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 least I was and still am a little bit on the vain side. I loved my body and the summers when I would get to show it off in a cute little bikini at the river. But I changed my mind about children and now sadly also about my body.
Pregnancy was pretty easy on me, or so I thought! I gained 30 pounds and up until the day I gave birth I ~thought~ I only had a 5 small stretch marks (yes, I counted!). Boy was I wrong!! How come no one ever talks about how some stretch marks are invisible until after birth?! My husband had gone home to let our dogs out and I was alone in my recovery room, which is where I got the first look at my postpartum body. I couldn’t believe the person I was looking at in the mirror was me. I don’t think I have ever cried so much over how I look. I couldn’t shake the idea that my body was ruined. I have so many stretch marks, my entire stomach is covered in them, and since they are not red it just makes my tummy look like a gelatinous bowl of cottage cheese that rolls over the top of my pants. And upon taking up my usual shaving routine at home I noticed that I also have stretch marks under my pubic hair! And then a few days later while looking in the mirror I saw something I have never seen mentioned on this website, I have stretch marks going into my butt crack, how is that even possible!! Not to mention extremely embarrassing, so if you’re reading this and you have them, you are not alone! I also have them on my boobs, which doesn’t bother me actually since I never liked showing them off anyhow.
So now it is three weeks since my little princess was born and I still can not shake my feelings of ugliness, I feel like I will never be confident or feel sexy again. The worst part is that I actually feel like I am letting my husband down by looking so terrible, he is so sweet and tells me that he thinks my new body is sexy, but I can not help but think he is just lying to me. And the thought of taking my shirt off in front of him makes me cringe. I used to walk around our house naked half the time, but now I don’t even want to sleep next to him without a shirt covering my stomach. And all of these feelings of being unconfident and sorry for myself make me feel guilty, because it seems like such an unimportant thing to worry about, but I just can not help it.
There are three upsides to my experiences though.
One – I had purchased a ‘belly bandit’ band to wear postpartum, and though full of stretch marks, my stomach has gone down extremely fast. One more inch and I’ll be able to button my pre-pregnancy jeans! Woo hoo!
Two – this website, which has made me feel so much better about myself. I can not thank you all enough for the support you unknowingly have shown me.
And of course the biggest upside is my beautiful daughter. She is completely worth all the issues I am having with my own body; I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Pictures: 1 of 3 days postpartum, 2 of 3 weeks postpartum and 1 just before I got pregnant.
Sweetie,
I was in the exact same boat as you. I felt like I was reading my own story. You are only 3 weeks pp and you look amazing. You are going to look even better in a few months, just give it some time. Enjoy your little girl and dont be to hard on yourself. There are girls that would kill to look like you. Also, I got stretchmarks on my butt crack too lol.. they will fade with time and if they dont you will learn to embrace them and love them. I know a woman who had no stretchmarks but sadly lost her child, she has nothing to remember her by.. and would give anything for some stretchmarks.
Oh hunnie, you are beautiful and your stretch marks are pretty! Believe me, you can have them A LOT worst and it may happen one day when you’re completely covered in them (hopefully not) and you would think back on how lucky you are right now. I honestly though I was going to scroll down to see someone who really looked stretchy, but you dont. Hunnie, and believe me, I got stretch marks EVERYWHERE with my son… I have them 2-3 inches ABOVE my belly button, my belly button is now deformed.. lol.. and I have them on my hips, all over my butt, under my butt, behind my legs all the way down to my calves… even inside my thighs. You got out easy… dont feel ugly, you’re not! You are gorgeous, I would love to trade mine for yours if you want! ;) I hope you can start seeing just how gorgeous you now are. Its a transformation… the women who dont get stretch marks should feel cheated out of something… its changes us and transforms us into mothers! ;)
your third pic looks like me! i just wanted you to know that you look amazing for having just had a baby. you really do. you have no weight to lose so things will even themselves out a lot faster for you. your stomach and breasts will regain their tone ( give it a full 9 months to see complete change) and your stretch marks wil fade. i have them all over my butt, calf and thighs and they have faded a lot. they bother me the most as i’m thin like you and they are my biggest insecurity. i’m taking msm vitamins and the msm lotion and it is fading them rapidly. you should expect a drastic reduction of stretch marks(some even fading away completely) if you do the above for at least 6 months or longer. you’re beautiful!
