Previous post here. Age: 23 Number of Pregnancies: 1 Number of Births: 1 PP: 8 months today I have been keeping up with the readings here, and honestly I do not know what I would have done without this website. Reading your stories, seeing real pictures, have been an eye opener, and an equalizer in [...]

I want myself back. (Anonymous)

I have a gorgeous 16 month old son. I am 21, myself. I feel terrible about my body. I don’t feel like the same person, I literally look at pictures of myself before giving birth and think to myself how I miss that very faraway strange person. it never leaves my mind. If I am [...]

Goodbye beautiful body, hello beautiful daughter. (Elivert)

I have 21 years old. For a long time my body had taken care of no gain, of stretch marks,always look my beautiful belly. Until I met my lovely husband, who has supported me and always wanted, we wanted very much a baby in our lives. Until a year ago gave us the news of [...]

For Ava (Anonymous)

Age: 23 Number of pregnancies: 1, Births 1 4 Weeks postpartum I am 23 years old and had my beautiful daughter 4 weeks ago. When I found out I was pregnant, I weighed 126 pounds, the day I delivered my daughter Ava, I weighed 186. I gained 60 pounds!! I am 5’7 and have always [...]

Picture Me (Lady Tea)

Age: 34 1 pregnancy, 1 child (5 years old) Originally posted at Lady Tea’s blog. This photo is quintessential me: sunglasses on my head, always a sweater handy (layers, you see, are a very important defense against schizophrenic Delaware weather), sandals (not quite as good as barefoot, but close), hanging out in nature with my [...]

Update (Anonymous)

Previous entries here and here. im 24 in july – my amazing son will be 4. I have posted 2 times previous to this… i still have my days where i get down on myself, but overall i know im beautiful as well as my shape of a mother I started using trilastin stretch mark [...]

My Twin Skin (Anonymous)

I’m trying to come to terms with my twin skin. Before I got pregnant I was a little over my prefered weight at about 125 lbs. I gained almost 70 lbs during the pregancy, but most of it was swelling and of course two babies weight a lot too. After my boys were born I [...]

Finny and the ‘Broids (Mel)

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a little vain. It’s definitely not a quality I embrace, but still, it’s there. As long as I can remember I have had body issues. Even when I was a scrawny, adolescent little girl, I remember wearing sweats or shorts over my leotard to my gymnastics classes. I [...]

Save the Mom Jeans (Jenna Moffit)

Age 24; Pregnancies 2; Births 1; 8 months post partum There are too many days I wake up to my 8 month old daughter talking to herself in her pack and play at 5 am. When I look in, she sees me and her face lights up with joy; I can’t help but pick her [...]

Want What You Don’t Have; Hate What You Do (Amanda Romero)

Age: 26 Number of Pregnancies and Births: One Pregnancy, One Birth Postpartum: Three and a Half Months I have been through the entire gambit of physical appearance. I was born a healthy baby. I was in the 90′s as far as my percentile was concerned both in weight and height. By age four I became [...]

First Child, Deployed Husband (Jessi)

I’m Jessi. I will soon be turning 21 and my baby girl is 3 months 1 week and 2 days old. She is my pride and joy and I thank God for her every day for allowing me to have her while my husband is off serving our country. When we first found out I [...]

What I feel on the inside doesn’t match the outside… (Anonymous)

I am 16 months pp and have slowly lost a few pounds here and there. It’s not the weight that gets me down, but how my body has become so misshapen. My breasts are so saggy and the one is double the size of the other. My back side is just a blob of fat. [...]

For Chanel (Dalena)

~ Age: 25 ~ 1 pregnancy 1 birth ~ 5 weeks postpartum I stopped taking my birth control pills at the end of May 2010. I found out I was pregnant on July 17th, 2010. I would say my pregnancy was normal. There weren’t any complications. I gained a total of 45lbs. I was 185lbs [...]

We create beauty. We are beauty. (Kayla)

Original entry here. I put a post on here not too long ago. I have come so far the passed few weeks that I thought I would go ahead and post again. I have been thinking a lot about my body and the bodies of women on this site and I am wondering…how in the [...]

Living it Up (Meredith)

Dear SOAM, Oh man. This site has helped me so so much! I read it daily. No joke, after I had my little man (almost 2 years ago now, crazy) I was shocked/ticked with what happened to my body. No one told me what was gonna happen. No one ever talked about the droopy, saggy, [...]

3 Years Later (Anonymous)

I’m coming up on my daughter’s third birthday and it was sort of a shock to realize that this was also (obviously) the three-year anniversary of my c-section. I hadn’t planned on a c-section and was pretty upset that I ended up having one. I had figured that my body would be different after pregnancy [...]

My New Self (Dee)

~Age: 17 ~Number of Pregnancies and Births: 1 ~Age of Child/Postpartum: Almost 6 months I tried to make this short, but failed miserably. I saw this website when looking for something to help with my stretch marks. I think this site is absolutely wonderful and I am very excited to post. If you’re a mom [...]

Underneath it All (Heidi)

19 years old 1 pregnancy, 1 birth 3 1/2 months PP In March of 2010, I met the man who would give me our beautiful son. I was the epitome of the typical (stereotyped) 18 year old, I stopped going to school to party all night and sleep all day. All I cared for was [...]

My Belly Has Stripes Like a Zebra’s (Stephanie)

Every day I see in the magazines, and on TV all of these women/mothers that are perfect 6 weeks after having a baby (if not sooner) and after reading this site, and everyone’s stories it made me realize, we are taught to think so badly of our stretch marks and our pooches because we don’t [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

At 19 I found out I was pregnant. My boyfriend (now husband) and I were scared and shocked but we knew we wanted our little Angel. I worked for the first 7 months of my pregnancy as a Driver at a plumbing company. This kept my body in great shape and know one could even [...]

Five Years Later and Still 20lbs Heavier and Loving It – Confessions of a Skinny Girl (Anonymous)

I love what pregnancy has done to my body, beforehand I was skinny as a rail and super self-conscious of my body. People used to say that they were afraid to hug me because they thought I would break. I wore long sleeve shirts and pants my entire life to hide my “chicken arms and [...]

After But Before (Colleen)

My previous submissions are here: (oh no I’m becoming a serial poster!) One Year After a Cesarean Ode to my Scar Coming to Grips With a Cesarean My age: 27 One pregnancy, one birth My daughter is 21 months old. I have to apologize; I like to take a few days to tweak my entries [...]

Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now (Kayla)

Number of pregnancies and births: 1 3 weeks pp- 2 weeks pp in photos. I am 21 years old and had a baby 3 weeks ago today. I have always had issues with my body. I was anorexic in middle school and part of high school. Now looking back…I can’t figure out why! How crazy [...]

Almost a Year Post C-Section (Anonymous)

Pregnancies/Births:1/1 11 and 1/2 months pp I have posted a couple times on here, and each time has shown a more positive outlook and attitude! Partly,, thanks to this site!! I encourage every mother to FIND/MAKE at least 2 hours a week to do something active that you really enjoy! Doesn’t have to be all [...]

Pouch Tummy and Tons of Stretch Marks (Melissa)

Age: 23 Number of Pregnancies: 1 Births 1 PP: 6 months So I stumbled across this website by chance looking up different support groups for weight loss and cesarean sections. I have been reading the stories and have found them so compelling and inspiring that I thought I might share mine. I did not really [...]

Beautifully Destroyed (Sia)

Previous entries here and here. age 17 months pp 9 The other day I ran into a girl who I went to school with. She is a little younger than me and has always been kind of rude. She was telling me how she saw pictures of me before I had my daughter and how [...]

Appendix Removal Update (Fiona)

Original entry here. I had my appendix removed when I was fairly far on in pregnancy, and it was a fairly traumatic experience. I have enclosed some photos of how my scar is looking now, and also a little update on me. Some negatives which have come from my experience – 1. Only one big [...]

A New Outlook on Life (Kayla)

Before I was pregnant, I was actually 100% happy with my body. If someone would tell me that I’m fat (mean people) or could lose a few pounds before I get too old and can’t lose the weight (my parents), I would let it roll of my back for the most part. I liked my [...]

Young and Blessed (Cara J.)

I got pregnant at the age of 18 and I remember everything so vividly. It was November 29th (my birthday) and my bestfriend and I went to go get piercings. I already had the top of my belly pierced so I wanted to get something different and get the bottom done. I remember on the [...]

Forever Hiding Behind My Clothes (Amanda)

Pregnancies:1 Age: 19 Hello my name is Amanda I am ONE WEEK postpartum from having my beautiful daughter. I had a great pregnancy with no complications up untill I was due I went 4 days over my due date and then I had false labor when I got to the hospital they checked my amniotic [...]

How do you forgive yourself? (Anonymous)

2 pregnancies 1 birth Age 6 boy 4 years postpartum I am 24 years old I was 17 when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. More excited then ever, I told the father right away but knew deep down my parents would not be happy so I hid it from them. [...]

I am just starting to like myself ever. (Alice)

24 years old. 2 pregnancies 1 live birth 1 abortion My daughter is 5 years old in 2 months. I am almost 5 years pp. I got pregnant with my daughter a week before my 19th birthday. I was in love with a boy who was “out of my league” but it seemed he was [...]

My Body is a Battlefield (Anonymous)

18 months post partum 1 pregnancy 1 birth by C-Section Age:24 First I have to say – THANK YOU so much to the creator of this site and everyone who has participated. You have all made me feel sane and normal when I thought for sure I was losing my mind. Women are real, strong, [...]

Teen Mom (Jessica)

In January of 2010, I had just turned 18 and was just starting to feel really secure with my looks. I had started to loose weight and was very happy with the way things were going. Then I met a boy. One thing led to another and I got pregnant. Before my pregnancy, I weighed [...]

My World Changed When He Entered It (Samantha)

21 years old, 2 1/2 year old son As a teenager I was always very self conscious of my body. I was constantly striving to maintain that “perfect” look. I was modeling and working hard to break into that extremely difficult world. I never had to work out or diet to stay in shape, I [...]

Young Mom to Two Gifts (Kathryn)

I had my sons close together my oldest will be 2 in June 6/16/09 3:16pm 6 pounds 6 ounces 21 inches long! My pregnancy with him was horrible I was nauseous from 6 weeks up until I delivered at 39w 2d I threw up frequently but really didn’t loose much weight oddly. I had him [...]

Almost 5 Years Later (Anonymous)

I became pregnant at 19 and gave birth 2 months after I turned 20 to a little girl. Didn’t know till I was over 3 months along that I was even pregnant. Had NO symptoms at all. Peeing a lot and vanishing period were normal for me haha, so thought nothing of it, till I [...]

The Beauty of Natural Childbirth to a First Time Mother (Anonymous)

Age: 22 Number of Births: 1 Age of my child: 8 months The first time I found out I was pregnant I was scared but excited and looking forward to bringing a new addition into the household. Unfortunately, I miscarried in the first trimester. I was completely devastated and for months it was the only [...]

Did you know? (Jill)

Previous posts here, here and here. My baby is 20 months old. My body is 20 months postpartum. We had a natural birth. We breastfed for 13 months. I’m 23. ……………………………………………………………………………………… I didn’t know you could “give it 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, etc” and still not be where you want to be. I [...]

Winter Update (Vi’s Mama)

Hi everyone. I posted an entry here over the summer, but a lot has changed since then. I’ve been continuing to struggle with my body image. I constantly obsess over it, and i don’t want it to rub off on my daughter. Recently i got my belly button pierced and a tattoo designed by my [...]

27 with 2 kids, 1 c-section and dealing with the scar left behind (Marie P.)

I am currently 27 and 3 months and 1 week post c-section. I have 2 children a 5 year old and now a 3 month old. My son was a c-section and needless to say I, like other women have had struggles with my new body and scarring. Our bodies not only change but they [...]

Really Very Bad Timing (Ann)

1 pregnancy, 2 children 14 months postpartum, twins My twin boys were perfect timing. Our fertility doctor had just finished telling us we would never conceive naturally. I had just told him that through the grace of God I believed that we would. 3 weeks later some routine tests came back to tell me I [...]

My Journey to Motherhood (Carmel)

These photos were taken by my supportive and amazing husband Nathan. The photos are at 34 weeks, 39 weeks and the day of Arthur’s Birth. I had a wonderful pregnancy. Even though I am a large woman I felt amazing when I was pregnant. The fact I had a life, our little miracle, growing inside [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

I have always been worried about the day I would find out I was pregnant. Not because I didn’t want a baby or a joy in my life but I had always felt insecure about my weight. I come from a family where weight was a big issue and both me and my brother were [...]

Whose Body is this Anyway? (Lisa)

I posted this on my blog about a year and a half ago. It was my way to make amends with my body. I didn’t take any photos of myself during that time. I actually hid from the camera by always being the photographer. I was 34 years old when I wrote this (now almost [...]

Disgusting Stomach, But I Was Blessed with a Beautiful Daughter (Jen)

I’m 27, 1 Pregnancy (so far) and 1 Birth, Daughter will be 3 in May I am working on being happy with my body. It was extremely hard for me at first. Pre-pregnancy I was a bikini model and I never had to work on my stomach very hard and I could eat what I [...]

8 Months PP (Renee)

Previous post here. Age 24 ~1 baby boy, 8 months old Pre pregnancy 135lbs, @ Pregnancy 192lbs, After birth 162lbs, 8months PP 150-154lbs. I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone for all there comments and support. It has been about 5 months since I have posted last. I still am not [...]

Loving Myself (Jessica)

Having my son was the best thing that ever happened to me. It changed me in a million ways, but unfortunately it changed my body too. I was slightly overweight when I found out I was pregnant, and I wasn’t happy with my body to begin with. I’ve always struggled with my self esteem and [...]

Wondering if I’ll ever be able to wear a bikini again (Anonymous)

I’m 20 years old, almost 21 and I use to be 110 pounds and very confident. I gave birth 10 months ago and I feel quite depressed about my body. I don’t fit into any of my old clothes, I am 20 pounds heavier than what I use to be. I want to enjoy this [...]

On My Way (Ashley)

Will I ever be 100% comfortable with my body? When I was a child I had nicknames like stick. As I got older my woman body started to develop. I got breast and a nice, round bum. I was always so self-conscious about it. It became what I was known for, my bum and I [...]

Hard Work Pays Off (Georgia)

Previous entries here, here and here. Hello there ladies. I wanted to share my update. I have a few others on here. Although I said I wasnt going to have another post until 1 year postpartum, I thought it was time. I am 10 months PP. Total I have lost 50 pounds. I work out [...]

Finding beauty in every imperfection (Jordan)

21 years old 2 pregnancies, 1 birth 13 months pp I want to start off by saying this site is amazing, I love reading all of the posts on here. However, i don’t like seeing that it is such a struggle for some women to love the bodies that their children gave them. I know [...]

Blessed and Tortured – Update (Anonymous)

Previous entry here. I am re posting new pictures, i got alot of compliments on the previous ones, thank you. But i felt they didnt portray the way i see my body acuratly. 4 year old son current weight 136. Updated here.

11 Weeks Postpartum (Marz)

Previous entries here, here and here. 23 years old 1 pregnancy 1 birth 11wks postpartum and -30lbs I decided it was time to finally write my postpartum update. I ended up carrying to 41 weeks and giving birth completely naturally on November 28, 2010. And before anyone congratulates me on that, I did not want [...]

15 Year Old Mother (Anonymous)

I just wanted to start off by saying that I have a lot of respect for all of the women who have posted on here. All of you have made me realize that I shouldn’t be ashamed of my new motherly body, even if I’m the only 15 year old I know who has a [...]

I Like Myself (Rosie)

I see a ton of ladies hating on their post-baby bodies, and some very genetically blessed ladies who are rockin’ it. I’m right here in the middle. I gained some weight, and I lost it. I started my pregnancy around 170 lbs. I struggled with hyperemesis in my first trimester and dropped to 145 lbs. [...]

5 Weeks PP, Almost There – Update (Anonymous)

Previous entry here. Ahhh where can I begin? Its been 16 weeks since I welcomed my beautiful baby boy into the world. I feel very happy about the place I’m at. So far since my last update I lost more weight and I’m back into my pre pregnancy jeans once again. My tummy is completely [...]

Sometimes I like it sometimes I hate it (Anonymous)

~Age: 27 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 6 month This is my first pregnancy and I should admit I was not quite ready emotional to things happened to me. I love my little girl who is 6 month old now but there are [...]

5 yrs Fibro and Autism (Anonymous)

age: 27 number of pregnancies/births : 1/1 age of child: 5.5 I am a plus size mom and wanted to represent more of us bigger moms since it is a little lacking. I am 324lbs at 5yrs postpartum. I am comfortable with my body, I deal with the constant pain of fibromyalgia every day and [...]

Getting used to the new me (Anonymous)

Age-23 Number of pregnancy’s,births- 1 ,1 4 1/2 months Postpartum c-section I have been having a pretty hard time dealing with my new body after having my baby 4 months ago. I am just now starting to be some what ok with how I look. I gained 40 pounds during my pregnancy and have lost [...]

Without my belly, I wouldn’t have hers. (Anonymous)

age-17 7 months pp I posted on this site about two months ago. I have lost a little more weight since then, but all together I am feeling great. I was 93 pounds when I found out I was pregnant with my beautiful daughter. 156 when I gave birth. I am now down to 128 [...]

Not Myself Anymore (Morgan)

Age:18 No. Of Pregnancies and Births: 1 8 Months PP No one realises how hard it is to be a mom. I’ve had so many friends say to me, “I want a baby so bad, you must be so happy!” But it’s not like that. I got pregnant to my ex after one week of [...]

Update (Kat)

Original entry here. I switched up my workout (flirty girl and carmen electra got too easy) so now I’m doing hip hop abs. Once I’m done with the 4 week plan for that, I’m going to start p90x. I have started doing modeling jobs(I have a model mayhem account now! under the user girl08er). I [...]

I Hope to Someday Love My Body (Anonymous)

~Age: 16. ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth. ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 months. Like most teen girls, I obsessed over the way my body looked. My stomach was never flat enough, and my boobs never seemed to be the shape of those in the [...]

Ode to My Boobs (Miff)

I was directed to this site by a friend of mine after I emailed this “Ode to my boobs” to my closest girlfriends who are also mothers. Before I was pregnant I was a 34 B or C, during my pregnancy I was a 34 DD, and once I started breastfeeding I got up to [...]

My Striped Tiger Body (Ashley)

~Age: 21 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1st pregnancy and 1 birth Im 21 years old and i feel as tho my body is completely ruined and ill never fit into my old clothes or be happy with my body again. Let me start by saying that i love my daughter with all my heart [...]

Skinny, fat and somewhere in between! (Bex)

I have always struggled with weight, going from Anorexia to Bulimia or having both at the same time. Since I can remember I have hated my body, it has completely consumed my life and thoughts, it’s always been the wrong shape, too fat, my legs too bulky and muscly, my arms too flabby and fat, [...]

8 Months Post C-Section (Anonymous)

I LOVE this website,, and all you wonderful mothers out there! This is my third submission. I had my first child May 2010 via unplanned C section. A wonderful, beautiful, healthy little girl! She brings so much joy to all that she comes into contact with,, ready with a huge grin for everyone! She makes [...]

The Name’s Ashley (Ashley)

im 21 years old 5 months post partum with my first child when I found out I was pregnant I was so extremely happy. being only 21 I was really nervous at first but I had a lot of positive people around me, and my boyfriend is one of them. he was definitely more ready [...]

Beauty = Found! (Anonymous)

Age: 21 # of pregnancies: 1 Weight pre-pregnancy: 110 lbs. Weight gained during pregnancy: 50 lbs. Weight 3 years post partum: don’t know! I stumbled on this website quite by accident but I am SO glad I did! It is so important for women to see images of REAL bodies, especially mothers. My relationship with [...]

My Story (Erin)

I am a 23 year old mother to 5 month old Claire. My journey began with the heartaching realization that at this young age, I have fertility problems. Fighting not only with doctors who would help diagnose and treat a young woman with PCOS (polycystic ovaries) but also fighting with myself, with my body- for [...]

Fire Marks Almost Four Years Later (Cheri)

In two weeks my moon face girl will four years old. I remember being madly in love with her father and asking the Goddess to let us have a child if it were meant to be. 9 months later there she was. I don’t recall the birth much due to a sedative they gave me [...]

My Body the Hand Grenade (Suzi)

Age: 28 Number of pregnancies and births : 1 Age of my child : 14 months Height and weight before pregnancy 1.60 cm tall & 49 kilos. Weight after pregnancy: 45 kilos I found out that I was pregnant in the beginning of Febuary in 2009. It came as a suprise to both me and [...]

16 Months Postpartum (Tessa)

Previous entry here. It is over 6 months later, and since my previous entry I’ve only been able to lose 10 lbs. My husband has had surgeries, I picked up a second job and am working 45 or so hours, 6 days a week. I cannot afford a gym membership, and wouldn’t have the time [...]

9 months up, 9 months down (Anonymous)

When I gave birth I weighed 224lbs, nine months postpartum I weigh 244lbs. ~Age:27 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1, 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 9 months

Scared Mother 25 Weeks (Mini)

~Age: 19 ~Number of Pregnancies: 1st One This is my first pregnancy and I have always been a little bit self concious. I do everthing I can to make sure after birth I have my good body again far as jogging and applying lotion on my stomach. I kind of scared. All that matters is [...]

Breast Envy (Kerry)

1 pregnancy/birth 20 months pp Age 20 34b to 42 D to 34b So I posted at 1 year postpartum and was pretty sure I would not post again until I was pregnant or pp with my second child, (we are going to start trying in the fall!) but I’ve been having some insecurities with [...]

My Mother Shape is Beautiful (Melissa Ann)

My life has been so enriched by my identical twin daughters, but my body… for a long time I thought it had fallen to shreds. Yesterday I challenged myself to find the beauty in the way I’ve been stretched. This photo is my result. ~Age: 26 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 Pregnancy 2 Births [...]

My body has been destroyed, and I’ll have nothing to show for it: Update (Michelle)

Pregnancies/Births: 1 pregnancy/birth Age: 18 7 weeks postpartum If you haven’t read my previous post, please do so, otherwise this one might not make too much sense. I thought after I was no longer pregnant I would be devastated with how my body looked, but now I’m finding that I just don’t flat out care. [...]

22 and 2 Kids Later (Jenny)

My children are definately the best things to ever happen to me. I first got pregnant right before my 19th birthday and had a beautiful 8 lb baby boy. Before i got pregnant i only weighed 97 lbs and ended up 139 lbs when i gave birth. After i had him it didnt take too [...]

One Year and 60 Pounds Down (Jess)

Original entry here. 20 Years Old 1 Year PP Pre Pregnancy 124 End Of Pregnancy 194 Currnetly 135 This has been the fastest year of my life… I’ll be honest… I thought i would be in better shape by now… Some days I think I’m looking pretty good and with a little toning maybe even [...]

Blessed and Tortured (Anonymous)

Im 23 years old. I have a 3 year old son. I was 165 before pregnancy. 135 now. I am blessed with an amazingly handsome 3 year old son and an equally amazing husband who I struggle with myself everyday. and hate that my stomach looks like a road map. Since finding this website, i’ve [...]

Trying Not To Be Sad, But I Just Can’t Help It (Anonymous)

Age:22 1pregnancy/1birth 4 weeks PP I was 21 when I found out I was pregnant. The father & I had only been serious for about 6 months at the time, but he being 6 years older than me was ready to settle down & took the news better than I did. I never had a [...]

Why can’t I see myself through his eyes? (Anonymous)

age:17 number of pregnancies and births: 1 postpartum: 5 months I honestly have no idea where to even begin this post. I was always the “skinny girl” growing up. I got alot comments on my weight, and they were not always postitive ones, but I loved my body and who I was. I started dating [...]

