Before Pregnancy

From Hot to Not (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 33 Comments

I’m a 20 year old single mother to a beautiful baby boy and I HATE my new body. Before I got pregnant I was 5’8 138lbs and wore a size 4. I gained 55lbs while I was pregnant and I did nothing but sit and eat. All I did was eat and I regret more then anything. My doctor knew I was going to have a large baby so I was induced 2 days before my due date. I was in labor for 30 hours when finally a nurse felt my stomach and realized my son was sunny side up. I was then prepped for a C-section. My son was born March 3, 2009 weighing in at 9lbs 8oz and 21.5 inches.

The first time I look in the mirror and saw my new body was 2 days after the c-section. I was getting in the shower and got a glance of myself in the mirror. WHAT? Is that me? I was so disgusted with the was I looked.. Every time I took a step I felt my fat jiggle. I cried the whole time in the shower looking at my legs and my stomach. My stomach was covered in stretch marks up to my belly button, despite my effort to religiously moisturize it. My once tight and firm tummy looked like a road map was on it.

11 weeks PP now. I’m weighing in at 150. I’m of course happy that I’m loosing weight quickly, but the stretchmarks still remain.. And that’s what hurts the most. I feel ugly and unattractive still. I live in walking distance to the beach and I used to just put on my little bikini and walk to the beach and I’m incredibly depressed I can’t wear a bikini anymore. I had a great figure before I got pregnant and now I just look gross. I’m so insecure with the way I look. I feel I will never feel good about my body again. My breast were once a small B are now a full C small D. I’m breastfeeding and I can already tell my breast will not be the same once I’m finished breastfeeding.

I love my son more then anything and I would rather look the way I do now then not have him but I’d definitely looking into treatments to reduce the appearance of my stretchmarks.

The first 3 photos are me pre-pregnancy and the last 3 are of my stomach (currently 11 weeks PP)

Updated here.

I’ve Learned a TON at Twenty-One (Abby)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 17 Comments

Most people my age are changing their majors in college, because they decided they don’t really like Art History as much as they thought they would.
They know exactly how many beers they can drink and probably still drive home.
They still are secretly thrilled that Mom can’t tell them what to eat or the “appropriate” way for someone that age to dress.
But not I.
I have been married almost four years, have experienced what “Two under two” really means, and yes – I relish the fact that I would rather sit at home watching Madagascar 2 then go to the club.

I met the man of my dreams when I was 17, married him within five months, and got pregnant in our first year. I was 5’3, and 125 pounds (super muscular too; I was a dancer).

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I gained at least SIXTY pounds by the end.

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And nobody told me that might happen. I never lost enough to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I tried so hard to have the self esteem I once did, but those around me were determined to bring me down. One of my friends felt the need to tell me that “a few crunches would tighten that tummy right up.” Thanks, skinny friend of mine. People close to me thought it was a good idea to enlighten me as to why I “gained so much EXTRA weight.” Apparently, they thought it was just me being a cow while pregnant. Okay, maybe that last part is a teensy bit true.
My amazing and beautiful daughter made me forget about the things that used to matter to me. Like: how I look in a bikini; is that girl staring at me because she is jealous of my awesome boobs; can I buy that in a size small…. These things magically got away from me while I was busy raising my baby. Also, she started walking at 7 months old, so I didn’t have much time to sit and think anyways. Bless her little heart.

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I got pregnant again when she was ten months old, and I was 150 pounds. And I decided I was happy with that.

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I only gained 30 pounds the second time around.

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When my baby boy was born, my tummy seemed to recede much faster. Maybe it was because I was chasing around my 1.5 year old. Who knows.

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I felt myself getting happier about my body so much sooner. Everything has fallen into place for me now – I spend my time worrying about toy recalls, wondering if my girl can still fit her fat head into the 12 month shirt, when my boy will decide that boobies are not enough and that he wants some real food, and how my toddler wakes up several times a night but my infant sleeps at least 8 hours straight.
It really helps that my husband is realistic – he knows exactly what a body is going to look like after a baby. And he tells me everyday that I am just as beautiful as I have ever been (except now and then he says I am just a little bit more beautiful…. he is such a wily one). I stare at myself in the mirror all the time and say, “You are one hot momma!”
And not because I am flawless. But because I know what makes me attractive to the people who matter; the fact that I am doing a great job raising my children.

