Author: Bonnie (SOAM)

It was my 22nd birthday when I found out I was pregnant with my son. It was an unplanned pregnancy but a very welcomed one by my and my then boyfriend, now husband. At the time was 105 lbs and had been since I was 14 years old. I am a skinny person by nature, never dieted or worked out a day in my life. I had a wonderful pregnancy. I consider my self very lucky! No morning sickness, no cravings, not even pain! A few stretch marks appeared here and there but nothing major. I had 15 hour, easy, vaginal delivery. My son was born at a petite 6 lbs 6 oz and 20″. After the pregnancy my small body had changed a lot. My hips were huge and my breasts were saggy and the areolas were huge compared to what they used to be. I was still small but not near the size 3 I was before. I was 130lbs postpartum and never lost a pound the the baby weight. I had no idea where to start. I was ok with it though, I have never been one to care about appearances. March last year I found I was pregnant again. This time with a little girl. Again the pregnancy was perfect. This time however my belly got HUGE. Literally, twice the size it was with my son. The stretch marks got worse and worse and my belly was horribly itchy! I often thought maybe I was pregnant with twins and they just missed one on the ultrasound. My child birth was quick and surprisingly easy considering my daughter was born at 8 lbs 14 oz and 22.5″ Almost 3 lbs and 2.5″ bigger then my first child. My belly now is drastically different then after my first child. When I got those first stretch marks with my son I was bummed, thought they were terrible, but I got over it. What happened to me after my daughter is so much worse, but I didn’t even think twice about it. I gave birth to two wonderful, healthy children which I adore with all my heart. My body looks the way it does because of the gift of life I gave to my two children. We are undecided if we want more children, but if we don’t I am considering becoming a gestational surrogate because I love pregnancy and the gift of a child more then anything in the world.

*the first picture is me at 19 years old, no babies. The second photo is 6 months postpartum after my first child. The 3rd is me 39 weeks pregnant with my second child. The 4th is my belly a month postpartum and the 5th is me now, 5 months postpartum.*

I was 1 month to turning 21 when i had my gorgeous heaven sent. She was 9lbs 4 oz and it was an emergency c-section, which came to no surprise. I already knew i was going to have a big baby. Im married to a Samoan so yea lol. Im 5’8 and 1/2 tall and my pre preg weight would be around 130-140 (got comfy with my hubby, so i gained a lil) and right before i had her i was 200. So i gained a good 60-70 lbs with her. Stretch marks were popping up towards the end…i was using all these diff kinds of lotions, sppppsssshhhh that wasnt gonna stop them. But i really didnt make a big deal of those, i call them “love marks”. The belly is what gets me. I am proud to be a mother. I love my daughter and wouldnt trade being her mommy for the world!!! So i try not to be selfish and get down on myself, but sometimes its just hard when you have people around you that are BLUNT. I work at Walmart as a cashier, so im around people constantly. One of the most annoying things that i go thru on a daily basis is hearing the question “awww when you expecting???!!?” That is sooo rude. You shouldnt ask that question…unless if ure positive. And then i have people i know personally that say “ewwww”…and say im just messing with ya, but you know they really arent. Why else would they say it if they wasnt thinking about it? I dont care if i get in a 2 piece, i just wanna wear jeans and a shape fitting shirt again!!! Im only 21 and kno that i can get a nice figure again. Never will i have the same one again…but i actually LOVE my new body…everything EXCEPT the belly. A lot of people complain in a lot of different forums i read on the internet when i google…and i wonder why they complain….you gotta do something. Its not gonna go away. Some women are lucky and bounce back right away….some others have to work for it. So dont complain if you aint worken for it. I just started about a month ago, gradually when i can get to the gym. Starten in June i have plans to get a move on it. Waiting for my best friend to get back home, shes my motivation. I read a lot that when u have a csection, u will always have a pooch. I DONT believe that for one second. I believe you will when you dont do a thing. So because i dont like my belly, i will do something about it. LOL And hope that i keep the butt and breasts. My husband tells me im beautiful and sexy alllll the time. And sometimes i get mad at him. But i realize something…i am the mother of his child, i am his wife, and in his eyes there is no other woman like me so he is right…too him im beautiful and sometimes i forget to thank him. We should all accept the compliments we get from our nears and dears. I love me even with the extra…but its gotta go…haha. If u get my drift. BTW…I lllllooooveeeee this site. Stumbled across it googling. Lol. Keep up the great work!! All you women are awesome!!!!

I found this site and the testimonies about pregnancy and the mothers that have the same issues with their bodies that i have. i have been pregnant twice the first being miscarried at 6 months and the second my son was still-born. I hate my body. the stretch marks, the extra skin, and even worse my saggy breast. Finding this site has lifted my spirits and had inspired me to take a second look at myself. My husband and i are talking about trying to have another child but after my previous two i just dont know how my body will react again. These pictures not only took me forever to take because of my body issues but it has taken me a couple of months to get up the nerve as like the other brave mothers on this site and taken this step has helped me out quite a bit with my body issues and so forth.