5 Weeks Postpartum and I No Longer Believe in Genetic Destiny (Kat)

Age: 21 Number of pregnancies/births: 2 pregnancies/1 birth Age of baby/how far postpartum: 5 weeks I was born short and fat, and stayed that way for my entire childhood and teen years. I started middle school at 4’10″ and 160lbs. Both of my parents, as well as most of my family in general, are overweight, [...]

Sady

AGE:25 1 CHILD, 1 BIRTH, 14 MONTHS when i first became pregnant the first thing i worried about was the fetus, as the pregnancy went on i worried about the high dose of vitamin A i was taking, then I worried about the low dose of folic acid i was consuming, then i worried about [...]

The Evolution of a Body (Anonymous)

~Age: 26 ~Weight & Height: 5’2″-ish and 120-ish pounds (I hover) ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 years Previous submissions: 5 months postpartum, 1 year postpartum, 2 years postpartum I thought it was important to update my story for a number of reasons. [...]

So Many Scars (Audrey)

I’m finally healing on the inside as well as out. I am 18.5 months postpartum. My daughter Shannon was born via cesarean after 46 hours of labor and it was quite the blow for me. She also had an unknown birth defect (omphalocele) that required surgery the day after her birth. I didn’t hold my [...]

The Guilt of Hating a Body That Birthed an Angel (Amanda)

It has only been three and a half weeks since I gave birth to my beautiful daughter. I should be applauding myself and my body for being able to create such a perfect angel, and yet I am not. Instead I find myself hating the mirror because the mirror shows what I look like now. [...]

16 Weeks Later (Anonymous)

age: 19 1 child this is my first entry. its been 16 weeks since i gave birth and my body hasnt gone back the way i thought it would. my baby was 8lbs and 6 ounces. during my pregnancy i gained about 50 lbs and have almost lost it all but my body is just [...]

Will it ever get better? (Anonymous)

My biggest body-related fear once I became pregnant was stretch marks. I oiled and lotioned my belly as often as I could. I was hopeful that I’d escape stretch marks altogether because my mother never got one throughout her six pregnancies. And I almost made it. Around 37 weeks they started to appear. A few [...]

Cognitive Dissonance (Eden)

age 33 one birth, 32 months ago I love this photo because it’s a hot girl in a bikini and also shows my loose belly skin. I’m surprised by how unselfconscious I feel about that part of me – I’m more inclined to touch it absentmindedly and enjoy how soft it is than to lament [...]

How my life has changed (Anonymous)

Age: 27 Children: 1 I found this site about 3 years ago while having a hard time with my postpartum body. I had always been thin and weighed about 103 lbs before pregnancy. During my pregnancy I gained about 50 lbs and also developed gestational diabetes. At 33 weeks I developed a rash referred to [...]

I have all the battle scars of carrying a child for 9 months, yet I am a childless mother. (Anonymous)

Age: 22 7 1/2 months postpartum 1 pregnancy I found out i was pregnant on Aug. 5th 2009. I was 20 years old and my husband and I couldnt be anymore excited. Most of my life i had mange to stay skinny even though it was very much a struggle for me. Im 5′ 1″ [...]

Will I Ever Be Happy? (Renee)

Original entry here. 25 17 1/2 weeks postpartum 1 pregnancy, 1 birth I am now almost 18 weeks postpartum, and have 7lbs of the 65lbs I gained left to lose. It seem I am stuck. But, I look absolutely nothing like I used to and it makes so depressed. No matter what I’m doing, it [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

My 1st child I am 26 yrs old I had a c section due to my baby heart rate dropping. I am not proud of my body at all. I had a really good doctor deliver my daughter. You cant see my incision. I am 2 1/2 months postpartum but my daughter will be 3 [...]

Admitting It (Anonymous)

I found out I was pregnant on Thanksgiving Day 2009. I just kind of knew, and I took a pregnancy test early that morning. I then ran to the store and took several more — all positive. My emotions were all over the place, as the father was someone I was only casually dating and [...]

5 Weeks PP, Almost There (Anonymous)

I’m a 24 yr old women who just had a beautiful baby boy on october 1st of this year via emergency c section due to fetal distress. My c section was very painful I never been in so much pain and I was a little sad I didn’t deliever vaginal. I’m five weeks pp and [...]

One Day at a Time (Lu Ella)

The hardest part of dealing with my postpartum body? For me is the bipolar-ness of it all. I gained 52 pounds while pregnant with my daughter, and about half the time I am comparing the body I have now to the one I most recently inhabited: one that was 9 months pregnant. During this half [...]

I Wish I Would Have Known (Khanna)

~Your Age: 23 ~Number of pregnancies and births:1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 7 months ~Pre-pregancy weight- 113 pds ~Weight gained during pregnancy- 35 pds ~Post- pregnancy weight- 106 pds I had my twin boys at 38 weeks they were 6 lb 7 oz and 6 lb 2 oz, [...]

Five Years Postpartum (Stephanie)

age 33 1 pregnancy I really loved this website when I came across it. It is great to see what real moms look like not what the media makes up feel like we should look like. I gained 40 pounds with my son but have since lost all the extra weight but my body will [...]

Shape of a Loss (Nicole)

First entry here. In a parallel universe, I am just weeks away from the birth of my second child. I am more confident about the impending labour than the first time around, but a bit nervous too. I am even more nervous about managing life with two kids under two! I am unpacking, washing and [...]

Closing in on D-Day (Marz)

Previous entries here and here. Age: 23 Pregnancies/births: currently pregnant with first Hello again. This is gonna be a long one… I’ve been checking this site nearly every day since I first found out I was pregnant. I thought it was great, especially since I had so many fears and hangups about what I would [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

Age:23 Number of Births:1 Post Partum: 2 months On August 23rd I delivered a beautiful baby girl. My husband and I had gotten pregnant accidentally, but decided that we would start our family a little earlier than originally planned. I was pregnant during the summer and was absolutely miserable. I hated seeing all the other [...]

My body has been destroyed, and I’ll have nothing to show for it. (Michelle)

Age – 18 Number of pregnancies – 1 I’ve been on this site countless times, reading other women’s stories because I am trying to cope with how much my body is changing, and have been debating for months now on whether to post my story or not. Well, it’s a bit long, but here goes! [...]

11 Weeks PP (Melissa)

Age: 21 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth 11 weeks PP Emergency cesarean So I am 11 weeks PP and like most women am finding it hard to get used to what I see in the mirror. I don’t hate my body but I’m far from loving it. I had a pretty [...]

I CAN Love Me, Finally (E)

This is a story about love,loss,,discovery and my young body’s journey through motherhood. I guess you can say my journey to motherhood has not been the easiest, but I wouldnt trade the expeirences I’ve had at my young age for anything. I found out I was pregnant with my first child a week before my [...]

8 Months Postpartum (Pamela)

8 months postpartum. 20 years old 1 pregnancy and 1 birth. My daughter is eight months one week and one day. I’ve been having a lot of issues with my body. I still have dark pink stretch marks all over my stomach, hips, lower back, inner thighs and breasts. they’ve lightened some since delivery. but [...]

My Doctor Makes Me Feel Bad (Anonymous)

Age: 27 # pregnancies and births: 1/1 34 weeks pregnant I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant with my first child, a boy. Ive struggled with my weight throughout my entire life except for a brief time in college. Before I got pregnant I was 5’7″ and 200lbs. I had recently had to switch OB/GYN providers because [...]

Your First Home (Proudmama)

Previous entry here. I didn’t intend on updating so soon, but something happened that I wanted to share. First of all I come here regularly because I feel like I’m a part of something when I read your stories. Some of your stories I relate to more than others, some stories make me want to [...]

Stretch Marks 101 (Anonymous)

Number of pregnancies – 1 Pre preg weight – 118 Height – 5 7 Ending weight – 160 post preg – one year and a month I have payed soooo much money to get rid of the hideous stretchmarks. Im talking thousands. no FRACTIONAL laser has worked for me…. trust me im living proof ive [...]

My Husband Kissed My Stretch Marks (Anonymous)

20 yrs old 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant I have been looking at this site for a few months now, and I am so thankful for it. I keep seeing these women who look like models (probably because they are models), celebrities, or just everyday women who don’t have physical changes from pregnancy and [...]

Tied to the Past (Anonymous)

~Age: 25 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 years I’ve only had one child,only one, she may be the most amazing little girl I’ve ever seen but where did I go? I gained 40 lb.s with her birth and then kept gaining after [...]

The Nonexistant Dating and Sex Life of a Single Mom (Anonymous)

Age: 23 Pregnancies: 1 Births:1 My Daughters Age: 3 I had my daughter at the age of 19 a month away from my 20th so I guess I should say I had her as a “Teen” Her dad and my relationship was a rocky one but I stuck it out because I didn’t want my [...]

Final Update (Jeanne)

Previous entries here and here. My daughter is now 18 months and I never thought I would feel the way I do about my body as I do now. I love my body now more than before I had a child. I love the way my hips have widened…I just feel more feminine and like [...]

Finding a Body that I Love (Quila)

I was very excited when I ran into this website while surfing the web at work! I’m having a very bad experience with my post baby body. I’m 21 years of age, a full-time student, and I work a full-time job(life). I was never a “skinny girl”, but I have also never been at the [...]

Post C-Section Belly at 7 Months (Shaunna)

I am a 25 year old woman, who had her first baby delivered back in March via c-section. After 12 hours in labor and a dropping fetal heart rate, the doctors decided c-section was the way to go. Since the c-section, I have had the hardest time trying to get my stomach back to where [...]

Unsatisfied (Renee)

#1 pregnancy 3 months Postpartum First of I am glued to this site. I love this site. I am so happy to have a baby boy. He is the cutest baby ever. I got pregnant when I was 23 and Had my baby when I was 24 on July 4, 2010. He was a healthy [...]

My entire story…hoping it will give somebody hope or simply put a smile on somebody’s face. (Anonymous)

~Age: 17, almost 18 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 incredible birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 23 weeks I was 16 years old when I found out I was 2 weeks pregnant. My boyfriend, who was/still is my best friend, was 18 at the time and [...]

4 Weeks PP (Heather)

Pregnancies and births: 1 1 month old son Gabriel Hello SOAM. This is my first entry. My name is Heather and I am 4 weeks pp. All in all I had a very smooth ride with my pregnancy and labor and delivery. I was in early labor for 3 days.The night before I had my [...]

Getting Back the Old Me (Victoria)

I was terrified of what could happen to my body when I was pregnant. I was put on bedrest at 27 weeks and was not kind to my body gaining 50 pounds. I have finally lost most of my pregnancy weight now at almost 2 years postpartum and am so thankful that I have relatively [...]

I Love My Son, But I HATE My Body (Anonymous)

Age: 20 1 pregnancy, 1 birth 8 months postpartum I was so glad i found this site, and see that there are many other women like me out there. Well to start off i’ll start my story in the few months pre-pregnancy… i was 18 turning 19 in a few weeks, my boyfriend (husband now) [...]

It’s Hard Not to Notice the Changes (Mary, Mother of Samson)

age: 22 Pregnancies:1 Births :1 My Son Samson is 7 months old Delivered C-Section First of all I love being a mother and would not change it for the world! My son is a blessing and I take these scars with pride…most days. Samson was 9lbs 5 oz when delivered, and I am 5 2′. [...]

It’s Not the Same Body, But it’s Fine By Me (Anonymous)

Pre-pregnancy weight: 107 Labor weight: 160 Post-pregnancy weight: 104 I am posting because this site helped me so much. I came here mourning the body I used to have and wondering if I’d ever get it back. The answer is: it’s not the same body, but in some ways it’s better. I first came here [...]

Update: 7 Weeks Postpartum, 7 Pounds to Go (Anonymous)

Previous entry here. Well I am now 7 months postpartum and have managed to get ride of the last 7 pounds. I am now realizing that I am lucky to have lost all of my pregnancy weight so quickly and to have gotten most of my old body back. Breastfeeding has certainly taken a toll [...]

In Better Shape – Update (Anonymous)

Previous entry here. Age :31 1 pregnancy/1birth a Baby girl,, 4 mo pp I posted on here for the first time a month ago,, grateful for this site,, but a mite obsessed with getting back into shape as quickly as possible. And even though im still not where i want to be physically,, the condition [...]

Upset With My Body at 21 (Anonymous)

Hello everyone!! Im so glad I found this site where I can post pictures of my body and no one will be negative about it. After 9 long months I reached 38 weeks and nothing…No contractions, Cervix was closed, So on my 40th week appoiment My doctor gave me and iduction date. However a few [...]

Lost and sad (Anonymous)

Age: 20 Number of children: one I am 13 months post postpartum. Hello, currently i am struggling with body image. I had my child 13 months ago, and my body has slightly improved since then. I am 5 ft 4 and weigh 130 lbs. I gained 96 lbs during my pregnancy and had pre-clampsia. I [...]

Take 3: Getting There (Anonymous)

Previous entries here and here. 1 Pregancy & 1 birth 9 months postpartum I’ve purposely left it till today to do this post; I’m exactly 9 months post-partum. Don’t they all tell you, it takes you 9 months to put it on and 9 months to lose it??!!! Well I’ve lost it all, in fact [...]

Trying to Deal With This New Body (Nicole)

I have known my childs father for as long as i can remember it seems. Ive never been a person that loved kids. I was the one in the family people knew not to call me because of how i was with children. I was 20 when i found out i was pregnant so i [...]

New Found Respect for My Body (Proudmama)

Age: 31 Number of pregnancies and birth: 1 Age of my child: 10 months old Cesarean birth Almost 10 months ago I finally realized my biggest dream: to be a mom. Most kids grow up wanting to be rock stars or doctors, I wanted to be a mother. From the moment I met my husband [...]

Learning to Love it Again (Anonymous)

I used to love me body, I loved it pre-pregnancy and throughout the entire nine months I was pregnant I felt beautiful. I have never felt more sexy than I did while I was pregnant. (Blame it on the hormones, I guess) Because I was only in my mid-twenties when I delivered (via c-section) I [...]

My Self-Esteem is Shattered (Ann)

Age: 26 1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth 4 weeks postpartum (post partum pictures taken at 2 weeks) I have always been a thin girl without trying, my weight was a complete non-issue and I have always been very confident. When I found out I was pregnant I wasn’t worried about gaining weight, I thought it would [...]

I Hate Myself, My Body (Anonymous)

Age:22 Number of pregnancies:1 It has been a year now..since I had my little one…he is so cute and I love him to death ..but behind this smile is an unhappy person…I’m so unhappy with my body…I never weigh myself because I’m scared of what I will see…I work out..eat right..but it just won’t help..I [...]

Can I Get a Do-Over? (Megan)

One pregnancy, one baby, 13 months old. I’m currently 22, 13 months postpartum. If I could go back and do my pregnancy over, KNOWING WHAT I KNOW NOW, I’d do so much differently: * I’d keep working out daily, just like I had been doing up until the moment I peed on the stick. * [...]

Is there hope or am I going to be in these shoes forever? (Emily)

I am 19 years old/ 18 when pregnant/ 19 when i gave birth. number of children:1 born july 8th 2010. birth: c sec. pre pregnancy weight:105 Wheight right before birth: 175 Wheight now: 144 Weeks pp: 7 Hello. I started this entry knowing exactly what I wanted to say but suddenly…I dont know where I [...]

Learning to Love It (Anonymous)

Age-21 Pregnancies and Births- 1 Months PP- 5 months postpartum I have ALWAYS wanted to have kids. So when I married my husband, I knew someday they would follow. We figured 4 or 5 years, so I was on birth control. 4 months after we got married, I felt pregnant, took a HPT and all [...]

Learning to Love the Body I’ve Gained (Gwen)

Pregnancies: 1 Births: 1 beautiful boy! Postpartum: 19 months I submitted an entry a number of months ago but never saved the link to it, so my pics from around 12 months PP are lost somewhere. The pictures I submitted were before I gave up pumping through my work day, which I did at 12 [...]

Update (Anonymous)

Your Age: 20 ~Number of pregnancies and births:1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 1 boy, 2 years and 2 months. ? Hello again shape of a mother! Its been 19 months since my last entry. You can find it here. I’ve meant to do some updates here and there [...]

Second Update (Anonymous)

age: 25 pregnancies: 1 births: 1 age of child: 2 1/2 Previous entries here and here. My daughter will be three in December, which I cannot believe lol. I am finally almost back to my pre-baby weight. I now weight 168 (158) before baby. I am so happy to getting close to my old self. [...]

Fanny Pack (Anonymous)

Im 21 and had 3 childern in 2 years.After having my son I got stretchmarks below my belly button and there was slight sagging. I dieted and exercised for a year untill someone said how far along are you. I went bulimic and got down to 98 lbs then recovered and went to my pre [...]

I Still Can’t Believe It (Lucia)

20 yrs old 1 pregnancy 1 birth 8 weeks pp My story is short, I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant, my boyfriend noticed before I did. I had a rather easy pregnancy, no nausea but lots of heartburn, I started swelling after week 31 and for some reason I had a [...]

Happier Now (K’s Mom)

I used to be self conscious. I always thought that being skinny was the most important thing in the world. When I was younger, I only weight between 114 to 120 pounds. I was even asked to model before because I was tall and skinny. As I got older, I found it harder and harder [...]

First Time Mom at 31 (Anonymous)

I have NEVER found myself attractive. I always thought,, once i accept the fact that I’m an unattractive person,,I would feel much better about myself and not worry about it so much. For some reason though, I got a decent amount of attention from boys,, I was the funny girl, but was too shy to [...]

Almost Satisfied (Shahida)

I first got pregnant at 18 and I weighed about 135 lbs. I guess I gained around 30lbs but was lucky enough to lose the weight pretty fast. When I was 21 I got pregnant with my son I was about 155-160 because of the Mirena IUD =(. I gained about 38-43lb and was 198 [...]

A Crushing Journey (Amy)

Age: 26 2 Pregnancies 1 Birth Baby Girl lived to be 2 ½ days old I am currently 5 months PP I come on this website often. Just to look at all you wonderful ladies and listen of the journeys that you have had. My journey has been a hard one of recent. Losing a [...]

One Year After a Cesarean–Update (Colleen)

Previous posts here and here. ~Age: 26 ~Number of pregnancies and births:one pregnancy, one birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 1 year post-partum When I did my first post at 3 weeks postpartum, I figured I’d wait to do another when my daughter was a year old and I [...]

7 1/2 Months Later and Still Struggling (Jess)

I met my sons father when i was 17 years old. We met at a small little party and were together pretty much nonstop afterwards. Within 2 months we already had an apartment together. One night he had had a few drinks and we were just sitting around having a somewhat deep converstaion about how [...]

Wow, Our Bodies Go Through a Lot! (Rhianna)

age:23 Births: 1 daughter now age 3 via c-section I went through alot before I was pregnant. I was using drugs, drinking,smoking, and had 8 years of history dealing with Anorexia/Bulemia to a very full extent. When I got pregnant I quit them all cold turkey. Started out 110lbs give or take… and on teh [...]

This body made one gorgeous little boy.. (Anonymous)

I am 21 years old, and married to my wonderful husband who is in the Navy. We have known each other since I was a little girl, and we started dating when I was about 17. When I was 19 I moved down to Virginia Beach with him where he was stationed. A few months [...]

Not sure if I’ll ever be satisfied with my body (Anonymous)

Age: 22 1 pregnancy/1 birth almost 4 months postpartum I had always been thin and I took pride in being in shape and attractive. My weight was fluctuating in 2009- from 112 lbs in January to about 130 lbs in July (the heaviest I had ever been). I saw the “+” on a pregnancy test [...]

Finding the strength to keep moving forward (Brittany)

Brittany, 23 1 pregancy, 1 birth 12 weeks postpartum I have always been a plus sized girl and struggled with my weight. Finally i felt like I had my weight problem under control for the first time in my life i lost 70 lbs and felt great about my life and the direction it was [...]

Finally, Confidence! (Autumn)

~Age: 22 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: He’s 4, will be 5 years on September 22nd I’ve posted here numerous times, my previous entries: Autumn Stretch Marked Legs Happy With My Body Breasts, Acceptance This update is to show how my body has [...]

Blessing In Disguise (Tiffany)

Age: 28 1 pregnancy, 3 births The babies are currently 18 months. My husband and I had been trying for a year when we decided to seek help. Several tests later I’m fertile and his hormones suggest a pituitary tumor. A MRI concluded that he indeed had the tumor. Luckily we caught it early enough [...]

Finding beauty in every imperfection (Jordan)

Age: 20 Number of pregnancies and births: 2,1 6.5 months pp I’m going to start off by saying, this site is amazing, i absolutely love it and visit at least twice a week. I’ve posted once before at four months pp and here i go again. I am now six and a half months pp [...]

Getting Used to My New Body (Katie)

I was 20 years old when I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were very excited because the month before I find out was the month we decided to start TTC so we were excited and shocked that it happened so quick! Well i started noticing my stretch marks when I was [...]

Why Can’t I See What He Sees? (GG)

26 years old 1 pregnancy 2 babies (twins) boy and girl. My husband is such a wonderful man. He sees in me the most beautiful and sexy woman alive. Why can’t I see that?? All I see is fat here and there and everywhere! I see imperfections and that is it. My stomach is ugly [...]

A Healthier Lifestyle (Georgia)

Previous entries here and here. Age: 25 Pregnancies: 1 Births: 1 Weeks PP – 13 I thought I would give another update on how things are going. Im 13 weeks post partum. Loving every minute of being a mommy. I have lost all of my pregnancy weight, plus 8 pounds more. I have been doing, [...]

My Story of Childbirth (Anonymous)

i had just left school,starting college when i found out i was pregnant, at the start i didnt know what to do. i was so scared and alone. i was in a relationship with a man i loved for 6months but knew for a long time before,but the last thing i thought of was being [...]

Not happy with the new me. (B’s Mommy)

Age: 22 1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth Via C-section 6 months PP Six months ago I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy. I was in labor for nearly 30 hrs, I pushed for 3 and then had to have a c-section. My little man weighed 9 lbs 7 oz! This was my first pregnancy and [...]

My husband calls me beautiful (Alyssa)

Age: 20 Pregnancies and Births: 1 pregnancy and 1 birth The age of your child: A terrible two year old I was married at 16, pregnant at 17 and gave birth to my handsome little 9lb 10oz baby boy when I was 18. Here I am now 20 years old, still happily married to the [...]

It is what it is! (Nina)

I am 31, and I have two babies. The first one was born in August 2005, the second born in July 2007, so I’m 3 years pp since my last baby. I’ve been pregnant two more times, on top of that, but they both left my body before the 3 month mark. Two years before [...]

Only 9 days postpartum, but discouraged… (Renee)

I gained 65 pounds with my son. It’s not that I was overeating; quite the opposite was true. I started uncontrollably gaining weight (sometimes 7-9 lbs a week) and finally the doctor caught on. I had pre-eclampsia. Needless to say, all that extra water stretch my skin out something bad. On July 12, I gave [...]

It’s Gonna Take Time (Jessy)

Age: 20 Number or Pregnancies and births: 1 How far postpartum: 5 1/2 months I am 5’10″ and was 159 lbs when I found out I was pregnant. I was already unhappy with how much I weighed. During those 41 weeks i had gained a whopping 50 pounds. I had my daugher Jocee Grace Feb. [...]

22 Weeks, Second Post (Marz)

Original entry here. Age: 22 First Pregnancy My last post was at 16 weeks. I’ve been reading the other stories on here and decided to post again. For those who read my last post, I’ve been battling an eating disorder since I was 10; my issue with weight gain has followed me throughout this pregnancy. [...]

No Longer Hiding (vsmama)

Age: 27 Previous entries here and here. 1 pregnancy; 1 birth 3 years 1.5 months postpartum I made it a goal to feel sexier when my son reached 3 years of age and I wore a dress! A short dress at that! lol Everyone commented on how beautiful I looked and oddly, for awhile there [...]