Hi, i just had a kid 5 weeks ago and although i didnt get stretch marks like you , i did notice them in strange areas, like the back of my legs and butt…weird eh?
Anyhoo, i think you look really good, and even though you dont think you look nekkid, you look good with clothes on i can tell…lots of moms wished they looked liek you.
you look AMAZiiNGGGG to be 3weeks pp..jus imagine 3months from now what your gna look like=)&u used the belly bandit cuz i wanted to use mine now that im pregnant again and i was just wondering if it really wrked&i see that it does cuz you look amazing girl..oh and the stretch marks will fade in time so dont stress so much on them&they dont even look that bad!!
First of all, you look amazing for 3 weeks postpartum!
And I do have to agree, stretch marks all of a sudden make an enterance once you have delivered your baby. I got a lot of stretch marks from my pregnancy with my son almsot 4 years ago. I was getting used to them and they were beginning to fade. And then I got pregnant with my daughter, who will be 3 months old on Sept 23, and now they are crazy! Not to mention my skin is extremely loose. But honestly, it is all worth it. I was so vain before I had my children. I mean, I looked in every mirror or window I passed to make sure I was still looking good. So I totally understand, and it will get better. Your skin will tighten and your stretch marks will fade. And you will be as beautiful as ever, just maybe in a new way! :)
I had to laugh… the stretch marks down your butt crack, yea I have those too, I dont remember when I first noticed them but I thought “How Strange?!”. I know its hard to look past your body changes, but you will be amazed at how mush the stretch marks fade and how you get used to everything else. Keep your head up, you look amazing and you are only 3 weeks! Enjoy your baby and love yourself mama :)
I think your tummy looks amazing for 3 weeks postpartum. Those stretchmarks will fade a lot. I had more and darker and by a year out, they had all faded to silvery pale and hardly show up at all. I don’t mind them now, or my residual tummy pooch. I think I had a girlish body before, but now I have a woman’s body. It’s not a bad thing, just takes some mental adjustment.
Oh my goodness! You’re body looks amazing, youre only 3 weeks pp?! You have nothing to worry about!
Try not to be so hard on yourself. It takes a little time for your uterus to shrink. Just eat healthy and start exercising once your baby starts to sleep better or when you get the go ahead from your doc. I am 24 and gained 55 pounds when I was pregnant. My baby is 9 months old now and my stomach is pretty flat from working out. I used the belly bandit as well. (My post is called 3 months after delivering a baby boy under the April and September 2009 archives)
Also, I think you look friggen awesome for only 3 weeks post partum!! You are a hot momma forsure!
I think you still are very, very beautiful. My tummy looks much worse than yours (with strech marks + + ), and I’ve never been pregnant, hehe.
I also have some strech marks over my butt crack and I know of some others too who have marks there.
You look great, especially for only three weeks pp! You’re husbands not lying :) The stretchmarks will fade, I was pretty upset about mine, but I confidently wore a bikini this summer :) They were dark and deep, and I have more then you do, but with time, my weight loss, and a tan you can hardly notice them! A year ago I would never have believed I would say this, let alone wear a bikini in public lol.
Wow! 3 weeks post partum!? You look fabulous!
When i read that i was expecting the photos to be soooo different than what i saw. You only have a few, and they are thin ones!! Mine were like that after i had my kids, and now they can only be seen if you know they are there. Bikini’s are still a yes for you! I still wear them. just give it time XXXXX :-)
Hun, you are 3 weeks postpartum! Women work years to even look close to what you look like! The stretch marks fade every day.. they really do.. the linea negra is the skin pigmentation… it will come back to normal.. Please, please keep in mind it took your amazing body 9 months to prepare for the birth of your daughter.. please do not pressure yourself to be back right away! Why do we expect to bounce right back? 9 months on, 9 months off! Wouldnt that make more sense?! Believe your husband!!!!
I really wish I would have taken pictures of my stomach right after I gave birth to my second son. When I went into the hospital shower to get ready to go home I looked in the mirror and I could barely stand to look at my stomach. To me my body was disgusting…but remembering that after my first son I eventually bounced back I knew to give myself time and I did eventually “bounce back”. I love the way my body looks now for the most part and I wish I had those pictures of the first few days to show the difference time makes. It’s true that you will always have the texture of stretchmarks on your stomach. I have some too and you just have to accept it. I responded to your post to tell you that for 3 weeks postpartum you look great. As far as your husband is concerned, trust me, men are simple creatures lol…I’m sure he totally thinks that you are sexy. Our men do not see half of the flaws that we see in ourselves. Good luck and realize that you are still beautiful and sexy.
our stretchmarks and belly look the same :) I don’t think it looks bad at all. Those stretchies will fade, and if you go get a mystic tan it will cover them right up! Don’t worry about it. Come next summer you’ll feel just fine in a swimsuit!
