Belly

So Here I Am! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 9 Comments

Great work on this site! When I was pregnant I started to hate the way my body was developing and I hated myself even more for worrying about something so trivial. After my baby was born (two years ago now) I hated it even more. Pregnancy hadn’t agreed with me and I’d actually lost a lot of weight in the last trimester, though my baby was healthy and it wasn’t through lack of eating! When my baby was born I was thinner than I’d ever been, yet still….the scars, the marks…the fact that despite weighing less I couldn’t fit into my jeans as my hip bones are now much wider. I remarked to my husband several times over that had I sustained these ‘scars’ in any other way, through accident or injury, society would have been sympathetic and support and help given. Yet because they are due to something as normal and female as pregnancy, the emotions these changes can evoke are ignored and marginalised. As this site says, they are a well kept secret. As I grew into motherhood and my daughter thrived, not only the physical but the emotional scars began to fade. I came to terms with my new body day by day. Bit by bit I began to take pride in myself once more. My ultimate healing experience was being asked to model underwear in a local show. I agreed and appeared half naked on a stage in a room full of people. They were appreciative, and I felt fully healed, at last. I hope other mothers can get the same validation though sharing here, so here I am. Get the cameras out ladies, and show the world what a real woman is!



16 Weeks PP, 2nd Baby, 38 Years Old (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Belly, Breast or Body Art, Breasts, Cesarean, Child Loss, Complications in Pregnancy, Gestational Diabetes, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 22 Comments

This site has made me feel so much better about my post-baby body. I haven’t struggled as much with body issues after baby #2 although I still have 15 pounds to go and haven’t lost any weight since my 1 week checkup despite breastfeeding-baby is now 4 months old. I don’t personally experience much in the way of weight loss with breastfeeding-if anything it seems the opposite. I weighed 148 at my checkup and have been 151 since a month pp-I gained 28 lbs.. I tried working out for a while but I just was absolutely exhausted. I know I’ll get there eventually and I know that the weight will come off eventually-even if it takes longer at 38 than it did at 33. 9 months on, 9 months off has been true for me. The thing I’m having a hard time with is that we’ll be visiting my husband’s family abroad in about 10 weeks, and I know nothing much will change in that time and they’re very critical. I’m trying to just let it go and focus on my joy in my baby because I struggled so much to get her here: 4 miscarriages, a blood disorder I had to take daily injections for, gestational diabetes and a c-section due to concern over irregular (and life-threatening) attachment of the cord to the placenta. We are lucky. She is healthy. I wish I was not so hung up on losing this 15 pounds already. Everytime I eat anything my inlaws will cluck at me, I know it. I want to be a good role model to my daughters and not buy into the body facism we live under. First pic is my belly 2 weeks prior to delivery. the rest of my photos: 1 week pre-delivery 5 months preggo 3.5 months postpartum 4 months postpartum.







Life Changes, Get Used to it! (Mary)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Update 6 Comments

… I tell myself that everyday!
I met my husband while we were overseas in the Army in 2005, we were married in April 2006, and 9 months and 10 days later we had our daughter, she is amazing! We are going to be welcoming our son in March and cant wait! I love being a mom and wife but a part of me died when I realized how much my body had changed, not the weight difference…the stretch marks! I was 135lbs when I got married and 145lbs when I got pregnant(I stopped using birth control and that causes me to gain a few)when I went into labor with my daughter I was over 200lbs… I think 206lbs but Im not sure. I felt so stupid for not taking care of myself when I was pregnant, I ate junk all the time and refused to work out because I thought it would be ok (my mom had 3 girls, no stretch marks and never gaining too much weight with out putting any effort into staying fit). I got back down to 135lbs fast, about 8 weeks, but I will not take the credit, I have thyroid issues and that was before I started taking medication. So for the next year or so I spent thousands of dollars on scar and stretch mark creams, gels, patches, ANYTHING! I also had breast augmentation to help smooth out scars on my chest. I am being alot more careful with this pregnancy to avoid getting more stretch marks but at this point I think Im pretty well covered. I dont worry as much about my body because of this site, overall women get stretch marks, they get dimples, and wrinkles! It is a reality that I didnt take into consideration before finding this site and I am so relieved that I am not alone, my biggest concern is staying healthy so I can keep up with my growing family and always give my kids 110%. I still have bad days when I examine my tummy and legs, but I have a great husband that doesnt even see my stretch marks and I am so thankful!
Gathering these pictures has made me see how fast my body went back and how much my stretch marks have faded, I look at myself as lucky, it was a small price to pay for my angels! I will keep you posted on the arrival of #2 and more body changes!
My pictures are..
1st pregnancy- 3 months, 6 months, 9 months
After delivery- 10 days, 4 months
Stretch marks on belly- 1 year
2nd pregnancy- 8 months