Getting Back (Selena)

Age: 24 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 Age of children and how far postpartum: 9 month old daughter and 9 months postpartum When the thought came into my head that I wanted to start a family I, like many women, did not think about what my body would look like afterwards. I had not [...]

Continued Hatred of a “Beautiful Thing” (Anonymous)

Age: 19 Number of Pregnancies: 1 Number of Births: 1 amazing baby boy (Almost) 6 months Postpartum Let me start out by saying that I am so thankful to have found this website. I no longer feel completely alone in the way I look. Although I do still have my self-confidence issue, I know that [...]

3 weeks PP and in the Navy (Anonymous)

Age: 21 Number of pregnancies/births: 1/1 Age of children: 3 week old baby boy I joined the Navy when I was 18. Went to bootcamp in Great Lakes Illinois two weeks after I graduated from High School on July 3, 2007 and graduated August 31, 2007. I ended up being stationed at NAS Oceana in [...]

Trying to come to terms with my new body. (Vi’s Mama)

I had my daughter when i was sixteen. Before my pregnancy i was a mere 95 Ibs. I wore a size 32 B. I didn’t appreciate my body at all. During my pregnancy i used lotion, vitamin E oil, Shea Butter…I bought pretty much every “stretch mark” cream available, but none of it seemed to [...]

From Girl to Woman (Anonymous)

28 ten months post body i posted just only today also talking about my belli and my job . i wanted to share this amazing transformation with you mummas i am absoluty amazed at how the body grows and changes , i mean really the pic speak for them selfs !!!!! i am learning to [...]

I Can’t Stand to Look in the Mirror (Anonymous)

~Age: 20 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies 2 births ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 22 months and 3 months I had my first baby at 18 and my second at 20. Before I fell pregnant I had a fantastic body – although I never appreciated it. Now, [...]

Mother of One Little Girl (Sade)

I had my daughter Harmony six months ago. It was a scary experience because I was only 21 when I found out and it was a one night stand. The father lived in another state. I was going to abort my child but I decided to keep her and get in contact with the father. [...]

Australian Ex-Professional Dancer Battles with Post Baby Body (Anonymous)

28 one child ten months post body 65-kg before pregnancy 95 peak pregnancy 75-kg to date, i use to dance professionally in burlesque and cabaret-bars , having my whole job revolve around my body and my own sense of sexuality i was always great shape , having to keep toned by having a active and [...]

Mommy to a Flower (Meghan)

Age: 18 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 6 months pp, 6 months old I was 180lbs when I found out I was pregnant . I was trying to lose weight, but having a hard time . Throughout my pregnancy I gained 40lbs and [...]

Almost There! (Anonymous)

Original entry here. Hi again everyone, at the time of my first submission I was about 146 lbs and just hating life altogether. I am now 130 lbs and a bit happier but still have a long way to go. I am still having trouble facing myself in the mirror and it sometimes prevents me [...]

Will I ever feel beautiful? (Catherine’s Mommy)

Age: 21 # Pregnancies/ Births: 1/1 Catherine is 2 1/2 months old. I’ve read some wonderful stories about finding yourself beautiful AGAIN. But what do you do if you’ve never felt beautiful. I started feeling terrible about the way I looked at age 5. My father who was very mentally and physically abusive always said, [...]

7 weeks postpartum with twin boys (Ash)

Age: 25 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy 2 births The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 7 weeks I had my twin boys at 38 weeks 1 day they were 6 lb 2 oz and 5 lb 5 oz, and perfectly healthy. I gained about 35 lbs with the [...]

Labor Story and Accepting My New Body (Anonymous)

This is my story, just to get it out there for others to share. My EDD was October 29th 2009 October 29th came along, and passed. I was miserable, I felt huge, and I was tired of having my sciatic nerve pinched to the point I couldn’t move. I can’t count the number of times [...]

Coming To Terms With Being Pregnant (Marz)

Age: 22 Pregnancies and births: currently pregnant (4 months) I found out I was pregnant March 24, 2010. It was a shock for both me and my husband, and I cried when I called to tell him. I wish I could be noble and say that they were tears of joy, but I was shocked, [...]

She Changed My Life (Anonymous)

28 years old/ 1 pregnancy/1 birth/12 months postpartum First off, I would like to say that I appreciate this site and the support that it offers to mothers. I have been visiting it ever since I was about 7 months pregnant, and it has been cathartic to me and my struggle with my body. Here [...]

This is Your Fault (Anonymous)

I am 22 years old and I have been pregnant once. I have one child,a 16month old son. The day I found out for sure I was pregnant was one of the hardest days of my life. I was in a bad relationship with a man who was a lot older than me. We had [...]

One of the “lucky ones” (Lxnn)

age 28 one pregnancy one birth my son is now 2 ½ years old I say “lucky” because in reality I do not have many stretch marks and the ones I do have are light. I have returned to my pre-pregnacy weight but that does not mean I am at my pre-pregnacy shape. I gained [...]

The Day After (Maddy)

This is a photo of the day after I had my daughter, Abby. My husband took the photo to show me how much my belly had shrunken so quickly, and at the time, I was so pleased that I was so much smaller than I was before. A few months later, I looked at this [...]

Young Mom of 2 (Anonymous)

i am 22. my husband an i were blessed with two amazing little men. i went into labor naturally at midnight on both of their due dates. my first was born at 1:48 pm. 7 pounds 10 ounces 19 and a half inches long perfectly healthy. he surprised us pretty good. they told me at [...]

5 week PP, hating my body (Anonymous)

Pre-pregnancy weight: 169 Labor Weight: 210 Weight now: 200 I have been struggling with my weight since I was a kid. I was 240 in my sophmore year of high school and just last year I got down to my weight of 157. I wasn’t too happy there, but I was content and felt like [...]

Behind Enemy Lines (SMS)

Age 30 1st pregnancy, 1 year postpartum My body has always been the enemy. This shape which outlines the whole of who I am, encapsulating the parts of me both seen and unseen. Somehow, with time and age, it had come to represent me, a personal definition of who I am, carefully crafted for the [...]

Still Working At It – Update (Anonymous)

Original entry here. Age 21 1 child, 10 months postpartum It feels like forever since I posted my last entry here, even though it has only been nine months! I must admit that I’m not feeling nearly as confident now as I did at a month postpartum, I guess because the adrenaline of giving birth [...]

Belly Flop (Jill)

Previous entries here and here. Back for round three! I figured I’d submit one each postpartum “trimester.” Well, my little man will be one way too soon, this has been the fastest year of my life. We’re planning a birthday party, gearing up for summer, and enjoying every minute of it. Here are my most [...]

A Stomach Like a Deflated Balloon (Sarah)

~Age: 24 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies, 1 birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 6 months post partum Up until 4years ago I had never had body issues. I’d always been slim and fit, but after one termitated pregnancy at 19 I had implanon inserted as a [...]

Proud Momma (Van)

When I got pregnant at 19 I was 140lbs and happy with how I looked for the most part (who doesn’t have little qualms about how they look.?) Now at 2 years post partum I am 195lbs, which is more than I was fully pregnant with my little girl. I feel mixed emotions about my [...]

New Mummy, New body to accept (Kelly)

~Age: 22 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: Kara is 4 weeks old My partner Matt and I are both young, I’m 22, he is 20. We had Kara 4 weeks ago, I had to have an emergency c-section as I [...]

Accepting my NEW “mother” body (Lizz)

This is my Labor Story and I would like to share it. My EDD was Nov. 23rd, 2009 Nov 24th, 2009 I went in at 8AM for a regular check up. Dr. Wong stripped my membranes and 5 minutes later I started cramping. I told her about how I have been itchy for a few [...]

A letter to my body 1 yr PP (Emily)

Age: 23 1 pregnancy, son is 12 months old, 1 yr PP Dear body, Thank you for all that you have given me and others. I am sorry for what I used to think of you, I was wrong you are beautiful. I promise to never be ashamed of my body anymore. I promise to [...]

Skinny, But Strong… My Way (Skye)

So, here I am again, this is my second post, my first is here. Now that I’m 13 months post partum I feel the need to share with you all something that has been amazing for my body… I didn’t say too much about my body in my first most so I will give you [...]

Anonymous

~Your Age: 22 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 3 weeks pp I am a 22 year old mother of 2 girls. The oldest is turning 2 in June and the younger is 3 weeks old. My body changed a lot with both pregnancies. [...]

Hard Work 14 Months PP (Elissa)

Original entries here and here. 24 years old 1 Child-14 months old C-Section Gained-61 Pounds Weight before pregnancy-137 Weight at the end of pregnancy-198 Weight 14 months PP-139 Clothing size before pregnancy Pants size 9 Shirts-Medium Bra size 36 C…Sometimes D After pregnancy Pants size 3 and 5′s Shirts medium Bra size 36 D… I [...]

Awesome Husband (Halley)

My husband is currently working on an Art degree and for one of his assignments he had to draw a live person, and that person was me. At the time he drew these it was my first pregnancy and I was probably about 8 or 9 months pregnant. These really helped me boost my self [...]

The Curves of My Road (Anonymous)

~Age: 24 ~Number of pregnancies and births 1/1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are 11 months postpartum Ever since I can remember the shape of my body has been on my mind. Memories from childhood echo with self-consciousness, fear of being different, and separation. From the outside I grew up [...]

19 years old, 5 months post partum (Ashley)

Before I got pregnant I was a slim 135 pounds, at 5’7″. I felt my greatest and was so happy that I could shop and wear just about anything, all the way down to a bikini in the summer. I got pregnant in March and gained a total for 55 pounds! I got so many [...]

My 20 Week Photo (Ellie)

this is me at 19 weeks. this is my first baby and im so excited. it took me 2 years to get pregnant and i am more grateful than ever. being big its hard to except the looks people give me when i tell them im pregnant, cause to them i just look fat. but [...]

Working to reverse 8 years of negative body image (Anonymous)

age-23 births 1, children 1 beautiful girl 4 months PP I’ve always been athletic and worked hard to stay in shape. In highschool I took it to the next level and restricted myself to 1000, then 900, then 600, then 500 calories a day, this started a slippery slope of anorexia, bulimia, exercise purging that [...]

Struggling with PCOS (Nicole)

Age: 25 Pregnancies: 3 Births: 2 Ages: Son = 5 years old, Daughter = 3 months old Post-Partum: 3 months I have always struggled with my weight. I’ve been on diets, exercise regimes, and even pills. When I was 17, I was so disgusted with my weight that I turned to anorexia. I refused to [...]

Loving My Mommy Body (Georgia)

Original entry here. So here is my update, I am 12 days postpartum. I had my son on his due date which was really great! He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. I had a few hours of tough back labor then had the epidural. Best experience of my life. So [...]

I Remember… (Mary)

~Age: 27 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth by c-section ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5 months I remember being 4 and 5 years old and looking down at myself in the bathtub and thinking I was fat. I remember being in 2nd grade and looking [...]

Struggling to accept this new body and dealing w/ hypothyroidism (Anonymous)

Age: 29 Number of pregnancies: 2 Number of births: 1 Age of baby: 18 months My story is a very familiar one. My baby was born 18 months ago via C-section due to “maternal exhaustion.” I was pushing for going on 3 hours when, after hours of nothing to eat or sleeping, I just couldn’t [...]

Stretched, Marked, & Saggy at 18! (Kelsey)

Hi, My Name is Kelsey.. I was 16 when I found out I was pregnant.. This came as a big shock to my boyfriend and I. At The time we hadn’t been dating long, and we we’re just in high school after all! We decided to carry on with the pregnancy and Keep our son..Now [...]

Take 2 – Still haven’t accepted my new body! (Anonymous)

I originally posted here when I was 6 weeks post-partum! I’m now 21 weeks postpartum and my feelings are still pretty simillar! I have better days than others, very rarely, but they do occur! I just can’t accept that this is the body that I have to live with for the rest of my life! [...]

Update (vsmama)

Original entry here. Hi! I have a goal to feel my sexiest before my son reaches three! And he does in a little over three weeks but I’m already in such a positive state of mind. I’m very confident and excited for my continuing progress. I have such a supportive partner who is putting all [...]

Skinny Moms, I have a Problem with You (Amanda)

Okay, let me get more specific here. Skinny moms that tell other women that you have a flat belly a month or two after giving birth to your second child because you have to chase child number 1 around. I have a problem with you. Big time. Can you please just be honest with the [...]

My Journey to Motherhood (Amelia’s Momma)

19 1 pregnancy 1 birth 4 1/2 months Motherhood has changed me in so many ways, I start my journey as a young carefree 18 year old kid, and end as a mature young woman. I met my baby’s father when I was eighteen years old. I thought he was cute but of course love [...]

It looks like a frowny face (Kerry)

Previous submissions here and here. Age: 19 First pregnancy/birth: 1 year pp Thats what my 5 year old nephew says about my belly button. It bothered me immensely the first time he said it, then the more I thought of it a little chuckle escaped.. how many people can say it looks like their button [...]

Trouble Accepting My New Body (Aarica)

Age~ 23 Pregnancy/births ~ 1 Pregnancy,1 birth Postpartum- 7 months I had just started dating my little guys dad six months before we found out we were expecting. It was a great moment for me and I’m sure him as well. Before I met his dad I was in a long term relationship for 5 [...]

My Body After Baby (Tessa)

I became pregnant and the age of 19 years old. Before I was pregnant, I was quite thin. I always had body image insecurities either way. Looking back at those photos, I find myself asking how I could have ever been displeased with my body pre-pregnancy. When I found out I was pregnant, I was [...]

You don’t realize what you have, until it’s gone.. so old but so true (Anonymous)

Age : 21 Number of Pregnancies : 1 Births : 1 Time Since giving birth : almost 11 months I have been with my husband for over four years now. I got pregnant while we were still dating in 2009 when I was 20, and we got married shortly me after giving birth. Before I [...]

7 weeks postpartum…7 pounds to go (Anonymous)

23 years old, first birth and first pregnancy baby is now 7 weeks old When I first found out I was pregnant I never thought of the impact a pregnancy could have on my body. I just could not imagine that I would have stretch marks and spider veins at my age…my mom has those [...]

My Story With Lily – Update (Marissa)

Original entry here. I have lost 76 pounds, 10 more to go. im right now a 140 lbs, but the new pics are when i was a 144 lbs. I have finally started my period and the weight is coming off quickly. Plus, i eat right and jog. so its been helping alot. i hope [...]

I’m done doing nothing when I could work at being at my best! (vsmama)

Hi! I am a 27 year old mother to a beautiful 2.5 year old boy! I’ve been with my husband since I was 19 and we only found out we were pregnant 2 months short of me turning 25. I never had to exercise and always wore ‘sexy’ but classy outfits. I was about 144 [...]

Living For So Much (Natalia)

Age: 20 Pregnancies/births: 3 pregnancies/ 1 birth Number of children: 1 son, Ronin, age 2 I found out I was pregnant when I was 17, which truly caught me by suprise. I know I wasn’t on birth control, but we used a condom every time. Could it be possible I was the 1% that the [...]

My 4th belly!! (Iraiosc)

Hi again!! I wrote here twice before, you can see here and here. I need to explain my feelings about what i’ve just did. I’ve finally repaired my hernia and diastasis only 20 days ago!! Family are contradicted, they wanted of course I get well quikly (sorry my mistakes please ) but I know they [...]

My son played a few tricks on me (J.D.)

My story starts in March 2007 when i decided to move to another country and start a new life. I was bored of my life, my job, my city and i felt very lonely and depressed. It was a great choice as i started on a new path with lots of joy and happiness. I [...]

38 Weeks Pregnant, Not Sure What to Expect (Georgia)

24 years old, First pregnancy I have been coming to this site for a few weeks now, and everyones stories have been very encouraging. When I got pregnant, I was 5’5” and 158 pounds. I am currently at 180 pounds. So only gained 22 pounds. But I have always really like my body, especially my [...]

It Has Taken Time (Anonymous)

This is such a wonderful place for mothers to come! I recently stumbled upon this place while I was searching on facebook for different groups, and I am so so glad I did! I have honestly always had body issues… I don’t know if it was learned from my mother, or from the society we [...]

This is Me (Anonymous)

Age: 23 Numbers of pregnancies and births: 1 Children: 1 awesome daughter, 3 years old This is who I am and unfortunately I’m not too happy with myself. No matter how much weight I lose, my stomach doesn’t seem to shrink. I’m currently 175 pounds and I plan on getting down to 140. I really [...]

The roads that led to motherhood – A stretch mark love story! (Rachael)

Age now: 22 18 months pp. I became a mother at age 21. My son was born at 7lbs 11 ounces and I absolutely do not regret anything I went through in order to bring him into the world safely. Before pregnancy, I loved my body. I loved my complexion, my height, my weight… everything. [...]

Twin Tummy After Two Years (Anonymous)

Age: 34 1 pregnancy, 2 children I have recently discovered this website and am so glad I did as the stories have inspired me and helped me accept my post pregnancy body. I generally keep my thoughts on my body to myself as I don’t like drawing attention to it and I never imagined I [...]

My Journey Into Motherhood (Anonymous)

I’ve struggled with food for a few years now. My struggle was mostly a secret and began two and a half years ago when I decided I wanted to lose weight for my wedding. I wasn’t overweight, but I wanted to look good. Long story short, I became obsessed, gained the weight back and then [...]

Life of a Cheated Mom (Anonymous)

So here is my story, I became pregnant after a 7 year relationship with my high school sweet heart, he had been faithful all those years, after a couple of days o finding out about my pregnancy my boyfriend started an affair with a coworker of his, that been january last year, in february i [...]

The Ever-Elusive Belly Button (Lulu)

When me and my husband first got married, everyone incessantly pestered us about when we were going to have kids. We told them, quite firmly, that we were going to wait at least five years… by then we’d be good and ready. My mother would always laugh at this, and told us bluntly that she’d [...]

Big Tee & Little Tee (Tee)

Age: 26 Pregnancies/births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth Age of child: 5 I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant and I was scared to death. I was a junior in college, my boyfriend (now husband) was stationed in another state and neither of us knew anything about babies. We had tons of support [...]

Update (Kayla)

Previous entries here, here and here. 21 years old 1 pregnancy, 1 birth son is 16 months old current weight: 165lbs I am now 16 months pp as of yesterday (March 22, 2010). I have GAINED weight in the past month or so and it is so frustrating. I have to say, alot of it [...]

The aftermath of sexual violence + the beginning of healing, part 2 (Anonymous)

About a year ago, six weeks after giving birth to my son, I posted my first entry. It’s been a tough and fun year and yet again my body has changed a lot. I am still breastfeeding and that has helped me lose all my pregnancy weight, without any effort on my part. That was [...]

Uneven Breasts (Proud Mom)

My baby boy is 7 months tomorrow, and I’m a 23 year old all proud battle scared mom… I’ve been 1 of the lucky ladies to not develop strech marks, but a single one right on top of my belly button, the problem I’ve had is that at least 4 months ago my baby won’t [...]

Update (Jeanne)

Original entry here. Since my initial submission I feel like I’ve been able to focus on the important thing- finished college, got a job, spend my time with my daughter and have dated here and there. I’ve accepted my body and while I don’t love it- I like it for it’s flaws and have been [...]

I Hate My Stomach (Emma)

I never liked my body before I got pregnant at 18, but after going through a very rough pregnancy, I wish I had appreciated it more when I could. My pregnancy was unplanned, and I spent much of it wondering if I was making the right decision. It was also rough on me physically – [...]

A Deeper Beauty (Jessica)

Age: 23 Number of Pregnancies and Births: 1/1 How far postpartum : 7 months I have been reading the stories of these lovely ladies since I stumbled upon it at a few weeks post partum. Looking for other women who looked like myself that I could relate to not only physically but emotionally. I was [...]

Positive Pregnancy (Marta)

Pregnancy #1 Weeks Pregnant- 30 Age:27 I have been fascinated by pregnancy and mothers from a very young age. Before my husband and I began trying we had spent years educating ourselves on pregnancy and what we wanted for our first born. I’ve always been a naturalist at heart and so we have chosen a [...]

Rachael

Hello, My Name is Rachael. I am 22, I live in Bunbury, Western Australia. I had my baby boy “Traye” on the 21st of February 2010… so that makes me 3 and a half weeks “PP”. I knew i was going to have a bad stomach because of how quickly my stretch marks came up.. [...]

Teen Mum of One (Anonymous)

I’m 19 years old. Found out I was pregnant when I was 18 and turned 19 during my pregnancy. I felt really terrible about myself from 6 months pregnant on. I felt I looked so huge and disgusting and cried about it alot. My body after having my baby turned out not to be much [...]

Update 3 years PP..Bio Oil made a difference! (Anonymous)

Age: 26 Age of child :3 years old This is an update from my previous submission. I haven’t really changed my eating habits, I eat as best I can and I still cant motivate myself to exercise on a regular basis..actually I gained some weight since the last entry. When the entry was written I [...]

Due in 12 days! (First Time Mother)

I’m very close to giving birth to my firstborn, a girl. I was about 180 lbs at conception. That’s about 20 lbs heavier than my normal weight, and in a little bout of irony, I was dedicating my summer to exercise in an attempt to get back down to 160, when bam, I got pregnant [...]

You’ll Never Be Beautiful Again (Anonymous)

Age:23 Number of Pregnancies:1 Child: 1 unbelievably beautiful son, 8 months I would love to share the name of my son or a before photo of myself or even a full picture of myself, but I can not bare the thought of someone I know reading this. I have this fear that must come from [...]

Irelynd

Irelynd Age: 22 Number of Pregnancies’ Age of Irelynd: 5 weeks 2 days I was 21 when I got pregnant with Irelynd, at first I cried I was told I couldn’t get pregnant since I have some genetic diseases that made it near impossible to carry a child. My mom wanted me to get an [...]

2 1/2 Years Later- Anonymous

Age: 21 A couple months after I turned 18 I found out I was pregnant. Since my boyfriend lived in California and I was so young, I was very nervous. Having my daughter changed my entire life around. I become responsible, mature and learned how to put my daughter’s needs in front of my own. [...]

Saggy Baggy Mama (Anonymous)

I never expected to want to be a mother. I never expected to enjoy being a mother. I never expected that I could love anyone so much. I never expected to describe myself as uncooked dough that had been mauled by a bear. I did want to be a mother, I do enjoy being a [...]

My body has definitely changed for the worse but my little girl was worth it! (Sienna)

Age: 22 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth I am 8 weeks postpartum I became pregnant when I was 21 after only 1 month of trying and was absolutely delighted! I loved my body just before getting pregnant – I had just lost a bit of weight and was feeling very confident! [...]

Pregnancy and Firefighting (Heather)

24 years old 1 pregnancy & 1 birth 6 weeks PP I am 24 years old and am very short and not proportional. I have always had large thighs, large boobs (36DD), and wide hips for only being 5 foot tall (size 9). I have never really had any big problems with my body. My [...]

Ugly is irrelevant (Alicia)

Age: 21 Pregnancies: 1 Births: 1 Children: One beautiful girl that will be three April 13th 2010. About two years ago, when I would step out of the shower and see my naked body standing there I would cringe. I would try to get out of there as fast as I could so I wouldn’t [...]

I want to look better. (Sue)

~Age: 22 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your children: 16 months First of all I want to apologize for mistakes, English is not my language, I’m from Poland. I’m just 22 and I’m not happy about new look of my body… I’m not hating it only because of my boyfriend who [...]

First Time Mama (Anonymous)

I found out I was pregnant in April of last year. My husband and I were very, very surprised but excited none the less! I delivered my baby on Thanksgiving day. We had planned a birth center natural birth but when our sweet little one was a face presentation all plans changed. This was the [...]

Learning to Love My New Body (Anonymous)

I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant and had my first baby. I wasn’t too happy when I found out because it was unplanned. I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years and he is a great father. I have such a hard time accepting my new body. It is basically [...]