You look seriously, seriously great!!! I don’t have children but often check this site out — mostly out of curiousity but also because of fear. If I was told that after children, I would look like you, all of my fears would vanish and I’d be ready to have a little one tomorrow.
anna, you are being much too hard on yourself. you should listen to your husband. if he doesn’t think you’re letting him down nor does anything to make you feel as you are, you really should spare yourself those negative thoughts and allow him to enjoy. You were a beautiful woman and now you’re a beautiful woman who is also a wonderful, beautiful mom. Thanks for sharing. Besides, you’re THREE WEEKS postpartum, you are already on your way back. Now just bring some confidence with you. be WELL….
how in the world did you manage to see stretchmarks comin’ out of your butt, LOL??!!
I think you look fantastic, especially for three weeks PP. Your uterus isn’t even back to it’s normal size yet and look how tiny your stomach is! People won’t even be able to tell you had a baby.
I’m told stretch marks fade over time. I never even knew my mother had them until I was in high school, that’s how light they were. And your husband is probably, actually, telling the truth–either that or mine is lying too. Apparently men like womanly bodies or something, but my husband tells me I’m irresistable since our daughter was born. Try walking into the room where he is without a shirt and see if his face lights up–I’m sure it will.
You look great, I hope you find your self-confidence soon because you deserve it!
You’re gonna be fine! What you have here is just a little uterus deflation. Those stretch marks are going to fade sooner than you realize, and your belly already looks pretty flat. Mine looked the same way and I have nearly no evidence of having every been pregnant 4 years ago. Enjoy being a mommy!
You must be kidding! You look amazing! I wish I looked like that after my babies…I am 23 and have had 2. My first when I was 20, and my second when I was 22. Connor would have been 3 this Thursday, and Liam is 5 months. You really do look amazing…and it will only get better! Have fun with your baby girl.
You look great! You look like you will snap back into shape. I hope when I have kids I look as good as you 3 wks after delivery!
All I can say is you look amazing for 3wks PP! Your uterus hasn’t even returned to normal and your tummy is very flat already. Your linea nigra should fade (most people’s do), and the stretchmarks will do the same. I bet you rock a bikini again in no time ((hug))
I know it´s hard getting used to a new body, but you really look good to me. I can´t even see the stretchmarks on your belly in that picture from the front. And you are only 3 weeks post partum. That´s nothing! You gotta give it some time, start working out when you are ready and u will see how you will be making slow progress over the next many months, even years! It takes time. But even for now, you look absolutley fantastic. Seriously.
You’d be surprised how much they fade! Like you, I only had a couple stretch marks until after my pregnancy and they all showed up while I “deflated.” And I hated my post partum body too. Nasty! But, give it time. You’re only 3 weeks post partum. And I think you look awesome for 3 weeks post partum. I’ll bet in a few months you’ll ne back to normal!
You are only 3 weeks pp and you already look fantastic! I guarantee by the time your princess is 6 months old, you will look like you did before you had her. And if you don’t, so what? You look great.
It’s too soon since your baby was born and you’re living a new experience as a mother. We all know that’s a very special moment in a woman’s life, and it’s normal to feel like that. Try not to worry about your stretch marks or the way your body looks like, enjoy your new life! I think you look great now and I’m sure you’ll look much better after a couple of weeks! :)
The mushy-ness of your tummy is because your muscles are stretched out from your uterus pushing them out. It will get much better. But, you honestly have a beautiful body that nourished your daughter.
Hi Ladies, Thank you all so much for your kind words! reading my post now I can see that I was really depressed! My daughter will be 3 months next week and I feel so much better about myself. my stomach has flattend out but the muscles still arent there yet, so i get a pooch whenever I eat a lot. The stretchys havent lightend either, but I have gotten used to them and they really dont bother me anymore. I made a beautiful baby & I’ll post again soon with update pics.
Thanks again! :)
OP Anna