The Shape of a Mother

I was 60kg when i got pregnant with my first baby, when I had just turned 18. i started showing very early, i had a noticable bump at only 10 weeks. I mananged to avoid stretchmarks until i was about 28 weeks pregnant, they started out just a couple on either side, but by 29 weeks my belly was covered in them, and they were thick and red and i thought they were horrible. I wished i could have been one of those pregnant women who could show off their bellies, but i hated my stretchmarks. The other weight gain wasnt really noticable, it seemed to all go to my tummy (I gained 20kg). My son was born at 30 weeks, and i remember feeling so great for the first couple of weeks, not really noticing that my whole body had blown up and the weight from my stomach seemed to have spread everywhere. Only six weeks later, i was pregnant again. This time i was even bigger (belly-wise) and my stretchmarks creeped furthur up my stomach. After my second son was born, i had gained another 10kg. And this time i felt horrible. I would never wear clothes that showed my stomach in any way, same with my thighs and upper arms. Now, 12 months after my second son was born, my stretchmarks are fading, and i am so much more comfortable in my own skin. I have lost 15kg since he was born, so i am still 15kg heavier than I was before having kids, but i feel just fine with how i look. Of course i would like to loose more weight and tone up etc, but its not a huge priority. I still wont let people see me naked, and yes i still do get paranoid, but im generally ok with myself. The main things that worry me is the flab still on my stomach, and the fact that one of my breast sags more than the other. But I am a mother, and i will never look the way i did before —- and im starting to be ok with that. the pictures are of me at 11weeks with my oldest, then 24 weeks, then at 30 weeks with my second, and now.

It has been 5 months since the birth of my baby boy. I am 23 years old, and this was my first pregnancy. I did not plan on becoming pregnant,but i was excited nonetheless when I found out . My belly grew and grew, and I got very big. People thought I was having twins and thought my doctor must have my due date wrong, because I was so big. Throughout my pregnancy, despite my joy, I always worried about what I would look like afterwards. I always had a nice body. Particularly my stomach was the one area that i liked the most. It was toned and tight before I got pregnant. At my age, I wasn’t ready to give that up, especially when all the other girls my age have such young tight bodies. Now mine is soft, squishy, and there is fat where there was never fat before. Although I now weigh less that pre-pregnancy, the fat is distributed differently, on my mid area. I always had very small breasts. Now, after 3 months of breastfeeding, they are even smaller looking and ‘deflated’. However, in looking at this site, I have gained the courage to post my pictures. I want to post them because I want to show that even though I have a “mommy body” and lots of stretch marks, I can still be sexy. I think sexyness comes from inside. If you feel sexy and portray that confidence, then the more sexy others will see you to be. I still wear my sexy underwear for my husband, even though it looks nothing like it used to on me. I am sexy , just in a different way now. I want all the moms that read this and see my pictures to realize that we are still attractive, even if you don’t see bodies like ours on the covers of magizines. I want to be confident in my own body, which is why i took these pictures at 5 months pp. I was fortunate enough to not get any stretch marks on my stomach, but you can see them on my sides and legs. But I dont care anymore, I refuse to dwell on it – my baby boy is too precious, and he was worth every stretch mark I have!

my weight has always been a burden to me…something to feel guilty about if i indulge in a treat, something to obsess over… whether i am thin or not… thinking about my weight makes me miserable. i am 32 now, and a mother of four. finally, i feel i have had a taste of the freedom to NOT be thin, according to society’s depiction, of course. it’s a quality of life thing…i don’t have time to worry about it so much anymore! i run after my kids, my day is so full of caring for them, worrying about myself and my body image HAS to come last. in this i have found freedom. i love my sagging boobs that have nourished all four of my precious children. i have learned to be practical and not browbeat myself for my extra padding and bulges that make up my body. i beauty fades, but the eyes speak volumes…i hope mine speak of the peace, love and acceptance that i have found in loving who i am, from the inside out.

Thank you so much for this page! Growing up in Scandinavia, I’ve been used to seeing nude female bodies and bellies of all shapes – in public saunas and other places. Still I was not at all prepared for my post partum body. Just didn’t think that I would be one of those women who changed this much! Now a year after my son’s birth, I’ve grown to love my simmed milk tummy stripes- and so has my partner!

Hello, my daughter Madison was born May 3rd 2006. She weighed 7 pounds 1.2 onces. I’m still breastfeeding her and this has helped aid in the weight loss! I was 140 before pregnancy, and at my last check-up while I was pregnant I weighed 191 pounds. I am currently 145. So I’m almost back to normal. I want to be 135-130 before my husband I try to get pregnant again. I added 4 photos…The first one is my belly before pregnancy, the 2nd is me at 35 weeks pregnant. And the last 2 are 13 months PP.

I am a mother of two boys, 3 and 1 year old. I am 25 years old and I thought it was only me and some old people who had bellies like that. Thank you for this great site!

I carried my twins to term and these are the results!! They are beautiful girls, 9 months now. I think my tummy has gotten a lil flatter but its hard to tell with all that skin! Boy I miss my nice bellybutton!!