Belly

You’re really lovely, underneath it all (Amber)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 23 Comments

Being an only child, the first things I was told by my mother when I told her I was first pregnant were the horror stories of how her pregnancy was so horrible and that is why she only had one. When I developed stretch marks, she blamed me for not using enough lotion because she never had any. When my milk came in, she commented on how huge my breasts were, how strange my nipples looked, and when I weaned my first, she commented on how ugly my deflated breasts were. It was one insult after another from the only woman I confided and trusted in for pregnancy and postpartum support, my own mother.

My stretchmarks on my breasts (going from size B to D) were bright purple and surrounded my nipples like the rays of the sun. Up and down my hips, thighs, and sides were more “tiger stripes” – my adult cousin
actually pulled me aside and asked what was causing my bruising, if my husband was beating me. Everyone around me seemed to be pointing at something being wrong with me, wrong with my body, and that I was at
fault for it all.

I’ve learned over time and maturity, that my body is beautiful as it is. I don’t need to hide it, if someone has a problem with it, the problem lies solely with them inside their heads. I have breastfed both of my children for a total of 28 months at this point and we are expecting our 3rd child any day now – I plan to breastfeed him until I am depleted of fat as well. I started out in a size 10, after weaning baby #1, I was a size 6. After weaning baby #2, I was a size 4. I gained 60 lbs with each pregnancy, though only 45 lbs with this one. I’m 5’9″ and have a thin build, people who see me clothed after birth always think I have a perfect, childless body – but you know what? It’s really lovely, underneath it all, just in a different and more admirable way, in a way that has supported life to the fullest extent!

~Age: 29
~Number of pregnancies and births: 4 pregnancies, 3rd vaginal birth any
day now
~The age of your children, or how far pregnant you are: 4 years, 2.5
years, and 35 weeks pregnant currently in photos

Updated here.

I’m a Bowl of Mixed Nuts! (April)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Submissions 15 Comments

~Age: 20
~Number of pregnancies and births: currently preggo

Hi mommies & soon to be mommies!

My name is April, I am at 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant at this moment. Im posting on this site to share my thoughts and feelings and hopefully get some good feed backs thatll help cheer me up. I got married to my husband at 19, and am now preggo at 20 and will be giving birth at 20 :)

This pregnancy wasnt at all planned, and i must say i wasnt ready for it either. I am scared, anxious, excited, sad… depressed… im like a bowl of mixed nuts right now. I’m feelin’ all sorts of things that sometimes i wonder if im literally goin crazy!

I cant really talk to my mom about “body issues” coz she tells me thesame thing over and over again
she says — “i dint care about stretchmarks or how my belly would look while i was pregnant with you and your siblings, what mattered to me most was a healthy pregnancy and healthy babies! … how you look or will look shudnt be your main concern before after or during pregnancy, or in life!. etc blablabla” — I cried for a week and a half when my stretchmarks started showing, it was more for the fear of not being beautiful in my husbands eyes anymore (specially since there are a lotta girls who flirt around with him… it scares me that he might leave me for some1 who has a better lookin belly)… and i guess i cried coz i know that my body will never be thesame again, im scared of how bad it will look after i give birth.

My stretch marks started showing when i was 34.5 weeks into pregnancy, after i cried things out, i got over it a lil bit and sloaly accepted that i have stretchmarks. I agree with my mom that it shudnt be my main concern but there are still days when i look at my belly and feel bad about it. Today is one of those days coz i noticed that my stretchmarks had gotten much darker compared to the last couple of weeks, i thought they only get darker after giving birth? why is mine getting darker right now?.. hopefully one of you who is reading this has the same skin tone as me.