My Story (Holly)

My name is Holly. I am 25 years old and have one daughter, a two year old named Lillian. She was an unplanned pregnancy, conceived at what I used to think was the peak of my physical beauty. I was 23, single, and a dancer with perfect abs, lol. My whole life I have been [...]

I’m a Bowl of Mixed Nuts! (April)

~Age: 20 ~Number of pregnancies and births: currently preggo Hi mommies & soon to be mommies! My name is April, I am at 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant at this moment. Im posting on this site to share my thoughts and feelings and hopefully get some good feed backs thatll help cheer me up. [...]

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 [...]

Needing Guidance- Finally reaching out (Anonymous)

It will be a year next week that my son was born. I have kept these feelings inside for far too long. A year that I have been living in this body that I now call my own. My belly button still looks the same, saggy and loose. I still have “love” handles and flub [...]

Update (Anonymous)

Age: 25 Number of Pregnancies and births: 1 Age of child: 2 Hello, I absolutely love this site and have been a fan of it for years! I am doing this as a update post, here is my older post from last July. I really don’t look that different. I have tried everything this past [...]

The Shape of A Birthmother (Anonymous)

20 yrs. old 1st Pregnancy, 8 months pregnant I woke up one morning in July expecting to start my period. When I went to the bathroom and hadn’t started, I didn’t think anything of it because I am not typically regular. As the day went on with no signs of it starting, I began to [...]

When happily ever after comes crashing down… (Anonymous)

Age: 21 Pregnancies: 2 Births: 1 boy, now two years old. Well, the past year has been a year of serious soul searching for me. I went from being a stay at home mom to being a full time college student AND working on top of it. We have been trying to get pregnant for [...]

Pregnant with #2! (Kylie)

I got pregnant by accident with my first child, perfect pregnancy, nothing went wrong. Was in labor for 14 hours, pushed for two. Had a beautiful baby boy, all NATURAL…NOT ONE drug on January 25th, 2009. Up until about 6 months postpartum I didn’t loose but 20 pounds after giving birth, and that was from [...]

My Story with Lily (Marissa)

my age is 17 and my name is Marissa one pregnancy, one birth my daughter, Lily, is 7 months Hi, my name is Marissa and i am 7 months pp with my first child, Lily. I am a teen mother and the past year has been a life changing experience! I met her dad during [...]

Overcoming (Brittany)

Age: 20 Number of births and pregnancies: 1 birth and pregnancy 4 months postpartum My name is Brittany. I am a proud mother to a 4 month old little girl and wife to a wonderful and patient husband. I have been struggling to accept the way my new body looks since I was pregnant. I [...]

My Horizontal Bellybutton (A.C.)

Motherhood has drastically changed me in every conceivable way. I think, sleep, eat and shower differently, and I also have a body that is incomparable to the one I used to inhabit. My baby was born two weeks later than expected, and, during that time, my skin developed deep stretch marks. I will always vividly [...]

In The Home Stretch 235 lbs to 160 lbs (Anonymous)

Age: 25 Number of Pregnancies and births: 1 Age of child/PP: 29 months Pre-Pregnancy I was 235 lbs (I’m 5’7) I was considered Obese my BMI was over 35!!! When I got pregnant I had really bad morning sickness for the first 20 weeks. I was on Phenergan and Zofran. I lost 10 lbs my [...]

Krystle

Age: 23 Number of Pregnancies/Births: 1 Almost 13 weeks postpartum Keywords: postpartum, pregnancy, 1st time mom, vaginal birth After trying for months to conceive unsuccessfully, my husband and I visited a new OB who prescribed clomid. I believed that I was not ovulating, however he thought everything was fine. I got pregnant on the first [...]

5 months PP and doing ok (Amy)

Age: 21 Number of Pregnancies: 1 Number of Children: 1 PP: 5 months Hi my name is Amy and I am 21 years old. Here’s my story. I have been married to my husband for about a year and a half now and we are very happy together. He shops and does the cooking, he [...]

Hating my new body, but loving my daughter. Teen mom. (Lindsey)

Age- 17 First pregnancy and first birth to my daughter. Cesarean (couldn’t dialate past a 6) Hey everyone, my name is Lindsey. First off I want to say I love this website, and everyone on it who shared their stories… I had to debate if I wanted to post my story on here because I [...]

28, and still coming to grips with my new body (M)

My pre-birth weight was about 140, and I am 5′ 9″. I am a former athlete that was used to a typical body weight of 160-165, so the loss of almost 20 lbs in muscle mass was a huge loss in dress sizes as well as curves. I was pretty used to be a little [...]

Starting to Accept My New Body (Anonymous)

~Age: 24 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 3 pregnancies, 1 birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 months post partum After two miscarriages I finally have my beautiful baby! Throughout pregnancy I loved my new body and was amazed watching it grow. I was lucky, I didn’t have stretch [...]

New Baby, Same Body (Kyra)

Age: 27 Months Postpartum: 5 I’ve been planning on this post for over a year. I visited this site frequently, before, during and after my pregnancy. I love reading all your stories. There is something I can relate to in each one. I think us women should remember that we are more alike than we [...]

My Twin Mom Body @ 1 Year Postpartum (Anonymous)

I delivered twin boys via c-section in January ’09 at age 38. Now I am 39 (40 later this year). For many years pre-pregnancy, I worked out frequently and intensely. I am 5’5″ tall, and at the time I got pregnant (my first and only pregnancy), I was very fit and weighed about 120 pounds. [...]

Loose Skin, Severe Stretch Marks and Optimistic! (Nicole)

Age: 24 Number of Pregnancies: 1 9 months Postpartum I never in a million years ever thought my beautiful belly would be tarnished the way that it is now. Maybe it was naive of me, but I didn’t realize it was even possible to look like this just from having a baby. I found this [...]

A Belly I Don’t Know (Shaunda)

Age: 27 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth Age of my child: 17 weeks (4 months, 1 week) I have always wanted to post something on this amazing site, but just never had the courage. I looked at this site religiously throughout my entire pregnancy, knowing that I would have a hard [...]

My Submission (Jeanne)

I had an unplanned pregnancy at 21. I was scared, I was doing it alone without my daughter’s father in the picture. Throughout my pregnancy I was afraid of what changes might happen to my body. I used to love my body and now I am still learning to accept the changes. I hit my [...]

Ce la Vie (Anonymous)

Age: 23 Number of Births and Pregnancies: 1 Age of Baby and Months Postpartum: 6 months My story begins in March of 2008 when I had an abdominal myomectomy to remove a 3 1/2 lb fibroid leaving me with an scar that was much larger than a c-section scar. Then six short months later I [...]

Belly (Kelley)

My name is Kelley and I have a 7 month old son. He is my only child. I was around 135 lbs when I got pregnant at the age of 21. I was a bellydancer with an amazing stomach. During my pregnancy I ate all the wrong things and I am paying for it now. [...]

My Body 6 Weeks Postpartum (Angela)

23 years old 6 weeks postpartum, 1st baby 225lbs My name is Angela. Ive been a yoyo dieter all my life. Ive had plus sized years, and normal weight years… (about 130-160 lbs) Ive struggled all my life with it though. My mother would always criticize me about my weight starting from about 12 years [...]

Mom to 10 month old twins (Ariel)

I have been engaged to my fiance for 2 years when we moved out of the dorms and into our first apartment together, less than a month later I was pregnant, about a month later I found out ‘it’ was ‘them.’ I found out I was pregnant with twins at an abortion clinic. I wanted [...]

Healing Takes Time But I’m On My Way (F)

1 pregnancy, 1 birth. 5 months postpartum. I finally am ready to share my story and photos. I have been reading other women’s stories on Shape of a Mother since I was 6 months pregnant or so. They really helped to change my views of my own and other women’s bodies. I now believe that [...]

Almost 2 ½ years later and still unhappy (Anonymous)

I got pregnant at the age of eighteen and gave birth by nineteen, I am now twenty one. My beautiful baby girl is two and three months old. I love my baby girl but I hate my body. I’ve always had problems with my weight, one minute I would be overweight and the next I [...]

3 years later and 1 beautiful little boy (Chi’s Mommy)

Its been 3 years since I gave birth to my amazing little boy , Malachi. He is a blessing and I thank God for him daily. My husband & I plan to have another baby soon , so I’ve been working extra hard to lose my baby weight from my 1st child. I started out [...]

From Hot to Not – Update (Anonymous)

Your Age: 21 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 Original entry here. I posted a few months ago when I was 11 weeks PP. My son is now 7 months (32 weeks PP). I still look the same which is incredibly depressing, I did drop from 150 to 145 but I’m kind of stuck there. [...]

C-Section (Sara)

Hello, my name is Sara. I am currently two weeks PP as I was blessed with the best Christmas Gift ever in 2009: our first child (a daughter!). I was originally due January 20th, 2010 but ran into some complications with my pregnancy and was put on bedrest. I went in on Christmas Eve 2009 [...]

Will I ever love this skin? (Anonymous)

I’m a 31 year old mother of one beautiful tween girl whose now 11. I really miss the baby days. I had her at 20 and I had gained 85 pounds. I have stretch marks in every conceivable place a woman can have them. I have them on my flanks, my buttocks, my hips, my [...]

Healthy Eating and Workouts Kept Pregnancy Weight Gain to a Minimum (Holly)

Age: 33 Weeks PP: 5 Number of Pregnancies: 2 Number of Children: 1 Current Weight: 132 Pre-Pregancy Weight: 126 I was very worried about how my body would look post partum. I worked out prior to pregnancy and continued to do so through my entire pregnancy, up to 2 weeks prior to delivery. I would [...]

Daily Struggle (Katie)

~Age: 25 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 ~The age of your child: 4 yrs I have wanted to contribute here for a while but didn’t know if I could contain all my thoughts on my body image/pregnancy to a few paragraphs. Always needing to do things either perfectly or not at all I have [...]

18 months postpartum (kimq33)

It took me a long time to accept that my body isn’t going to look the way it did when I got pregnant. I was 18, and 110 lbs at the time, and my stomach was flat. When I was pregnant, I loved my body. I thought it was adorable. I only got a few [...]

Learning to accept my new body and hopefully one day love! (Anonymous)

- 22 years old – 1st pregnancy – 4 weeks postpartum Firstly I would like to say that I think this website is absolutely fantastic! During and following my pregnancy, this site has made me realise that I’m not the only person struggling to come to terms with my new body and anyone who posts [...]

My right to choose (Lucia)

age 19 1st pregnancy, 15 weeks along I´m pro-choice, I´ve always been, I think a woman has the right to decide when on whether to become a mother, I think a woman should have some saying over what goes on in her body and her life and that should start with having access to sexual [...]

Worth it – Update (Regina)

Previous entries here and here. I have posted here several times now. This website keeps me going. Reminds me that there is nothing wrong with my body. There is something wrong with other’s expectations of me. I am beautiful. I am strong. I am 21 and I have carried 2 babies 8 days overdue each. [...]

Belly still swollen 4 and a half months postpartum (Jill)

Age 34 Hi. My name is Jill and I am so glad I found this website. I gave birth July 24th to a 9 lb. 22 inch healthy baby boy via c-section. It was so hard that I am totally afraid to have another. I probably wont because of my age and because Im terrified [...]

New Mommy to 10 day old twins!!!! (Katie)

I started reading this website when I first started getting stretch marks about 30 weeks into my pregnancy with my boy/girl twin pregnancy. I felt AWFUL about them. It consumed me so much I couldn’t even be excited about the pregnancy because every morning I woke up with more and more lines across my belly. [...]

30 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

Had my first child 30 months ago. My plan was to stay in great shape during my pregnancy and then work out after to get my body back to what it was. Well, single mom and working full time leaves very little extra of anything to accomplish this goal. But now priorities are very different. [...]

Long Journey (Sarah)

Age: 25 # of pregnancies:1 #of births:1 6 mo. PP. I had my son 6 months ago after gaining an astonishing 65 lbs while pregnant with him. I’ve struggled all of my life to keep weight off, and stay “attractive” so I was blown away at how hormones and the miracle of pregnancy can really [...]

Ode To My Scar (Colleen)

I posted when I was 3 weeks postpartum about my feelings following a cesarean, and I wasn’t planning on posting again until I’d made some progress on my body, but I have had some thoughts that I would like to share (especially considering I’ve read several dissatisfied Cesarean mommy posts lately). As much as I [...]

I did it! 9 Months PP Minus 60 Pounds! (Elissa)

Anonymous Age of pregnancy: 22 Age now: 24 Previous entry here. I just posted at 8 Months PP I had 5 pounds to go. Well, I made my goal 9 months pp! For all you ladies with those annoying women in your life that tell you what you need to do to lose your weight [...]

Not What I Expected! (Roo)

Age: 22 Number of Preg. and Births: 1 4 months postpartum I’m going to try and make this as short as possible. I became pregnant in November of 08. Whoo was I surprised!!! I was so scared and happy at the same time. I had a very hard pregnancy, not because of health…but because my [...]

7 Months PP (Anonymous)

20 yrs old 1 pregnancy/birth 7 months post-partum I started my pregnancy at 160lbs. im 5’8″ so it was an average size, i wore a size 9. i didn’t gain any weight until i was 20 weeks pregnant. then i ballooned up to 215 when i gave birth. i gave birth at 35 weeks because [...]

My Dream Came True (SCS)

Age: 29 Number of pregnancies: 2 Births: 1 Childs age: 2yrs First I want to say I love this site. I just wish this site had more true plus size women. So I am posting my pics. I have always wanted children but was told I would probably have trouble getting pregnant due to an [...]

Fitter than I was pre-pregnancy (Anonymous)

I was very active pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy. I started at 108 lbs. and only gained 28 lbs. I even skied at 37 weeks, in hopes of inducing labor (it didn’t work)! I went back to the gym at 8 days post-partum, more for my sanity than any athletic endeavor, since I had third degree [...]

The new body that my son gave me (“Anonymous”)

Age: 18 1 pregnancy, 1 birth 6 weeks postpartum Teen mom Me and my sons father were together for 8 months when I knew he was the one I wanted to spend my life with, despite our age difference (I was 16 he was 21) we were madly in love with each other. He never [...]

BabyFire (Judith)

These entries are from my blog. The first was written shortly after realising I was (unexpectedly) pregnant. The second right at the end of the pregnancy, that heavy and huge phase. The third a few weeks after birth. The photographs were taken by Colleen Sevitz, and are used with permission. I was 34 weeks pregnant [...]

There is Hope, I am Proof (Jessica)

Original entries here and here. This is my 3rd post. I am currently pregnant with #2 (25 weeks) I want to show you that there is hope and I am proof. I am including some previous pictures and some current pictures of my stretchmarks, because so many people tell you “they will fade”, “give it [...]

I don’t hate my body! (Anonymous)

I am proud of what I’ve done. My son Marcus is six months old and like all of you I went through some shit bringing him into this world. I was a fitness lunatic before I got pregnant so I was a little down on myself for a while. It’s easy to feel that way [...]

Update (Victoria)

That was my first post 6months ago. I am now 20 and 28months Postpartum. I was in such I hate my body mood when I first posted now I’m much better. The past weekend I brought my first swimmers that are full piece but with bits missing and I actually feel so confindent wearing it [...]

Loving who I am now (Hannah)

Age: 29 years old 1 Pregnancy, 1 Child Photos: 1,2,3 are 18months PP and 4 is a before pregger and 8mo pregger photo I have a son named Ellis. Ellis was born last May by an unplanned C-section. He is now 18 months old. I had a pretty rough pregnancy. I was in school full-time [...]

Rejected, but not vulnerable anymore (Anonymous)

This was my first pregnancy and my son turned a year old last month. Thanks! I was dating a man on and off for two years. He’s about ten years older than me (I’m in my 20s and he’s in his 30s) but he can be rather immature. We broke up and got back together [...]

This is me (anonymous)

I am 22 years old this is me 4 months postpartum. Before I was pregnant I was Small and petite 5”1″ and was 95lbs. I gained over 50 pounds during this pregnancy even though I worked out just about every day. I am now around 125lbs I feel fat and just really unattractive with this [...]

Laproscopic surgery, 6 weeks postpartum (R.)

I am 27 years old. I had a baby girl at full term. At 6 weeks postpartum, I had laproscopic surgery to remove my gall bladder after several gallstone attacks. This is what I looked like 5 days after surgery. Updated here.

Worked hard while pregnant to stay fit, postpartum still stinks! (Jill)

after almost a year of trying to get pregnant my husband and i were thrilled to see those two lines. it was so fun to finally be on my way to becoming a mother! i was excited to buy maternity clothes and thought the weight gain and changes wouldn’t be bad. i quickly figured out [...]

6 weeks PP and struggling to look in the mirror (Anonymous)

Age 31, 1 beautiful daughter I became pregnant last Christmas with my first child, a surprise to both my husband and I…our little Christmas present . Before becoming pregnant, I struggled with body image issues and had gained about 30 pounds over the previous 2 years. Going into my first pregnancy already overweight really bothered [...]

Stuck at 156 (Kayla)

Previous entries here and here. I am 11 months pp tomorrow and cant see any changes since my last update! I have been running 4-5 times a week and trying to get to the gym on a regular basis and just cant get past my weight – 156lbs. Running after a crazy 11 month old [...]

8 Months PP and love my new body! (Elissa)

My story starts off with trying for 3 years to have a child with my husband and when I finally gave up I had concieved, YAY! I started my weight at 5’6″ 136 pounds. I was a 36-C and had a beautiful body… I had morning sickness until I was 7 months pregnant, EVERY SINGLE [...]

Needing an Ego Stroke (Sarah)

Age:20 Age at birth:19 1 pregnacy 1 birth by c section postpartum: 12 weeks I met my husband at a fatal car accident. I was first on scene as a forensic photographer and he showed up as a firefighter. We became pregnant 3 weeks after by surprise. Our son was a first night encounter baby. [...]

Twins and one on the way … my body’s journey! (Nicole)

At last I found a person whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and our engagement was made even more special a week later when we found out I was pregnant, then special again when I found out it was twins My twin pregnancy went beautifully, the girls had to come [...]

Engaged, Lost and Saggy… (Autumn)

Hi My name is autumn I am 19 and a mom of a 8 month old son, I also among those of you is a teen mom, I found out I was 2 months Pregnant on my 18th birthday and Had my son a couple months shy of my 19th birthday, I am engaged to [...]

Wrinkled, saggy strechmarked tummy 4 years after giving birth!! (Anonymous)

I’m 31 years old my daughter is now 4 years old and was born by emergency c section after a 36 hour labour. I put on 42lbs whilst pregnant and lost most of it over a year after giving birth. I’m so glad to have found this site, as for 4 years I have been [...]

Will It Get Better….. (Anonymous)

Age:28 Number of Pregnancies:1 10 months postpartum I just had another “talk” with my boyfriend about my self-esteem. Of course I start to cry about how bad I look now overall. Up until my 6th month of pregnancy, I was working out up to 2 hours a day lifting weights. I was in the best [...]

7 Mo. PP Twin Mommy (Anonymous)

21 years old I found out I was pregnant with twins at 9 weeks. I found this website while I was still pregnant, and the stories helped me so much. I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to submit some pictures! I am currently 7 months post partum, and my body has underwent some [...]

You don’t know what you have until it’s gone… (Kimberly)

Age: 21 Pregnancies: 1 Births: 1 3 1/2 Months PP I became pregnant with my daughter less than a month and a half into my relationship with my, now, husband. As much of a shock as it was, it by all means was a position we put ourselves in. We were careless with our intimacy. [...]

A young mommy of 1, 10 months later (Anonymous)

Coming across this website has given me reassurance that I’m not the only one out there struggling with my post-partum belly. Seeing pictures and reading inspirational stories only motivates me more than ever! I realize that acheiving my ideal body is possible. I have to admit that I have always thought down upon my body. [...]

Young Mommy (Anonymous)

I’m a young mother. I got pregnant when I was 18, and gave birth to my beautiful son when I was 19. Despite everyone’s negativity, my husband and I got through it and he’s wonderful. I was 120 before I got pregnant. I am 5’0 so you can only imagine when I was 8 months, [...]

Stretch marks and deflated boobs, but I’m doing great! (Anonymous)

I am 26 years old and this was my first pregnancy. I am 4 months post partum at the time of these photographs. My prepregnacy weight was 110 and I am now at 119. At full term I was 149. My butt and thighs got so many stretch marks. I still can not get any [...]

Twin Momma of Two Boys (Emily)

My name is Emily, i’m on the verge of being 18. I got pregnant in mid- December 2008! I found out the of January that i was pregnant with twins. I remember crying in the ultrasound room in the er. When i was wheeled back into my room, I told my mom. She didn’t believe [...]

Mother of two miracles (Mikayla)

AGE: 20 NUMBER OF PREGNANCIES: 2 NUMBER OF BIRTHS: 2 both vaginal, 1 with no pain meds. Wow, where to start. First of all I love this site. I feel like I am the only mother who got stretch marks or who is not in her pre pregnancy clothes a few months after birth. I [...]

So it doesn’t really matter after All (Deineria)

First, I love this site. I think it provides immeasurable comfort to moms from all walks of life, and I also feel it is a reality check for those who initially believe what they see in magazines represents a fair picture of most women. I had my first son when I was 19. I was [...]

Stretched to the limit, but worth it (ChelandBaby)

22 years old First pregnancy and baby 11 weeks postpartum Unplanned Cesarean July 2, 2009 Pictures: 41 weeks pregnant, 11 weeks postpartum, Baby boy 11 weeks My husband and I were married 2 years ago. After a year of marriage we decided that we were ready for a baby. I had gained some weight before [...]

10 months PP (Anonymous)

I had a wonderful and fairly easy pregnancy, but a very hard, long delivery. I wanted an all natural, waterbirth at the birthing center with my midwife. My water broke 2:00am Friday morning and contractions started 45 min. later. By 10:am they were 10 min. apart and my midwife wanted me to come to the [...]

From size 0 to 5 (Nancy)

Age : 26 Pregnancy : 1 Children : A daughter, Chloé I learned about this website from a close friend to which I confided my body changes during and after pregnancy. I was relieved to see others with the same problems as me but I figured I’d be back in shape in no time so [...]

Game Day (Deb)

When she’s out, she can make her own choices. When to eat, when to cry, peas or carrots, Dr. Seuss or Mercer Mayer… which bands to like, which instruments to play, what college to attend, who to marry (or not marry). And yes. One day, the time will come, and she will have to choose [...]

This is Me (Anonymous)

I am 26 and I had my son when I was 23. He si almost 3 now and I can;t believe hwo ast time has flown by. H e is the most amazing little person I have have ever known! My ebtire pregnancy was a huge shock and surprise to both me and my now [...]

A Mother’s Body at a Young Age (Anonymous)

I was 17 when i found out i was pregnant. I was overwhelmed, scared, and excited. I’ve always wanted to be a mom, but i didn’t see me becoming one till i was around 23. But i take it as god gave me a gift of a child because he knew that it would help [...]

Missing my darling daughter, 15.5 weeks postpartum (Jillyn)

I have been meaning to take pictures and post on here for quite a while now, but with so much going on, i just haven’t found the inner strength or time. When i was 20 weeks pregnant with our first child we had our first ultrasound and they found that i didn’t have any amniotic [...]

Postpartum (Anonymous)

For the longest time I was told I was not able to have children. My husband and I just put the thought away. Shortly after we were married I found out I was expecting. I was shock. It took awhile for it to set in. I have always been an active person but due to [...]

Confidence took a blow! (Lizzy)

Age:23 Number of pregnancies:1 7 months post partum Im from South africa,im 5″2 and pre pregnancy weight was 110lbs. I loved my body. Then April 2008 i fell pregnant with my first baby,a girl.My body changed but i didnt get stretchmarks,which im very gratefull for,i grew alot,my tummy was huge. I gained 33 lbs and [...]

