The wonderful Maria who runs the 007 Breasts website has started a blog all about breasts: breastfeeding, shapes and sizes of breasts, surgery and anything else that women should be aware of. I’m adding it to my blogroll right now!
Author: Bonnie (SOAM)
22 year old mother of triplets (Kelley)
Hi, my name is Kelley and I had triplets at age 20. Yes, they were natural, and No, they do not run in my family. Anyway, that was a year and a half ago, I am now 22, and I struggle everyday to accept my body the way it is. I love my sons, but I’m not going to lie, I feel so unattractive sometimes…
Triplets and a C-Section…
Twins (Kasondra)
Original entry here.
i first found this site right after i gave birth to my son 2 years ago. i of course was a little skeptical about putting photos of my once toned now scarred body on the internet for the world to see. after looking at the site more and seeing the confidence it had obviously brought to its other participants i decided to put my pictures up. my son was 16 months old by this time…and my body was still scarred….but i was proud of what those scars meant and was ready to share them with the world.
well like i said my son is now turning 2 … and i am currently 15 weeks along in my second pregnancy. the shocker in this one however is that we are having TWINS. i had begun having a few complications in the first trimester and had to have a sonogram…and low and behold…there they were….my TWO beautiful little peanuts!!! =)
though i didnt mention it before…my husband is an identical triplet…and therefore his family is thrilled to death we are having multiples….though his mom seems to think i should have just had all 3 at once….lol. CRAZY!!!
we however are extremely excited and trying our best to prepare for the birth of our 2 new babies due february 14th of next year!!!
the pictures i have added are of me pregnant at 15 weeks (huge already i know….)…..a sonogram picture of my babies…..my husband and his brothers when they were born and the little family we have now awaiting our new arrival. i will continue to update you as i progress in my pregnancy and of course once the babies are born.
i want to thank you for this site and thank all of the beautiful women that have participated so far!!!
thank you
Updated here.
BACK!
The uploader is BACK! I am finally caught up (short of two entries waiting in my inbox which I will post in the morning) and am ready to take submissions again. Sorry for the delay, but I am happy to be back on track.
Blessings to you all!
I’m Proud… (Ewa)
I’m Proud of my Stretchmarks
Today, after 17 years, my belly looks like this. I´ve been thinking that I should try to dress myself in in yellow, orange and red colours and paint my strechmarks so that they look like flames from a fire or a vulcano erupting on the next Halloween-party I go to….. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I have been able to carry 2 (out of three) lovely children full term and that they have grown into two lovely young ladies which have now reached the age of 17 and 19. The eldest is actually born “breech birth” i.e. with her little “behind” first . So was I and one or two of my brothers and sister. The only one we know for sure is born ” like everybody else” with the head first is my twin brother.
Kind Regards
Ewa
(Allison)
These photos are of me 13 days postpartum. I had a 8 lb. 3 oz. girl via C section. This was my first pregnancy. I also included a photo of me with my beautiful new baby girl.
Acceptance (Anonymous)
My body acceptance
My name is Janel and I gave birth to my daughter Jasmyn in June of 2006. I was the happiest I had ever been in my entire life. But after coming home from the hospital and seeing my new body in the mirror I couldn’t help but be depressed. I had never been “skinny” but I was toned and had a nice physique in my opinion. I was pretty active and cared about my appearance. I did however have issues with the eating disorder bulimia. My weight would shift often during that time because I would go weeks without binging and purging and then go weeks with only binging and purging…. After high school I felt I had it under control. I met Nima and became pregnant at 19. Anyway… After seeing what was left after pregnancy I felt defeated and decided I would cover up my body with saggy clothes and hide away indoors.I rationalized by saying this is my baby’s time not mine. Months went by with breastfeeding, exhaustion and depression. Slowly I slipped back into my eating disorder habits. I would exercise like crazy (indoors only) because I was ashamed to go to an actual gym. My self-esteem was at an all time low. Finally my Dad and step-mom stepped in and made me realize that I needed to stop feeling so horrible about myself. My aunt stepped in and bought me some new clothes that flattered my “new” body. Nima helped by giving compliments and taking me shopping for new clothes. I found the courage to join a gym, and even an aerobics class with one of my cousins.Things were getting better for me and still are. I work out regularly, I eat a balanced diet. Of course I indulge some days :). But overall I am becoming more accepting of myself and this new body. At the age of 22 I can finally say I am happier with myself then I ever have been. And that doesn’t just go for how I feel about my appearance but the inside too. By posting these pictures and actually seeing my body through the camera I realize its not that bad! It was liberating to see it for what it really is. I was too scared to take pictures of my body before. But this website helped. I dont feel comfortable with nudity, but I submitted some pics of my post baby tummy and body…… I hope I can break the cycle of insecurity that runs in my family and give my daughter a way to love herself for her!