Along with the whole stretchmark issue its almost my due date (3/17/2010) and i still dont have signs… i get cramping feelings once in a while, but i dont have contractions.. etc. .. my EDD is soo close yet it feels like i’ll be pregnant forever!… i wanna see signs that ill give birth soon… at least exactly on my due date or a day or 2 after due date. my husbands in the army so im really hoping that by the time he comes home for his paternity leave our baby will come out… the army is only giving him 15 days! … he’ll be comin home on march 15. I am freaking out at the fact that we dont reli know when ill be having the baby…. thus making me feel worst coz i really want my hubby around during delivery!… aaaaaaaahhhhh

Anyhow ill be posting again after i give birth. as of now here are some pics.

first four pics are my pre-pregnancy body.
next two is my pregnanct belly at 6 months, with no stretch marks!
next two is me at 36.5 weeks

the rest are stretchmark photos:
first 2 stretchmark pics were taken on my 34th week. i oiled it up for the pic so i can see the stretchmarks clearly. my right side is worst than my left
next 3 stretchmark pics were taken on my 35th week. no oil
the last pics were taken on my 37th week. as you can see they got darker! is that normal??? i thought it only gets dark after delivery :( caucasians are soo lucky coz their stretchmarks look better.

Mother of a precious 18mth old boy, learning to appreciate my battle scars!!! (Jessica)

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

This site is such an amazing inspiration. I have battled with issues with my weight since I was very young and the present is no exception. I have one child who is turning 18mths old this week. He is my world and brings such a joy to my life, but I can’t help feeling a void inside. I’ve never thought I was ugly and have always loved my stomach.. it was my one attribute that I absolutly loved and showed off, but not anymore!Im thankful I have a supportive husband and I have been blessed that at age 22, I am able to be a stay at home mom and go to school to achieve my dreams and aspirations. One dream I have always felt will never come true, is to appreciate the body God gave me because I know he has made me in his image, but I can’t help looking in the mirror and wanting to change a thousand and one things about myself. After graduating highschool I focused on work and the infinite party scene and the weight stayed pretty steady since I worked out 6days a week, but my hours changed and became lazy in my work out routine. When I got married 3months later I had gained 10lbs hitting 145lbs and I’ve yo-yo’d ever since. My husband is in the military and after being married 2 years and going through 3 deployments we decided to try for our first baby. At the time I was a little hesitant only because I had hit an all time high with my weight and my 5ft even frame was a whopping 178lbs! I didn’t want to break my husband’s heart and I desperately wanted a child myself so, weight asside we went for it and 2 weeks later after our first attemt, we were pregnant! With all the excitement I forgot about my weight issue and proceeded to eat whatever I craved. PaneraBread Iced Mocha’s being at the top of my list, Dairy Queen Blizzards next, and then dark soda! I’ve always been a water drinker so the soda was what my husband and I considered my weirdest craving! Needless to say I craved the worst items to put into my body at that time in my life. Until about 7months I had only gained about 20lbs and no stretch marks on my tummy were to be found (I did break out really bad with them on the back of my legs though, but that doesn’t bother me too much). After that I had officially popped and my tummy was covered from right side to the left, I was devistated! The day my water broke (exactly 38wks) I had hit 216lbs. I Breastfed and walked alot after coming home with my beautiful babyboy and dropped 20lbs in 2weeks, then I hit a plateau. It wasn’t until I was 10mths postpardum and decided to try weight watchers and finally dropped another 30lbs in 3mths, but when I hit a 3wk plateau I lost motivation again and then came the holidays and well here I am almost another 4mths have gone by and I’ve put back on about 10lbs. I have consistently done pilates 2x a week since August and I’ve slowly started back up on weight watchers and trying to add more into my workout routine. It’s a very slow process, but reading the other mothers stories on this site, It gives me that extra motivation to go forward. Day by day I’m learning to appreciate my new body and everytime I look at my baby boy I know that my body is just a simple reminder of the beautiful gift God gave me!