New Shape, New Life… (Anonymous)

Age: 21 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 live birth Age of Child/postpartum: 25 months I had only been graduated from high school for 6 months when I became pregnant with my son at age 18. I was a dancer for 13 years and never was a “stick” per say. I started high school in [...]

Finally Learning to Love Me (Anonymous)

I am 20 years old and gave birth to my beautiful daughter on August 9th, 2009. I loved being pregnant but was so afraid of how I would feel about my postpartum body…in the past I have suffered from body image issues and bulimia which I was slowly recovering from when I discovered that I [...]

22 years old, three beautiful kids (Andree)

My story starts about four years ago, when I met the man of my life. Shortly after dating we decided to get married, and start a family of our own. We were wed in August 2006, and then in November 2006 found out that we were expecting a baby! I didn’t gain much weight up [...]

Plus-Sized, Proud and a mommy to a monkey! (Monkey’s Mommy)

Let me start of by saying I am very proud of who I am. I don’t let the numbers on the scale dictate my happiness. With that being said, here is my story. I am 24 years old and i am a plus sized mommy. I have been plus size since 4th grade and so [...]

Wanting accept my body changes (Ashley)

August 26, 2008 was the day i found out i was pregnant, this day was also my boyfriend’s birthday (what a birthday gift I gave him…hahaha). So I woke up that morning and for some reason I thought maybe I’d take a home pregnancy test because the day before I was worrying since we weren’t [...]

My Story (Chrissy)

~Age: 19 almost 20 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 2 1/2 months postpartum After nine months of trying, starting almost imediately after our honeymoon ended, my husband and I became pregnant for the first time. It was very shortly after [...]

Finally Brave Enough to Face an Unwanted Reality (Anonymous)

Original entry here. Age: 26 Pregnancy and births: 1 Age of children: 3 years I’ve been avoiding writing this letter. I think it’s because writing it means I will have to face a reality I don’t want. For almost three years I have been telling myself “it’s got to get better – maybe just another [...]

Wedding Night Baby (Achtung)

Your Age: 24 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy 1 birth The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5 months now, 2 months in the photos My son was a surprise pregnancy. He was even more of a surprise as he was apparently conceived on our wedding night. After making [...]

Update (Anonymous)

Hi, I’ve posted 2 or 3 times before here, my last post being in March. It’s now August and my baby will be 1 year old in just a few weeks! Here’s a link to my previous submissions: New Mommy Worried Six Weeks Postpartum Making Progress More Progress! I’ve been through a lot since my [...]

Self appreciation, finally. (Cynthia)

Pregnancy can make you feel like your body is no longer your own. It can ruin your self-esteem and make you hate the shell you’re living in. But for some people pregnancy can finally make you feel like your body is WORTH something. This is my story… I’ve always been a bigger girl. I’ve hated [...]

First Time Mom && Emergency C-Section (Heather)

I’m Heather. I’m 20 years old & found out I was pregnant when I was 17 years old. I had my child at 18 & he will be turning three in February. I was in premature labor labor (3 weeks early)for 2 days && ended up having a c-section. Before I got pregnant, I was [...]

3 Weeks Postpartum (Anna)

Age: 24 Number of pregnancies/ births: 1 Age of child/postpartum: 3 weeks My whole life I never really wanted children, I was always much more concerned with myself; somehow I picked up my mothers school of thought and am unable to leaving the house without my ‘face’ on or dressed properly. So to say the [...]

38 weeks and depressed about the 60 lbs of weight gain (Aya)

age: 20 pregnancies:5 births: expecting my first well my name is aya, i am currently 20 years old, i will be 21 on august 26, and i am expecting my first child, a boy, on September 1, 2009. all though at times i am extremely happy that i will be meeting my son soon, i [...]

Coming to grips with a cesarean (Colleen)

I found this website before I ever even got pregnant, and I have checked back on an almost daily basis ever since, to read new posts. I think the concept is fantastic, and have been waiting for months until I could do my own post. Now, at three weeks postpartum, I think I’ve waited long [...]

I feel so accomplished, Beautiful & new (Brie)

I was shown this site early on in pregnancy. I was blown away! I also realized during my pregnancy that media is really trying to make women feel like shit. scare the crap out of us about pregnancy & then some hahahaha. I didn’t scream, I didn’t cry…well except tears of joy. Remember without birth [...]

Marks of courage, strength and overwhelming love. (Amanda)

About 3 weeks after my 19th birthday(and wedding) I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Summer. My new husband and I were a mix of emotions. Excited, scared, freaked out, happy.. all of it. I loved my little baby belly. As soon as I was big enough to look pregnant I wore my [...]

a bit saggy and unproportunal (MommyB)

I am 23 years old, and I got married November of 2007. I had my son in May 2008…it was very very stressful, and i wanted my husband to enjoy my body…the only time my husband has seen my body is either filled with milk or like show below…I am not sure whether or not [...]

Update – 3 Months After Delivering a Baby Boy (Anonymous)

I sent an entry in April and just wanted to send a little update. Since my last entry I have been working out about 3 times a week and trying to eat healthy. My boy is growing so much and amazes me everyday! He is now 8 months old and just learned how to pull [...]

Twin Skin at 21 Months (Anonymous)

I found out I was pregnant when I was 20. It was with the love of my life, so we were both excited, and afraid. We found out it was twins at 9 weeks. I went to 39 weeks, and had a c-section after 36 hours of labor. It is now 21 months after my [...]

My Slow Road of Weight Loss (Anonymous)

I gave birth to my beautiful son in February 2009 & have slowly lost all but 15 lbs of my baby weight. I have been staying accountable with my diet & exercise by logging everything online at a free weight loss support group. While I am not 110% body confident, I no longer stress about [...]

I Thought I Would be Hideous (Alesia)

as many of the stories i read on here during my pregnancy have said, i thought i was going to look hideous, i of course to was worried about the streach marks, saggy skin, disformed belly button, and all the other things you hear that come along with being a mother, i was terrified. and [...]

What 6 Months of Weight Training Can Do! (Ashley)

You can read my full story in my 1st entry, but to sum things up: I was always pretty fit and a healthy weight but gained 60lbs during my pregnancy. Three months after giving birth I suffered from severe ankle injuries which left me pretty much unable to walk for 6 months. While I lost [...]

Update (Roxy)

Previous entry here. hey ive posted my story when I was 1month pp and my selfesteem was very low because my pregnancy left me in a pretty bad shape, but Ive worked my self up. Ive been doing a lot of exercise, running, walking etc,and I have noticed that I have improved alot. My stretch [...]

Breasts, Acceptance (Autumn)

My name is Autumn, I’m 21 (22 in September), and almost 4 years postpartum. I’ve posted here 3 or 4 times before, mainly with updates. This time I wanted to share my postpartum breasts (my belly is included, too!). (Previous entries here, here and here.) I’ve always been extremely insecure about my breasts, when I [...]

Two Blessings (Jess)

Age: 24 Pregnancies: 1 Children: 2 I was told round 20 years old that I would not be able to have children. Then at 23 I had some further complications and the Dr’s did a surgery to remove massive growths on my ovaries and told me it was a long shot, but if I wanted [...]

Michaela Marks (Anonymous)

I’ve been visiting this site on and off over the past year. I happened upon it one day when I was trying to see if there was anyone else out there who was struggling with body changes, due to pregnancy, on the web. How much more perfect can you get than this site?! This site [...]

1 1/2 Years PP After Twins (Fraternal Twin Mommy)

Previous entry here. Age during delivery: 32 Current age: almost 34 Number of pregnancies: 1 Age of twins: 1 1/2 I posted a short blurb a while ago about my experience, but I didn’t really get to elaborate on my story because I’m pretty sure one of my boys needed my attention at the time! [...]

Not Feeling so Confidant (Shaylene)

I wasn’t ever the thinest person around. Im 5’2 and I was 160 lbs before I had given birth to my son. I gain 29 Lbs during the pregnancy and gained a few stretch marks which I am not bothered by. I have never been confident in the way I look. And lately i’ve been [...]

Scars of a Mother are Like No Other (Roz)

I would like to start this of by saying this website is an amazing place for all types of women and mothers to be joined as one without the cruelties we face in this world day by day… i was 16 when i became pregnant with my daughter. i was scared because i wanted to [...]

Perfection Has Changed My Body (Becca)

Your Age: 22 Number of pregnancies and births: 1 birth The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 2yrs, 8 months. Perfection has taken the name of Zachary. He is my whole world. He is my strength, my courage, my rock. My reason for waking in the morning, and my prayers at [...]

Struggling to Accept My Body’s Changes (Anonymous)

My Age: 29 1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth 7 Months Postpartum I was 27 years old when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I was 28 when I delivered him. My husband was 28 as well. I had separated from the military, married my husband, and gotten pregnant all within 8 months [...]

16 Months Update (Anonymous)

16 Months Update Age: 27 Number of pregnancies: 1 Number of children: 1, 16 months old See my first post, from 4 weeks pp, here. And my second post, from 8 months pp, here. And now here we are, 16 months pp. Whoa. Where did that time go? I had a tiny newborn and now [...]

A body marked indelibly with love (Laurie)

I had my first child at 21 years of age. I was previously a teenager who had the constant belief that I was fat, and obsessed over my body daily. As my body grew with pregnancy (and fluid retention!) I became very despondent about my shape, worrying that I would be ‘fat’ and forever unattractive. [...]

I Finally Love Myself (Anonymous)

I got pregnant the summer before my senior year of high school. I walked the halls with a huge belly got stares from students and teachers. When I went to the outside world people poked and prodded. Why complete strangers think they have the right to know how old I am I have no idea. [...]

17 Weeks Later (Soph)

My name is Soph and 17 weeks ago, just before I turned 24, I delivered my first child – a lovely little boy. I lost my first baby and had to wait several years to try to concieve my son. Such a wanted, beautiful pregnancy. I weighed just over 90kg when I got pregnant, stayed [...]

Unplanned, But Not a Mistake (Anonymous)

I was 15 years old, the “boy” I thought I was in Love with, had just broke up with me. I decided to get back at him by sleeping with one of his friends. It was just suppose to be a one time thing just to make my ex, the guy i thought was the [...]

Struggling for Acceptance (Anonymous)

I’m 24 years old and I’m a mother to a 2 1/2 year old daughter and a 10 month old son. I got pregnant when I was 21 though it really wasn’t in my plans at that time. I was not married when I found out, but my BF and I did what we thought [...]

Time Machines Don’t Exist, Unfortunately (Mir)

I posted a belly photo of myself in February along with my thoughts and totally forgot to go look at it again until last night. I want to post another couple of photos now, six months on showing my belly again. What has changed in six months? The most dramatic/helpful change is that I went [...]

That’s Why You’re Beautiful (Traci)

Previous entry here. The first time I posted here was 2 years ago. That’s quite scary! Our little ones grow up so fast. I have been viewing this site for three or maybe more years now and I am blown away by the many women who post and say they dislike their body or that [...]

Mother of a Princess (MommaMykah)

Mother of a Princess I’m 27 years old and a proud mother of an eight month old princess. She is my first and only child. I’ve never been self-conscious about by body (in fact I loved my body) until after I had my baby and my breast went from pointy and perky to sagging and [...]

Mommy-ware (Anonymous)

At 23 I became pregnant. I had never wanted children and enjoyed being just an aunt. Quickly I grew excited for the new baby growing inside me. I reveled in the joys of nesting and planning. I did tell myself though that I would not wear traditional maternity clothes and manage to go most of [...]

Anonymous

Hello, I am a 24 year old single mother. I found out I was pregnant with my daughter right after my 22nd birthday and gave birth Christmas day 2007. My daughter was small only weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 1/4 inches long. Though you couldn’t tell with the 80 pounds I gained. When [...]

I’m not so sure I hate my body anymore (Nicole)

~Your Age: 26 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: Currently 15 1/2 weeks PP (photos taken at 13 weeks PP) I have struggled with my body image ever since I was a child. I remember, when I was in primary school, [...]

Badge of Honor (Teresa)

I went my whole pregnancy without stretch marks, until the last two weeks. I had mixed emotions about them, and various emotions about the 53 pounds of weight I gained. I was hoping to make it through without gaining a solitary mark. The first few days were horrifying after delivery. I looked heavier then I [...]

Update Post (Kayla)

My first post was called “I wish I could love my body“. Well its been 3 months since my last post and Ive been trying to find the time to fit in workouts. When my son was 6 weeks old I ended up in hospital with gall bladder stones. I had between 20-30 attacks over [...]

There is hope for us with stretch marks!!!!! (Anonymous)

October 1, 2000, I delivered a healthy baby boy. However, when I brought my baby home, got the shower water running and started taking off my clothes I was not happy with what I saw. I was happy to see how my breast size had increased (I was a 34A before I had my baby [...]

My Changing Body (Heather)

This is my first pregnancy, first child. I am 21 years old. Before I became pregnant I wasn’t exactly stick thin but I was very comfortable with myself and my body. I weighed 135lbs on a 5′ 5” frame. I didn’t start to show until my fifth month. My then boyfriend and now husband and [...]

I am not ashamed (Kimberly)

Age: 21 Pregnancies: 1 twin pregnancy Children’s Ages: 5 months Bonnie’s recent post inspired me to add my story. This picture is my story and I am not ashamed. I love my babies, I love my body, and I love my life!

2 Years, Nearly 3 Months Postpartum (Katelyn)

Age: 18 Pregnancies & births: 1 2 years, nearly 3 months postpartum I got pregnant two months before i turned 16. My daughter’s father and I didn’t know each other well, weren’t together, and we weren’t for a very long time. I spent my 41 week pregnancy and 19 months of her life as a [...]

Fighting the Fear (Jessica)

21 2 pregnancies, 1 birth 5 wks post partum I found out I was pregnant when I was twenty years old, a week before my husband was set to deploy for iraq. I was pretty upset that he was going to be gone, and I would be alone. But i was partially pleased because he [...]

Teen Learning to Love Her Body (Faith)

I was 14 years old and dateing this 16 year old guy. we were going out for about 2 months, and he invited me over to his house while his parents where away. i was kinda sketchy about it, but i trusted him, so i decited to go to his house. while we where in [...]

(Anonymous)

I am just about 6 months PP.. I did not gain but 20 pounds or so in my pregnancy (first and only so far..) I found out I was pregnant at almost 9 weeks.. Delivered at 38.. And I must say it was the most amazing experience in my life. Made it all the wawy [...]

New Found Respect (Skye)

25 years old First pregnancy I never knew how strong I could be until I became pregnant.. it is a journey unlike any other! I started off so nieve and unsure of myself as a woman, I slowly started to listen to my body and follow my gut instincts.. I had all these pre-conditioned beliefs [...]

Rebuilding the Body (Annie)

Age-21 Children-1 (a 2 year old) C Section birth I want to thank you for making this site. It is so wonderful to know I am not alone, because here in person I really am. And I thought I was. And I am so excited to read everything on here and see that I am [...]

UK Mummy, Thinking About Doing it All Again! (Charlotte)

I am a 31 year old mummy to my very gorgeous 11 month old son. He is my first child conceived on my honeymoon! I was never sure that I wanted children but when I met my husband and realised he was the one then my feelings changed, particularly as he was so excited about [...]

Thanks SOAM – 6 Months PP (Anonymous)

My Age: 31 Number of Pregnancies and Births: 1 Age of child: 6 months Pics I attached: The henna belly picture is at 38 weeks, the two naked ones and one of my daughter are 6 months post-partum. I started lurking here before my husband and I were even trying to have kids. I have [...]

24 Year Old Mother of a Miracle – Update (Carolyne)

Original post here. Pictures to add of 2 months postpartum and my baby girl, Olyve, at 2 months.

1 Year Postpartum With Twins (Anonymous)

1 year postpartum with twins anonymous 29 yrs old I gave birth to twins last July, time really does fly when you have kids! My little girl weighed in at 6lb2oz and my little boy at 6lbs14oz. I made it to 38 weeks and had a scheduled c-section. I was huge as you can tell [...]

PPD vs “Baby Blues” (Crystal)

age:22 1st pregnancy 1 child my daughter’s name is Lily and she is 3 months i am exactly 3 mo and 3 days post partum I found this website through just googling other women’s postpartum stories. I really love this website because it makes me feel a little “normal”. Sometimes I feel the issues I’ve [...]

19 & Mommy 41 Weeks Pregnant and in Despair about PP Body (Ana)

I’m nineteen and african american. I have always been slim built 5’6 140lbs. I never really worked out i just thought i was blessed with good genes…i am*was* the slimest person in my family..i come from a family of big hipped women..but anyway i made it through the first 6 months of my pregnancy without [...]

21 Year Old Who Feels Inadequate in Her New Body (Anonymous)

When I got pregnant, we definitely were not planning it. I had got pregnant several months before our planned wedding date and as a result we pushed the wedding date way up and I was 3 months pregnant on my wedding day. I am still so ashamed that it happened that way. As a result, [...]

It’s Not Really So Bad (Autumn)

Your Age: 29 Number of pregnancies and births: One pregnancy, one birth The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 9 months Today marks 281 days since my daughter was born. The same amount of time that she spent on the “inside”. I’ve been looking forward to this day, it feel momentous [...]

10 Months Update VCC (Angelica)

My age:22 # of pregnancy: 1 months pp: 10 Hi i already posted pictures of my new figure when i was 2 months and 4 months pp and the title is VCC. I want to share this new pictures with you because this journey isn’t easy, it takes time to adjust and to accept this [...]

Amanda

hello there. my name is amanda,i’m 23 years old. i thought i would send a quick note to go with the photos! my daughter is now 15 months old, she weighed 10 pds 9 oz ( healthy baby) i gained 70pds with her, i went up to 212 pds. i didnt have 1 strech mark [...]

Claire

Age: 27 First Pregnancy Before I developed chronic pain I didn’t struggle much with body image issues. I was surrounded by strong friends who were super body-positive. I was also very athletic and that fostered a lot of love and trust between me and my body. I developed chronic pain 2 1/2 years ago after [...]

My Little Angel (Anonymous)

I was anorexic 5 years before pregnancy. I’ve never been satisfied with my body even when I had only 105 lbs (height 5 6). This pregnancy has totally changed my way of life. I’ve gained about 40 lbs, but my daughter is worth every pound, every stretch mark. Btw. I thought I’m gonna be stretch-mark [...]

Perfect at Last! (Jen)

When I was younger I was naturally very thin and I hated my body. Then I gained weight and I hated my body. Then got healthy and I hated my body. Then at 26 I got pregnant and I discovered my body. In July of ’08 almost one year ago I gave natural birth to [...]

Mommy to a Princess (Amanda)

Age: 20 First baby 19 months pp Hello First, I wanted to say that I love this website. I think all of the mama’s on this website are absolutely beautiful! Well, I started out at 5’1 and 110 lbs. I was only 17 years old when I became pregnant. I was scared to death but [...]

22, Surviving a 2yr Old and Newborn Twins! (Sierra)

Age: 22 Number of pregnancies: 2, 3 children Age: 2 yrs old, and 2 week old twins (2 weeks postpartum) I had my first child, my son at age 20, he was 7lbs 11oz born vaginally and perfect in every way! i got thru the entire pregnancy no stretchmarks or anything lost all the baby [...]

Signs of a Mother (Danielle)

Yesterday I cried as I looked down at my saggy, stretch-mark belly. It complimented my fat hips and newly formed “mom-butt”. My boobs were unshapely under the bras that don’t quite fit and my once cute panties have seen better days. My skinny jeans sit in the bottom of a box along with the tank [...]

The Whirlwind (Anonymous)

2 weeks after I got married, I found out I was pregnant for the first time. I was 20 years old. My husband was to be deployed for a 15 month tour with the US army in 6 months, at that time. He left for Iraq when I was just under 6 months pregnant. He [...]

24 Year Old Mother of a Miracle – One Months PP (Carolyne)

My whole life I have worked out and been active in sports. I played softball in college and after graduating I continued my 5 day a week work outs. Due to a heart condition and severe high blood pressure, I was told I would never be able to have children. Because of the stress the [...]

Trying to get my self confidance back (Mindy)

My son will be 20 months on the 1st of June and 3 days later on the 4th I will turn 22. I love my son more than anything but really wish I didn’t have the body that I have. I got married when I was 18 to my boyfriend who was in the navy. [...]

6 Months After First Child (Amanda)

Title: 6 months after first child Name: Amanda 21 years old, 1 pregnancy Story: I got pregnant at 2 years old and gave birth shortly after turning 21. Its been 6 months since I gave birth to my 9lb son naturally, in water. I’m still striving to make peace with my body. I know I [...]

From Hot to Not (Anonymous)

I’m a 20 year old single mother to a beautiful baby boy and I HATE my new body. Before I got pregnant I was 5’8 138lbs and wore a size 4. I gained 55lbs while I was pregnant and I did nothing but sit and eat. All I did was eat and I regret more [...]

9 Weeks Postpartum (Kara)

I had my son on my 19th birthday, and it wasn’t planned. My blood pressure dropped severely low after I got the epidural. I’m not sure if this caused by son’s heart rate to drop, too. Because of this, I had to have an emergency c-section. The cord was wrapped around his neck, head, and [...]

23 Year Old Mother of One – A Year Later (Jennifer)

I got pregnant with my son when I was 22 years old around Christmas time. My husband had just returned from Iraq and we planned to try for a child. A month later, we were pregnant! We found out it was a boy and from there were so excited to be parents. I was 109 [...]

I’ve Learned a TON at Twenty-One (Abby)

Most people my age are changing their majors in college, because they decided they don’t really like Art History as much as they thought they would. They know exactly how many beers they can drink and probably still drive home. They still are secretly thrilled that Mom can’t tell them what to eat or the [...]

Life Just Is. You Have to Flow With it. (Amanda)

Hey mommas! Wow, my only son turned two last week and it really made me want to take a second glance at my body. His father and I who were high school sweethearts have divorced but remain close friends, we just got married too young. Being a freshly single mother I am more conscience of [...]

Update (Kerry)

Original entry here. age: 18 1 pregnancy, 1 birth 1 month PP I posted about a month ago. I was expecting my child on the 9th of April… Well he came! April 7th, at 10:50pm weighing 8lbs 4oz and measured 21.5″ long! We planned a home water birth. We barely had time to make the [...]

Trying to Cope With My Shape as a New Mother (Revae)

Trying to cope with my shape as a new mother!!!!!Please help!!! My name is Revae and Im 22 yrs old first time mom. I am currently 14 weeks postpartum, and Im having a really hard time coming to terms with my new body. I had my beautiful little angel Jan 18 2009 and I love [...]

1 Year PP Update (Clarisse)

24 years old 1st pregnancy/ birth Child is 1 year old My name is Clarisse and I have a 1 year old son named Aiden. I wanted to share with you my struggle on losing The weight I gained and some . I was down to 155 the beginning of 2006-07 then couple of months [...]

Still Trying to Adjust (Emily)

Age 19- Mother of One Beautiful13 month old boy Aleckzander I was 17 When I found out I was pregnant. My fiance now my husband and I had decided that we were ready to start our lives regardless of what anyone thought even though a lot of people thought we were crazy we were just [...]

My Baby Bellies (Kelly)

I can not believe that I have accidentally found this wonderful website – a breath of fresh air!! Thank you so much for dispelling the myth that we all go straight back to our post baby bodies, it is such a relief to see that others know this fact and accept it. Why should we [...]

Kourtni

hi! my name is Kourtni. I am 18 years old, and currently 34 weeks pregnant. I am trying to prepare myself for what my body will look like after i give birth, but it is hard. I have been overweight most of my life, so I never really got to show off. And now i [...]

There are Lips Where my Belly Button Should Be (Nicole)

As I come towards the end of my pregnancy it surprises me that life is so fragile. I have seen my body grow from fat to another human being. However what takes my breath away is the loss of my bellybutton. It has not gone to being flat or popped out instead it sits in [...]

