Before Pregnancy

Genetics is Everything (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 14 Comments

I am 31 years old, my little one was born about 15 month ago, in May, 2010. Before my pregnancy my belly was absolutely flat, I was so proud of it. Although we needed c-section, because my baby’s head did not find its way out and my doctor did not want to risk anything after the water broke, my uterus became relatively small right after the delivery. Fortunately my skin could retain its flexibility, too, so unless one stares at my belly so closely, it is not obvious that I have a son.

Although I feel and know that my body is not exactly the same anymore (there are some tiny white stripes around my waist; there is a little bit more skin on my belly than there should be and in a way I am wider than I was before), those who do not see me naked cannot tell that I have already been pregnant.

I feel so lucky that I take after my mother, who has two children and still looks amazing. Thanks Mum, I love you!

No of pregnancies and births: 1

Pic 1: The change that 37 weeks of pregnancy brought
Pic 2: My belly from my perspective in the 37th week
Pic 3: My belly after 6 weeks
Pic 4: The scar after 6 weeks
Pic 5: After 15 weeks in clothes ;)

45 pounds up, 40 pounds down. learning to love my new body… saggy skin and all! (Ruth)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 13 Comments

25 years old, first (and only) pregnancy, cesarean, baby boy
Pre-pregnancy weight: 110 lbs. (best shape of my life!)
Weight gained in pregnancy: 45 lbs.
Current Weight at one year postpartum: 115 lbs (5 lbs to go!)

Before baby, I was working out sometimes 2 hours a day (don’t worry, I ate a lot to make up for it!) and as I continued in my pregnancy, all the things I used to do (I ran, swam, biked, yoga-ed, weights, pretty much anything and everything) went by the wayside and all I could do was walk and swim the last few months of my pregnancy. I continued to eat what I wanted and craved which was mostly healthy, but still A LOT to pack onto my small 5′ 1″ frame.

After some craziness (20 hours of labor), the little guy was suffering too much to go through more labor and I had a c-section. I wish I had done a better job to mentally prepare myself for it, because it was a SHOCK. 6 weeks I could basically do nothing, not even carry my baby in his carrier. Even though I was working full time as an art teacher at the local high school, I set about for 530am workouts to lose the weight. I breastfed/pumped for 8 months. Even with the stress of working full time, I lost just about all of it within 7 months and was so happy!!!

BUT…. nobody told me what would happen to my body and I was in for a HUGE shock. When people told me my bikini days would be behind me, I told them of course it wouldn’t be, in my mind, if I lost the weight (ate right, and worked out REALLY hard), everything should go back to normal, right??? wrong.

Then someone pointed me to this site.
And I was humbled. And left in awe. Some of these women have bodies that were so much more affected than mine.
And yet these bodies really are beautiful. This site is wonderful and I just wanted to add my voice to it.

I wish someone would have sat me down and told me a few things.
And if there are any other pre-baby girlies out there who are in need of some post-baby advice:

1) Its a LOT of work to get back to your pre-baby figure, but it is MUCH easier if you are in good shape BEFORE you get pregnant (I won’t be getting pregnant again till I lose those last 5 pounds!)
2) Breastfeeding is a GREAT way to burn more calories… but be forwarned that it will make you SUPER hungry 24/7
3) If you eat well and work out, your body may go down to size within 9 months (9 months up, 9 months down) but expect about a year.
4) Extra skin. Its a sad truth. But hopefully it goes away after all the kids?

Photos are
(me in black shirt) Pre-pregnancy, the day I found out I was pregnant
(me in green shirt) 40 weeks pregnant
all the other photos are 10 months postpartum, different angles of the saggy skin I never knew I would have to keep! and the c-section scar that my doctor told me would DISSAPPEAR in 3-6 months (it DIDNT)
and my little man :)

I also have a blog about my life, baby, and everything that came along with it if any one is interested in contacting me!

Learning to Surrender (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Eating Disorder, First Pregnancy, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 10 Comments

30 years old, two pregnancies one birth.
Currently 8 months pregnant. 15 month old daughter.