**Description of the pics I’ve included..the 1st one is my gorgeous family taken @ 3mths p.p., 2nd one is a recent one of my babyboy, 3rd one is me 11mths postpardum, and the last 2 are me now underneath the sheild of clothing!**

Update (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 3 Comments

Age: 25
Number of Pregnancies and births: 1
Age of child: 2

Hello, I absolutely love this site and have been a fan of it for years! I am doing this as a update post, here is my older post from last July. I really don’t look that different.

I have tried everything this past year to lose weight, working out dieting and nothing seemed to be working. Until recently my friend talked me into joining Weight Watchers, it has only been two weeks and I am already down 13 pounds! My current weight is 187 and I am 5’8 tall. Now I know with my height I can never be 120 and wouldn’t want to be I love having curves! But I do want to be 160-155, which I am starting to realize is possible.

Sometimes I find it hard to look at myself naked, when I sit down, I hate seeing my huge belly roll. It grosses me out, and there have been times I’m my life when I thought, I could never find love because no one would want to me with someone that looks like I do, but I have learned I have to want myself before anyone else can want me.

My biggest fear is that I am going to lose this weight and have all this extra skin. I just hope i wont have a saggy flabby stomach. I’m trying to tone as much as possible. I really love this website, seeing all these beautiful women and knowing the sacrifices we have to make and how much its worth it. I love my daughter more than anything and wouldn’t change a thing! All women are beautiful all shapes all sizes all colors! And one more thing, I love this site for all the support from other people, it is always a huge help and encouragement.

Updated here.

When happily ever after comes crashing down… (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 20 Comments

Age: 21
Pregnancies: 2 Births: 1 boy, now two years old.

Well, the past year has been a year of serious soul searching for me. I went from being a stay at home mom to being a full time college student AND working on top of it. We have been trying to get pregnant for the last year, which hasn’t worked out. I was on Depo so long it’s taken my system over a year to start working at all. Only recently have I started ovulating, we are still trying for our second child. The huge change in my lifestyle has had a huge impact on my body. I lost most of the baby weight. I’m 135 now, I was 120 before I got pregnant, and My son is almost two and a half now. I’m thinner, but I also look and feel older, also. I can see it in my face, in my posture, I’m so tired. I do personally feel better for having lost the weight, simply because my size was part of my personal identity. I gained 70 pounds during my pregnancy. I am not exaggerating, I went from 120 to 190. I lost 30 pounds the first 6 months, the stopped, for a year. I GAINED over 10 pounds (again) when I finished breastfeeding. I was 60 pounds heavier than my norm. I was used to being thin, and when my body type changed so dramatically so quickly, I felt like you do right after you get a really dramatic hair cut. Your not sure if your fond of it, you learn to love it because hey, until it grows back your stuck with it, but it doesn’t feel like YOU. You know? I was proud of my body for the miracle it gave, I still am, but I felt like I wasn’t in my own skin.

Anyways I lost the weight kinda by accident, because I became SOOO BUSY. Work then class then trying to find time with my toddler between mountains of homework then back to work again! I have a 3.9 GPA, I bust my ASS to get good grades in college. I’m constantly GOgoGOgoGo all the time. I’m quitting my job. I already talked to my boss about it. I’ll still be going to school full time, I’m halfway to my degree now.
Anyways, my body image took a huge blow when I found out over the holidays that my husband had an affair.
For over a year.
With my friend.
It started two weeks after my son was born.
I was devastated. Who am I kidding, I’m still devastated. I am dealing with a lot of aftershock issues upon discovery of the affair. I have never been in any serious relationship that I didn’t get cheated on. I now have some major trust issues: It went on for over a year without me knowing because I trusted him implicitly. However, I have no illusions about her being more attractive than I am. I am not conceded, but I’m not ignorant either. That monster is NOT attractive- she’s got a face for radio and a personality to match. She is stupid, selfish trailor trash, flat out. She is not smart, she is not kind, she is not talented, she is an awful parent, I KNOW I didnt get passed over for someone better. Men do NOT upgrade when they cheat, ladies.