I know my body isn’t perfect now. But it wasn’t perfect when I was skinny either. My life, on the other hand, feels about as close to perfect as it can get. At least until we have our other four children.

Me, four months after baby #2

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One UnHot Mama. C-Sections & Stretch marks! -Yuckk (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Butt, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 32 Comments

First Pregnancyy.

I had been dating my boyfriend
for 2 months before I got pregnant.
(Bad.. i know)

I was 17 years old.
& I was never confident
with my body. Now.. Id give
anything for the body I once had.
Id walk around naked everywhere!!!

The first pic was (of course..)
BEFORE I got pregnant.
I was about.. 190 pounds.
&yeah. Ima big girl. Im 5’9.

The others are today.
8 weeks pp. 216lbs.- can barely squeeze my thighs in a 14.
&& i look horrible.

Before pregnancy i was 190-size 12.
When I had my c-section I was
250.. yeah.

I had pregnancy induced hypertension.
so I blew up!!

I think I might have
ppd. My relationship
with my boyfriend
has basically gone
to shit.
Have any of you had
stretch marks & a flap
like this.. then lost them?
.
I really need some support?
Im taking care of my son -8lb.8oz.20in.-
by myself. My self conficence is so low.
But yeah.

If anything i hope this
makes the ladies with
hardley noticable stretch
marks feel better! =D

Wondering How My Postpartum Body Will Look? (Colorado Mama To Be)

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

First off, this site is truly amazing. What incredible women you all are! My situation: I am 27 and just found out I am pregnant. It was a total accident, but I love my boyfriend and am not entirely opposed to having a baby. But we are both currently unemployed, which makes for a VERY scary situation bringing a baby into this world.

As many of you were, I’m terrified of the stretch marks and loose skin associated with pregnancy. I was an athlete in a Division-I college, and although that was eight years ago, I have since lost the definition and strength that I once had. This has resulted in a negative self-image. I know this may be impossible to tell, but I’m wondering how my body will react to pregnancy. Does anyone have similar skin and/or stomach/breast shape? I know we’re all different, but I’m just trying to get an idea of how I might look postpartum, and whether I can handle that emotionally. I am 5’5 and 152 pounds. My mother had average stretch marks that faded over time. Thanks so much for any input =)

STRUGGLING with looking pregnant a year AFTER I had my baby (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean) 42 Comments

I am now 25 years old. I had my first son in January 2008 when I was 23 years old. I am now 14 months postpartum.

Hey, I had my first baby at 23. A few month before I got pregnant I was 154 pounds. I am quite tall so i was a nice normal size then when i just found out I was pregnant i had put on a bit of weight 180lbs. By 12 weeks ( with morning sickness and everything) I was down to 167lbs and feeling great wasn’t worried about my weight etc. right from the start people thought i was having twins my stomach was HUGE and the rest of me was fairly thin. From 34 weeks i noticed I had put on alot of weight around my face but didn’t think much of it, the rest of me was still normal except for my belly, by this stage HUGE HUGE belly.

Anyhoo I went into labour naturally but ended up having a emergency c section after an hour of pushing as my baby was posterior and quite large. I gave birth to a 9lb 5 oz baby boy he was beautiful. When people came to visit me at hospital towards the end of the first week they started making comments politely about my stomach still quite large and that it hadn’t gone down much. Friends kids started asking me if I had another baby in my stomach and by the 4 week postpartum when I was out shopping a lady asked me ” How long I had to go?” I gave in another month or two and came to the conclusion i had put on soooo much weight during my pregnancy on my stomach and no where else and after the baby was born my stomach kept that pregnant look, it didn’t look like a fat belly it looked like a pregnant one!

The week i gave birth to my son I was 226lbs. I lost a few lbs after the birth but stayed around 204 lbs. for the first 11 months of my sons life, I just couldn’t get motivated. Then I read that if you haven’t lost all your baby weight in the first 10 months you never will.. Rubbish I thought. so I started eating right and just walking 3 times a week from the time my son was 11 1/2 months. By the time my son was 13 months I had lost 28 lbs My son is now 15 months and I am still hovering around that weight and getting ready to push my exercise up a notch to get rid of those extra pounds.