Hi! I’d just like to say that this website was a huge help during my pregnacy..it was great to be able and see real women and real pictures to reassure myself that everything my body is going through was normal. We just had our first baby on April 25, she was a c-section due to a breech and are busy planning for our next posted are pics the day before the c-section, one of Riley and an after shot about 25 days after delivery…hope to post new preggo pics soon!

I gave birth to my Gorgeous son Logan 2.5 years ago on dec 29th 2005. I went from 9st up to 12st whilst pregnant and am now down to 10.5st, I am definatly not happy with the way my belly looks now, covered in stretch marks and saggy soft skin, that no matter what I do it won’t tone up – maybe it will eventually but I feel like I am running out of patience! The first picture is of my belly about 2 years before becoming pregnant, the second is at 40 weeks pregnant and the rest are 2.5 years post partum. I’m 25 but sometimes I think my belly looks like that of an old woman!! I am so glad I have found this site though as I now realise I’m not the only one with body issues. Thanks!

I am 27 and this is my 3rd pregnancy. My 1st son died at age 2 last year, in his sleep. We never found out why, he was and still is perfect. Life has taken on a whole new value and worth. So this pregnancy I am trying to take care of myself the best I can, and am going to give birth naturally. I have a 20-month old son and am due 9/10/08. My 1st son would be 4 this December. Pregnancy is a state of health and beauty–I just love it and feel great! Due to my multiracial background, my skin is just tan enough to hide the stretch marks postpartum. Chasing after the boys and breastfeeding slims me down quick, although I do tend to gain 40 pounds with each kiddo. All my weight goes to hips and thighs.

Hello! First off, just wanted to say I LOVE THIS WEBSITE!!!!! It has completely opened my eyes and brought me out of my ‘body blues’. I hated my body. I didn’t recognize the person in the mirror. I was completely embarrassed and constantly felt like I was covering up a secret. When i stumbled upon this site, I was looking into if women had stomaches like mine and got back to their pre-baby body without surgery. After getting no results, I started looking up how much a “mom job” costs. Then I found this site. It opened my eyes to the fact that I AM A MOTHER!!!! Not some scantily clad girl on the street, not some young hottie, I am a mom and I am proud of what I’ve done! My children are worth every single mark and sag and scar! I am posting my post-partum pictures…..this is after two kids, one little cutie girl born full-term vaginally(8/4/05), and one handsome little boy born a month premature and via c-section(3/20/07). Now, I used to be very skinny and pretty, I had big perky breasts and a tight flat stomach. So for the past three years, I’ve talked about my body as some morbid disgusting piece of flesh. My stomach and back and legs and breasts are covered in stretch marks ranging form bright red to white. My breasts, once full and voluptuous, are now saggy and disproportionate.I used to talk how I’d do anything to get my old body back. My husband was very supportive through all of that, telling me he always thought I looked beautiful and didn’t want me to look like a teenager because I wasn’t a teenager, I was a mom. So instead of doing anything about my body, I got depressed about it and just let myself go even further. When I tipped the scales at 45 pounds over my pre- baby weight about a month ago, I decided even if there wasn’t anything I could do about the extra skin and stretch marks, I could do something about the weight. So I started exercising and eating healthy, and I’m feeling better than I ever have! I have lost about 15 pounds so far, and I’m planning to lose more and post again in the future. I will also try to find those old pictures of me before having kids and some of my pretty prego pics! I realize now that its not about how I look, its how I feel. And working out and eating better is making feel so much better, and Im feeling happier about myself. My husband is noticing the confidence and telling me its making me sexier than ever as well! I may not look like I did 5 years ago, but I’m not the same woman I was 5 years ago. I wouldn’t ever trade these marks and skin for my babies, EVER! They are so worth it, And moms that embrace their bodies instead of rejecting them are the most beautiful women in the world!!!!!!

Hi there. I’m 21 and waiting for our first baby to arrive. Our little boy, Skylar is due July 24th. I have been so blessed to have a wonderful and easy pregnancy. I have made it my number one priority to really educate myself about birthing and motherhood. We plan on having a home birth this summer, and I feel that I couldn’t have made a better choice! I appreciate this site and hearing words of encouragment from other proud women! Thank you for all of your stories and pictures! God Bless and enjoy the summer :)

I am a 23 year old mother of a beautiful baby girl named Maia Isabelle, she’s the light of my eyes and brings me a type of joy different to any other I’ve ever felt before. I found this website by accident like many mothers always looking that magical thing that’s is gonna make you loose the pregnacy weight or get rid of the strech marks, instead I found something even better real woman like me that we every entry I read makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin and that the privilege to be a mother is so worth that my boobs are now almost touching the floor, thank you to all of you, all of you are gold medal women, recieve a warm hug from a Dominican mother. The first photo is of me before pregnacy,second me pregnant with almost 6 months, third me a week ago and the last one of my sweet little girl Maia.