Author: Bonnie (SOAM)

From size 0 to 5 (Nancy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 11 Comments

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 I didn’t worry too much over it. Here I am, 7 months later, posting my very own story !

I used to be one of those lucky girls who never went on a diet, I could eat whatever I wanted and my weight had been a mere 105 pounds for the last 5 years. I inherited this fantastic body from my mother and she always said to me that for her 2 pregnancies, she put on about 25 pounds and a week after she was back in her old size 25 jeans. I always jokingly told my husband how lucky he was to have a wife that could snap back into shape so we could have lots and lots of kids !

However it went very different for me. I gained 25 pounds in the first 6 months of my pregnancy, which was pretty standard. At 7 months I was put on bed rest and stopped working because I had strong contractions every day and was in and out of the hospital a few times. I ended up gaining another 40 pounds in only 3 months. So me, that was used to be 105 pounds, I was now carrying 165 pounds. On top of that I had oedema so bad you couldn’t even see my ankles. My baby finally arrived at 42 weeks after me being inducted ans a c-section (the irony !!!).

Now I’ve been trying to cope with the aftermath and I feel like my body went trough a war. All I can say is that I now understand what it feels like to be insecure, to suck a tummy in public and dress in medium or large. It takes strong women to be confident in any shape or size, for those out there, I applaud you. You know, I don’t want to sound like I complaint because I know that some women would love to be my actual size, but I think the point for a lot of women is the gap between how were before and how hey are now. For me the road to being confident in my new size has just started.

Pre-pregnancy weight : 105 lbs – size 0
End-of pregnancy weight : 165 lbs
7 months post-pregnancy weight : 130 lbs – size 5

Game Day (Deb)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Belly, Breast or Body Art, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 5 Comments

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 whether or not she is a football fan, and which NFL team she will support. But we as parents must always guide our children toward the decisions that are in their best interests. Therefore, I have chosen to interfere while I am able. While she’s on the inside, she swears allegiance to the Who Dat Nation. Happy football season mommas! Geaux Saints.

Age: 36
Kids: 2 (12 years, and 25 weeks in utero)

101909-deb-1

This is Me (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 4 Comments

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 husband. I had an IUD (you know the one that is supposed to be better than the BC pill for 10 yrs.) So we had been very safe seeing as how we were so young and totally NOT ready for a baby. When I found out I wa pregnant I couldn believe it . It was the last thing I expected. I was totally in denial. You knwo I was at the age of partying so of course I had been drinking and participating in other such non-appropriate activities. My boyfriend’s (then bf now husband) was soo freaked out. We had just moved into a house with a bunch of friends so we were totally not prepared. He decided that I must terminate the pregnancy. I was not willing to do so. Dr. toldme I had to remove IUD or else it would cause problems, so I did that. But by doing so I was risking a 50% chance that I would miscarry so I was told to wait 1 week after removal and then return to ultrasound to see if I was still pregnant.

But anyway the main point of the story is hat my son was 1 in a million and I would never ever give him up for anything in the entire world!! I have had a difficult time dealing with my post-babay body as I have dealt with an eating disorder in the past. I look at myself in the mirror and all I can think is FAT!!! SOOOOO FAT!! It really bothers me and there isnot 1 day that goes by that I don’t put myself down and feel like crap because I am soooo disgusting under my clothes. I t’s terrible because on one hand I am so lucky my son landed in my hands to begin with ut I just can let go of the fact that I look like shit now. not only my stretched out belly but my saggy nasty boobs too. I attacehd my pics of my belly so you can see how gross it is. Thanks for listienin to my story it helps to get it off my chest!!!

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

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 6 Comments

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 me. I was getting into some trouble but once i got pregnant it all stopped. I realized i needed to be a mom now i need to be a romodel to this little one. There was people telling me i was to your and i should abort the baby. i refused to listen to them. I feel in love with my child the moment that test said i was pregnant.

