Age:24
1 pregnancy, 1 birth
7 weeks postpartum
I am so thankful this site exists . The body shaming and unrealistic expectations put on appearance in our culture needs to end. All the same, I sometimes find it difficult to accept my new body.
All my life I loved my figure. I was thin with a flat stomach and a womanly hourglass shape. I didn’t even have to exercise. I felt sexy.
My husband and I felt all of the usual emotions when we found out I was pregnant; elation, nervousness, excitement, fear. My pregnancy was amazing. No morning sickness and a cute little baby bump. I felt great and I thought I was going to get away without stretch marks. Wrong! At 37 weeks they appeared. First, just a tiny one above my belly button and then one morning I woke up to find myself covered in the little purple bastards. I cried and felt like my body was ruined. I couldn’t have any clothing touching my belly without unbearable itching so the last 2.5 weeks of my pregnancy were pretty uncomfortable.
Our son was born on April 7th, 2013 weighing 7lbs 14oz. I gave birth to him completely drug free and I am so proud of myself. I didn’t tear so I didn’t need stitches and I was up walking around an hour after he was born. I felt completely back to normal by day 3. It was incredible. Our son is the most beautiful, amazing thing I’ve ever seen and I feel fortunate beyond words every time I look at him.
But my body. At first I thought, “Hey this really isn’t that bad” but now, 7 week later I’m starting to get pretty sick of it. The muffin top and the roll of fat that hang over my pants are not something I am used to and I don’t like looking at it. The stretch marks are distressing and my breasts…well I won’t even go into that.
But I grew a HUMAN BEING from nothing inside this body. That is amazing. This body was strong enough to bring a baby into this world with no pain medication and recovered from that trauma beautifully. My body is amazing.
It is perfect just the way it is but I still want to make some improvements. I’m excited to see what changes a few months of exercise will bring. Once again, this website is wonderful. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share these vulnerable feelings. Keep up the good work, hot mamas!
Pictures: Pre-pregnancy, 39 weeks, 6 weeks PP, my sweet baby boy
Your stretch marks will fade. You look AMAZING already!! Your belly is almost flat at 6 weeks! That’s incredible :)
Beautiful mama and baby boy!
What a cute baby!
Congrats on the drug-free birth! Such a great experience.
Your body has done such a great job.
Aw, your little man is a cutie! And your body just needs time, plenty of rest and H2O, and as you mentioned, a little exercise. It sounds like you have a positive attitude, and that will help the most!
I was your size pre-pregnancy. Very thin and now I have huge hips and a baggy stomach. My baby is 9 weeks and I am so determined to feel strong again. It’s worse enough looking so strange, but it’s even more alarming when you feel how weak your tummy muscles are. We will all get there if we all stick together.
6 weeks PP is so soon – brief moment in time. It took your amazing, wonderful body many months to grow your beautiful son. Just be patient, focus on your son and try and forget any expectations about your body for now. I promise, the months will slip by and you will see those stretch mark fade, and your stomach will get flatter. Your skin will never be the same, true, but neither will you – you are a mama now, and will be forever. And every time you look at your stomach, you will remember your son growing inside of you. You are beautiful!
You look fantastic for how recently you had your baby! I felt the same way just a few months after I had my little girl last year. You will be amazed at how your body will heal and get stronger as the months go by. Stay strong on the inside and the outside will follow!
I never thought the stretch marks would fade, but trust me they do!!