I have always been a rather thin girl. Perhaps bordering pre-pubescent. I was never one to be hit on or even complimented. Instead I got the, “omg do you need help. Lets get her to a clinic right away.” Standing 5’7″, I was 130 lbs pre-pregnancy and wore a size 7. I had a fairly easy pregnancy until the last 10 weeks and managed to pack on 75 lbs. I was miserable and so swollen I couldnt even wear sandals. I guess this is what the expression barefoot and pregnant is referring to haha. Immediately after I had my son via emergency C section, I was 186, by the time I got home 10 days later due to complications I was 165. And there it sat, for over a month. The scale did not want to budge no matter what I did. So I stopped worrying about it, donated all my old clothes and treated myself to some new pieces that were made for my new size and shape. Today, 3 months postpartum I am 150lbs and wearing a size 11. When I first came home from the hospital I cried. My body was never going to be the same, but then this strange thing happened. I felt womanly for the first time in my life. No longer am I being looked at and treated like a 13 year old girl. No longer does my husband feel like he’s a pedophile (ok, maybe this is just my strange sense of humor talking). I LOVE looking in the mirror and seeing curves. Real live curves. I feel sexy, I feel womanly. I feel like people look at me and respect me as a mother. I am thankful for this extra weight.
Yeah, I do have plenty of stretch marks and that lovely flap of skin over my incision but my advice to all ladies struggling with your new bodies is: Give it time. The more you love yourself the better you will look. Don’t aim to fit into your old pants. Dress for the body you have now.
First Picture: 40 weeks pregnant
2nd pic: 39 weeks pregnant_front
3rd pic: 9 days post partum
4th pic: 3 months post partum
5th pic: My son at 3 days old
6th pic: My son at 3 months oldI Feel Like a Woman Now, 20lbs Heavier
I love your outlook, and just so you are as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside. :)
I have the same red eeyore pajama bottoms!!! lol your son is beautiful :) and you look so great! i wish i shared your enthusiasum on post pregnancy bodies..! I would love to have your body. Enjoy it!
YES finally someone who isnt all down on themself for bein having a womans body!!!!! You Go Girl!!!! Im right there with you I am PROUD to be a MOM and have a womanly body!!:) Wish more woman would be confident like that and LOVE who they are!
BY THE WAY YOU LOOK AMAZING AND GORGEOUS
Do I LOVE your attitude. You are so damn right. Your sides are what men want. Something to hold on to. So proud that there is a real women out there to stand up for us. AND THATS YOU!!! Very happy to know thats how your feel. Keep it up!! Im due Nov 9th and im excited in a way to see what my body will look like. Take care of yourself.
Your story sounds a lot like me, although I was a bit more extreme. Before pregnancy I was 87lbs at 5’1″. (Believe it or not, that was after going to a nutritionist and going on a rigorous diet to GAIN weight, lol). Now, 4 kids and almost a decade later I’m around 103lbs and frankly, although I kinda still get the ‘kid’ look, but at least I feel more womanly. You look beautiful and your baby is adorable, you should be very proud of yourself!
Girl, you have it right. I am back in my old jeans now, but i have to say that I felt sooooo sexy once i OWNED my curves. I love my “child birthing” hips. They’re sexy,and i know it! Rock on!
Thank you, thank you for saying this truth – the more we love our own body the better it will look. It is a gift! These stretch marks and caesarian scars are a part of our story, a part of the interesting, complicated, beautiful lives we are making as mothers. Way to go to your sweet husband for digging your mother-body! You are an inspiration.
Thank you all for your additional words of encouragement. I love when us woman, complete strangers to each other , can be so supportive. Just reminds me, even more, that my post partum body, all of our bodies should be the last thing on our minds. Enjoy life and the life we created! You are all amazing