When I was pregnant with my son I was 19 years old and weighed about 120 pounds. I ended up loosing weight with him in the beginning and gaining it plus some. At the end of the pregnancy I weighed 190 pounds. I lost the weight within days of having him and was back down to my pre pregnancy weight.
With my daughter at 32 years old. I weighed 135 pounds before becoming pregnant with her. At the end of pregnancy I weighed 200 pounds.
This is what I looked like when I was just 4 weeks pregnant with her.
This is what I looked like at 20 weeks. Most of the stretch marks you see are from my son. However, as the pregnancy went on I got tons of new ones and scar tissue from my daugther
Here I am at 29 weeks +
5 days before due date. You can’t see the stetch marks under the painting but they are there. Deep red ones.
This is what my belly looks like now at almost one month PP.
For the first few weeks I could not feel any muscle in my belly area. It was all squishy and weird feeling. However, now 3 weeks out I can flex and move muscle in my belly area again. My belly button is still really far out.
2 days after having my daughter I was out on a walk with my husband and daughter. A woman saw me and asked how old my little girl was. I said two days… She then got a very strange look and said what’s with your belly? I replied.. My daugher is 2 days old. It hasn’t been that long. She then said Oh did you have a C-section or something!? My reply.. “Ahh no… I guess it’s just how my body is now”. She thought I was pregnant and my daughter was older! She’s not the only one who tells me I look like I’m still pregnant! I’ve heard these comments a few times in the last few weeks. These comment started to make me feel bad about my body. Like it was yucky and something was wrong with it.
However, After stopping by the site The Shape of a Mother I felt better about my body and did not feel alone. It’s nice to have a site like this out there to show what real women are like…and hopefully those who made comments to me will see it too someday!
I’ve come to realize in just a few short days that my body is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. This body created two beautiful healthy children and continues to nourish one of them. And that is beautiful!
Lisa (Mama to a beautiful boy and a newborn baby girl!)
Congrats on your baby! Everyone kept asking me if I was pregnant up to 6 months after I gave birth (and I did look pregnant-LOL). Just part of the process, especially after the first baby. You look great!!
I love the sense of humor you display in your tummy artwork!”halfbaked” he heThanks for sharing.
i think your belly is gloriously round and beautiful!
I think this site is awesome. I have no children of my own and plan to have some in the future. Its amazing how celebs bodies can bounce back from babies but everyone here are real women who dont have the help of a personal trainer and dietician at their beck and call. Giving birth to another human being is wonderful. Looking past the stretch marks and bellies you all are still beautiful.
Not sure if this went through so if it’s duplicated, sorry:Lisa–congrats on the newborn baby–how blessed to have a little perfect family!I want to know if you still had your belly painted when you delivered, and how it looked afterward?Good luck with everything–you are a thin gal, everything will pop right back into place, and you look GREAT!
congrats on your daughter Lisa!you’re not alone with the pp belly. i had the same type of belly after my daughter was born. people kept asking if i was pg again even though they’d just asked how old my newborn was… if any of them stopped to think they’d know it was physically impossible for me to be pg again. you know what i mean ;)but it slowly flattened out… and it didn’t stay so swollen after my second child was born.:)… and i LOVE the half-baked photo! :D
My mom was in Wal-Mart a few days after getting out of the hospital. She had her newborn with her, as well as (naturally) a postpartum body. Another woman in line asked if she had just given birth, and after receiving the “yes” answer, went on to inquire, “So you’re ready to pop again?” Mom was floored.She ranted about all the things she could have said to everyone she told this story to–yes, I decided to have my twins a week apart, for instance.Some people really need to learn the elementary facts of life–like pregnancy takes nine months and that pregnancy weight isn’t just the baby.
I love how much you seem to have reveled in your body! The painting is beautiful and fun!I wish I could have enjoyed my body that much the first time around. Maybe next time (I’m newly pregnant now so let’s hope!)
I love your belly painting! I wanted to know if that was your baby’s name- my 11 month old daughter is named Kaya!
What beautiful belly paintings!! And what a cool idea that is! I particularly love the half-baked one (ok, I love puns…)
I LOVE the belly paintings! That is such an awesome idea!! And agree with a previous poster, you had a PERFECTLY round preggo belly, so lovely!And I love your pp shots. You still have a belly, and it’s so beautiful! I remember wanting to keep my belly post-partum, wanting to hang on to that feeling of life… your beautiful photos remind me of that feeling. Gorgeous!
Manic Mom- No, the paint washed right off when we were done taking photos. Katharine- Yes, that is my daughters name… Kaya. It is a beautiful name! I can see you agree! :) Thank you everyone for your comments! :)
Come back to update us on your belly in a few months. I’m curious to see what it looks like then!
“Come back to update us on your belly in a few months. I’m curious to see what it looks like then!”I will do that!
I absolutely love the paintings. I dont know why I didnt think of doing things like that when I was pregnant!