The Shape of a Mother

talk to the belly

38 weeks belly cast

Even my face didn't escape the changes brought on by pregnancy. The picture above was actually from my second pregnancy and while the mark on my cheek (broken capillaries?) has definitely faded, it is still there, over a year after birthing my son. The picture below is more recent, and if you look closely (or not so closely) you can still see it there. Will it continue to fade or be there forevermore? Who knows? I'm ok with it, though. Of course, the more it fades, the more ok with it I become. :)

The next three are submitted by Karrie (eta: 100 lb gain/loss, diastasis recti & c-section).






And a two-parter...
Before:


After:

My belly during a contraction



26 hours of natural back labor (in a hospital bed on my back per the dr's say so) 1 very cord entangled baby and a c/s later...

my incision 2 days after my son was born.

This was me pregnant - my stomach looks like a road map of Alabama. My husband thinks the stretch marks are cute. :-)


This is my belly just a few hours after my C-section.

Here's my belly/thighs, 2 years after childbirth, still riddled with lines


Here's a great one of wrinkles/excess skin, two years post-partum


Another Belly shot, 2 years post-partum

Updated here.

sadly this is the only picture I have of me when I was pregnant I was only five months. I got huge at seven months and even bigger near the end of the pregnancy

Check out the lopsided boobs! These are thanks to my toddler who has a clear preference for the right :)


I guess you could say this is 48 AND 21 months postpartum. Notice the appendectomy scar... it never had a chance to heal properly with such a bulging belly! (Her surgery took place at the beginning of her pregnancy)

I love what you are doing here. This is my belly at 34 weeks pregnant with twins (finally, after dealing with infertility).

I am 33 weeks pregnant with my second child.



Joy - I would love for you to send in updates!
-Bonnie

Here's a picture of my stomach when I found out I was pregnant...I was about 8 weeks along.


in this picture, I was 8 months pregnant. I took this picture the day before the boys were born


And finally, here is the picture of what my stomach looks like now. They are 8 months old now, so this looks a lot better than it did a couple of months ago.


I wanted to thank you for making this website. It's so nice to know that I am normal, and that not everyone looks like a supermodel! Yes, my body doesn't look the same way it did before they were born, but they were so worth it...I like to think of my "twinskin" as a badge of honor.

After having my first baby at age 21, I remember looking other women in their early 20s walking around in belly baring tops with jealousy. I tucked my extra skin down into my jeans and self-consciously yanked at the hem of my shirts anytime they dared to show a peek of my wrinkly flab. Over the past 4 years, the only time I've felt confident about my belly was when I was pregnant for a second time and had a baby to fill out my pooch. Then Zebrabelly started talking about this project and I started looking at my body in a new way. I may not look like a supermodel, but my body has grown, birthed and fed two wonderful daughters and what's more beautful than that.

I'm so impressed by the honesty and dignity of this blog. I don't post pictures online really, but I think the courage of these women to be proud or themselves is admirable. This is me 4 weeks pg and 3 years postpartum after my first was born. I had worked very hard to get a flat stomach back. The second two pictures are me now 9 months postpartum after baby #2. I'm still a working progress to get fit. I have been on some strict restrictions postpartum regarding exercise which are just now lifted. I hope to have abs again in the future :)

So I worked up the guts to post my flabby gut. This is what happens when you have two kids back to back (there's 18 months between them) and aren't very slim to begin with. Add in a greasy food craving for the entire second pregnancy, and no will power, AND quitting smoking, and this is the result.

Thank you for doing this. SOmetimes I forgot what "real" bellies look like.

Info - I have had 3 babies. May '01, Nov '02 (c-section) and June '05 (VBAC). The pregnant photo is just over 13 months ago, 38 weeks pregnant with #3. Then, yesterday, 13.5 months post partum.

I don't know if you'll let me in, but sometimes women do 'bounce back', and I wanted to show that too...

36 weeks with #1


Finding out I was pregnant with #2 (about 18 months postpartum). I bounced back much better with the natural birth...


3-4 weeks postpartum after #2 (c/s)
I took this picture to try and express myself; my baby died shortly after birth.


I liked the way my body changed after pregnancy and birth. I became fuller and looked more like a woman than I ever had. I like my breasts better, my hips, my stomach - all of it.

I'm now having #3.

(I wanted to reply to this and say that anyone is welcome to post pictures - I love diversity! Thank you so much for sharing!)