I used to be a dancer and circus performer and suffered with eating disorders, self harmed and abused alcohol for many many years. By the time I reached 25 I had recovered and was able to maintain a normal and healthy weight at 128lbs and 5ft 7 although I still had issues with alcohol. I worked as a stripper part time which believe it or not was part of my recovery. I learnt to accept my naked body for what it was, although in the back of my mind I still had weight issues. I ended a ten year relationship and began to date my husband in 2008. I am very lucky that he likes curvy ladies and didn’t like my thinness at all. I fell pregnant in 2009 and had to accept the changes that were happening to me. I struggled at first with the weight gain and exercised alot through my daughter’s pregnancy swimming up to five times a week. Towards the end I began to relax and was able to accept and submit to the changes that were going on in my body. I gained 32lbs and had no stretch marks.

After a long difficult , but peaceful birthing using hypnobirthing, my daughter entered the world via forceps delivery. The pictures show my body 3 days after the birth and a week after the birth. My breasts became engorged with milk and I can truly say I felt the most beautiful I have ever been. I did lose the postpartem weight within six months (much to my husband’s regret) and had a wonderful if sleepless experience of breastfeeding my lovely daughter for 13 months during which time I fell pregnant again.

This time round I have submitted to my body allowing it to do what it needs to do without forcing it to exercise or maintain ridiculous standards of healthy eating and exercise. I am currently 8 months pregnant and on track to gain exactly the same as before WITHOUT THE HOURS IN THE POOL! My body knows what to do, my baby knows what to do and I can honestly say I am the happiest I have ever been. I might not be able to fit into my old showgirl and circus costumes, but my 15 month year old now has the best dressing up box out of all her little friends!

Find peace in yourselves ladies. Our bodies are miracle workers.

Loving My Mommy Marks (Izzy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 8 Comments

Age-20
1 birth
baby will be 2 in September

Hello beautiful moms!! its been well over a year since I last posted. But I have been a daily visitor for the past 3 years. In my last submission I was 6 weeks pp with my little man, he will be two in September time sure does fly!

Before pregnancy I weighed in at 145-150 ish 5’9. When I first moved in with my now husband I went up to 185 (I was 16 we had our own apartment and we were up all night eating and playing video games lol) I let my self go but I loved my body at 185 and my husband was even more crazy about me :)

We found out we were expecting December of 2008 we were ecstatic and ready for parenthood. I loved every single moment of my pregnancy every kick, punch, hickup I loved loved loved. Being young (17) and overwhelmed I was pretty sure pregnancy was an excuse for me to gorge myself into anything I layed eyes on. I had no symptoms of pregnancy except a growing belly, no nausea, vomiting, heart burn nothing! I was feeling great and although I ate everything in sight I didn’t really start showing till about 25 weeks.

As I awoke every morning to a wonderful husband and a kick in the ribs by the life growing inside of me, I also had stretchmarks crawling closer and closer towards me. I had tons amongst tons of stretchies everywhere imaginable. On my sides, stomach, Boobs, calves, and arms. Although they didn’t bother me, the thought of never again having smooth flawless skin like girls my age started sinking in slowly.

I gave birth to my son with zero complications September 22, 2009. I weighed 240 lb (yikes!) when I delivered. I went home with a 7lb 10oz healthy baby boy. I knew right away I was going to breast feed and I’m very glad that my boy took very well to each feeding. By 6 weeks pp I was down to 190. I stayed at 190 throughout the whole ten months I was able to breast feed.
(My son was introduced to whole milk while I was going to school and working and little by little I was producing less and less milk)

After I stopped breast feeding my body was no longer burning the 500 calories that was helping me stay at 190 so you can pretty much figure out were I’m heading, Yup a whopping 26 pounds I gained leaving me at 216. I was miserable I couldn’t believe the number on the scale. Here’s this beautiful active baby boy walking and running and I could barley keep up! I was determined to loose this unnecessary weight, it wasn’t healthy and I didn’t want it interfering with me and my son’s play time :)

I changed my eating habits and ate healthy bringing me down to 200 lb and although I was happy about getting down to 200 I was upset because I weighed 200! I wasn’t loosing or gaining any more weight and I felt cheated because I was giving up all my favorite foods and I was working my butt of at the gym, but the scale still denied me to see the 100’s. My 20th birthday cam along and even though I was healthier I was loosing my motivation. Two tickets to Cancun Mexico was my birthday gift from my wonderful husband.
I had a life time of motivation now lol

