Author: Bonnie (SOAM)

First of all, this site is amazing! I’m pretty happy with my body after having two babies, really my only problem is my boobs. Before I got pregnant with my first baby at 19 I was a good full 34C, now, I still wear a 34C, but it is one of those push-ups from VS so pretty much everything that is inside the bra is padding. My son was born at 30 weeks and never learned to nurse so I pumped for him for 6 months until I dried up. The problem though, is that no one ever told me to regulate what I was pumping, so at one point I was pumping 12 oz every 3 hours and my boobs where HUGE and very, very stretched out. They are covered in silvery white stretch marks and are very saggy. Other than the stretch marks on my boobs I have a few on my hips, but those are silvery white as well. I didn’t have that hard of a time losing the weight, but I am still 2 pants sizes bigger than I was at 18 when I got married. Sometimes I wish I was 110lbs and a size 6 again, but some days I’m OK with my body. My husband loves the way I look now, he loves the curves and the saggy boobs and the big hips, so that makes it easier for me to look at myself and be OK. He’s the only one I need to impress and he loves my body, he says I look like a women now instead of a teenager. Here are a few pictures of me. The first one is from when I first found out I was pregnant with my daughter (my second baby), the second picture is me 35 weeks pregnant with her (I had her a few days later at 36 weeks), and the last two pictures are from today, 23 months pp and 5 weeks pregnant with baby #3 (I’m pretty sure I am pregnant but I haven’t had a positive home test yet, my hormones don’t rise like they should when I’m pregnant, that’s the reason I had my son at 30 weeks and had hormone therapy with my daughter and had her at 36 weeks, I go in a few days to find out for sure if I am pregnant)

Stomach after the first..not alot of damage but alot of stretch marks…the second child changed my world

I was always one of those women who prided myself on my beautiful belly. And at 24 I was ready to be a mommy, fully understanding what my body would look like after having a baby. I was ready for whatever god gave me. Thankfully I was blessed with the perfect pregnancy, the perfect delivery and the most perfect baby girl ever! I was very blessed to be one of the few who didn’t gain a lot of weight. I gained 20 pounds. I was so pleased with myself. Two weeks after having my baby girl I was back into my pre-baby jeans! I was elated! I have 1 stretch mark on my belly, a few on my hips, some on my thighs, and my breasts are covered with them. Currently I am Breastfeeding my little girl and hope to continue until she is 1 year. My husband is very supportive and loves me for who I am and I thank him for all he does for me!

Well, Lucy turned 9 months old yesterday. They say “9 months up and 9 months down” when it comes to the baby weight, but I’m not buying it. It took me a lifetime to prepare for being a mother- how can I just expect to go back to “Old Laura” 9 months after the event? I’m still getting used to the new me, and so far I don’t like her all that much, physically. But New Laura is quite a girl. She’s stronger, smarter and a little more balanced than Old Laura. I guess any body that can carry a human life inside it is never really ugly, is it? I just have to keep reminding myself, every single hour of every day. I’m beautiful and I created life.

Love,

New Laura and Lucy

1) Before Baby
2) Nine months after baby
3) Baby Lucy

I had my son Oct. 10 2004, and this picture was taken about 6 months after…just for some of the girls out there…not everyone gets stretch marks….. I weighed about 105 before getting pregnant and I was 18. Now I weigh about 115…..so I am still not the same size, but not everyone gains 100 pounds while pregnant…I gained about 20!

I got pregnant when i was 16 and had a 7 lb 8 oz baby girl right after I turned 17. Here I am 9 months later. I go to the gym and have adapted a vegan diet.

I try and embrace the stretch marks bestowed upon me by my first pregnancy. I read your submissions and envy those who are truly happy with their bodies and hope someday I will be as well. I am now pregnant with our second child and I am dreading the weight gain and stretch marks. Thankfully no new ones have shown yet, but I know as I get further along, they will come. My son (and the one on the way) are WELL worth it, but I have to admit, I hate the way I look now and often wish I could have my old body. I have posted a picture of me a little more than 1/2 way into my second pregnancy and a smaller ‘before’ picture. Maybe posting these will bring me a step forward to loving my body.

My boys are now 6 months old and I think that I look amazing :) Here is a picture of my belly at 6wks post partum and a picture of me now (6 months postpartum). Then here are my twin boys :)

My mother raised me to be body conscious. I was her only daughter out of five children. She was always on my case about my image. During my pre-teen years I was the “super skinny” girl, the envy of my friends, but it was never good enough for me or my mother. Weekly, we would both stand infront of a full length mirror and ‘bash’ our bodies. It was like some sort of weird bond. At about 14, I became bulimic. I cheered on two cheerleading squads and ran track for my middle school. My body couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t getting the nutrients I needed and I would constantly black out and faint. It became a weekly thing. Finally, my mother admitted to herself I had a problem, and I received professional help. After months of treatment at a private facility, I was over it. My mother got treatment too, and it seemed like my body issues were over. At 15 years old, I was in the best shape of my life. Muscular, curvy, and healthy. I loved my body. I met my now husband on vacation when I was 15 and we continued dating, he only lived an hour away. When I was 16, I became pregnant. I was shocked. (( I was stupid, never used protection. )) Although I knew I had everything to lose, I WOULD NOT have an abortion. I was the captain of my cheerleading squad, class president, and pregnant. I didn’t tell anyone for a month. Finally, I told my then boyfriend and our families. I started seeing a doctor. I never told my school, and I continued normally until I became 5 months because I wasn’t showing… at Christmas break I moved to my then boyfriends and home schooled there. I’m so ashamed now to have been embarrassed of my child, but I didn’t know how to handle it… and as it turned out, everyone was more than understanding. Well, as I started to gain weight, my old body loathing self began to haunt me. I feel into deep depression, sleeping way too much, constantly crying… and then one day I just ‘snapped’ out of it. I realized I was being entirely selfish… here I was, blessed with a healthy baby, a loving boyfriend, and a supportive family. My mind set changed and I began to love my baby bump. I got huge!! It seemed like the larger I got, the happier I was… it was so weird, I loved being fat! WELL, I had my baby boy.. and now I’m not so loving it, I work out six times a week, 1-2 hours a day, and I haven’t lost that ‘ pudge ‘. I’m learning, however, to accept it.. and hopefully, as the time goes by… I’ll learn to love it. I’m now married to my sons father, going to school full time, working part time co-coaching pee wee cheerleading and raising my 8 month old! I have A TON of help from my family, and could not make it without them. My mother has made a total 180. =]

Hello… I really don’t know where to start, but here goes.. I’m a 24 year old divorced mother of two beautiful amazing children. I have severe depression. I haven’t always been this way until after I had my first child. I love my children and I love being a mommy but no matter how hard I try I just can’t seem to accept the changes that have happened to my body, and this is why I’m depressed. My ex husband physically abused me for five years. He was a very cold heartless person, and I tolerated it for so long because I was afraid to be alone, I had convinced myself that no other man would want me because the way I looked without my clothes on. What’s crazy is that he had never once said cruel or hurtful things about my body. I guess I’ve been brain washed by the media. I just don’t understand why I’m so hard on myself. I don’t judge others by their apperance so why do I think this way about myself? I’ve spent so many nights just crying myself to sleep, even going as low as having suicidal thoughts but would never do it because I love my children too much. I was seeing a councelor for a while, and it didn’t help me one bit. I just wish I could accept myself because I know my body will never change. I guess that’s why I stumbled across this site… Hopefully you all can talk some sense into this girl! Cause God knows I need it!