8 Months PP (Anonymous)
I only gained 28 lbs in pregancy .Everything went as planed. She was even born on her due date. I am coping with my body after pregancy. I dont mind a few stretch marks. Well I had more but they have almost faded out completly. But I do have the loose stomach. I have lost 15 lbs which has helped that but still it bothers me. Has caused problems with my sex life. But I love My Shelbey so much I would do all over. I think she will be our one and only.
Carrying a Piece of Art (Anonymous)
I’m 20 years old, 36 weeks pregnant, and pretty content with most parts of my body. I’ve sported stretch marks on my stomach since about 13. I wasn’t “fat” by any means, but nature decided I’d be growing a little early. I was of course mortified by them for a long time, until I became pregnant. Along with that I had small, uneven, and “saggy” breasts. I read a lot of stories on here about those who are and are not okay with their bodies, some sporting stretch marks and other pregnancy battle scars, some were a clean canvas, no show of pregnancy whatsoever. I was skeptical about posting my story and my pictures in fear of someone I know seeing them, and then I remembered that this is me, nothing will change that. Brad was in love with my body and the miracle of life it was holding and t wasn’t until I read a few stories, on this site and others as well, of people who have lost children, cannot carry children themselves, etc. that i realized these marks i bear are a blessing. I have come to love my mama stripes and the breasts that will soon nourish my child. I love running my fingers down my belly and look for the constantly changing patterns of faded to the growing and glowing pink. I try and remember which ones I had pre-pregnancy and look for the most recent addition on my sides. I recently noticed I also have vertical ones as well, small, but casually marching themselves over the other ones. When sporting the bare belly to family members they are mortified…I think I am more annoyed with them than my stretch marks. I must say pregnancy itself is very uncomfortable, and I have yet to endure childbirth, but I know it’s all going to be worth it in the end. And I’m glad I’ll be able to walk away saying that I’m proud of the body pregnancy gave me, no matter how unattractive it may seem.
Saturday Night
Last night, at a local coffee shop aimed towards moms, some women gathered with me to watch the amazing film, Fifty Nude Women. I first heard about the film through this site – a reader had sent me a link – and it’s such a perfect idea, and goes so exactly hand-in-hand with The Shape of a Mother, that I passionately feel I need to promote it as much as possible. And local showings sounded like a fun way to do that.
After a few technical difficulties (in that it turns out my laptop needs electricity to run. who knew?) we finally saw the ending on my friend’s laptop (her Mac, although electrified, would not hook up to the projector properly without a certain piece of elusive hardware). Luckily the movie is so wonderful that it was still uplifting even after all that.
I hope very much to have more showings around the county in the future (and I promise to bring my laptop’s power supply!), and I would encourage all of you, Readers, to try the same if at all possible. The license to show it in public is quite affordable and so worth it when you consider the self-esteem of women watching it.
Here are some of the things women at the showing had to say to Margot Roth, the producer of the movie, about it:
Thank you for such a beautiful film. It was amazing to see such a variety of body shapes and sizes. And all the women were laughing and smiling!
I think every woman needs to see this movie. It was very comforting to see such a diversity of women’s bodies of all ages and nationalities. This movie rocks!
This was an awesome film, as it shows us glimpses of how 98% of women look in the “real world.” Hollywood insists on glorifying the 2% who have fabulous bodies and even most of those are airbrushed. Young girls should view this to aid their self-esteem and give them a good body image. Young men should view it as a good reality check.
Incredible! Amazing! It’s true – we are ALL beautiful.
I truly wish nudity was acceptable enough that I could show this to my middle schoolers. Every adolescent girl should see this film. Is there a “50 Nude Men?” (They need it, too.)
I found myself smiling throughout the showing.
AWESOME, AWESOME film that shows what a real woman looks like without clothes.
Thank you, Margot, for giving this to the world. We need it.