Follow-Up #1

Follow-Up #2

Wow, i'm so inspired by your site! I'm so embarrased by my body
because of the lumps and stretch marks. When I was pregnant, I didn't
get stretch marks until the 9th month and I just exploded, I got
stretch marks all over the underbelly. I even had scabs on my hips
because the skin stretched too much. You actually can see that on me
on my photo.

This is full body shots at 9 months, actually 39 weeks. You can see
the scabs and stretch marks. I really felt like exploding, my hips
hurt so incredibly bad and I ended up wearing my husband's shirts. My
maternity pants were starting not to fit.





This is a fun photo of myself trying to peek over my belly and you
can also see the stretch marks.



NOW - this is the After photos 14 months PP:





My body looks like it returned to normal but it didn't. My boobs sag
and is tiny because of 6 months of breastfeeding. I already had a
belly before pregnancy to start with, it looks the same except it now
has stretch marks and has a caved in middle which I find really
strange. You can sort of see it in my belly shot. I weight more than
what I used to. I'm trying for a 2nd right now and I'm really nervous
about what would happen to my body afterwards. I think 2 kids is my
limit and I hope at this point, I'll be able to seriously exercise. I
need abs, I never had abs!!

Keep contributing pictures, we need to show that we're strong and
natural women. We don't need to be one of those hollywood stars that
end up thin few days after giving birth. That isn't natural!

Angela R.
www.rasmussenclan.com

My name is Nikkie. I am 19 years old and just had a beautiful baby boy on March 29, 2006. I think the page on moms and their stretch marks is excellent. I sometimes get discourage by them but my husband always reminds me what miracle created them and I can't help but smile!! :)

-Here's me at 32 wks...


-Here's me at 37 wks...


-Here's me a little over 3 months post partum...


-I would've only had the scar on my lower belly but since I had my navel peirced on top & bottom the wholes stretched and gave me more stretch marks...


-Finally here's the stretch marks from my navel peircings...

At age 17, I gave birth to a son I did not keep. At age 28, I became a midwife. At age 33, I gave birth at home to my daughter, Sara. At age 37 I gave birth at home to my daughter Josie.
I can tell you that only one mama in ten has a belly that is smooth and flat and looks like it's never been pregnant. Being a midwife has helped me get over the tummy that never goes away... and here it is. That's Josie, now 2.5, looking on.

This website is amazing! I have huge body image issues but this site has made me brave enough to post my pics. My name is Jessica, I have 2 children 17 months apart. These pic were taken today at 5 months post partum from my 2nd child. Each pregnancy I gained 50 lbs. I have 10 lbs left to lose to be at prepreg weight.

This web site has really opened my eyes to see what a blessing being able to carry and deliver a child really is. I want to share my story and pictures because I have to admit, I was very upset about my body after a few months went by after delivering my child in August of 04'. While pregnant I stayed very active and loved my pregnancy. I only gained 23 pounds, but after delivering I gained more weight. It was not hard for me to shed the pounds, but after nursing my daughter my breasts became, well, I don't really have breasts any longer. I was very upset with this fact and started to feel like less of a woman, even though my husband told me that it wasn't my breasts that made me the woman that I am. One day it just clicked with me: the fact that I nurtured my daughter while she was in my womb and that I was able to nuture her afterwards is why I am a woman and I need to be proud of that. I no longer cover up and I am very proud of my daughter and the changes my body went through for her.

In a bathing suit, something I thought I would never do again.


Small belly, but smaller chest

Hi there and thank you for creating this website.

It is incrediblyrefreshing to find that not every woman who has a baby
bounces back in 5 or 6 weeks.

This is my baby gut. 3 beautiful kids (and 2 c-sections) later. I've
lost about 45 lbs since delivering my last baby in August 04. 8 more
to go until I get to my goal.
Thanks for letting me share.

My name is Jade. I have one great son who will soon be two. I gained a total of about 85lbs when preggo! I went from a 2 to about a 22. I am now about a 10...I wish I had a great body again but I realize what a blessing my son is especially considering the health problems that I have. I considering my stretch marks my battle scars:)You can see my kangeroo pouch in the last one;)

I'm Maggie, and I have an amazing daughter who turns 2 in a few days.

Before I was a mom, I was a model.


Then I got pregnant and gained 100 pounds. This is me at about 8� months (about a month later, I gave birth to a 10lb 2oz girl).


This is me more than two years later than that pregnant picture, still hanging on to a good bit of the baby weight plus some more from a recent pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. My first impulse was to say that I'm sorry if these are too revealing, but I'm not. I have felt very ashamed and self-concious of this new body, and it feels really liberating to share this with others who know how it feels.




