Before Pregnancy

Starving to Blooming (Eve)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Eating Disorder, First Pregnancy, Positive Body Image/Words of Enouragement, Postpartum, Submissions 20 Comments

Having spent the last 14 years suffering from Anorexia Nervosa before becoming pregnant I worried about how my changing body may bring back the thoughts, feelings and negativity I had experienced for so long. I had only been in recovery for a number of months before getting pregnant I didn’t feel I was prepared for either getting “bigger” and especially for how my body would look post-pregnancy. I have to say I have been happily surprised by my own reaction. I loved being pregnant, took to it like a duck to water. I enjoyed my ever blossoming bump and showed it off to the max. My worries stuck about how I would feel post-pregnancy. Here I am, 3 weeks after giving birth to my beautiful daughter and feeling (and looking!) fabulous! Yes, I have lumps, bumps, wobblies and stretch marks but I look better than I have in years. Going from 105lbs to 150lbs during my pregnancy has done something, has changed me. I can now appreciate my womanly figure, my curves!! My daughter has done more for me than just making me a mother, but also helping me see the beauty in my own skin.

~Age: 27
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: daughter, 3 weeks

3 months after delivering a baby boy (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 9 Comments

Hey everyone!

I have been coming to this site for a long time. I started reading all the stories and looking at all the pictures probably a year before I even got pregnant. I am 24 years old and delivered a healthy baby boy on December 20th, 2008. My pregnancy and labour all went so amazing. I had a short 5 hours of labour and out came my boy at 7 lbs 12 oz. I absolutely love being a mom.

I started working out at about 7 weeks postpartum. I don’t own a scale, but I can tell I am getting close to my pre-pregnancy weight. Thanks to all the moms for posting your pictures and stories. As far as I’m concerned we are all super moms! :)

Updated here.

6 weeks pp (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 16 Comments

I have been having a hard time dealing with my new mommy body. I am 27 and this is my first child. I am 5’4″ and started at about 140. I have always looked like I weigh much less than I actually do but now I am having a hard time hiding my weight gain. I had the easiest pregnancy (no morning sickness or mood swings or anything) up until 36 weeks. I ended up being induced (what a nightmare!) and giving birth at 38 weeks and 195 pounds. I became really bloated from the magnesium as I was preclamptic and left the hospital at 188 pounds. I lost 20 pounds the first 2 weeks from water weight but now am stalled at 164 and my stomach is so flabby :( I am hoping I can start exercising and lose 20 or 30 pounds before summer. I’m not sure how easy it will be, what are other peoples weight success stories?? I feel I’m lucky that I didn’t get stretch marks and have a beautiful baby boy now, but I just feel like a walking ball of jello and cellulite. Will I ever feel like my old self? Here is a picture of me 6 weeks pregnant, 32 weeks, 6 weeks pp and picture of my son Walden!

Nothing Wrong Here (Punkin)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 7 Comments

I just love reading the stories on this website. I’ve been mourning the perky 19 year boobs (I looove my belly stretch marks!) I left behind when I got pregnant since giving birth 5 months ago, but seeing all these women has made me realize that the “ugly” I see in myself is just in the eye of the beholder. They are so beautiful. I love my baby girl and I love being a mom. I’m starting to accept the changes and even enjoy them! The first picture is pre-pregnancy, the next are while I was pregnant and the last is now, at 5 1/2 months postpartum.
-Punkin

No Longer a Size 0 (Anonymous)

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

I’m a 17 year old mother and have barely came to terms with my new body. Before becoming pregnant I was a size 0 and I weighed only 100lbs It has been 9 months after having my daughter and it has been a very depressing long road. I have done many things to help me loose weight, although I have lost some I’m still unsatisfied with my body. I always had been known as the skinny girl with big boobs. I automatically thought I would go back to my size after having my baby. Little did i know I was wrong. Upon having my daughter I gained nearly 50 lbs!Now, I weigh about 130 and although I’m still unhappy with my body i have come to terms with the fact that I will no longer be able to wear a size 0 pair of jeans. I’m only 17 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 maybe in a couple of years once they fade a little bit. I’m determined to loose that extra weight and get my stomach back to being flat and not flabby. This website helped me realize that I’m not the only person out there going through this.