I have a lot of stretch marks, my stomach looks like a prune but hey I’m working on it and feel fantastic with the weight I have lost and so grateful I now look like I have a flabby belly not a pregnant one. lol

Oh also if you notice some scars on my pictures i also had my gallbladder out at around 4 months post.

I hope you all enjoy my photos. I know this website has been fantastic for me in realizing not everyone goes back to a supermodel body after pregnancy.

Timeline (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo 8 Comments

Here’s a timeline of photos from my pregnancy from 2 weeks to 38 (I went into labor at 39 weeks 6 days, so no 40 week photo!). The final photo is me now at 5 weeks postpartum. I love the changes that my body went through; the power of a woman’s body just absolutely amazes me! After 13 hours of all-natural labor I brought our beautiful daughter into this world and I wouldn’t change a single bit of it. Every stretch mark, every extra pound, every powerful contraction, and every painful stitch from the tears…They all brought me to the most wonderful thing in my life so far: motherhood.

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9 Months PP (Rochelle)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Sexual Abuse/Violence, Submissions, Teen Mom 13 Comments

When I was 14 I was raped by my father (who is now in jail for it) and life just seemed to have left me after that. One night I went for a walk to clear my head like almost every night and ran into someone who changed everything. I was only 15 when I got pregnant with my beautiful son. I was afraid but I trusted his father to be by my side. At about 8 months pregnant he had cheated on me which caused the relationship to end. With all the bad times I was facing I cried nearly every night. Every time I cried or just got mad at the world my son would kick and move around as if to let me know someone was there. Even though i got back with his father a couple months after he was born he left to another city so the past seven months i raised him myself. He will be back soon to help though!! I live with my mom on the agreement that I do chores and babysit when needed. Other then that I haven’t went out once on my own since his father moved.
My breasts are now completely covered in stretch marks and have headed south I’m afraid. (I also breastfed & still am!) They were once a very perky 34D. I also got stretch marks on my butt & thighs, but i didn’t get stretch marks on my stomach til the last few weeks. I think that when i decide I’m through with children and a bit older i’ll get a breast lift. I hate the fact I can’t wear the clothes I use to without embarrassment of the stretch marks or that I can’t go braless. I was thinking to maybe try to wear a bikini though after I find some more empowerment. Thankfully I have a high metabolism. 111 lbs prepregnancy, 143 near the end, & currently 103 at 5’3″. Also he was 8lbs & 3oz & I love him more then anything else.
GOODLUCK TO EVERYONE!!!

Age: 16
PP: 9 months
Number of Pregnancies: 1

Pics
1.) Before
2.) Day of Birth
3.) Tummy 9month pp
4.) another tummy
5.) boobs
6.) inner thigh
7.) outer thigh
8.) After (9 month pp)
9.) the most precious gift in the world

1 Month After Delivering a Baby (Brittney)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 23 Comments

Brittney
1 month after delivering a baby
Still trying to accept my body
My age: 19
# of pregnancies: 1

I’m a 19 year old mother and absolutely hate my new body! Before becoming pregnant I was a size 00 and I weighed 100 lbs! I am so depressed! I totally regret eating as much as I did while I was pregnant, and like the healthiest thing I ate was a cookie! If I knew what I didn’t know during pregnancy I’d do it all over again! I wouldn’t have gained as much weight as I did! I think that’s why I ruined my body! During pregnancy I gained 62lbs! I’m down to 129lbs and it’s been since March 2nd. I automatically thought I would go back to my size after having my baby. Little did i know I was wrong. I’m only 19 years old and I have stretch marks that cover my stomach. I will no longer be able to wear shirts that show my stomach or a bikini. I want laser surgery or whatever anything to get rid of them. I hate being body continuous. I’ve never been like this before! The pictures in the bikini and the yellow shirt by the car is before I had my little girl and the pictures in the black, and hoodie are after baby and yellow shirt and there’s a picture of what my stomach looks like :(

Young mom Trying to Accept her Postpartum Body (Amanda)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom 13 Comments

Hello everyone I am a proud 20 year old mother of two beautiful little girls. Brianna born November 19 2006 at 3:34pm weighing 6 pounds 11.9 ounces and 19.5 inches long, and Savanna born January 15 2009 at 7:52am weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. Both my girls came on there due dates, I though that was very cool. I am also happily married to a wonderful, supportive, hard working man. We have been married for a little over 2 years now and have known each other for about 6 years.