I managed to get down to 180 in the matter of 5 months and was rocking a bikini on the beautiful beach of Cancun :) I put aside all of my insecurities and thanked my body for blessing me with a perfect child :) I might have a stretch mark for every freckle that Lindsay Lohan has on her body….but I’m a beautiful mother and I accept every squiggle and wrinkle that was left behind by my boy. I wanna thank SOAM and all the moms for their stories. There’s no such thing as an ugly mom and don’t let anyone tell you other wise we bring beautiful lives onto this earth and we should feel proud.

Oh and just found out a couple days ago baby #2 on the way..6 weeks pregnant yay!!

1st pic-before pregnancy
2nd pic-me at 32 weeks
3rd pic-laying down side view of stretchies
4th pic-really good view of my belly stretchies
5th pic-me and my baby showing off our bellies
6th pic-laying down stretchies don’t look as bad
7th pic-me ima dress
8th pic-boobs
Pics are me at 180 lb

Site Newbie, 2 Years PP (Lisa J)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 10 Comments

My Age: 38
Number of pregnancies and births: 3 Pregnancies, 3 Births
The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 8, 5, and 2.

Hi everyone,
I’m a newbie to the site. After reading many of your amazing stories, I feel compelled to introduce myself and share my story.

My name is Lisa, and I am a 38 year-old mother of three wonderful children (8, 5, and 2). I was never what you might consider to be skinny prior to my pregnancies, but I was quite fit and had very nice curves. Like everyone else here, my pregnancies significantly transformed my body.

After my last child, I took a long, hard look at myself and decided to try to regain my pre-pregnancy form (to the best of my abilities). I was about 80 pounds over-weight and slowly began to lose some weight.
I am very fortunate to be married to a wonderful man who was so supportive in helping me achieve my goals. He helped to motivate me when I was down and wanted to quit dieting, and served as a shoulder to cry on when I was down. I want to say that I love you Scott, and am so thankful to have you in my life.
While my stomach, butt, thighs, and boobs are bigger and not as firm as they used to be, I have finally reached a point where I feel pretty good about my appearance again. All in all, I think that I look pretty good. I am attaching some pictures below, so please be kind.

I hope others may gain strength from my experience, and know that you can get to where you want to be with hard work and patience. I strongly encourage all of you to take as many pictures as possible of yourself along your journey. In retrospect, I did not take as many pictures of myself as I probably should have. Those that I did take served as motivation for me and were extremely helpful in helping me see weight loss results.

Perfectly Imperfect (Blondiebroken)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Piercing, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 8 Comments

I am a teen mother, I got pregnant my first time having sex at the age of 17. I am now 19 years old and my son is 19 months old. When I was pregnant I had gained around 70-80 pounds and now that I am 19 months P.P. I still have 20 or 25 pounds to lose. It’s hard for me to lose that extra pouch of skin, I just get so jealous seeing these other moms who have a tight body, even after pregnancy. I am ashamed of my stretchmarks, but I am NOT ashamed of my son. It’s summer time now, I still dislike my body, but I am able to show it off when in public and I’m not ashamed of it. I am only ashamed of my body when in private areas, I will not admit my fears to random people and this is a big step for me to post something as personal as this. When I see these ladies on this site posting pictures of themselves and they’re afraid to even wear a low cut shirt, it makes me really sad. A lot of women after pregnancy can’t get back to pre-pregnancy size and it is a sad thing but it’s also a new step in your life that not many other women(those without children)will ever accomplish, you have :) don’t be ashamed of the marks. I just wanted to say that even with a child, you can still be sexy and show it off. I have the new form that I am gonna have to live with, whether I like it or not. One day I do hope to love my body 100% of the time.