In the begging of my pregnancy I was so sick with morning sickness that i almost had to have a home nurse and a IV in my leg. I lost 25lbs I was 155lbs before i got pregnant and i went down to 130lbs then i started to gain weight back at around 6months into my pregnancy. but my baby was healthy and “Its a girl” I ended up getting up to 175 lbs. and i had a healthy 8.0lb and 21.25inch baby. but she pooped inside and that made me stress threw my whole labor but luckily she didn’t swallow any of it. then i hemorrhaged and i lost over 2 liters of blood and i had to have blood transfusion. then when i left the hospital i was 154lbs so i lost all my weight already

first pics is of me the night before i went into labor
second pic is of me the day i got home from the hospital
the third pic is of me now 12 weeks postpartum

Missing my darling daughter, 15.5 weeks postpartum (Jillyn)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Breech Baby, Child Loss, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 35 Comments

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 fluid. So a week later i finally had another ultrasound and the specialist fount that our baby had cysts in both their kidneys. He then told us our baby would not live. My husband and i were both devastated, but we decided to continue with the pregnancy and cherish every moment we had left with our child.

When i was about 28.5 weeks pregnant i ended up going to the ER for sever pain in my back. It turned out my kidney was inflamed and my growing uterus was causing it. They told me the only way to solve the problem would be to have our baby. The next day was my husbands college graduation and 2 days after that we were moving so we didn’t induce right away. After we were moved we set up an induction date for 2 weeks later because our 2 year wedding anniversary was going to be a week after we had moved.

They started the induction May 25th 2009 at 8pm when i was 32 weeks pregnant. On May 27th, 2009 at 5:17pm we gave birth to our daughter, Grace Carpi. She was so tiny, so perfect and angelic. The had been a frank breech so her little bum was all bruised, but other than that, she was just amazing. She weighed 2 lbs 14 oz and was 16 inches long. After she was born she tried to take a breath, she tried 6-8 times in the 10 minutes after she was born. But sadly, her lungs were not developed at all, so 10-15 minutes after she was born, she slipped away from us. She never let out a cry, never opened her eyes. The doctor has tried to tell us that she was a stillbirth, but after talking to other professionals and reading medical journals, we feel that our daughter indeed was alive and we will continue to fight for our right of a birth certificate.

I am 5’5″ and was 178 lbs before i was pregnant. I weighed 210-215 at the end of my pregnancy and now, 15.5 weeks postpartum i weigh 204-207 lbs. Because of my depression i feel it will take me a while go get down to my pre-pregnancy weight and even longer to get to my healthy weight (about 130-140 lbs). I got my first stretch mark at either 7w or 11w (i can’t remember) on my inner thigh. I got the ones on my stomach when i was 25 weeks pregnant. I also got more stretch marks on my hips and on my breasts. I went up a cup size during pregnancy, from a B to a C.

The last 15 and 1/2 weeks have been quite an emotional time for my husband and i. Not only did he just graduate from college, we moved, had our wedding adversary, gave birth to our daughter, buried our daughter, had my 22nd birthday, my husband left for orientation for a new job, we had a memorial for our daughter, went to talk to a panel of people at the hospital about receiving a birth certificate, and my husband left for 4 weeks of training for work. And during all of that we were and are still grieving the loss of our little girl. Some say we shouldn’t be a sad because we knew that she was going to die, but that doesn’t matter to us. We still lost our daughter, she still is not with us and we will miss her forever.

I am posting pictures of me before my pregnancy, at 28w 3d, at 32w (with Henna Tattoo from blessing way), pictures of Grace, and then pictures of me 15.5w postpartum and a picture of my first and worst stretch mark on my leg.

Updated here.

Postpartum (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Infertility, Postpartum, Submissions 6 Comments

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 my job I was not able to go to the gym. So throughout my pregnancy I did very little. I started my pregnancy at 106 and stopped looking at my weight at 165. I know I weighed much more than that by the time I gave birth. My pictures I sent are 6 months PP. I still have some work to do to ton my stomach area a little but I am not in a huge rush. Spending time with my son is the most important thing to me. When I work out I try and incorporate him. We do a lot of stuff at home. It makes me feel good that I am taking time for myself to make sure I am healthy but also by doing it with my son. We recently starting some water classes. It is great to see his fearlessness!

Confidence took a blow! (Lizzy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 12 Comments

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 im currently 139lbs,which im not happy bout.When i look at myself in mirrors i start to bawl.

Theres just no time to exercise now.My husband loves the way i look.

But i dont.I love my daughther to bits though.
How can i make myself feel better bout myself?

Its amazing knowing my girl grew inside me,but cant accept the way i look.

The first pic is me 8 weeks pregnant(its says pre pregnancy but i didnt have a pp pic so i just use this one)

Second one is me 37 weeks pregnant

Third and fourth one is me 7 months pp