Before ever getting pregnant I weighted 120 pounds and was in good shape, I went to the gym 5-6 days a week with my hubby and worked out for about 1-2 hours. That was one thing that we really enjoyed doing together, and I still like working out. I have always had a problem with not accepting my stomach, I always thought it was never flat enough. When I was pregnant with my first daughter around 7-8 months pregnant I started noticing stretch marks. Although there were very few in the beginning, by the time I was 40 weeks (full term) I was covered in them :( I figured I would get them because they say if your mother has them, your most likely to get them yourself. I never though I would get so many though, so that was really hard for me. A while after I had her I was at 125 pounds, can’t remember how long it took me to get there though lol. So although I was only 5 pounds heavier I still couldn’t accept my body, and I know that 125 pounds is a healthy weight for me and not a lot at all. It was really only the loose belly flab and stretch marks that bugged me the most, so my goal then was to tighten and tone my body. I would always say to myself how could I think I had a big belly before, its even worse now. I don’t think I look terrible or anything, but its just tough looking back at my before and after pregnancy pics. Well anyways let me tell you about my second pregnancy, with my second daughter. I only gained 32 pounds during my pregnancy but I was so huge, and I got even more stretch marks :( I was happy for the first 1-2 weeks because I was once again loosing the weight quite fast, but then it just kinda stopped at about 145 pounds. I realize that it has not been very long, and I know that it will take time to get back to my Pre-pregnancy weight, but the waiting is so hard. I started my weight loss journey at 6 weeks postpartum, and I am now 11 weeks postpartum and I have lost 4 pounds so far. I want to keep the weight loss at about 1-2 pounds per week, so that my already loose skin wont become even looser. I surprisingly am not so upset about my stretch marks Right now, but I am more focused on losing the extra 15 pounds of weight that I am left with. I know I am not huge or anything, but I would still like to be close to my pre-pregnancy weight and I want my stomach flatter. So the main thing I am concentraiting on is losing the extra weight, and tightening the loose skin if possible. Well that’s my story, so lets check out the damage. Just want to shout out a quick thanks to everyone who has shared there postpartum bodies, I know im not alone. Congrats to all you wonderful ladies, and I hope you are all enjoying motherhood.

Picture #1 Before any Pregnancy
Picture #2 6 Months (First Pregnancy)
Picture #3 40 weeks (Full Term) First Pregnancy
Picture #4 Postpartum after first pregnancy
Picture #5 Postpartum after first pregnancy (2)
Picture #6 24 weeks (Second Pregnancy)
Picture #7 34 weeks (Second Pregnancy)
Picture #8 39 weeks (Second Pregnancy)
Picture #9 40 weeks (Full Term) Second pregnancy
Picture #10 1 day postpartum after second pregnancy
Picture #11 1 weeks pp after second pregnancy
Picture #12 11 weeks pp (now) after second pregnancy

Acceptance, It’s Not All Bad (Minxie)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, PPD - Postpartum Depression, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo, Teen Mom 5 Comments

~Your Age: 21
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy/birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: my daughter is 18 months

I hadn’t long turned 19 when I found out I was pregnant. I was absolutely terrified, as me and my partner had only been together 7 months. I felt that I hadn’t achieved anything that I wanted to do before I had children (go to college, get myself a good job, get a nice little house and get married) but nothing ever goes to plan when it comes to me! and there was no way I could ever have a termination. I was scared, but I knew I had to make the most of a ‘bad’ situation.

I started modeling at 18, and I think this had a huge impact on how I saw myself during my pregnancy. I felt huge, didn’t like how my breasts looked when the areola went darker. I just wanted to look the same as I did before, and constantly worried about how I would look after my baby was finished with my body. I’d always had a very low opinion of my body, which is why I started modeling in the first place. It helped a little seeing myself on camera, knowing that I didn’t look quite as bad as I did in my head. Little did I know, during my pregnancy I was suffering quite badly from depression (I’d been suffering from it for many years, but I just hadn’t realized what was wrong with me.) It really ruined my pregnancy for me….any normal mother-to-be would love and embrace their changing, pregnant body…but I just couldn’t wait to get back to normal. My pregnancy wasn’t an easy one anyway, with shocking morning sickness for the first 3 months, and developing Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) in the last 2 months which made it too painful to leave the house.

