I am back to pre-pregnancy weight but in better shape so yes it’s possible – even after a cesarean. I gained about 45 pounds each time. Afterwards I stuck to a 1400 calorie a day diet, 2X a week weight training, and 2X a week mat pilates at a local gym during lunch (went back to work after 6 weeks). Still have a light linea negra that will hopefully be gone by the summer…
Pic 1 – pre-pregnancy age 20 Pic 2 – 9 months pregnant age 27 Pic 3 – post both babies age 32
My babies are now 21 and 25, weighing in at 7lbs 9ozs and 8lb 3ozs. I so wish we had professional nude photos done then, but we would never have thought of it. Pregnancy is such a beautiful state that it should be recorded. I have one nude profile photo of me 2 days before I gave birth to my first, but nothing of my second, when I was absolutely enormous, so I have nothing to compare. I have taken the courage at this stage in my life to have a friend scan my photo and he is going to do me a line drawing, which I hope I shall proudly display on my living room wall. I was lucky, I had no strech marks at all but could not find bras big enough for my huge breasts. I fed for over 6 months and over 8 respectively and got my figure back mostly. These photos are of me now – post partum (!) I don’t think I can still blame my babies for my baby bulge tummy at age 58, but I try to keep fit and take care of myself. I don’t like the look of me naked, but have been told by some who have seen me that I look good. I cannot change my basic body shape so have to learn to accept and not hate it. My advice to you mums and mums to be is to enjoy it all because it goes too fast and you cannot turn the clock back. And even if you do not like how you look naked – still take those photos to look back on. All women are beautiful and sexy through pregnancy we all perceive beauty in different ways. You are all beautiful.
I admit that I am at constant odds with my body. I have yet to learn to accept that body may always look this way.
I was 150 when I became pregnant with my now 2 year old son. I had a very difficult pregnancy and ended up on bedrest for the last four months and gained over 70lbs. I was 223lbs the day I deliver my 9lbs 11oz son by c/s. I dropped down to 170lbs within 3 months of delivery and my weight has stagnated there ever since.
I love being a mother and would take my new body for him any day but it doesn’t change the fact I cringe whenever I see myself naked. I hope one day to be able to afford a tummy tuck because I dont think I will ever be able to accept myself this way.
After gaining 60lbs during my pregnancy and crossing a very scary number (I got to 204lbs) I gave birth (via unplanned Cesarean :() to a healthy 8lb 12oz baby girl! Despite c-section I planned on getting back into shape right away, as a former college ice hockey player I had been in pretty good shape before, but as with the birth of my daughter, things didn’t go quite according to plan.
I healed pretty fast and played a couple games of hockey at 8 weeks postpartum, so far so good, it was now summer and I started taking my daughter on long walks, 1 to 2 miles a day (now here was my big mistake) IN FLIP FLOPS! After about a month of walking pretty regularly I started having pain in my ankle, no big deal, I’m tough, don’t like to complain, I keep going for long walks. My ankle keeps getting worse, once my other ankle starts hurting 2 weeks after the 1st one, walking becomes pretty difficult. So I finally decide maybe I should see a Dr. (fast forward a month and 4 doctors!) I am finally told that I have severe Posterior Tibial Tendinitis in both ankles, how did it happen? Well it was pretty obvious after the fact! Walking in flip flops that much is bad, but I’d always done that, turns out walking that much in flip flops right after your pregnancy is really bad! My muscles and ligaments were still lose from the “relaxin”. Combine that with long walks in flip flops and you get two destroyed ankles!
Nine months postpartum and I am slowly getting better I had to wear a really stylish (sarcasm) walking boot for 2 months, and have been in ankle braces for the last 4 months now. But I am finally able to start going to the gym again!
Moral of the story… flip flops, aka thongs. aka slippers, etc. ARE BAD!
So what does all of this have to do with breastfeeding? Glad you asked! Like I said, I gained 60 lbs during my pregnancy and basically haven’t been able to work out, or even walk for that matter, for about 8 months of my 9 months postpartum. BUT thanks to breastfeeding and a good metabolism I lost 60lbs in the first 6 months! No diet, no exercise! While I have lost all of the weight, I am excited to be able to get back to the gym again. My body may weigh what it did pre-pregnancy but it certainly doesn’t look or feel like it did! I have lost A LOT of muscle, especially in my legs which are totally atrophied from lack of use :(
Moral of THIS story, BREASTFEEDING ROCKS!
The first picture is 8 weeks postpartum and the second is 8 months postpartum (hence the 6 months of breastfeeding) I’ll try to remember to come back and up date this after I’ve had some time in the gym.