I wish I hadn't been so extremely critical of and unsatisfied with my body back when it was beautiful by conventional standards. I intend to try to stop being so much that way with my current body, because what this body produced has brought me tons more joy than the old body ever did.

pregnant at 9 months


2.5 years post partum -front view


side view


Very neat idea you had! A girl on our mother's message board posted this, and I thought it was wonderful to show, we aren't the only ones with these bellies. Be proud Momma's!

Hi. After viewing the other pictures, I feel brave enough to post mine. As a precursor, here is what my tummy looked like my senior year of high school.


I was 19 when I got pregnant with my son. I was never a skinny girl, but I was not fat either. My mother didn't get stretch marks, so I assumed I wouldn't.

This is me at 39 weeks pregnant. I gained 47 pounds. I have scoured the internet and I have yet to find someone with stretch marks this awful. But each and every one was worth it.




And this is 11 months postpartum.


And 12 months postpartum, 4 weeks pregnant with #2. I am a little scared of what this second baby will do to my belly, but I will deal with that when the time comes.

I don't have a picture to share, but a little something to think about.

I want all of these women to realize how lucky they are to have such marks on their bodies. A symbol of a blessing that they have received. There are many women out there who are trying and giving there all to become pregnant, some who already know it will never happen for them.

We may look at are stretch marks and be saddened by the fact that we won't wear our favorite bikinis anymore. Think that our breasts aren't as attractive as they once were due to breastfeeding. We even think that our bodies aren't what they should be due to a standard set by our society. If that's you then just take a minute and think.......

Think about the woman who longs to a have life growing inside of her. Think about the woman who will never experience the connection of what it feels like to nurse a baby. We so often take this for granted, forgetting that it doesn't happen for everyone.

Be thankful for what you have and what you have been through, what your body has been through. You are truly blessed!!!

I have three children, my youngest is almost five. If you notice my stretch marks are still red, my skin takes a very long time to heal and scars very, very easy. When I look at myself I think "typical mother", stretch marks saggy breasts, veins everywhere. The older I get the more I accept my body for what it is.

Im so thankful you guys made this site!Im 22 and have a 4 month old son.Before i was pregnant i wore a size 2 now i wear a size 6-8.I had no idea what pregnancy did to a body.Im so happy to have my son and cant wait to have another.I had a c-section and am still dealing with the c-section pooch..dealing with the stretchmarks..on my boobs,stomach and legs,and facial weight gain.I gained about 45-50 pounds..i stopped looking once it went over 40.Its hard to feel attractive when i look at my body.BUT im so thankful for my son..he is my joy and my love.These marks may not be beautiful but im proud to have been able to have a baby and if this is what i have to look like to have babies then i dont mind them too much!

15 weeks preggo


37 weeks preggo


4 months postpartum

Thank you SO much for this site! My skin had stretched so thin while pregnant that people could literally see my babies' knuckles & fingernails through me. I have stretch marks across my belly that run all the way around the sides. I have them in my upper arms, around each of my breasts, and down my thighs.

I have learned to accept them. It's taken years, but I now see each & every one of them as "battle scars" to be worn proudly. I worked HARD and earned every single one of them, and nobody is ever going to make me feel anything but proud of them again. I am a mother of two and this is my belly at 6 years, 5 months postpartum.

i stand in front of the mirror, naked.
i cringe at what i see.
my body is worn and torn,
the marks from carrying a child ever present.
my breasts, once perfectly shaped and beautiful
are now large and saggy, repulsive to look at.
my stomach, once flat and smooth,
is now covered with stretch marks, fat, no muscle tone.
i am ashamed.
i will never be beautiful again.

You can read more of Yvonne's eloquent and powerful thoughts on her post-pregnancy body here and here.

Hi zebra belly,

In my house I'm known as tigerbelly. I really appreciate your website and all the mamas who have posted photos. I've never seen a post-pregnancy belly in all its glory before coming to your website (besides mine, of course). It's so nice to know that the way my body looks is unique and yet, not unique. I am not alone.

These photos are 6 weeks postpartum with my second son and show what a body looks like when you have two pregnancies within a two year period (my boys are 15 months apart).

From the front:

(I�m not brave enough to show my pooch below my underwear just yet.)

From the side (with the glorious reason for the state of my body in the foreground: son #2):
(Keep in mind that since puberty I�ve been a bit thick around the middle.)