New mom working on acceptance (AVS)

I am a 28 yold new mom to a smart and beautiful four month old girl. I guess I have always had body issues and struggle with eating disorders since I was eleven. I have also been diagnosed with manic depression and feel that it affects my life more than I would like to admit. [...]

Hating my Stretch Marks! 3 Months PP (Anonymous)

I´m a 24 years old mom of a 3 months old gorgeous baby boy. I found out I was pregnant while I was planing my wedding I got really exited about having a baby and so did my now husband, I love my baby to dead without a question he is the best ever hapend [...]

One UnHot Mama. C-Sections & Stretch marks! -Yuckk (Anonymous)

First Pregnancyy. I had been dating my boyfriend for 2 months before I got pregnant. (Bad.. i know) I was 17 years old. & I was never confident with my body. Now.. Id give anything for the body I once had. Id walk around naked everywhere!!! The first pic was (of course..) BEFORE I got [...]

18 Months Postpartum, Update (Anonymous)

I submitted here when my daughter was 12 months old. I’d like to say that I’ve reached my weight loss goal over the last six months, but the truth is that the scale has barely budged a pound. I’ve been running three times a week, though, and have started to really enjoy it. I’m noticing [...]

6 Months Postpartum & Still Looking 6 Months Pregnant (Bry)

I first want to say that I love this site. I visit everyday to read new stories and get encouragement, thank you all! I am 25 years old and gave birth to my daughter on Oct 30, 2008. I hated being pregnant… every bit of it. I was uncomfortable the whole time and I gained [...]

What Happened to my Body (Texas)

i am 35 and have a 2 almost 3 yr old.i gained about 70 lbs with her.i was always a sexy full woman.i was a 10-12 now12-14.i hate my ugly body so much my wonderful hubby never gets to see me naked.i feel like Norbits wife(in the movie Norbit).when she goes to the pool and [...]

I don’t feel beautiful anymore!… (Anonymous)

First off I’d like to say how amazing this site is. After browsing through everyone’s story and pictures, I’ve realized what real women look like, and that im not the only one going through this stage of not feeling beautiful. I have a wonderful supporting boyfriend that I have been with for over 2 years. [...]

Young Mama, 3 Babies, Ex-Stripper (Anonymous)

Ripe, Soft and fertile.. I was 57kg with 10c bust for seven years before pregnancy number 1 at age 23. (first two photos) Danced till I was 12 weeks pregnant- then left because I was self conscious of my rounded tummy. Put on 30kg rocketed to a 14ee bust and naturally birthed (No Drugs) Son [...]

Still Trying to Cope (Victoria)

Im 19 and im still coming to terms that my body changed. I gave birth 21months ago and I thought my body would go back to normal like when my mother gave birth to me but no that didn’t happen. I wasn’t skinny before but a normal weight for my body I just thought that [...]

Coping with my body, a year after having baby number 1 (Anonymous)

When I was 18 I found out I was pregnant. It was probably the scariest moment in my life so far, I knew I would keep the baby but I had no idea how to raise a child, I was still one myself. The fear turned into joy the moment I felt the first little [...]

The Beautiful Body My Little Ones Gave Me! (Krysti Renee)

Pictures – – First, 2 months after having my 2nd Baby Second and Third, 1 year after having my 2nd Baby Fourth, my Breasts 6 months after I quit breastfeeding my Son (they’re mine again! =) Fifth, My Daughter & I in March 2009 Sixth, My Son in March 2009 My Story – – I’m [...]

Thankful and Blessed but Still Trying to Accept (mummyoftwodarlings)

Ok, so I have been visiting this site for over a year now in the hope of it helping me accept and love my post baby body. I am 30 years old, mother of 2 beautiful children. A daughter aged 3 and a son aged 16 months. I married my first love in 2004 at [...]

19 years old struggling to accept my new body. (Meg)

I found out I was pregnant at 18. I was actually thrilled, even though the father and I had only been together for a short three months. I had a wonderful beginning to my pregnancy. I loved watching my belly grow, and eating whatever I felt like. (I always did anyways.) I was 120 lbs [...]

STRUGGLING with looking pregnant a year AFTER I had my baby (Anonymous)

I am now 25 years old. I had my first son in January 2008 when I was 23 years old. I am now 14 months postpartum. Hey, I had my first baby at 23. A few month before I got pregnant I was 154 pounds. I am quite tall so i was a nice normal [...]

Timeline (Anonymous)

Here’s a timeline of photos from my pregnancy from 2 weeks to 38 (I went into labor at 39 weeks 6 days, so no 40 week photo!). The final photo is me now at 5 weeks postpartum. I love the changes that my body went through; the power of a woman’s body just absolutely amazes [...]

9 Months PP (Rochelle)

When I was 14 I was raped by my father (who is now in jail for it) and life just seemed to have left me after that. One night I went for a walk to clear my head like almost every night and ran into someone who changed everything. I was only 15 when I [...]

1 Month After Delivering a Baby (Brittney)

Brittney 1 month after delivering a baby Still trying to accept my body My age: 19 # of pregnancies: 1 I’m a 19 year old mother and absolutely hate my new body! Before becoming pregnant I was a size 00 and I weighed 100 lbs! I am so depressed! I totally regret eating as much [...]

I Wish I Could Love My Body (Kayla)

I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant. I was scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time. Ive never been the thinnest girl walking around, but I didn’t realize how nice my body was, until after I became pregnant. I had an easy pregnancy for the most part. I traveled a [...]

When did it ever feel like my body? (Anonymous)

Thinking about it today, I never felt my body was mine. I have kept losing weight and putting it back on ever since I can remember. 2 years after postpartum I am about 75 kilos, and that’s much less than I was before. It feels more like my body today than it used to before [...]

Love/Hate Relationship (Anonymous)

I’m now 25 and have always had huge body issues…even when I was thin. I always just hated my shape….my squarish hips and the fact that all my weight sits in my tummy/face while my arms and legs sta skinny. I didn’t like trying to be super thin, but if I wasn’t I just looked [...]

Lopsided Breasts and Hernia (Jay-Jay)

In the first pictures I was 31 years old and 10 months postpartum. My breasts are anyways uneven but they looked particularly funny after a one-sided breastfeeding. You can see my deformed bellybutton in the background. I didn’t know what the large lump under the skin an inch above my bellybutton was, but thanks to [...]

Young mom Trying to Accept her Postpartum Body (Amanda)

Hello everyone I am a proud 20 year old mother of two beautiful little girls. Brianna born November 19 2006 at 3:34pm weighing 6 pounds 11.9 ounces and 19.5 inches long, and Savanna born January 15 2009 at 7:52am weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. Both my girls came on there due [...]

Two Years On (Ruth)

I’m 32 (today!) and my son (my first and so far only child) is just about to turn two. I put on four stone with my pregnancy, and despite various diets (and full-term breastfeeding) I have still not managed to lose it all. I’m starting to come to terms with the idea that this might [...]

No Longer Ashamed (Kerry)

I am 18 years old and due in 6 days. Before I got pregnant I had the typical, enviable teenage body. I was thin, not a stretch mark to my name, and had abs to die for. I love being pregnant and feeling my little one move inside me, I feel so blessed that I [...]

Never Happier With Myself (Anonymous)

i’m a twenty one year old first time mom. before i got pregnant i dieted constantly and went to gym every single day afetr work in order to achieve the body that i thought i was supposed to have. and it worked, if you want to think of it that way. i was a size [...]

Update after 3 Months of Pilates (Tamara)

Previous entries here and here. Hi! Its me again…im sure you have seen my previous posts and i promised i would keep up to date with the results of pilates and running to at least “try” and get my belly back to what it once was…anyhow the first two pics you can really see the [...]

Acceptance, It’s Not All Bad (Minxie)

~Your Age: 21 ~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy/birth ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: my daughter is 18 months I hadn’t long turned 19 when I found out I was pregnant. I was absolutely terrified, as me and my partner had only been together 7 months. I felt [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

(btw my english is not perfect, I live in mexico, but I really love this site and finally I decided to send some photos and share my story, I’m sure that I’ll have some mistakes, so sorry for that) I’m 19 years old, and I have a 2 year old amazing son. I have to [...]

Trying Hard to Love my New Body (Anonymous)

Firstly I must say how amazing all the women are who have had the courage to reveal themselves proudly and honestly on this site. Also how much I admire women who are proud of their bodies, stretch marks and all, for bringing their babies into the world. Before getting pregnant I had already started putting [...]

Starving to Blooming (Eve)

Having spent the last 14 years suffering from Anorexia Nervosa before becoming pregnant I worried about how my changing body may bring back the thoughts, feelings and negativity I had experienced for so long. I had only been in recovery for a number of months before getting pregnant I didn’t feel I was prepared for [...]

(Anonymous)

Hi i am 24 and my wee girl is 8 months and even tho i didnt have a great pregnany i wouldnt change my body for anything i am please of the marks my little girl has made on my body, jst like has has done 2 my heart, i think ur web site is [...]

Need Support (MotherofanAngel)

Hello! I am a first time mom in need of some support while I am on my journey back to feeling good about my body again. My pre-pregnancy weight was between 130-135 (I’m 5’5). I got up to about 205lbs, gaining 70-75lbs at the end of the pregnancy. I am now 5 months PP and [...]

I Want to See it as Beautiful (Anonymous)

Prior to pregnancy I suffered an eating disorder that led me to live with an unhealthy weight of around 105 and lower. I am 5’5. Just prior to pregnancy I had gained enough to get my period back and sure enough, here I am today. I knew that I had to gain a “normal persons [...]

3 months after delivering a baby boy (Anonymous)

Hey everyone! I have been coming to this site for a long time. I started reading all the stories and looking at all the pictures probably a year before I even got pregnant. I am 24 years old and delivered a healthy baby boy on December 20th, 2008. My pregnancy and labour all went so [...]

A Dream Come True! (Anonymous)

When I was 21, a senior in a BSN program and 5 months away from marrying my high school sweetheart my doctor told me that I had PCOS and that my chances of having children was slim and unknown. In fact, she said we won’t know if I could have children until I tried, so [...]

Pregnant with Number Two! (Anonymous)

Your Age: 24 Number of pregnancies and births: Two pregnancies, one birth, one on the way! The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 2years old and 25 weeks pregnant. I’m a mother of a beautiful 2 year old girl and am pregnant with my 2nd child, a boy! My first pregnancy [...]

6 weeks pp (Anonymous)

I have been having a hard time dealing with my new mommy body. I am 27 and this is my first child. I am 5’4″ and started at about 140. I have always looked like I weigh much less than I actually do but now I am having a hard time hiding my weight gain. [...]

6.5 Weeks PP (Misho)

I’m a 21 year old first time mum. I’ve never been skinny but mostly I accepted my body….I had more up days than down. I can’t say that I loved being pregnant, at this point I don’t want to do it again but I didn’t hate it either. I do hate what it did to [...]

Nothing Wrong Here (Punkin)

I just love reading the stories on this website. I’ve been mourning the perky 19 year boobs (I looove my belly stretch marks!) I left behind when I got pregnant since giving birth 5 months ago, but seeing all these women has made me realize that the “ugly” I see in myself is just in [...]

No Longer a Size 0 (Anonymous)

I’m a 17 year old mother and have barely came to terms with my new body. Before becoming pregnant I was a size 0 and I weighed only 100lbs It has been 9 months after having my daughter and it has been a very depressing long road. I have done many things to help me [...]

Still Working to Accept My Body (Anonymous)

I had my daughter when I was 19 years old. She just turned three last week and I am still struggling to lose the weight I gained from my pregnancy. I had gestational diabetes and I gained nearly 75lbs during my pregnancy. I have no real motivation to lose the weight mostly because I’m scared [...]

The aftermath of sexual violence + the beginning of healing (Anonymous)

As a young teen, just as my body – to my great excitement – was starting to change, I was gang raped. The excitement of becoming a woman was taken away from me and the relationship I had with my body turned from love to pure hatred. They say that the body is a temple [...]

14 months pp, still struggling with image, but working to make it better! (Anonymous)

I found out I was pregnant when I was 17. I’d say I was fairly nervous, but also very excited. I’ve had lots of support from family and friends which made my pregnancy almost easy. Other than a few minor things, I can honestly say that I absolutely loved it. I’ve always been self-conscious, but [...]

After 10 Years I’m Still Not Comfortable (Kay)

I’m 30 years old and had my son when I was 20. I was tiny before I was pregnant (5’2″ and 105lbs) and my belly was pretty small up until I was 7 months pregnant, then I don’t know what happened…maybe the baby turned? My belly POPPED out and I developed horrible stretch marks on [...]

Diastatis Recti (Katie)

Hi Mums, I am 30 years old and mother to an 8-month daughter. Her name is Maja. I used to be a fitness maniac before pregnancy, which you can surely see in my photo ‘before’. I used to be on the skinny side, but during pregnancy I gained 50 lbs and I was huge. People [...]

Update (Iraiosc)

Original entry here. Hi again, of course i still reading all post of all valiant woman who has new bodies like me. All you made me stronger and leave my depression. Actually i feel so pretty dressed because i lost more or less all volume. My son will celebrate 1 year the 2nd april!! Of [...]

2 Months PP Body (Samantha)

~Name: Samantha ~Your Age:18 ~Number of pregnancies and births:1 ~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are:2 months Hi everyone! I love this website i’ve been on here since i was pregnant but haven’t had time to post anything until now.Well i”am 18 and found out that I was pregnant at 17. [...]

Young 20 Year Old Mother and Wife (Anonymous)

I am a young 20 year old mother and wife! My son is now 10 and a half months old almost reaching his first birthday coming up in april on the 25th! I am so proud to be a mother and even though it would be amazing to have my prepregnancy body again, I would [...]

9 Months PP and Undecided (Michelle)

25 years old, 9 months pp I am 30 pounds under what I was when I got pregnant so I love my body more in clothes now then before I got pregnant. Naked is a different story. I hate how I look naked. Saggy and stretch marked.

The Best Site Ever! (Kym)

Previous entries here and here. This Is going to be the third time posting on The shape of a mother. My name is Kym and I am mother to a beautiful 21 month old baby girl! I started my journey into motherhood, a very insecure 18 year old teen. I have been insecure since i [...]

Working Hard to be Me Again! (Anonymous)

I used to be 5’2 and weighed 115… when I got pregnant I gained 30 pounds.. mind you IM 5’2! So all that weight really REALLY shows! I now weigh 142 ~ 17 months later! I nursed exclusively for 16 months so I didn’t try and lose the weight but now I am getting on [...]

6 Months PP (Anonymous)

Hi, I’m 18 & I just had my beautiful son 6 months ago. It’s been really hard to lose weight & sometimes I lack confidence because of my stomach. I was 153 pre pregnacy weight. I went up to 198 by the time I was 9 months & now I’m 169. I really enjoy reading [...]

More Progress!

Here’s another of my previous entries. It’s been quite a long time since I posted on here, I’ve been working very hard, working out almost every day and eating right. It’s been a slow process but I am now 5 1/2 months postpartum and the difference from my first few entries is VERY noticeable! I’m [...]

Update at 7 Months PP (Jessica)

I’m writing to update my previous post at a few weeks postpartum back in August/September 2008. I am now 7 months postpartum and (very) slowly coming to terms with my “new” body. The lines are fading in color, but the texture, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to! My husband assures me that I [...]

Still Trying to Cope with My New Body (Becky)

I am a 20 year old stay at home mother of a 15 month old, and while my body has gone back to almost the same, it isn’t how it used to be. I get horribly depressed over the fact that my hips are now wider, and that I’m not the old me anymore. All [...]

Imperfect, but Confidant and Proud (Catherine S)

Hi Everyone! I have been visiting this site for the last four months and like to comment but have just now found the time to actually post. I am 31 and had my son about 5 ½ months ago. I love all the posts by the brave and smart women that I have read over [...]

Mom to Twin Boys (Anonymous)

I’m so glad to have found this site. I have five month old beautiful twin boys. I had a very hard time with the pregnancy, and developed HELPP syndrome and delivered at 34 weeks, with a weight gain of 85 lbs! After suffering from post partum depression for the first three months, I finally sought [...]

7 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

I was very unhappy with my body before and rather depressed about it, i never thought i’d look any better and i didn’t like taking showers because i had to see myself naked. Now i am ok with my body i am eating right and working at getting closer to my old body though i [...]

21 Years Old, 38 Weeks Pregnant, 1st Baby Boy (Anonymous)

I am 21 years old and pregnant with my first (unplanned) baby. A precious little boy, due any day now. I am currently 38 weeks along and still haven’t accepted the pregnant “mommy body” that everyone speaks so fondly of. I have had a healthy pregnancy and surprising still no stretch marks. (Believe me, I [...]

16 Weeks Postpartum… Ugh! (Anonymous)

I love this site. Thank you all for your submissions! I come here all the time for encouragement and I thought it was time to submit my own pictures, so here goes nothing… The day I found out I was pregnant I weighed 129 pounds. At my last doctors appt (2 days before I went [...]

Missing my baby boy, and expecting my second (Shannon)

Before I ever had children I was 5’2″ and 105-110 lbs. I got pregnant with my first (Connor) when I was 19. I got stretchmarks everywhere possible! We had no idea that Connor was going to be born with any issues. He was born emergency c-section at 37 weeks. Right when he came out the [...]

5 months pp and very happy with my body (Anonymous)

I gained about 26 pounds during my pregnancy and now 5 months pp I’ve lost most of the weight. All I have left to lose is my little belly pouch then a bit of toning. And I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it so quickly if it weren’t for my gym membership!! lol

4.5 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

I’m trying to give myself permission to enjoy this new time in my life without giving in too much to any self-loathing. I’ve had some problems with my body- image, especially when I was younger and now and then it pops it’s ugly head into my life again. I have a wonderful baby girl, the [...]

2 Weeks Postpartum, Mother at 19 (Anonymous)

I had my first son two weeks ago, a week before my 19th birthday. I was so worried about what my body would be like postpartum because I took quite a bit of pride in my body before the pregnancy. Now I realize that it really doesn’t matter as much now that I’ve had my [...]

A Miracle Baby and Learning to Accept My Body (Amber)

My name is Amber and I am 21, almost 22. I had a planned pregnancy after only one month of trying with my ex fiance. I had no idea my body was going to look the way that it does, but after reading the site and lurking, I see that I have a lot to [...]

8.5 Months into Motherhood (Anonymous)

I found out I was pregnant just days before my 18th birthday. A senior in high school, I was 5’7″, 125 lbs. and comfortable in my body. My now-husband was just starting his first year of college, 5 hours away. Despite his frequent visits, my pregnancy was a long and lonely one. I was able [...]

10 Weeks Postpartum (Anonymous)

I posted here at 8 weeks postpardum and added post baby pics, but the only pic that was added was my pregnant one.So heres my post baby body after gaining 65 lbs, and losing 20….Still at 195 and now 11 weeks postpardum. My goal is to get down to 150, my pre-pregnancy weight. This new [...]

Postpartum Beauty (Anonymous)

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 [...]

First Baby and an Out of Body Experience (Anonymous)

This is me 5 months after my baby boy was born. I just do not look the same at all . My breast use to be perky and my stomach was less flabby before. Yet, at the end of the day when I look at my body I know its truly a blessing because I [...]

Anonymous

5’7″. Size 3. 125 pounds. 16 years old. That was then.. Size 11. 145 pounds. 17 years old. This is now.. My life changed when the pregnancy tests [all 5 of them] came back positive. I was 16 years old, a junior in high school, an athlete. I loved my body. People said I was [...]

Trying to Accept My Body Really Hard (Roxy)

will i ever look better??? thats all I keep asking myself im 21yrs old and i had my first baby girl on Nov 16 2008. I got married at 18 and we decide to try having a baby in 08 and in March I finally saw the two pink lines we were soooo exited I [...]

I’m Only 18 – Wife & Mom, 4 Weeks PP (Anonymous)

Hello! I became pregnant @ 17, married my husband after we turned 18, and gave birth to a gorgeous 9lb 6 ounce baby vaginally. 36 hours of labor, and 3 hours of pushing, he was sunny side up, and they had to cut me. I’m now coming to terms with this new body, all the [...]

Pregnant Belly With Scar (Jenny)

I went through a bad patch at about 34 weeks pregnant when I took this picture because I had always had a lovely, trim, pure white tummy. After having an ovarian cyst removed by laparotomy at 14 weeks pregnant, I was left with a neat scar, which is becoming more and more noticeable, bumpy and [...]

27 yo, 3 Months PP (Anonymous)

I’m excited to finally share my story after reading this website for a couple years. I’m 27 years old and this is my first baby. My pre-pregnancy weight was 125 lbs. I gained 35 lbs with pregnancy. Now 12 weeks pp, I’m down to 130 lbs. I didn’t get any stretch marks. Honestly, I ate [...]

Unexpected C-Section (Anonymous)

I am 34 yrs old, my son, my first and only and here are some pics of mine 40 weeks pregnant and 8 days post partum…. This was my first pregnancy. I was planning for a vaginal birth from the beginning but by week 40 the doc realized that it wont be possible due to [...]

I may not be beautiful anymore, but my son is (Anonymous)

I’ll admit, it’s hard to look in the mirror these days. I use to be beautiful. I was vain too… I liked the way people treated me because of it. These days, I feel frumpy. I feel like an alien in my own body. Sex with my husband is not what it use to be. [...]

Update 14 Months PP (Tamara)

Ok, so i am posted on here way back in august i believe under 19 and insecure (tamara) anyhow..after the new year i finally said my resolution would be to get on a healthy diet and fitness program…my problem was mainly a lot of loose skin on my tummy….as for stretch marks well they cover [...]

Happy With My Body (Autumn)

I’ve posted here twice before, first post is here. It’s been 3 years and some months since I had my son, I’m below my pre-pregnancy weight. I’m somewhere between 155-160 lbs, I ended my pregnancy at 241 lbs. After he was born, I definitely had issues with my body, that over the years have diminished [...]

Beauty is Skin-Deep (Anonymous)

i wanted 2 start off by sayen this website is such an inspiration 2 mothers like me who are having trouble dealing with there body’s. i had my daughter at 17 years old her name is saiyuri and she is my jelly and im da peanut butter. she is gods gift to me. i struggled [...]

Where is the time machine? (Anonymous)

I’m 26-years-old. My son was born about two weeks before my 25th birthday. My pregnancy was not planned and I spent the entire pregnancy trying to come to grips with being a mother (which I haven’t quite done yet). My birth was a 43-hour-long, unmedicated journey aided by my mother and husband and a hospital [...]

Triplet Mom carries to full term for triplets 36 weeks and get 6″ of muscle separation (Triplet Mom)

I am a 22 year old mom of triplets (also non-IVF) I had been married only 2 months when we found out we were expecting. After two ultrasounds of one baby–triplets! I carried them to full term for triplets–36 weeks– and gained 80 lbs. I went from a size 6 to 230lbs on delivery day. [...]

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

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 [...]

10+ Years Later (V)

I am 28 years old, and had my child when I was 17. When I got pregnant I was 5’6″ and 101 lbs. and barely an A cup. I was never happy with my weight and wanted to weigh more, and wished my breasts were bigger. Well, I got my wish! I had a beautiful [...]

Feeling Great! (Anonymous)

I gained a fair amount of weight during my pregnancy. I’m barely over 5′ and I gained almost 35 pounds when my baby was born at just under 38 weeks gestation. I’m 8 days postpartum and so far I’ve managed to lose over 15 pounds, and my belly is almost as flat as it was [...]

Anonymous

I’m a 20 year old single mum. I’ve been trying to give myself the courage to put photos of myself on here as I’ve been really depressed about my body. I’m working on my body slowly and trying to build up my confidence. My daughter was born on 4th of July 2008. Im nearly 7 [...]