I’m still working on accepting the stretch marks… But, even with the stretch marks, and the ankle nightmare, I’m pretty grateful for the body I have.
A few weeks ago, I gathered with some other amazing women (around a pool – in January!) to film a segment for a British documentary. Focusing on body image and motherhood, the documentary (currently aiming to air in March in the UK) looks to be positive and moving. It was an empowering moment there with women whose body issues ranged from virtually non-existent to quite serious, and yet, despite the diversity, I felt we all had a bond. I am so honored to have been a part of this, and so excited to help bring this message to the women of the world – that we are worthy, regardless of how we view our physical figures. Thank you, to all involved, for allowing The Shape of a Mother to be a part of this!
My son will be turning a year old next month. I had promised myself that I would have lost all the weight and returned to my “normal” self by this time. And that hasn’t happened. I have always struggled with self-esteem issues. I have never felt attractive. Until I was pregnant. I felt like I was the most luscious creature in the world. And now that my stomach is a little bit floppy and my breasts hang a little lower, I look at my son and I have no regrets. I carried and delivered a healthy, vibrant baby boy. Now I nourish him with my milk. What can be more wonderful than that? Thank you to everyone that posts their story. We are all beautiful in our own ways. And our children love us no matter how saggy our breasts become! The first picture is on our honeymoon, 6 months before I conceived. The second is when I was 8 months pregnant. The third is 11 months postpartum.
My name is Jessica, and i had a beautiful son 6 weeks ago today. Having a child has been the most fullfilling event to ever happen in my life. Before becoming pregnant me and my boyfriend of 4 years got married, and we never planned on having kids, only dogs! Six months after our wedding i found out i was pregnant and to both of our suprise we were both very excited. I was very scared because i suffered from anorexia and was underweight and feared gaining weight. I knew i was going to have to so that my baby could be happy and healthy. I ended up gaining 35 pounds by the end of my pregnancy. I was very sick the last 8 weeks, and was unable to keep anything down including my vitamins, water and any kind of food. I didn’t gain any weight in the 8 weeks and was very worried for my childs health. I was induced on November 26th, 2 days before my due date because my blood pressure had been skyrocketing and the doctors were worried about my baby and I’s safety. My son, Hayden, was born at 3:46pm on November 28, 2008 after 44 hours of labor and 3 hours 6 minutes of pushing. It was a vacumn assisted delivery due to the fact that his cord was wrapped around his neck and shoulders. I wasn’t allowed to see him right away and it felt like hours before i heard his first cry. I was put on magnesium during my labor and delivery and since it had been passed through him he was very lethargic and they took him right away and i was unable to see him for 8 hours. That was the toughest thing, i watched A Baby Story religiously during my pregnancy and just thought that would be how my delivery would have went. I would go through it all over again because the outcome was all worth it. I’m still working on recovering from my eating disorder, but it is so difficult with a body that have changed and the extra skin that i now have. Everyday is a struggle in that department. I still have an extra 22lbs of weight on me, but i can live with that for now. Here are some photos of me before i was pregnant, 38 weeks pregnant and 5/6 weeks postpartum
so here is a picture of my two sons and myself…my lovely tummy after the damage of having two children in under a year..exactly 11 months to the day apart to be literal. To my boys, I am the most beautiful mommy in the whole world and when they ask me about my stretch marks or extra skin, I tell them that it’s from them growing in my uterus and my body stretching to give them the best home I could. They love to look at pregnant bellies, watch the birthing video’s on youtube and we talk about THIS baby *my third* growing inside my tummy now. My kids don’t look at my tummy with shame, they look at me with pride and knowledge..they know I gave them my body and in turn, they give me their love. I am proud to carry my flaws, they are a small price to pay for the love I get in return. ~Melissa
FANTASTIC YouTube video:
My name is Jennifer and I am a mother of 2 of the greatest kids ever! I have a 9 month old son and a 2 year old daughter. I had both of my children at a really young age. As of now, I am only 18 years old. It was hard for me to watch my body change the way that it did going through pregnancy as well as puberty at the same time but somehow I got through it.I breast fed my daughter for about 3 months and then decided bottle feeding was better b/c I had to go back to school. Lets just say I had a very good milk supply and it came through pads, burping cloths, or whatever else I could think of to put in my bra.When I had my son, I breast fed him for about 6 weeks or so and ultimately decided that the bottle was more convenient.In time I have become at peace with the way my body looks. I have to admit though, being 18, there is alot of pressure on me from media and peers to look a certain way but I have came to realize that I am me and Im going to love myself and my body anyway.