Still Working to Accept My Body (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 6 Comments

I had my daughter when I was 19 years old. She just turned three last week and I am still struggling to lose the weight I gained from my pregnancy. I had gestational diabetes and I gained nearly 75lbs during my pregnancy. I have no real motivation to lose the weight mostly because I’m scared of how my body will look when I do and partially because my husband says he loves me just the way I am. This site has helped me to realize that if I want to lose the baby fat I need to learn to see the beauty in myself first. The before picture of my stomach was taken my freshman year of college(about 6 months before I got pregnant). At the time I weighed 130lbs. Currently, I’m 22 and I weigh 205lbs. After taking these pictures I think that I’ve realized I don’t look as bad as I thought I did. I really love this site. It’s a good feeling to realize that there’s other people out there like you.

Diastatis Recti (Katie)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Diastasis Recti, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, PUPPP Rash, Submissions 46 Comments

Hi Mums,

I am 30 years old and mother to an 8-month daughter. Her name is Maja.

I used to be a fitness maniac before pregnancy, which you can surely see in my photo ‘before’. I used to be on the skinny side, but during pregnancy I gained 50 lbs and I was huge. People frequently asked me if I was carrying twins. Well, I wasn’t, and my baby wasn’t that big, with just 8 lbs.

Unfortunately, in late pregnancy I developed two miserable conditions, one of them was PUPPP (which made me suicidal) and the other one was diastasis recti. The diastasis recti brought along some stretchmarks around my belly button. These stretchmarks have cured fairly well, now they look like thin white or grayish lines, but when I sit down, my stomach is wrinkled. You can see them in one of the pics.

My belly button is deformed b/c of the diastasis recti. I have recently seen a surgeon and been told that I had a slight hernia and ought to undergo a surgery (a mesh implant). The diastasis recti gives me the funny pot belly which you can see in the pictures. I still look like 5 months pregnant. The trouble is, I will have to wait with the surgery until I’m done with having babies.

And I am still not sure if I want another one… It’s not about the body, I believe exercise can do wonders. What troubles me is PUPPP… Perhaps you have heard of it? Just after I gave birth (10 hours in labor), the itching was so bad that I didn’t even feel any pain. My mother had to move in and look after my baby, because I wasn’t able to sleep, I was restless and a nervous wreck. I even went back to hospital and told them to do ‘something’ or I would kill myself. It usually disappears after labor, mine was only getting worse and worse! I had it for six painful weeks and if it ever comes back… I think I can’t take it any more! Unfortunately I deleted all photos with my PUPPP, b/c looking at them made me itch!

8 months postpartum I lost almost all the extra lbs, with only 5 left. But as you can see, the body is not the same. No time for exercise! I hope this will change over time. And I am still thinking about the DR surgery. It would surely make my pot belly disappear.

I didn’t take any pics of my boobs because they haven’t changed a bit. They were two sizes bigger when I breastfed and now they are back to the original size and shape.

Anyway, Maja is the best thing that’s ever happened in my life!



Update (Iraiosc)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Diastasis Recti, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 1 Comment

Original entry here.

Hi again, of course i still reading all post of all valiant woman who has new bodies like me. All you made me stronger and leave my depression.
Actually i feel so pretty dressed because i lost more or less all volume. My son will celebrate 1 year the 2nd april!!

Of course i still having umbilical hernia and diastasis… and i don’t know if i want more kids… of course i want… but i’m so so scared that probably i never would repeat… :(
What a bad situation for my husband, my son and me…. but, what would you do? Maybe another pregnancy would break my belly and probably the baby goes out like an alien!! hahahaha :-D
After i decide i will repair the hernia and put the navel at his place. When i will… i show you pics if you want!

Well, i hope you note some difference between fists pics and this, but i still looking bad down my clothes… my navel is so courious and is looking outside…
Kisses to everybody, still strong as you do and take care of yourselves to feel so pretty inside and outside!!

PD1 My son now is walking!!! :DDD bravoooooo!!
PD2 Again…. sorry for my mistakes in english!

Me dressed! I lost all the kilos i’ve gained!! I think now I look so well, don’t?