Mother Trying to Learn to Accept Her New Body (Anonymous)

I’m a 19 year old mother to a 5 month old daughter. As a young mum I feel as though I never truely got to enjoy my teenage body. Before I became pregnant I would nit pick at the smallest imperfections of my body and never really appreciated how good it was. 5 months post [...]

Did I mention I finally have hips? (Yolande)

I was 19 years old and in the middle of my third year of college. My life was, on track, but I was miserable. Then an anvil fell from the sky and landed on my head…actually the birth control failed, and perhaps if I had been paying more attention to my studies, instead of my [...]

Anonymous

I’ve procrastinated writing this for a long time now. I found this website when I was pregnant with my son. He’s turning 2 years old now and I think it’s time to settle things with myself. Let me first say thank you for hosting such an amazing website. Now, I have a long history of [...]

Working With What I’ve Got (Anonymous)

okay, i’m a 3rd time participant here on SOAM. here is my last submission i don’t know about you, but i am tired of hearing about how some moms don’t jiggle when they run down the street, “motivational” exercise tips & being told that i’m a failure if i don’t make time to work out [...]

I never thought a size 12 could be sexy before… (Anonymous)

I have a 9 month old and weighed 150 before pregnancy(size and am average height (26 y.o.). I was very unhappy at the time with my size, I’ve felt too fat my entire life because there are always those girls that are skinnier and more perfect. I don’t think I could ever be completely happy [...]

My daughter, Ashlyn (Anonymous)

My husband and I had been trying for our first child for more than six months when we finally found out we were expecting. My husband was gone for training when I found out. Five weeks into the pregnancy I started bleeding heavily and rushed to the ER. My husband was still away at training [...]

First Pregnancy 8 Weeks Postpartum (Anonymous)

I am 22 years old, and This pregnancy was unplanned and very unexpected. Me and my now husband were together for about 6 months, when I found out that I was pregnant even after using the morning after pill, when the condom broke. At the time I did not feel ready to become a mother, [...]

Here Goes Nothing! (Anonymous)

I’m trying to learn to be happy in the moment. Before I got pregnant(when I was 17), I let others (a super tan, three time Hooters girl, best friend) make me believe my body wasn’t good enough. So even though deep down I LOVED my body and was VERY happy with what I had, I [...]

So Here I Am! (Anonymous)

Great work on this site! When I was pregnant I started to hate the way my body was developing and I hated myself even more for worrying about something so trivial. After my baby was born (two years ago now) I hated it even more. Pregnancy hadn’t agreed with me and I’d actually lost a [...]

Life Changes, Get Used to it! (Mary)

… I tell myself that everyday! I met my husband while we were overseas in the Army in 2005, we were married in April 2006, and 9 months and 10 days later we had our daughter, she is amazing! We are going to be welcoming our son in March and cant wait! I love being [...]

1st Pregnancy, 1st C-Section, Six Years Later (Anonymous)

I never planned on having a c-section. I was hoping for a natural birth, but my daughter had other ideas. At 32 weeks we found out she was breech, and despite our best efforts, wouldn’t turn. I went 8 days overdue, and finally my OB/GYN decided to schedule me for a c-section when it became [...]

Sad (Anonymous)

I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy just over ten month ago. I didn’t have the best pregnancy with one thing and another. However nothing could of prepared me for giving birth. Lots of damage was caused which meant I had to have surgery after having my baby. This was for vagina reconstruction and [...]

My Story (Anonymous)

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 [...]

What 6 Months of Breastfeeding Can Do! (Anonymous)

After gaining 60lbs during my pregnancy and crossing a very scary number (I got to 204lbs) I gave birth (via unplanned Cesarean ) to a healthy 8lb 12oz baby girl! Despite c-section I planned on getting back into shape right away, as a former college ice hockey player I had been in pretty good shape [...]

Thankful for this site (Anonymous)

My son will be turning a year old next month. I had promised myself that I would have lost all the weight and returned to my “normal” self by this time. And that hasn’t happened. I have always struggled with self-esteem issues. I have never felt attractive. Until I was pregnant. I felt like I [...]

6 Weeks Postpartum (Jessica)

My name is Jessica, and i had a beautiful son 6 weeks ago today. Having a child has been the most fullfilling event to ever happen in my life. Before becoming pregnant me and my boyfriend of 4 years got married, and we never planned on having kids, only dogs! Six months after our wedding [...]

Dunno what to do? (Rocio)

Ok first off my name is rocio im 20 yrs old and i have a son thats gna be two in april. I now weigh 170 lbs my before baby weight was about 120 well around there… i had a c-section (and not by choice) sometimes I feel like my boyfriend is still with me [...]

Time for a start for health (Ashley)

Hello my name is Ashley. I gave birth to my first child my daughter Riley on October 20 2008. I am 26 years old and 5’7 and currently 188 pounds. Days before finding out I was pregnant I was around 148 pounds and actually getting comments from everyone that I looked like I was losing [...]

In Love With Myself (Anonymous)

I posted here nine months ago thinking that I would return loathing my post pregnancy body. Superficially thinking that “recovering” from my pregnancy would be important. On April 30th ten days late I birthed a 7lb .5oz baby girl gently into my own arms. Not only was I blessed with a healthy child but I [...]

36 and Concerned (Anonymous)

I came to this site for two reasons. One is to offer hope. I had my first child at 27 and bounced back well. I lead an unusually active lifestyle at my most sedentary because I have horses, goats, and a bunch of dogs and other animals. I can’t keep still for very long. As [...]

The REAL Beauty (Anonymous)

This is my body 11 weeks after the birth of my beautiful baby girl. She saved my life and lifted my soul out of the darkness. I have never seen anything more beautiful than my daughter and every time her tiny hand grasps mine, I see the reason why I am alive. There is no [...]

Will I ever be confidant again?? (Anonymous)

Hi im 21yrs old. well let me tell you a little bit about my story, me and my husband got married 3yrs ago i was studying and he was working as a truck driver after 2yrs on the pill we decide that we wanted to have a baby i was about to graduate so i [...]

I Earned My Stripes (Mama D)

For me, December 5th will mark a whole year from conception. As you all know, it’s been an intense year, and one that has fundamentally changed me, mind, body and spirit. Today I was enjoying my son, and thinking about how much he’s already learned in such a short time. The changes are so rapid, [...]

Getting Used to the New Me (Anonymous)

Before I got pregnant, I had a pretty decent body — not great, just average. Since giving birth to my son 6 weeks ago, I am struggling to adjust to my new, “mom’s” body. I guess I got away luckier than some — while I have tons and tons of stretchmarks on my chest, some [...]

7 months pp. A crazy new life. (Anonymous)

I was surprised to find that my story was a lot more common than I thought. I first found out I was pregnant as a senior in high school. My boyfriend (who is now my husband) reacted differently than most young men would have in his situation. He told me that whatever I chose to [...]

Lost (Anonymous)

Here is me when I first found out I would be a mommy…since then a lot has changed. It seems as if everything I’d dreamed and waited for just shattered. My husband has had three deployments and this is the first time in nearly six years we’re under the same roof…so you’d think things would [...]

Struggling with my mommy body (Jenn)

Hi I’m Jenn I had my first, and only, child five years ago. I was very lucky that I had no stretch marks despite being very big while pregnant, apart from a few faint ones that are hardly noticble on my breasts and bum. I carried my son very high and had a c-section. I [...]

My Body (Anonymous)

This is my body during and after my first pregnancy. I am happy with my body now, i finally grew some boobs and i love them, i adjusted to having stretch marks, considering the ones from puberty had just faded, and my tubby belly is no tubbier than it was before. my son is now [...]

33 Weeks Pregnant (Anonymous)

i hate whats happened to my body i had no stretch marks at the beginning of all this.. i love my son to death already but how am i ever going to feel good about my body? how can i ever wear a bathing suit again.. or shorts the stretch marks are ALL over me [...]

Mum at 16, Learning to love my new body (Anonymous)

I Fell Pregnant Febuary 2008, at the age of 15. I never once considered abortion or adoption, I decided too keep my baby once i found out. The father had mixed emotions but is now a proud father, I gave birth too a beautiful baby girl 5 days after my 16th on the 17th nov [...]

Appendix Removal During Pregnancy (Fiona)

Im sending this to you, because when i went through it i had very little resources on the web to draw on, and at the time i found it quite emotionally taxing and hard, and felt quite alone… When i was 26 weeks pregnant i had some upper right quadrant abdominal pain, and i thought [...]

5 Weeks Postpartum with First Pregnancy (Anonymous)

On Nov 6, 2008, I was blessed with a beautiful daughter. She is amazing to me because it is the first person in my life I can look at and see some resemblance of myself. I was adopted as a newborn, and always stuck out like a sore thumb with my light brown hair, blue [...]

Not Shy Anymore! (Anonymous)

I was always aware that my body was attractive and that I was able to get mens attention, but I was uncomfortable with it….. After giving birth, my body is very different (as you can see) and not as nice as before, but so many people saw me naked (including many men) that I am [...]

18 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

This is me 18months after having my beautiful daughter im still not really comfortable with my body but i am getting there……..

First Baby VCC 4 Months Postpartum (Angelica)

hi! this is me after 4 months of having my beautiful baby i already posted pictures of me when i was 1 month pp do you think that i look better now or the same?? i really appreciate your comments!! thanks!!! Updated here.

3 weeks PP after having a 8lb 15oz baby boy (Anonymous)

I am 20 years old and I am married to a wonderful man who is serving our country with the army for the last 3 years. This is our first child and he is just a blessing. Thru out my pregnancy it was hard for me to gain weight. Before I was pregnant I weight [...]

Update (Berni)

Original entry here. My son is now 6 and a half months old and feel worse the ever about my body. I love my son so much and feel so guilty for hating my body as it carried him for for 40+11 weeks. My body created a beautiful 10 lb 10oz baby boy but I [...]

The body I once hated (Anonymous)

When I was pregnant with my son, I hated my body. I hated the clothes I had to wear, I hated looking in the mirror, I hated being naked. My husband was always very loving, but I had always believed that beautiful was skinny. Beautiful was not a pregnant woman. The evening before my son, [...]

Okay during pregnancy, self-conscious now (Karen)

I was 31 when my son was born. I had spent, easily, 25 years feeling fat, feeling overweight, feeling shy about my shape. As a teenager, I fluctuated between 15-30lbs more than was “recommended” by doctors at the time (5’4″-5’5″ and 130-145lbs). Then I met and married my husband, who is in no way shy [...]

Body After Baby #1, 21 Years Old (Anonymous)

I had my little boy july 31, ’08. 2 months after my 21 birthday. He is my world. I appreciate him coming into my life because he saved me from myself. He made me into the best person I can be, and I will always be indebted to him for that! I started out at [...]

Update! 8 Months Post-Partum (Anonymous)

View my original entry here. When my son was born 5 weeks early, with severe IUGR and weighing only 3lbs, I was angry. It was all my body’s fault. I learned not long after submitting my original entry that my heart was struggling with the pregnancy and I had developed pregnancy induced hypertension. My placenta [...]

I Need Encouragement (Anonymous)

My beautiful, rewarding, amazing son was born ten months ago. I wanted him, but had no idea how much my life, including my body would change. Most of the changes are awesome. Sometimes I wonder if I suffer from post part em depression. I see this site and think I am being heartless and selfish [...]

Body After Baby One Year Later (Anonymous)

Hi everyone just wanted to let you know IT IS possible to get a great body after baby…this is my stomach after about a year of having my kid..and my kid was 10 pounds! im five ten and now 122 pounds…i worked out all through my pregancy too and used Vichy stretch cream on my [...]

What I was made to do: Create (Katie)

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 [...]

I Love Being a Mommy, But I Hate My Body (Anonymous)

im a 21 year old mommy to my almost 2 month beautiful baby girl. My fiance and i are thrilled to have her in our lives, though i do not feel at all physically attractive. i was 150 before i got pregnant at 5”6 and though i needed to lose weight, little did i know [...]

Perfection (Anonymous)

When He Smiles The world is such a cruel and unforgiving place Images of flawlessness strewn through every aspect of life The norm has an unobtainable and impossible face, Making me wonder if I’ll ever measure up Then I look into the beautiful eyes of the angel on my hip I remember what life is [...]

So Glad I Found This Place, Pregnant With My First (Anonymous)

I stumbled on this link almost by accident on a pregnancy message board. I’m 27 and pregnant with my first baby. I’m excited. But I also just found out that I will most likely need a c-section. I’ve always had a flat belly until now, so the baby belly was a bit of a surprise. [...]

First Pregnancy at 16, Not So Bad (Anonymous)

When I first Got pregnant at 16, I was completely horrified. I was scared of everthing from baby care to stretch marks. I was 5’4 and 115 pounds. I gained about 17 pounds throught my pregnancy. I was so scared that I was going to be overweight and have stretch marks from head to toe.. [...]

Trying Really Hard to Accept My Body (Anonymous)

I haven’t felt anywhere near beautiful since I had my son almost 4 months ago. I was never planning on having kids right now, and my boyfriend and I were really surprised 2 days after last Thanksgiving. He was upset and didn’t want to have the baby, but I could never imagine getting rid of [...]

Making Progress (Anonymous)

Here’s my previous entry with a link to my previous previous entry, ha ha! Slowly, VERY slowly I’m noticing changes in myself. My stretch marks are finally fading and my belly is actually lifting as terrified as I was that it wouldn’t. I’ve been working out and trying to eat as healthy as possible. So [...]

37 Weeks Pregnant (Anonymous)

Well this is me so far, I am 37 weeks pregnant and I am soo excited to be having my baby boy soon!! I Have gained 25 pounds already i guess i am all belly because my belly is HUGE lol! So far ive not gotten any stretch marks but its genetic in my family [...]

Fraternal Twins (Anonymous)

At 8w 3d I found out I was having twins. Something no one can ever be prepared for. Two of everything! Two cribs, two bikes, two high chairs, two carseats, two hugs, two kisses, twice the work, twice the fun! I had my fraternal twin boys at 37 weeks via c-section and they’ve been the [...]

Benefits of Weight Training (Anonymous)

I had my daughter 12 years ago at the age of 25. I gained 50+ pounds during my pregnancy. I worked hard to drop the weight, but didn’t discover weight training until last year. This photo was taken 2 months ago after 9 months of training 2-3x a week. You can still see that my [...]

belly (Anonymous)

i was 19 when i had my little boy. my body has changed and im trying to accept it. im almost at my pre-pregnany weight but my stomach is still mushy and i have soo many stretchmarks all over the place it makes it hard to love. i do however love my son and i [...]

Mommy at 16 (Erica)

Hi, im erica im not quite a mom yet but im will be very very soon! im due in 19 days and im having a baby girl, were naming her Tobie! im only 16 years old i will be 17 in feb! and i can’t wait to be a mom

18 Months After CS and a Beautiful Girl… (Anonymous)

This is my body now. I hate it. After my CS i was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Polycystic ovarie syndrom. Because of the Polyblabla its hard to lose weight, since everything you eat gains on the stomach. I was a size 36(european sizes.. small/medium) the day i had my girl, and the day after i [...]

One Mental Year Later (Anonymous)

Hi everyone! I found this site at the beginning of my pregnancy and thought that now, just past my daughter’s first birthday, would be a fairly apt moment to reflect on this mental year and nine months and make a post myself. I’m 5ft2 ish and I started my pregnancy at 9st (see before photo!) [...]

Learning to Love my 21 Year Old Baby Body (Anonymous)

I’ve been through a lot in my short 21 years and 10 months here on earth. The good, the bad, the unexpected… In high school I was a 5’3, 117 pound cheerleader with an eating disorder. I was teased when I was younger for being chubby, so I made up for it during my adolescence. [...]

1 Month PP! will it ever go away?? (Anonymous)

I’m 26 and had my first and only baby girl 1 months age. I’m hating my body and very down on myself image! I always had a big ego and low self esteem! Now I have no ego and no self esteem! I know my stomach is better then most but I feel as if [...]

New Mum, 22, How can I love my body again? (Anonymous)

I am 22 and have just had my first baby, 9 weeks ago. Ive never considered myself to be especially vain or image obsessed or that. I am so happy my baby is healthy and happy and I am happy I managed to fall pregnant to begin with (as I am challenged in the fertility [...]

My Body 8 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

As everyone on this website I have lots of body issues and this is how I found this website. I am 5’5″ and before I got pregnant weighed 145 lbs. I gained about 36lbs during the pregnancy, had sever pre-eclampsia and fluid retention. I felt so bad about my pregnant body that I didnt want [...]

3 Months PP (Anonymous)

This is me three months after my son was born. I was 130 pounds and 5’8 before getting pregnant. I delivered at 217 pounds! I got alot of stretch marks, and even have a few light ones behind my knees! My stomach and boobs are ruined, but I would do it again! I just wish [...]

After My First Pregnancy (Anonymous)

The 20th of March 2008 i became the mother of a beautiful son. I had an emergency cesarean. When i came home and took a look in the mirror i was shocked.. I hoped it would go away.. But it didn’t change much.. Now 8 months later I’m trying to accept the new me. It’s [...]

10 Days Postpartum with Twins (Anonymous)

I’m 23 and have been married 2 and a half years. Pre-pregnancy I was 5’1 and 115 lbs. I went up to 165 the day I had my twins boys by c-section. I was never happy with my body before pregnancy my lowest weight was 78 lbs. With some help from my hubby over a [...]

First Pregnancy Fears Shared (Anonymous)

I am 16 weeks pregnant and already have had major changes occur physically. My breasts have grown an entire cup size and I was already a 36D to begin with. They are uncomfortably large and I assume will only get bigger. I plan on breastfeeding (God willing) so I can only imagine what these puppies [...]

Lost and Found Pregnancy, 7 Weeks Postpartum (Charity)

Meant To Be: My Pregnancy Story I’m a 22 year old single mom and I can’t tell you how excited I am! This baby was DEFINITELY unexpected. I knew I was pregnant from day 1, but didn’t find out for sure until the end of January. My boyfriend and I were on a technical ‘break’ [...]

I Am Beautiful (Anonymous)

These photos were taken a couple of weeks before my daughter turned two. Actually, as I write this, she will be two years old in less than 24 hours. She is a total blessing, so bright and inquisitive. And I see that being a mother to a little girl who will someday be a woman [...]

5 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

my son is 5 months old and the sweetest little boy ever He was totally worth every stretch mark and lb I gained. I would do it all again for him though, just like I’m sure any of us would. I’m getting used to the new body I see when I look in the mirror [...]

Happy with her body (Anonymous)

I am now 4.5 months pp. I breastfed my son, and it is the best thing that I have done. I have strech marks on my brests, stomach, and hips…also a few on my legs. I am learning how to accept my body…and after reading everyone elses blogs on here…I love my body. Thank you [...]

6 weeks postpartum (Anonymous)

I posted an entry about a month ago right after my C-Section and I was terrified that my belly was just going to be a saggy mess forever but it really has improved. Not by much but here is the progress. Updated here.

Update (Anonymous)

I am 140 lbs! yay I went from over 200 all the way down to 118..and i sagged..and didn’t liek it.. and now I’m finally fitting where my body should be not even worrying about scails or skin..lol I LUV some curve….I would take more .. So I’ve gained 20 lbs by eating lots healthy..eating [...]

7 Days pp after 1lb 13 oz micro preemie @ 26 5/7 weeks (Ashley)

These are the pictures taken tonight, exactly one week after the birth of my first, Gunner Isaiah @ 26 weeks and 5 days. He was a micro-preemie and weighed 1 lb 13 oz and was 13.25 in. long. I had a normal pregnancy right up until I went into labor. I was thick before pregnancy [...]

Beautiful Belly (Amanda)

When I was 8 months pregnant with my son, I had this done. It was a beautiful, relaxing and memorable experience and I would tell every mother to be, to have it done. You can edit out the text in the photo if you like, it was put on the cover of a book of [...]

21 Years Old and Almost 11 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

Me & my husband decided to try for our 1st baby in January of 2007. 3 months later, I was pregnant. Although we were young, we both wanted to start a family soon after were married. Our son was born on December 6, 2007. I loved every minute of the pregnancy. After he was born, [...]

First time mother to a beautiful blessing (Anonymous)

Hi Everyone! First of all I would like to say this website is sucha beautiful and motivational site. Its wonderful to know I am not the only one who hates their body after pregnancy. I am a 23 year old mother to a healthy 7 month old baby boy. Before I gotten pregnant i dieted [...]

Hurray! (Anonymous)

Hurray for Stretchmarks! I’ve always loved stretch marks on other people, they are so silvery and intricate and pretty. And I didn’t have any myself. But then I had a beautiful baby girl, six months ago, and now I have them all over my lower belly, and I love them. And I love the new [...]

Young Mom! (Anonymous)

Hi! This is my story: I got pregnant when I was 17 and 99 pounds, 5 days before having the baby I was 132 pounds and I was only 38 weeks, imagine at week 40!! My son is 2 years and 8 months old. Now my weight is about 103 pounds. I hate my stretch [...]

11 months postpartum 20 years old (Anonymous)

I am a 20 yr old mother. I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be able to do this well as a mother before I had my son, but I always knew I’d do my best. I doubted that my best would be good enough, but I never knew at the time that it would come [...]

Learning to love my new body (Anonymous)

Me and my husband tried to get pregnant for 15 months..when it finally happened we were sooo excited..not to mention nervous! I was 105 lbs when I got pregnant by the end of my pregnancy I was 156! I ate very healthy but I still put on the pounds, made it to 30 weeks with [...]

teen mom and wife (Anonymous)

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 [...]

Feeling Depressed About Breasts (Anonymous)

A lot of you women on here come on here being proud of your bodies and what they have done..which I am.. BUT I can’t help being depressed about my breasts. They seem to sag so much more and I’m afraid of what they will look like after I wean. In these pictures I have [...]

6 months, now (Anonymous)

So my beautiful daughter is 6 months old and it just hit me like, “Holy crap! It’s going by so fast already!!!!” I can’t wait to be able to have conversations with her, take her to play on a playground, find out the things she’ll be into, and just see her grow. When me and [...]

16 married, 17 first baby (Ashley)

first 0f all i l000ve this site!! i finally feel lyke im n0t al0ne!0kayy i g0t married @16..yeah i kn0w its y0ung but i l00ve him&& we were like why wait lets jus d0 it!2m0nths later i g0t pregnant for the first time! i gained 62lbs..i was skinny my wh0le life s0 i just keep [...]

22 with twins (Anonymous)

I was 21 years old when I found out that my boyfriend at the time and I would be expecting our first child. We then found out that it was twins!! natural twins! I of course wasn’t prepared at all to be a mother OR a wife and before I knew it, it happened so [...]

Accepting the “mom” figure (Anonymous)

Before my pregnancy I was 115 lbs and stood at 5’8. When I found out I was pregnant I was scared. I was 17 at the time and my boyfriend and I were having problems. When I saw those two pink lines on the pregnancy test I knew my life would never be the same. [...]

Beautiful Body (Anonymous)

I’m 22 years old and I got married may 19 2006 and found out I was pregnant in july 06. That was the happiest day of my life.I was like I will never get stretch marks I never put any coco butter on my belly and I swore I would be lucky, I wasn’t My [...]

When he smiles (Anonymous)

I want to lie and say that I am comfortable with my body. I want to say that I don’t give it a second thought. The truth though… The truth is that I think about it often. I can be honest and say I think about it less now than I ever have. This website [...]

12 weeks pp with first baby (Anonymous)

i am 19 years old i found out i was pregnant what i was 18 it was scary at first but i got used to the idea even was fine that i had left her father and would be a single mother, and now here i was have a beautiful 12 weeks old baby girl [...]

12 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

Well, my daughter is going to be a year next week, so this feels like a good time to celebrate what an amazing year of changes it has been. It’s been the most profound year of my life, and I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Having said that, it hasn’t been an [...]

