Author: Bonnie (SOAM)

Word of Retouching (shared by a reader)

Bonnie (SOAM) Link 4 Comments

I had come across a couple of these sites a long time ago when the site was new, but an alert reader sent me some links with a TON of retouching websites. She’s written

I found some exciting and disturbing news the other day. First off, I know some ladies already knew this but when you actually see it you can’t believe it. i found these websites on photo retouching from models to cars, or anything. Its amazing what they edit (airbrush) out. They take out what I think personally makes a human, human. Ladies you just have to see this. I knew they airbrushed models, but when you see how far they take it you can’t help but think there never was anything wrong with you. It’s almost sickening to feel that I have been comparing my skin and flaws to that of a computer-generated model. And then you can’t help but wonder if anything you see is real anymore! Secondly, Ladies embrace your stretch marks like never before because I found out that a lot of celebrities undergo c-sections almost 2 weeks earlier than the due date just to avoid stretch marks that seem to come most at that time. These women put their children at risk, just so they can look good afterwards. That is the most vain and cynical thing I have ever heard. Someone put it quite nicely, “motherhood is a sacrifice, and if a person isnt willing to make that sacrifice then they dont need to have children.” Women with or without stretch marks, but had your baby when it was necessary for the baby and not your selfishness, you are brave and courageous. It’s these people who go to extreme lengths and put their child at risk who are the cowards. They are too ashamed to look like a mother. It’s so sad!

Click here and here to see more.

FTR, I have not looked at every single photo myself – yet. :)

Missing Breastfeeding (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Submissions 2 Comments

I have two beautiful boys and breastfed them both. I loved my pregnant and nursing body. I felt at peace with my body image, radiant with life and power. After weaning our 2nd and last son, I’ve found myself obsessing about my breasts. They were so full of life for many years, nourishing our boys with food and comfort. I’m trying to adjust to their new size and shape… missing the way I was. I seriously considered plastic surgery, even went to consults and almost scheduled the procedure. In the end, I decided that I couldn’t let breasts define how I feel about myself. So, thank you breasts for a job well-done!




5 Months PP (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Submissions 16 Comments

I am a mother of a, now 5 month old handsome baby boy. I posted pictures of my new body at 10 wks PP, I thought I would post updated pics of my progress. Before pregnancy I was 110lbs, give or take, by the time I gave birth I was 152lbs, I am now down to 127lbs, my goal is 115lbs, but I am not obsessed with reaching it, I am enjoying my son. I will admit that the stretch marks bother me quite a bit and I let it interfer with my sex life, although my husband says he doesnt mind, and always tells me I am beautiful I have a hard time believing it, I think, if I cant look at myself in the mirror, how could anyone else want to look at me, its a difficult thing to accept, especially when I look back at old photos of myself baring a stretch mark free stomach. but in all honesty my son was worth everyone and if I had to double the amount or triple the amount etc to have in in my life, I would without hesitation. these pics are before pregnancy, 10 wks PP (138lbs) and now 5 months PP (127lbs).








Ten years After (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Submissions 1 Comment

I have two beautiful daughters, now 10 and 12 years old. I gained alot of weight with them both, and had back and hip problems during pregnancy. For several years i still had alot of pain, and it was so difficult to lose weight. Slowly, very slowly my body changed more or less back to how it used to be. I have som strethmarks im actually quite proud of. Maybe a strange thing to say, but they are the trofe of my motherhodd, my body has done a remakeble jobb giving birth to two children!



Me After C-Section (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Submissions 10 Comments

I just wanted to say it’s nice to see that I’m not alone. I had a very hard time being pregnant becasue of all my conflicting thoughts. I was so overjoyed to have my baby growing inside of me and could nto wait to be amother..on the other hand i was watching my once “perfect” 19 year old body completley fade away into something I couldn’t even recognize in the mirror. I had battled an eating disorder for 5 years and had just recovered before I got pregnant. When i had my eating disorder teh lowest I weighed was 89 lbs…I was 125 lbs when I got pregnant..and by the end of my pregnancy i was 225 lbs. It was devistating to me. Soem days I feel trapped in my own body. Now my daughter is 6 months old and becuase of a c-section I have a huge ponch a scr and TONS of stretch marks!! I call them my battle wounds… Everyday I look in the mirror it is hard becuase I spent so many years seeing my only self worth through my body. Evry day I just look at my beautiful daughter and I knwo I woudl do it all over again in a blink of an eye. I have never had something so meaningful in my life to bring me so much joy as my amazing daughter. I am so thankful to thsi website becuase it makes me cry to know that I am not hidous. It’s hard now there feels liek so much presure for women as it is but is even mroe intensense after you have a baby for some reason to look amazing. Every magazine you read or look at..or everytime your in a grocery store and you see a women who looks perfect especially if they have children and just ache over how you got to be this way. I really wish society didn’t focus so much one just one type of beauty and open their eyes to the real women out there. Women should stick togther and realize the amazing beauty there is in creating a life that is one of a kind. Thanks you to everyone on this website for posting your pictures. You inspired me to share my story. I am almost 21 years old ..5’3 150 lbs…and this is my body before during and after pregnancy….





Body by Baby (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Submissions 3 Comments

After two early miscarriages god blessed me and my husband with a beautiful baby girl. During a non-stress test at 38 weeks her heart rate dropped down into the 80’s for 8 minutes… my doctor sent me to the hospital to be induced. Our baby girl kept having decelerations in her heart rate so on Saturday December 15th I had her by c-section. I had thought I looked huge towards the end of my pregnancy (at 34 weeks my fundal height was 44 cm) and now I know why. My 5’1″ body was holding a 20″ 8 pound 7 ounce baby. My stomach is covered in stretch marks, I have a ten inch c-section scar, and a saggy baggy belly… I wouldn’t get rid of any of it…For the first time in my life I love my body.




My Love, My Life, My Inspiration (Tsi K.)

Bonnie (SOAM) African American, Back, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 11 Comments

I have posted previously (here), but did not have the courage to show my face, lol!I decided to go ahead and take the plunge today, after witnessing so many other women doing the same. Childbirth, and indeed motherhood are such beautiful and overwhelming miracles, and oftentimes, I find myself gazing at my little girl and wondering how and why I was chosen to raise and nurture such a beautiful soul.I strive to to be a role model for her, even at her tender age of 2. I know I only have a few precious years to teach her love of self, before she begins to understand, and perhaps be influenced by the the damaging descriptions of the female body that have forced many women and even children to travel down the path of self-disgust and self-hatred. I traveled such a path for many years before I became pregnant, but finally resolved to accept myself the way I was, for fear that I would one day have a daughter, and pass that negativity down to her. Well, God smiled down upon me that day, and I am thankful for it, because now my ‘just in case daughter’ is a beautiful reality, and a daily reminder to love and be kind to myself in order to set a positive example for her. The first picture was taken when I was 9 months pregnant, and then next three were taken within the last week. I have included a picture of my c-section scar, of which I am so proud! Towards the end of my pregnancy I got plenty of stretch marks under my breasts, but only a few on my mid-section (some on each hip bone.)The last picture is of course, my sunshine and reason for being.Thank you to all of the beautiful women who have contributed their stories and their images to this site. There is nothing more powerful than one woman being an inspiration to another, and you have all been an inspiration to me!







Updated here.