Author: Bonnie (SOAM)

i’ve been waiting to post here since i was four months pregnant with my son chaos born 6/16/08.

first of all I want to say thank you for such a wonderful website its such an inspiring place to visit and has definatly helped me learn to love my post pregnancy body. As a dancer I was obsessed with my body image for most of my adolecent life and suffered from anorexia trying to prefect it. But after years of suffering I managed to beat it and learn to except me for being me. So when I fell pregnant it didnt really occour to me how much my body would change I just assumed it would bounce back to its pre pregnancy shape, boy was I wrong I couldnt look more different, but now I have come to love my body for all that it is, after all it had nurtured and protected my son for 9 months. During my pregnancy I didnt really get stretch marks untill I was about 7 months but I got them BAD. They covered my tummy, thighs, breasts and upper arms I also developed a pregnancy rash all over my tummy which has affected the pigmentation of my tummy leaving dark brown streaks where some of my stretch marks are. Anyway after birthing my son I really was not prepared for how my tummy would look, the day after having him while I took a shower was the first time I really got to look at my tummy it was covered in deep red stretch marks and it hung down it a fold. I burst out in tears as I really did not think it would look so bad. But now 4 months after the birth of my son I can say I accept my body for the wonderful job it did, after alot of hard work I am back down to my pre pregnancy weight and my tummy has toned up alot and the fold of skin is almost gone, and my stretch marks are almost all silver now apart from a small section of the centre of my tummy witch remain brown due to the change in pigmentation. the picture I have included are of me now 4 months post partum. I just wanted to say to all the women who are having difficulty dealing with there post pregnancy body, be proud of what you have achieved and love yourself after all you have come through. you are all beautiful. xxxx

I am 21 years old and my son Brandon Isaiah Jarvis is soon to be 10months old. I used to be skinny,carefree, and didn’t care so much, When I had my son my world changed and so did my body. I was always insecure with my body because i had marks and loose skin. My husband tells me that he loves my body and believe me he is always expressing that love! So now I see though eyes of a mother and my body brought a beautiful little boy into my world. so yeah I’m a mom. and darn proud to be

I had my first child at 18, was pregnant at 17. Gained pretty much in my belly only and managed to go 8 mos without any stretch marks, so i thought i was in the clear! until one, then two, then…well you’ll see the pics. After having my son, I still had to go back to high school so what a self-esteem slap in the face :( then summer time! AH, no more bikinis for me. 1 1/2 years later I got prenant again, this time I gained EVERYWHERE, my butt, my hips, my thighs, my belly (thankfully already stretched lol) which cropped up new stretchmarks all over. In college with this baby, had to return to a younger kid based population and again feel like complete crap because I didnt have the flat tight tummy, never really did, but it was at least cute looking bare, now on the other hand. It is just plain disgusting, my husband says I am still the same size and everything as when I had our son (1st baby) only I have just a “pouch”. I call it my inner-tube. haha, I guess the only way to feel comfortable is to accept it and make fun of yourself if it helps, as it does for me. It is slowly, SLOWLY returning to something then gross when I wear tighter clothes, but I saw a girl my age, NO kids and she has the huge butt, fatty hips, etc. and NO cute babies at home to look at in exchange for the chubby body. :)

I never thought anyone would call me “Mama.” I never thought I’d deserve to be called “Mama,” because I knew I was not fit to be a mom. I got pregnant within a week of turning 20. I found out a few weeks in, after my mom realized that I was not eating well, and that this was for from normal. I attributed my weak appetite and sudden on-set of depression to the fact that I was missing my husband, and that I was about to move to a different country with him, far, far, far away from my mom. Gazing blankly at my pee stick, I knew there was something wrong. “I must have some rare disease that makes hCG levels skyrocket. Maybe I have cancer.” I went to the ER and made up some symptoms to be analyzed… Apparently, I really was pregnant. At four months, I finally went to an OB, and saw my baby for the first time. I still didn’t believe it. It just didn’t make sense to me. Even as I laid on the operating table five months later, it did not feel real to me. As I shook in anticipation during our C-section, I closed my eyes tightly and immediately opened them as wide as I could. This is how I awoke myself from scary dreams when I was little. Moments later, the scary dream became reality, and not even I could deny it. Nine months of worrying, six of throwing up, nine of struggling to gain weight, and failing, five of preparing her room, nine of crying too much, and nine of trying to wake up… All leading to just one moment. No one can tell me that she was not meant to be. She fought to exist. I was on birth control. We used condoms. We did everything to prevent something, someone, rather, that would not, could not, be stopped. She fought through a tilted uterus, through a threatened miscarriage, through starvation, and through dehydration, all just to prove me wrong. No one thought she was going to do well. Deep down inside, I knew she was a fighter, I felt it everyday. Weak babies do NOT leave bruises on mommy’s tummy, they do not keep you up for days because there is not an hour that goes by that they do not kick. I was 136 lbs. when we conceived. I was 134 lbs. the day I gave birth. She was not three pounds. Not four. Not five. She was 6 lbs. and 8.4 oz. Not too big, no, but healthy. Healthier than any doctor or any nurse, or even any other woman or mother who thinks she knows everything could ever imagine. Healthier (and heavier) than most of the babies of the women who not only told me she wouldn’t do well, but also gained more weight than I did. I worried throughout my entire pregnancy not only about her, but about myself, about my body. My thighs were huge before I got pregnant, my stomach was so flabby, and I just hated myself altogether. She fixed me. While I am not perfect now, and I do still gripe about my body, I will admit that I look much better thanks to her. I don’t feel like the same person anymore, because I am not. That has nothing to do with my body, though. I still can’t believe she calls me “Mama.” She proved me wrong, though. I AM fit to be a mother. I just am not fit to be hers, because no one so perfect deserves someone so flawed. My pictures are of 36 weeks (standing), 36 weeks (laying), 38 weeks (the day she made her grand entrance), her birth (which will always be the most beautiful picture I have seen, hands down), her first day of life, other pics of her, and my post partem pics, ranging from 3 days PP, to a few months.

I gave birth to my beautiful daughter on May 3rd 2006. She weighed 7 pounds 1.2oz and was amazing. I gained 51 pounds while pregnant and gave birth 10 days before my due date. I’m now about 135 pounds (5 pounds under pre-pregnancy weight) but I do not feel/look it! I’ve always struggled with body image disorder. While my husband says I look great (so does everyone else) I cannot seem to think that. There are days when I think I look great, then there are other days when I feel so gross…Its horrible. I need to learn to love my body, I love it because it held my child for 9 months, but I hate it because its not the same. I’ll get there someday! I’ve added a few pictures, the first two are me 22 months post partum, and the last one is my beautiful daughter.

I love how this website portrays the female body, I got pregnant November 2006. My boyfriend and I were engaged. I was 24 years old, it wasn’t planned but I was excited to be a mom. September 6th 2007 my life changed forever. I was induced and after 10 hours of contractions and only 2cm dilation I was given a c-section. I am now 6 months pp. I have finally lost all the weight and feel grateful to have done so, but I look a lot different. I have developed lovehandles, my breasts are saggy, and my stomach ravaged by stretchmarks and a stretched out belly button from a piercing. I do feel pretty good about my body considering my husband loves my body, but I still do question it. The first few pics are during pregnancy the next are 6 months after pregnancy and with my son, who was sooo worth it!