29 years old, 10 1/2 months post partum after first child (Anonymous)

I had a really hard time accepting my body after pregnancy, and still am having a tough time. I look at this site as often as I can and it makes me feel better that I’m not alone and that most people who have children don’t just bounce back immediately. This website gives me a [...]

Learning to love… (Anonymous)

Learning to love my stretchmarks! Week 39 begins tomorrow, and there aren’t words to express how excited I am to meet my little one. This is our first baby, and we feel so blessed. I made it to week 36 without a single stretch mark, and I will never forget a friend of mine telling [...]

New mommy worried about her new body (Anonymous)

I’m a new Mommy, I gave birth by cesarean section a little over a week ago and up until now my biggest worry was if my stretch marks would fade but now I’m noticing that my skin is VERY saggy. I am only 20 years old and my tummy looks just as awful as my [...]

All you can be happy with your bellies! (iraiosc)

6 months ago i had a baby 4’360kg… cessarean of course… before he arrive i have a normal and thin body… with nice skin… the pregnancy was great, all people said that i have a nice and rounded belly… then tima passed and my son don’t wanted get out… he grow and grow… till arrive [...]

I’m So Soft (Anonymous)

I have always been thin, and I still am. Everywhere except my belly. I can dress in such a way that my proof of parenthood is quite well disguised, but I’m still chubby enough that every once in a while I get asked if I’m pregnant. I’m okay with that. I’m also surprised at how [...]

i hate myself (Anonymous)

So i am a first time mum to my beautiful baby boy harrison his almost 8 months ! i have a wonderful fiancee and everything is going great but i am so depressed i hate my body i hate who i am as a person i hate my shy personality i hate my voice i [...]

Changes 10.5 Months Postpartum (Kashi)

Pre-pregnancy I weighed 180 lbs, I walked out of the hospital weighing 145 lbs… (10 lbs more than I had weighed a week before) After all the water weight came off, I sat at 225lbs for a few months. Slowly came down to 210, and now I’m 197 lbs, FINALLY back down into the 100s!! [...]

Bikini Ready (Anonymous)

My son was born when I was 37 and 9 months later I wore a bikini for the first time (photo to follow shortly). My whole life I’ve been self conscious of everything: my stretch marks when I was a teen, the fact that being short-waisted with small boobs just isn’t terribly flattering, those (sometimes [...]

My Journey to Accepting My Body (Anonymous)

Before and During Pregnancy I have always been rather slender. I am very petite; the heaviest I have been is 113 pounds and I am 4’11.” I should also note that I have never had an eating disorder and have never been on a diet. Sure, there were times I was out of shape and [...]

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

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 [...]

Hurricane Tummy (Anonymous)

I am 27 and this was my first pregnancy. My daughter was born 5 weeks early by emergency c-section after I was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia after I started blacking out from high blood pressure. Up until that point I had battled many odds with this pregnancy. 2nd trimester bleeding, gestational diabetes, a bells palsy, [...]

Emotional Teen Mom Part 2 (Erin)

Original entry here. Well since my last post a lot of things have changed *except my stretch marks.They don’t bother me as bad I don’t really care to be in a bikini and being a size 4 instead of 2 doesn’t bother me that bad either. I have a new meaning in life. I have [...]

6 Months Later (Anonymous)

It is now six months, One week, and 4 days since my daughter was born. She arrived March, 13 2008. This time last year, We were about to find out what the sex of our new arrival would be. I had too many emotions to name, but I was so excited. .I wrote her letters, [...]

My Five Month Old Angel (Anonymous)

this is my story when i was pregnant my ex wasn’t there for me he say’s he was but he just wasn’t i fell in love with my best friend owen he was there for me during my whole pregnancy went to every doctor appointment every ultrasound and even found out we were having a [...]

25 Years old, 37 Weeks Pregnant with First Baby (Anonymous)

My husband and I tried for six months to concieve this baby and when we found out that we were pregnant, we couldn’t have been happier. Now I’m at the point where I am so anxious to have her in my arms, that’s all I think about. I started getting stretch marks around the fifth [...]

My First Baby VCC (Angelica)

I am a 21 year old mother!, my baby just turn 2 months old! i am so happy with my baby i can’t imagine a life without her!. Everyday i struggle with how my body looks, i’ve never been a skinny person but i am not with overweight. Because i am a new mom i [...]

My First and Only So Far (Anonymous)

On June 4th of 2008 God blessed me and my wonderful fiance with a beautiful baby girl!!! I weighed 114 going into my pregnancy and right before I had her I weighed 128… I didn’t have any stretched marks at all until the last week in pregnancy!!! I have a few purple ones on my [...]

16 Months Postpartum (Anonymous)

This is my body now…16 months after my beautiful child was born. I weight 211 at the time of her delivery and was 170 by 1 months post partum. At 6 months post partum I was still at 170lbs. At that time I decided enough was enough. It took me several months but now Im [...]

Irrational Jealousy and Blame (Jessica)

I started back at work 5 weeks postpartum and let me tell you…nursing (the profession) and nursing (breastfeeding) don’t go well together! In a 14 hr day I had the chance to pump one (maybe 2) times. It’s not really the “chance” to. I have to make myself stop what I am doing and go. [...]

How Fast Things Change (Anonymous)

It’s amazing how fast your life can change. It can be a matter of minutes, hours, days, or like in my case a matter of 3 months. In may of 2005 I graduated high school, in June I turned 18, and in July I was married. Two weeks after I was married I found out [...]

Two Years After My Son (Anonymous)

Hi, this is me two years after having my wonderful baby boy!! I never thought the stretch marks on my legs and behind would fade but they did and now you cant see them. This site helped me to regain confidence with my looks. Thank you! And for all the new mothers, you are beautiful [...]

Lillian Grace (Anonymous)

i am a 21 year old mother & wife of a United States Marine, who is currently deployed to Iraq. for deployment number two!! Our Little blessing, Lillian Grace, was born three months into our first deployment together, and because i don’t have a constant (or – let’s be serious, ANY.) means of a man [...]

19 and insecure (Tamara)

my name is tamara….im 19 years old. i have a nine month old son…he is beyond the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me….seeing how i have no family…hes def the only guarantee in my life and hes my world….through all this before i had him i prlly had a playboy body lol [...]

1 Year of Motherhood (Anonymous)

I am 24 years old. My son just turned one year old! I am amazed by how quickly the time has passed… almost as amazed as I am by women’s bodies. I have always thought that pregnant women are beautiful, but after going through a pregnancy, I understand it on such a more personal level. [...]

Trying to learn acceptance (Anonymous)

Well here it is. I am a 20-year-old mommy to be. For the last 8 years I’ve struggled on and off with an eating disorder.I wish I could say that I outgrew it and realized I had a problem and got over it, but that’s not true. I know that it’s a problem, but it’s [...]

New Mommy and Three Months Postpartum (Pam)

So i am a first time mother of a beautiful baby boy named Christian, and I’ve always struggled with body issues. My name is Pam and i am 3 1/2 months PP. Growing up i always had weight issues but once i was diagnosed at the age of 14 with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroiditis and heart palpitations [...]

3 Months After 10lb 10oz Baby (Berni)

I’m 18,I live in London England with boyfriend of 2.5 years. I recently had my first baby, a boy I named Caden. I had a traumatic labour, I had an emergeny c section, after my baby became distressed. He had opened his bowels whilst still in the womb and swallowed the poo. He didn’t breath [...]

22 year old mother of triplets (Kelley)

Hi, my name is Kelley and I had triplets at age 20. Yes, they were natural, and No, they do not run in my family. Anyway, that was a year and a half ago, I am now 22, and I struggle everyday to accept my body the way it is. I love my sons, but [...]

(Allison)

These photos are of me 13 days postpartum. I had a 8 lb. 3 oz. girl via C section. This was my first pregnancy. I also included a photo of me with my beautiful new baby girl.

Acceptance (Anonymous)

My body acceptance My name is Janel and I gave birth to my daughter Jasmyn in June of 2006. I was the happiest I had ever been in my entire life. But after coming home from the hospital and seeing my new body in the mirror I couldn’t help but be depressed. I had never [...]

8 Months PP (Anonymous)

I only gained 28 lbs in pregancy .Everything went as planed. She was even born on her due date. I am coping with my body after pregancy. I dont mind a few stretch marks. Well I had more but they have almost faded out completly. But I do have the loose stomach. I have lost [...]

Carrying a Piece of Art (Anonymous)

I’m 20 years old, 36 weeks pregnant, and pretty content with most parts of my body. I’ve sported stretch marks on my stomach since about 13. I wasn’t “fat” by any means, but nature decided I’d be growing a little early. I was of course mortified by them for a long time, until I became [...]

Love my body more now (Anonymous)

After gaining 45 lbs with my first at age 26, I though that I would never been in shape again. I put a lot of dedication into eating healthy after he was born and loved my body even more after becoming a mom. I am now 27 weeks pregnant with my second ….at 27 weeks [...]

My Baby… (Anonymous)

My Baby Belly When I was pregnant with my sweet son (now 3) I got ginormous. My skin felt like it was going to burst, I actually had nightmares of giving birth through a skin explosion. The result are bold stretch marks covering my tummy. I never really thought much of them because honestly, once [...]

…amazing… (Anonymous)

My Amazing Body My body is certainly not the same as it was one year ago but in the last year it has done such an amazing thing. My body stretched to accommodate and make a 7lb 11oz baby. It fed him, kept him safe and warm, and grew his perfect healthy little body for [...]

First Baby at 19… (Anonymous)

First Baby at 19, worried if everything will go back the way it was im 38 weeks pregnant with my first baby and couldnt be more excited to meet my baby girl. 2 days ago i noticed my first stretch marks… i must have cried for about an hour. i feel very lucky to have [...]

3 Weeks Postpartum, First Pregnancy (Anonymous)

Hi i am 16 and my son is 3 week old. When i found out i was pregnant i weighed 118, at the end of my pregnancy i was 170, Now i am back down to 140. I am almost happy with the way my belly looks, it looks a lot better than i thought [...]

PP Belly 5 Mo After twins (Anonymous)

I am a 23 yr old new mum of twins. I carried my kiddos to 36 weeks and delivered 6.8. baby girl and 5.9 baby boy. I went from 158 lbs to 222 lbs on D day. I had a vertical cut C section and spent 2 days in the hospital. Accepting my new body [...]

My New Body (Anonymous)

I was 20 years old when I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. My body doesn’t look the same anymore. Pics of my stomach before, during and after pregnancy.

Three Months After My Angel (Anonymous)

my life was one big nightmare i had a very bad dad who verbally and physically abused me and growing uo in a environment like that i felt really low. one day i snapped and tried taking the only way out by trying suicide b/c i had no reason to live. the day i found [...]

Trying to love my new breasts (Anonymous)

Giving birth was the best thing I’ve ever done. I love being a mom more than anything in the whole wide world. Even enough I can accept the little changes to my body. I’ve always been a curvier girl, but never had stretch marks before I was pregnant. Now I have what I call tiger [...]

2 Months PP (May)

Hi everyone, I had posted here before and I just thought I would update. I got a lot of comments on my first post saying to not worry so much about my weight and I definitely took that into consideration. I think stressing about things make them worse often times. I am now two months [...]

(Anonymous)

I had my baby before I could legally drive a car. Now, as a senior in high school, I’m supposed to be worrying about Homecoming and dates, but none of that is even close to as important to me as my daughter is. Before I found this site, the only references to post-baby bodies I [...]

Pregnancy and Postpartum Belly Photos (Anonymous)

I gained 33 pounds during my pregnancy and have lost almost all of it at 8 weeks post partum. I still have what looks like a 4 or 5 month pregnant belly (and don’t fit into my pre-pregnancy pants), with a dark linea negra and stretch marks around and under my belly button and on [...]

Calm Acceptance, Compassionate Understanding and Unconditional Love (Natasha)

Initially after giving birth to our precious daughter, I was so overjoyed, that my body was not even a consideration for days – I simply didn’t care what I looked like. However after a few weeks I started to feel like me again; my tunnel vision widened so that Anna stopped being the one and [...]

5 Months PP with Hypothyroidism (Anonymous)

I had my daughter 3 months before I turned 21. She is the first for both me and my husband. I was 250 before i got pregnant. I was 274 the day i had her and dropped back to 250 the day she was born. I thought i looked pretty good 1 week post partum. [...]

You think you sag… ppppllzzz. (Anonymous)

this is me bending down…I am only 21 years old…my body was very beautiful before… i’ve lost 110 lbs..i have no fat in my body just lots of hanging skin that tortures me every time i look in teh mirror. I’m almost numb from it becuase i don’t beleive i really look like that… I [...]

Thank you! (Anonymous)

I am so very thankful for your website. I have no pictures right now, just some thoughts to share. I stumbled upon your site today, 5 months after the birth of my beautiful, amazing daughter, Paige. I never thought of myself as a vain person, or as someone overly concerned with my looks. Recently, though, [...]

Body Image, Bulimia, and a Beautiful Baby Boy (Katie)

I struggled with my weight all my life. I struggled with a viscous eating disorder that ruled my every moment, and nearly killed me. I was 106 pounds, and had no menstrual cycle to speak of, fainting spells, seizures, ulcers, and heart problems. Eventually I got more confident, thanks to my (now) husband, and started [...]

Bed Rest After Childbirth / 8 to 14 in a Year (Anonymous)

I had a diffcult pregnancy to begin with where I gained 45 lbs. The birth was worse. 23 hours in labor pushing for 32 minutes before they realized he was stuck. Tried to move him manually (oh by the way the epidural didnt take all the way) causing me to jump and slam my back [...]

My thoughts on being a plus-size mom to be (Anonymous)

I have been overweight my whole entire life. I always joke that the “thinnest” Ive ever been was at birth – 6 lbs. Funny, but true. At one point, I got up over 400 lbs. Then I made a decision that changed my life completely. I had lap-band weight loss surgery in Dec. 2005. The [...]

first baby girl (Anonymous)

I had my baby girl June 2nd, 2008. We named her Autumn Elizabeth. She was very much wanted and I was so excited to become a mom. I gained more weight than I had wanted/expected to (I wanted to gain just the 25-35 that is written about…) but i ended up gaining 55 lbs. I [...]

2 months after having my son (Anonymous)

the first time i found out i was pregnant i was so excited b/c i was gonna bring a beautiful baby in this world. of course i didn’t know how hard pregnancy could be my first 3 month’s i had bad morning sickness but it got easier and by the time i was 5 month’s [...]

Coping With Body Changes at 18 (Anonymous)

I am an 18 year old mommy of a beautiful baby girl. I got pregnant when I was 17 and weighed about 140 pounds. I didn’t really gain any weight until right at the end and gained a total of 35 pounds. I always thought that it would be easy for me to get back [...]

emotional teen mom (Erin)

My name is Erin im 17 years old and have a beautiful baby girl jade star she is four months old i have had many problems though out my life to start growing up my parents were drug addicts they arent anymore but it was a hard time in my life my grandma passed away [...]

4 weeks pp – angry at my body (Anonymous)

Four weeks ago I delivered my son prematurely by c-section. The fear, stress, and worry were undescribable. Jack was born at 35 weeks weighing only 3lbs. He spent 17 days in the NICU and had surgery to repair bilateral inguinal hernias, then came home with us. I am furious with my body for causing problems [...]

4 days pp (May)

I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant and turned 20 before I had him. I am engaged to the most amazing person I’ve ever known, and although the pregnancy was unplanned he was thrilled with the news; because after five years of trying to win my heart, he not only finally had [...]

1st Pregnancy and I loved it (Rachel)

I am a long time visitor but have yet to get the guts up to contribute. First let me say I loved being pregnant and I can’t stop bothering my husband about getting started with the second. While I am generally happy about my body post partum, I do complain about random stretch marks on [...]

Tiny Dancer (Anonymous)

I spent years learning to dance and perform. Ballet, jazz and modern dance as a child and as I got older training alongside some of the best known circus performance artists at a specialized gym. I always wanted to be a model but at barely 5’1 I found work but not in the fashion industry. [...]

My Everything (Kristin)

Hello, my name is Kristin and i am 20 years old. I got mrried to my husband at 19, he is 24. We got pregnant a few months after getting married , we were soo happy but i lost our first baby at 8 weeks. It was the hardest thing ever. We got pregnant again [...]

My Love, My Life, My Inspiration (Tsi K.)

I have posted previously (here), but did not have the courage to show my face, lol!I decided to go ahead and take the plunge today, after witnessing so many other women doing the same. Childbirth, and indeed motherhood are such beautiful and overwhelming miracles, and oftentimes, I find myself gazing at my little girl and [...]

Perfection (Caurie)

Becoming a mother saved my life. Before I became pregnant with my first son my focus in life was my body. I had anorexia and exercise bulimia for years. In the pursuit of a “perfect” body my body was like an old woman’s. I had osteopenia, the enamel on my teeth was eroded, my heart [...]

16 months later and still not happy with my body (Kasondra)

christmas 2005 i gave my husband news that would change both of our lives forever. we were going to have a baby. ever since i can remember i have wanted to be a mother and couldnt have been more excited to know that i finally would be. since i gain weight easily in my belly [...]

3 1/2 months post partum (Anon.)

Updated here.

18 Months post, not even close to pre-pregnancy (Regina)

I became pregnant with my daughter a month before my 17th birthday. I had always struggled with my weight and when i was 15 completely starved myself for 3 months. i love 50 pounds. and kept it all off. I was a size 9-11 and weighed 158 pounds when i got pregnant. By the time [...]

Post-partum belly after 16 months (Tsi K.)

I haven’t seen too many African-American women post on this site so I decided to add my own voice. I have struggled with my fair share of eating disorders and body image issues, but now that I have a young daughter, I am acutely aware of how I view myself, and of the messages I [...]

10 Years Later (Anonymous)

I gave birth to my first and only child ten years ago- a son named Zachary. He’s awesome. He plays the violin and pokemon and likes Science, but hates hurricanes and tornados, and plays music really loud and runs around the house to it. I love him more than sunshine, moonlight, good coffee, snow days, [...]

stretchmarked legs (Autumn)

i posted here in july of last year, here’s the link to that post: http://theshapeofamother.com/2006/07/autumn/ the first picture is of the stretchmarks i got on the back of my legs during my pregnancy. i had a hard time getting photos of them(cause of my posistion haha) but i did get one shot. both of my [...]

My mommy body (Anonymous)

Here I am 4months pp. I love this site. I actually stripped myself & my son down & ran into the bedroom to take pics to add. I didn’t gain a pound until 6months. Then I gained 40. I had too much fluid around my son, adding to my stretched belly & a very short [...]

Mikaela

The first time I visited The Shape of a Mother, there were only a few submissions, and I thought, “I have to do this.” It’s taken me several months to *finally* do it, but here I am, thanks to all the amazing moms who’ve already posted Before I really had the chance to even consider [...]

Beauty Scars of a Mother (Anonymous)

I stumbled upon your “myspace” and I was hooked, I think it’s wonderful that mothers all over the world are opening up and showing the truth about what most real women look like. I had my son at the age of 19 and I was so paranoid about getting stretch marks, of course my worst [...]

The Joy Of Twins (Anonymous)

Before, during (about 34 weeks) and after (about 26 months after) shots of my belly. Ironically, I paid over $30,000 just to GET pregnant! So, I suppose you could say I paid for this look…let’s hope it catches on and becomes a fad!

Anonymous

My husband took this picture of my tummy when i was about 6 1/2 months pregnant. I`m just now coming into my 35 week period . . but i look back on this picture and realize that i wasnt very big nor am i today. I was a very small girl before i got pregnant [...]

Sydney

My name is Sydney, I am 21 years old with a wonderful 4 month old daughter. I gained about 65 pounds during my pregnancy, and after my c-section, I felt so sick that I could barely move or eat, and I lost a lot of the weight. Now that I am fully recovered I have [...]

I, Mother (Anonymous)

My son came to us after years of suspecting I may be unble to conceive. I had tried to conceive before, always to my disapointment when my period came, month after month. It was sad, but I came to accept my infertility. I figured if I wasn’t meant to bear children, then why tamper with [...]

Anonymous

first pregnancy, 20 weeks. Self concious about small breasts.

Anonymous

I was so touched by the words woman wrote about their bodies after have given birth to their children. I myself feel so unpretty, now that I am a mother and went through pregnancy and birth. My whole body takes part in this: my breast which grew to melonsize, my belly with all the dark [...]

Thea

I found your site when I was 5 months pregnant with my first child earlier this year. I was so deathly afraid of my body being “ruined” once I had my baby, so I looked through the pictures and stories at your site to get an idea of what I might look like. It really [...]

Anonymous

It was really nice to see that my body is not alone feeling the way it does. And that I am not alone feeling the way I do about myself. So it made me want to share…a picture of me at 37 weeks, two pics, 20 months(to the day) after the birth of my, thank [...]

Anonymous

I have posted a pic on here before, but it was only of my stomach, no boobs and no bum…that is the last picture incase nobody can figure out what the hell it is!! I put on 30kg while pregnant and have worked my butt off loosing 20kg of it to help prepare for the [...]

Anonymous

This is a picture of me at 25 weeks. You can’t really see the stretch marks on the bottom of my tummy and my breasts(which used to be A’s). The farther along I am the happier I seem to feel. I love to watch my belly grow and don’t mind the scars so much. Thanks [...]

Kim

This is a picture of me when I was 38 weeks pregnant with my 2nd son, Abe. He was born a week later @ 11 pounds and 2 ounces (by c-section, of course)!!

Brittany

I got pregnant when I was 19, when I told the father he left me, then he moved away and changed his phone number, I was never able to get ahold of him, When my parents found out I was pregnant they disowned me. I went through my entire pregnancy completely alone. I spent the [...]

Jasmine

These are a few photos of me at 36 weeks, 38 weeks and post partumn. I had a C- Section, the staples looked sooo gross!

Anonymous

This is my body 2.5 years after I gave birth to my first (and so far only) child. Although pregnancy was kind to me and I lost all my “baby weight” shortly after giving birth, nevertheless, my body is not the same. Breasts that were once perky and full are now limp and floppy from [...]

A.T.

8.5 months PP, and still breastfeeding our daughter. I started getting stretch marks at 6 weeks of pregnancy, and I gained about 40 pounds. They are still bright red and deep. I also had a C-Section, and I have a lovely apron of skin that I’m told will never go away on its own.

Anonymous

My pregnancy at 36 weeks Hi. I am a first time mom with a little girl inside of me! It is a wonderful feeling to know my daughter and futures to come are inside of me at the moment. This is my first child. I have no stretch marks thanks to a wonderful massage oil [...]

April

I started out before my first pregnancy as a cute little 105 pound girl. Now that my first, Isobelle, is 16 months old I am 8 months pregnant with my second child. I weigh about 165 and I am proud of every pound of it. I wouldn’t give it back for the world. Pregnancy is [...]

Anonymous

I am a mother. My son, Vincent Michael, never took a breath of air. His spirit is well-alive, though. “There is no heartbeat. I’m sorry”, says the doc. My heart broke. My husband’s eyes welled up and I knew, though in shock, that it was real. I was 34 weeks along…this doesn’t happen, right? Our [...]

Cat

My son is a miracle, and my body is a mess. It was so hard to see such a beautiful little creature nursing while resting on my “pillow” of a tummy. I was always thin and fit, but was put on restriction at 23 weeks pregnant. I had a hard pregnancy and my son was [...]

Anonymous

I’m starting to learn that it’s ok not to be ashamed of my body. My stretch marks are long red and wide but they helped to create the beautiful 2 year old boy that sleeps in the next room. My breasts sag but they nourished him. My hips are uneven but it doesn’t matter. My [...]

Autumn

Hi, my name is Autumn. I’m almost 19 years old, I had my son a week after I turned 18. During my pregnancy I ended up getting preeclampsia, which resulted in me gaining excessive weight. I started my pregnancy at 164lbs and ended it at 241lbs. Most of this weight was gained at the end [...]