We are still together. I decided not to throw his ass to the curb for a lot of reasons. The big one was that wasn’t what I WANTED. When it comes down to it, I have goals and dreams, and all of them have him in it. I want to have more children with him. I want to grow old with him. I want us to buy a home someday. I want my children to be raised with both parents in the same house. I WANT things. Yes, I could leave him. I’d be alone for a while, but I know eventually I would move on. Eventually I would probably find someone new, who I would love, but never in the same way, and we could have children someday, but that not what I WANT. He is still my highschool sweetheart. My BEST FRIEND. I may have learned that I don’t know him like I thought I did, (trust me ladies, I was completely 100% sure he would never, ever cheat. NO ONE is immune to infidelity.) But he is still my BEST friend. When I made MY wedding vows, I meant them. So we had a vow renewal thing on our anniversary, he is still jumping through hoops to make things better for me, we got matching tattoo’s, and life moves on.
One of the big blows was that it started TWO WEEKS after I gave birth to our son. When I was bloated, exhausted, and physically incapable of having sex with him. Of course HER at the time was half my size, and made herself incredibly available to him sexually. The affair stopped around the time I started losing baby weight. This had never occured to him. He swears it is just a coincidence, that none of that had ANYTHING to do with the affair. (he was never the shallow type)

but deep, deep down, that will always be in the back of my mind.
Deep down, I will always wonder if he didn’t go with the slutty blonde that was half my size because of how I looked at the time.
Thats very hard to say out loud.
I am still trying to cope with that. I’m so confused. Deep down, I’m afraid that if I have another baby it will happen again. But my biological clock is ticking like big ben, I WANT another baby, so so desperately! We have been trying for over a year now! obviously, the whole issue is way too complicated to gush out on here, as long as this ALREADY is. I just needed to Post these pictures, and say to the world: I am strong. I am a conqueror. I will not be destroyed.

The first pic is me NOW.
the second pic is me now and my two year old.
The third pic is me roughly a year postpartum.
The fourth is one of my tattoo’s: the tree of life. Symbolizing fertility, renewal and creation.

Pregnant with #2! (Kylie)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 3 Comments

I got pregnant by accident with my first child, perfect pregnancy, nothing went wrong. Was in labor for 14 hours, pushed for two. Had a beautiful baby boy, all NATURAL…NOT ONE drug on January 25th, 2009. :) Up until about 6 months postpartum I didn’t loose but 20 pounds after giving birth, and that was from breastfeeding. Finally in about August I decided of being “bigger.” I started doing a workout video every day and doing weight watchers. I lost a lot of inches and about 13 pounds. Then I started doing the Couch to 5k running program and lost more inches and another 12 pounds. So total 25 pounds, which I am might proud of. I got to the 25 pounds in about late October 09. Now I am 5.5 weeks pregnant and am going to gain weight again, right after I got back down 5 pounds below pre-pregnancy weight :( It’s worth it though, since this time I plan on working out the whole pregnancy and eating right, only gaining about 15 pounds, unlike last time…I gained 45…NEVER AGAIN! I also got stretch marks , but I am well over that issue! I am proud I have overcome them. ;)Well hope this is reassuring and inspirational to you all! :)

~Your Age: 21
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies, 1 birth so far
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: Noah–13 months

5.5 weeks pregnant in all pictures.

My Story with Lily (Marissa)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom, Update 8 Comments

my age is 17 and my name is Marissa
one pregnancy, one birth
my daughter, Lily, is 7 months