Do you see the hernia down the navel? and the wrinkles? :O

i know is terrible, but now i feel so better!

me at 38 weeks

and me one month before being pregnant.

Updated here.

Learning to Love My Body Again (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Birth, Breasts, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 10 Comments

I am 33 years old. I have 2 children, that today are ages 6 and 8 years old. I nursed both of them. Before pregnancy, I was no super model, but was healthy, around 140 lbs, with perky nice little B cups. With my first pregnancy, I gained 50 lbs. I quickly lost all that weight by 7 months post partum. My body looked better than ever. I had nice boobs and curves that I never did before. I don’t remember what my belly looked like, but it couldn’t have been too bad, because I don’t remember it, LOL. Pregnancy and birth taught me to love my body at whatever size and I felt so sexy when I was pregnant with my first and after. With my second, I gained 70 lbs. This pregnancy really took its toll on my body. It took me almost 2 years to regain my pre-pregnancy weight. I was still nursing, so still had boobs and was confident and content with my body again at that point. But then I developed several autoimmune and chronic health problems: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, etc etc. I ballooned up to 200 lbs in less than one year’s time! Then I reclaimed my health and slowly worked my way down to 130 lbs, which is where I am today. My body has really gone through so many weight changes now between the pregnancies, nursing and swelling to D+ cups, and the health problems. I am no longer nursing, so my boobs are like flat pancakes today. My stomach is a wrinkly and saggy. I struggled for the longest time to accept this new body as my own. Especially my breasts. I felt a disconnect with them, like they just weren’t a part of me. Some foreign invaders hanging from my body. But I am slowly learning to love my breasts again. Slowly learning to wear the badges of my life’s journey with honor and pride. It is a slow process. Self-love is hard work! Coming across this website has really helped spur that along. Looking at the pics of all these beautiful moms has really inspired me. We are all so beautiful and should be proud of our womanly, motherly, sexy bodies!

First picture: first pregnancy, 6 months post partum
Second picture: nursing my first
Third picture: pregnant with my second child
Fourth picture: just after the birth of my second child
Rest of the pictures: me today at age 33; my kids are 6 and 8 years old

Reached My Goal (Susy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Child Loss, Piercing, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 12 Comments

I am a 21 yr old mother of an almost 3 month old baby we named William Christian. My husband and I always knew we wanted kids, so 6 months after our wedding we decided to start trying. We got pregnant quickly (3 cycles) and we were both thrilled. Unfortunately, at 5 weeks pregnant, we lost the baby. We were both devastated. After my loss, my cycles became very irregular. I almost completely stopped ovulating. My gyn put me on clomid. By the 5th cycle of it I was losing hope. I was becoming a very bitter person and all but hated every pregnant woman. But God had a plan for us because that cycle was our lucky one! I was scared because I was bleeding just like the first and even cramping, but the little bean held on! The bleeding didn’t stop til I was 8 weeks pregnant. The rest of my pregnancy was smooth sailing and I felt great.
At 39w1d I woke up having strange pains. Little did I know, I was in labour! A mere 3.5 hours later my beautiful boy was born in my kitchen, into my midwives hands and placed on my chest. He was 7lbs 6oz and 20.5 inches long. My homebirth was an empowering and beautiful experience that I will never forget.
Before I got pregnant I was in great shape. Working out every day and taking in very few calories. (Perhaps, too few?). I had gained 37 lbs with my pregnancy, eating whatever I
wanted. I only lost 8 lbs wit the birth, and another 8 in the few days following. After that it stopped dead. The remaining 21 lbs were up to me! Through breastfeeding, healthy eating, and slowly resuming my workout, I lost those pounds by 2.5 months PP. I’m currently 5’9 and 134.5 lbs.
My body isn’t quite what it used to be. I have some scarring where my belly ring used to be. My boobs are covered in stretch marks, but I thankfully didn’t get any on my belly.
I’m happy with my body. It’s ability to grow this child inside me, and somehow become half decent looking again.

Here are pictures of me:
2 of prepregnancy
18 weeks pregnant
35 weeks pregnant
39 weeks pregnant
1 day Postpartum
and 2.5months Postpartum