1st picture-Before pregnancy
2nd picture-41 weeks pregnant
3rd picture-After son was born <3 4th picture-After pregnancy; Stomach from side 5th picture-Close up of my stomach and stretchmarks 6th picture-At the beach and in a bikini 7th picture-My son <3 Age: As stated above, 19. Number of pregnancies and birth: 1(for both) The age of your child, or how postpartum you are: 19 months old and 19 months P.P. [gallery]

I feel like a stranger in my own skin! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 11 Comments

I am 24, and I really dislike my body! I don’t feel like the same person,I feel like a stranger in my own skin! It is always on my mind. Its my saggy breasts that feel “deflated!”and my striped jelly belly. I hide my belly, my butt, my thighs, almost everything from my husband and I am absolutely terrified I will always feel that way! My husband says I am beautiful, but I cant see it at all! I need to lose about 50 lbs I was PP 125lbs (5’4”) and currently struggling to get under 170lbs. To make matters worse My husband is an ex marine and a bodybuilder! He has a near perfect physic! I feel like I don’t match up with him anymore! When I am pregnant I watch my body change into an alien while his just slowly improves! Its not fair! My husband says he is happy and he proves it, but it is still in the back of MY mind that he deserves a better looking wife! Any advice on how to love yourself again?

~Age: 24
~Number of pregnancies and births:2 Pregnancies : 2 Births
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 3 years, 5 months Boys!

First Picture is Before I had any Pregnancies and The second and third picture is 5 months Post Pregnancy with my second.

1 Pregnancy, 1 Birth (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 5 Comments

I was 16 when I got pregnant. I was just starting to live out my life after years of being shy and to myself. I had met the father of the baby about a year before I got pregnant. Luckily the father of my daughter is really good to me, loves our daughter and where going on two years and 1 month on Saturday.Pregnancy was complication free. Her birth was a pain. She 2 weeks past due, so I decided to go ahead with an induction. She still didn’t want to come out so I was stuck with a C-section. (scar is hardly noticeable) I was up and going after a week. Though here I am 5 weeks postpartum still can’t do vigorous exercise. I’m blessed with a beautiful family now. Honestly, it was worth the toll it took on my oh so young body. Lol. I’m learning to accept the things I can’t change, and change the things I can. Thankfully I haven’t had any stress what so ever . As soon as I got pregnant things sort of fell in to place. All with the exception of my body. See I’ve always have self-image issues. When I was in Elementary and a little bit of middle school, I was a bit chubbier than others. I developed bulimia and dropped a whole lot of weight! Even then I had the idea that I was saggy, and disgusting. Of course it didn’t help that I was always getting cheating on and told that I was not good enough.. “men always think they can do better until you leave them dry(;” Lol. Well anyways, even my father (douche bag) Always told me I was fat, & that my arms resemble chicken’s wings. (whatever) I started pregnancy at around 137 and at my last DR’s appointment I was weighing 180. :O holy cow that’s 47 pounds. I didn’t mind much about the weight it was the stretch marks that really got to me. I would BATHE in cocoa cutter, and Palmer’s Stretch Mark Solution night and day. Obviously it was a waste of money! Anyways, while I’m absolutely in love with my daughter, I have my days where I break down and start crying. My body will never be the same, I won’t ever feel sexy again. My boyfriend doesn’t mind them, but he gets annoyed of my constantly thinking he’s not attracted anymore, and of the fact I don’t stop slapping Cocoa butter on. I lost about 25 since I’ve left the hospital. I’d still like to lose another 25. I’m doing this the healthy way this time!! Other than that I’m blessed with a healthy baby. :)

1st picture: About 7 months pregnant
2nd:40 weeks
3rd: Pre-preggs
4: 2-3 weeks PP
5th: 5 weeks PP:

Mommy Belly (Sarah)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 22 Comments

I’m 26 with 3 pregnancies, 2 births. I have a 4 year old son and 5 months and 2 week old daughter. I was 21 when I had my first child and I weighed 150 pre pregnancy, I wasn’t the skinniest I have ever been but I liked the way my body looked. I wore form fitting clothes and bikinis and didn’t even think twice about it. I gained 50lbs during my first pregnancy and postpartum I weighed 180lbs then gained back 10lbs a few months after the pregnancy, 40lbs over my pre pregnancy weight. It took me about 2 years to start loosing weight. I lost 35lbs but I still had my mommy belly with stretch marks and flabby skin. About 8 months after loosing my weight I became pregnant with my daughter. I had a difficult pregnancy with my daughter, I Went in to preterm labor with her at 32 weeks and was in the hospital till I gave birth at 36 weeks via repeat c-section. I only gained 25 lbs with my daughter. Postpartum I weighed 170lbs and currently still do, weighing 15lbs over my pre 2nd pregnancy weight.