Hi, my name is Marissa and i am 7 months pp with my first child, Lily. I am a teen mother and the past year has been a life changing experience! I met her dad during my sophmore year and we were good friends for about 4 months. We both have never been in a serious relationship and fell in love with eachother quickly. After two months of dating, we got pregnant. I had sex because i thought he wanted to and that what all my friends did. Were both shocked since we used a condom except during or a few days after my period.We felt completely stupid, since we both recieve good grades and never partied or anything. No one ever had a sex talk with me and our school promote no-sex at all and i had no idea it was possible even if you were n your period. I only thought you were fertile 2 weeks after a period so we had unprotected sex thinking it was alright. I know i was wrong, and i learned sooo much about babies and sex during my pregnancy. Im kind of angry at my parents and school for not teaching us about birth control and how pregnany happens so easily. But over all, it was our fault. We did the deed. I hid my pregnancy for about 5 months from my family and friends. I was in denial and kept thinking maybe i wasnt pregnant, and if i was, i will simply get an abortion. My boyfriend and I were very lost and afraid and we desided to tell his mom last year on valentines day and she FREAKED. She told us abortion was the only way and i had to tell my mom. I did the next day and she cried. My boyfriend and I left to go out to eat while my mom told my angry step dad, who didnt talk to me for months. My boyfriend started to cry when i described abortion to him when we were out, i was so far along that i felt her kicking and we both knew that life was growing in me. My mom then took me to plannedparenthood the next day where they told me that no one will perform an aboriton since i was only 16 and so far along. That was fine by me because the more i thought about it, i couldnt do it. But my bf family thought adoption was our only option, but my mom was very supportive on what choice i wanted to make. She told me, if theres a will theres a way, and so i thought that i can do this. I desided to keep the baby and my boyfriend wasnt to happy but he said he loved me and i knew what i wanted more than anything. I was’nt strong enough for adoption and i was happy with the choice i made since mine and his family bacame VERY supportive! I gave birth in July, me 16 and my bf 17.He, his mom, my mom, and my sister wathed me give birth after 17 hours of difficult labor. His family, and mine, fell in Love with Lily right away. and so did I. I knew i can do this! For the months i was pregnant, i was online alot and read soo much about babies so i was kinda prepared to what to expect. It was a rough few months since i had difficult breast feeding. I breast fed for five months and she is so wonderfull! She is a very happy baby and very outgoing! She has been hitting her milestones early and has been doing great. Nick, my boyfriend, is still with me and we have been doing very well. Lily is a daddys girl and i love it how i have such a wonderull, loving supportive boyfriend, friends and family. I still go to school and im in my junior year. We both are still on the Honor Roll and im taking a course to get my STNA by this summer. =] I love Nick and Lily so much and im glad i was able to do this.

These pics are of my belly, 7 months pp. I am 5 ft4 and was 130 pounds before i got pregnant. I was 186 when i gave birth, igained 86 pounds! But being 7 months pp, i am now 150 pounds. and still trying to lose weight. I have body image issues, even though Nick loves my jelly belly.

Updated here.

Overcoming (Brittany)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 4 Comments

Age: 20
Number of births and pregnancies: 1 birth and pregnancy
4 months postpartum

My name is Brittany. I am a proud mother to a 4 month old little girl and wife to a wonderful and patient husband. I have been struggling to accept the way my new body looks since I was pregnant. I was a slim 135 pounds before the pregnancy and an avid runner. However I gained a whopping 70 pounds and have buried myself in a hole of self-pity since delivery (partially to due to postpartum depression as well). I have stretch marks on my breasts, belly, bum and legs. It had gotten so bad at one point that I couldn’t even watch TV without breaking into tears over a sexy woman on a commercial or show. I am really glad I found this website. It is good to know that I am not the only one who has to overcome issues with her postpartum body.

My Horizontal Bellybutton (A.C.)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 13 Comments

Motherhood has drastically changed me in every conceivable way. I think, sleep, eat and shower differently, and I also have a body that is incomparable to the one I used to inhabit. My baby was born two weeks later than expected, and, during that time, my skin developed deep stretch marks. I will always vividly remember taking a hand mirror to view the underside of my belly and bursting into tears.