I started developing stretch marks on the top of my thighs at 6 months. They didn’t bother me too much as there were only one or two each side, and they were small and didn’t have much colour. But I started to get them on my stomach a month before my due date, and I was absolutely gutted. I thought I had avoided them, and it was a cruel thing to happen when I was so close to ‘making it’. I cried, and really did start thinking about how much my life was over, just because of a few stretch marks. It seems so silly and disgustingly shallow saying this now, but at the time it really did affect me in a terrible way.

My daughter was born 6/9/07 at 8.14am. I was in labour for 7 and a half hours, and she was born naturally weighing 8lbs 8oz. The birth went really well, no complications and no need for stitches! She was healthy and beautiful, and as soon as I looked at her I knew she was worth every sacrifice. She instantly became my world!

My breasts were fine through pregnancy, right up until I gave birth and my milk came in. I went from a D cup to a FF cup in the space of 3 days. I only breast fed for 2 weeks, and moved to formula and expressed breast milk after that as I wasn’t getting on very well with breast feeding. I don’t believe that I was doing it correctly and was paranoid that my daughter wasn’t getting enough milk. After the milk went, I was left with C cup deflated balloons! at 19 I found it really difficult to come to terms with the fact that I may never be able to wear a bikini on the beach, or wear slightly daring clothes whilst on nights out ever again. I loved my daughter with all my heart, and would of gone through it all again to have her, but that didn’t make me feel any better about how I looked as a woman.

I hit an all time low a few months after. I hated everything about how I looked and who I was, and was really desperate to get what I had back. I cursed myself for hating what I had before pregnancy, as as far as I was concerned, what I have now was much worse! I put on 2 stone in pregnancy, but lost a stone of it after the birth. The last stone I managed to shed through exercise, and I even managed to lose a stone extra. Being a stone lighter than I was before I got pregnant still didn’t help me feel better…what was the point in being slim when I had stretch marks and saggy boobs? I just wanted to curl up and die at times.

When my daughter was 5 months old I was diagnosed with postnatal depression, and was put on meds to help me cope. I loved my daughter so much, but hated myself just as much. I’d become a real mess, and didn’t know who I was anymore or what my purpose in life was. I felt my daughter deserved a better mother than she had…my opinion of myself was at it’s lowest. After a few months on the meds, I really started to feel better. I had a good long look at my life, and got my priorities straight. My daughter was way more important than how I looked, and I really needed to start spending more time having fun with her, and less time worrying about myself. I knew that I was lucky, I had a gorgeous, healthy child who was thriving and coming along brilliantly, and not every parent had been that lucky. I started to feel ashamed of how much I obsessed over how I looked, and started seeing past my imperfections I even started feeling a little bit proud of how I looked! My partner saw how much I’d come along, and offered to pay for breast augmentation surgery, although he didn’t think I needed it. I thought about it long and hard…I knew it was a risk, and maybe a little bit shallow, but why not take the chance to feel a little bit better about yourself? I had my surgery in February 2008. The surgery, combined with my medication and hard work repairing my mental health really lifted my confidence from the floor…I finally felt I had a body to be proud of, stretch marks or no stretch marks (although they’re very faded now, you can only see them in certain lights)!! I started modeling again in May 2008, and although I do have to explain the stretch marks to photographers, most of them are fine with it and find ways to work around it.

My daughter is now 18 months old. I love her so much, and can’t believe I wasted so much time fretting over how I looked instead of having as much fun as possible with her and feeling lucky that I have such a happy, healthy child. But I also realize that I can’t blame myself for it, PND is something that affects alot of women, and it made the first few months of my baby’s life a very dark time for me. I’m doing all I can to make it up to her now :) she is my inspiration for everything I do.

All my pics are completely unedited so you can see what I look like!

Modeling before pregnancy
Stomach before pregnancy
9 months pregnant
Modeling after pregnancy
Stomach after Pregnancy
Me and my little girl Cadey