And a bizarre side effect from my second pregnancy (a strange tuft of hair):


Thanks,

tiger belly

This site is wonderful. I had a baby girl 3.5 years ago when I was 20 years old. I gained almost 40 lbs, however for some reason I never took any belly shots. I regret it now, I wish I could look back on them today. I feel awkward sharing my pictures here since I am happy with my post-baby body, but I saw that all pictures are encouraged so I'd love to participate. So here are two pictures of me, one from the front and one from the side. I have no idea how I was so blessed to get my original body shape back. I do have a few light stretch marks on my hip, boobs, and my butt, but they are not too visible with the camera. My boobs definitly used to be a lot perkier, those and my saggy butt are my two biggest body insecurities.

Here's the first:

This is what I thought was a little baby hippo, lol


this is me 7 weeks later, feeling pretty weird, if u must know the truth, lol.But all in all, I think its kind of sexy.


These however will take a bit to get used to---I still cry over them a little. But they were for a good cause--I got my little sweetpea out of the deal.



Im very close to my prepregnancy shape

... and I feel better every day about myself. I have lost the weight because I have a fast metabolism, but I still have billions of body issues. I was moaning about how tubby I was and then I heard about the site. THANK YOU! Lorelei will have a much more confident mommy

This site is amazing. I fell pregnant at 17, I thought I had some of the worst stretch marks in the world, I can now see I'm not alone and my post baby body is totally normal!

At about 37 weeks :





And a year after baby:

I blog as the Smocklady ( http://www.smocknmama.com ) and I don't publish our real names because of cyberstalkers. I am currently 37 years old and 21 weeks pregnant with our sixth child. I am keeping a photo set at flickr of my belly (mostly from my point of view). This is the first pregnancy I have even taken pictures of my belly, just my belly. Of course we have pictures of me while pregnant with the other children. I have do not have stretch marks, but my hips spread incredibly with my third pregnancy and my breasts have sagged more after each one (due to years of breastfeeding - and would change that for anything). I don't like my breasts anymore, once I've weaned a child - they look like deflated balloons and they just sag. Thank you so much for doing this. Over the years I've been able to fall in love with my body for the blessings that have been given to me as a woman, my womanly figured is thanks to my pregnancies, my children. I am more determined to do better after the birth of this baby about getting in shape again. I can do it and I know I can.
Pre-baby weight with number 1: 102 pounds
Delivery weight with number 1: 127 pounds (37 weeks gestation)
Baby weighed 6 pounds
Postpartum weight with number 1: 107 pounds

Pre-baby weight with number 2: 110 pounds
Delivery weight with number 2: 135 pounds (37 weeks gestation)
Baby weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces
Postpartum weight with number 2: 117 pounds

Pre-baby weight with number 3: 112 pounds
Delivery weight with number 3: 172 pounds (35 weeks gestation)
Baby weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces (we contracted Fifth Disease at 15 weeks and both suffered some complications)
Postpartum weight with number 3: 142 pounds

Pre-baby weight with number 4: 117 pounds
Delivery weight with number 4: 154 pounds (40 weeks gestation)
Baby weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces
Postpartum weight with number 4: 125 pounds

Pre-baby weight with number 5: 117 pounds
Delivery weight with number 5: 156 pounds
Baby weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces
Postpartum weight with number 5: 132 pounds

Pre-baby weight with number 6: 124 pounds
Weight now: unknown, but I feel fairly good
Baby due: November 21, 2006

My Belly


Again, thank you so much for doing this. You are welcome to post as much or as little as you want.

the SmockLady

I have been coming back to this website over and over again. The
photos posted here are inspirational and beautiful, and I would be
honored to be a part of it.

My name is Linda. I had a gorgeous baby boy in August of 2005. This is
what I looked like then:



And this is what I look like now, 10 months later:



Thank you.

http://www.sundrymourning.com/2006/07/14/secrets-in-our-skin/

Hi! I'm not pregnant... yet ;)

it's something i'm aiming for, but i just wanted to share what someone said that by some miracle completely changed my view of my body.

I was at an old hangout playing music when I overheard a GUY say to one of my friends that he thinks stretchmarks on women are one of the most beautiful things in the world. He said that so many people go out and spend money trying to get tattoos or piercing to try and represent something while at the same time so many women carry these battle scars of growth and maternity. Its something that nature gives women almost like a right of passage to be carried proudly like tribal markings and for this he thinks they are beautiful.

I pretty much cried.

Just wanted to thank you for your wonderful project, coming from a young woman who already has growth scars and will probably get birth scars as well. And wanted to let all the women out there know that at LEAST one man recognizes our marks of womanhood.

Thanks
(i'll probably be back in the not too distant future with my own photos)