I have always been a fitness enthusiast with a tight midsection, so it was a bit of a challenge for me to accept my “new” post-baby body.After carrying around a 9.2 lb. baby for 42 weeks, my appearance has been drastically altered. My belly button is even different! (it used to be vertical and very deep, now its shallow and quite horizontal. )

However, any mother will tell you that the stellar joy a baby brings is well worth and “boo-boos” incurred along the way. At times, it’s hard for me to see the beauty in a body that appears to have aged significantly in a few short months .But, I am learning to appreciate the amazing and sacred thing that motherhood has allowed my body to do and become. I am proud of myself for attempting to stay in shape after having a baby. I am okay with the fact that my mid-section and hips are permanently widened. But my horizontal belly button and stretch marks probably won’t be seeing daylight in a bikini anytime soon!
~AC

–>The pictures below are of my belly at 40 weeks pregnant, and 4 months Post-Partum. My iphone provided a more flattering torso shot, while my camera gave a true, honest view of my stretch marks! :)

22 years old, 1 child, 4 months pp

In The Home Stretch 235 lbs to 160 lbs (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 11 Comments

Age: 25
Number of Pregnancies and births: 1
Age of child/PP: 29 months

Pre-Pregnancy I was 235 lbs (I’m 5’7) I was considered Obese my BMI was over 35!!! When I got pregnant I had really bad morning sickness for the first 20 weeks. I was on Phenergan and Zofran. I lost 10 lbs my first 20 weeks of my pregnancy because I could hardly keep anything down. By the end of my pregnancy I had gained those 10 lbs back. I went in to give birth to my son weighing 235 lbs and I left the hospital weighing in at 212 lbs!!!!! My son weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 14oz and 21.5 inches long. I was 8 days past my due date. When my son was 3 months old I joined Weight Watchers. My first year doing Weight Watchers I lost 52 lbs. I went from a size 18 to a size 10. I’ve lost a total of 75 lbs. I have recently started following Jillian Michaels “Mastering Your Metabolism”. I’m finding I’m left with a lot of extra skin. Which is rather disgusting. I’m still coming to terms with my body. Don’t get me wrong I’m enjoying being a healthy size again finally. BUT I’m a single mother and I’m dating again and honestly, who is going to find my body sexy? I do Yoga, Pilates, Budokon, Zumba, and a dance cardio class called ‘Happy Hour’ all in efforts to tighten this loose skin up. I’m shrinking majorly in inches but this skin just keeps hanging in there (literally haha). I think down the road I will look into getting the extra skin removed. I guess I decided to post my struggle in hopes to reach someone who is in the position I was a year and a half ago. To all you women out there it is possible to lose the weight and reclaim your body! It doesn’t come fast, but it will come. Just hang in there. Measure and take pictures of your progress to keep yourself going! I’ve tracked all my weight loss so I can keep looking back at it and see how far I’ve come! My son was a precious gift who made me want to get to a healthier weight. I am not a fan of going to the gym to work out, but exercise is an important part of weight loss. I get bored using cardio equipment so I found a gym that has really good classes and I have a friend that goes with me. We actually have a lot of fun doing all the classes I listed. Budokon is something I highly recommend looking into! I lost 1 inch off my arms in 3 weeks doing Budokon. Yoga is also awesome to tone up those arms and your core. Zumba is amazing as well I typically burn 400 calories in 40-45 minutes . P.S. You can’t see it in my pictures, but I have a TON of faded stretch marks and I do have that line of hangy skin that my pants or underwear is covering. Good-bye low rise jeans….hello mid-rise jeans! Haha

Pic #1 – Me at 34 wks Pregnant
Pic #2- Me at 39 wks Pregnant
Pic #3- Is a collage of me 6 wks PP, 12 months PP, and 18 months PP
Pic#4- Is a collage of 20 months PP, and 22 months PP
Pic#5- Is a Front view of me 18 months PP
Pic#6- is a Front view of me 22 months PP
Pic#7- Me Pre-Pregnancy and Me 20 mon PP