I loved being pregnant and having a baby belly, I get baby belly fever in stead of baby fever! I miss having that cute little round belly with my sweet lil baby in side kicking and squirming around! I wish having a mommy belly was a fun as having a baby belly! I am working on losing 25 more lbs right now but what ever I do, I cant loose this mommy belly and I’m having trouble losing this post pregnancy weight again! My husband is currently deployed over seas and will be home in October. I am trying my hardest to lose this weight and my mommy belly with it but it just isn’t working that well! I want to surprise him when he gets home, I know he doesn’t care if I have mommy belly or a tight skinny belly. But It bugs me and I want to look good for him! I have been stressing over this for the last few weeks and I know I shouldn’t stress about it but I do….

Has any one had trouble with losing weight and your mommy belly after pregnancy? also does any one have tips on how to tighten and tone my stomach so its not so flabby. I do crunches and a ton or ab work outs but its not working. Most my friends have returned to their pre pregnancy weight and body’s with in 6 months of there pregnancy. I so wish it was that easy for me! How long after pregnancy did it take any of you to get back to your pre pregnancy weight and body?

photos
1st pic- pre pregnancies, 2nd pic- first pregnancy, 3rd pic-after first pregnancy, 4th pic- second pregnancy, 5th and 6th pics- what my tummy is now

Will Anyone Love this Body Again? (Rebecca)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 11 Comments

In December of 2007 I got pregnant with my son, I was 23 years old. My then husband deployed when I was 17 weeks pregnant and I went back to live with my parents for 4 months. I didn’t have a job, I was sad because my husband was gone, I was lonely and completely unmotivated. I took being pregnant as permission to eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted. When I got pregnant I was about 164 lbs @ 5’7” which looked pretty good on me, I still didn’t love the way my body looked but I would kill to have it back now. I gained around 74 lbs before I had my son. My weight before delivery was 243 lbs I think. My son weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 21” long, born 8 days late via emergency c-section (I was put under.) I lost about 40 lbs in the first few weeks but then gained 20 lbs or so back in the next several months. I just couldn’t get control of my eating. I used food to solve all my problems. I decided it wasn’t worth trying to lose weight because I knew I wanted another baby and why should I lose weight just to get fat again? Yes it was a warped way of thinking, but it gave me an excuse to keep eating the way I wanted to and not take control of my problem. When my son was 13 months old I got pregnant with my daughter (October 2009) at that time I weighted about 225 lbs. I gained maybe 20 lbs with that pregnancy, they didn’t weigh me before I gave birth so I can’t be sure. My daughter was born on the day of her scheduled c-section via VBAC weighing 8lbs 4oz and 21” long. My daughter will be 10 ½ months old next week and I weigh 216 lbs still. I struggle every day with my eating habits and am working very hard to get them under control. When I was 35 weeks pregnant I split from my husband and moved back home. Since then I have been raising our children alone as we like 800 miles apart. It has been a struggle for me and I find myself repulsive, I have always had issues with body image and I don’t know if I will ever be good enough for myself. I worry that I will never find someone who can love and accept me for myself. All I see is this fat ugly body and I also come with 2 children. Who wouldn’t want to pass that up? So here I am sharing my story and my pictures hoping to find acceptance and a little understanding. My babies mean everything to me and I try to remember that as I hate on my body. This body that I have ended up with is my own fault and I think that is harder to accept than anything else. If I just would have exercised a little control while I was pregnant with my son I wouldn’t have gained so much weight, and then maybe I wouldn’t be stuck with this misshapen stomach that may never look normal again no matter how much weight I lose.

Age: 26
Number of pregnancies: 2
Number of births: 2
Age of Children: 2 ½ and 10 ½ months
Pictures: pre-pregnancy, today x3, my daughter, my son