Updated here and here.

1st Pregnancy, 1st C-Section, Six Years Later (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 6 Comments

I never planned on having a c-section. I was hoping for a natural birth, but my daughter had other ideas. At 32 weeks we found out she was breech, and despite our best efforts, wouldn’t turn. I went 8 days overdue, and finally my OB/GYN decided to schedule me for a c-section when it became apparent she would not turn on her own. We found out, during the cesarean, why she hadn’t turned, and that was because she had gotten herself tangled up in her cord when she tried. Really, I am thankful that she is here at all. These pictures were taken 2 years after my daughter was born, after I had started to lose the weight I had put on, and after the stretch marks started to fade. My daughter is 6 now, and very proud of those “stripes” she gave me. I’d like to think that she will be proud to get them herself when she becomes a mother.






Six Months After Second Cesarean (Anonymous)

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

I am back to pre-pregnancy weight but in better shape so yes it’s possible – even after a cesarean. I gained about 45 pounds each time. Afterwards I stuck to a 1400 calorie a day diet, 2X a week weight training, and 2X a week mat pilates at a local gym during lunch (went back to work after 6 weeks). Still have a light linea negra that will hopefully be gone by the summer…

Pic 1 – pre-pregnancy age 20 Pic 2 – 9 months pregnant age 27 Pic 3 – post both babies age 32



Postpartum – 21 and 25 Years Later (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) 5+ Years Postpartum, Belly, Breasts, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Update 14 Comments

My babies are now 21 and 25, weighing in at 7lbs 9ozs and 8lb 3ozs. I so wish we had professional nude photos done then, but we would never have thought of it. Pregnancy is such a beautiful state that it should be recorded. I have one nude profile photo of me 2 days before I gave birth to my first, but nothing of my second, when I was absolutely enormous, so I have nothing to compare. I have taken the courage at this stage in my life to have a friend scan my photo and he is going to do me a line drawing, which I hope I shall proudly display on my living room wall. I was lucky, I had no strech marks at all but could not find bras big enough for my huge breasts. I fed for over 6 months and over 8 respectively and got my figure back mostly. These photos are of me now – post partum (!) I don’t think I can still blame my babies for my baby bulge tummy at age 58, but I try to keep fit and take care of myself. I don’t like the look of me naked, but have been told by some who have seen me that I look good. I cannot change my basic body shape so have to learn to accept and not hate it. My advice to you mums and mums to be is to enjoy it all because it goes too fast and you cannot turn the clock back. And even if you do not like how you look naked – still take those photos to look back on. All women are beautiful and sexy through pregnancy we all perceive beauty in different ways. You are all beautiful.





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Updated here and here.

My Story (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breastfeeding, Breasts, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 4 Comments

I admit that I am at constant odds with my body. I have yet to learn to accept that body may always look this way.
I was 150 when I became pregnant with my now 2 year old son. I had a very difficult pregnancy and ended up on bedrest for the last four months and gained over 70lbs. I was 223lbs the day I deliver my 9lbs 11oz son by c/s. I dropped down to 170lbs within 3 months of delivery and my weight has stagnated there ever since.
I love being a mother and would take my new body for him any day but it doesn’t change the fact I cringe whenever I see myself naked. I hope one day to be able to afford a tummy tuck because I dont think I will ever be able to accept myself this way.



What 6 Months of Breastfeeding Can Do! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 24 Comments

After gaining 60lbs during my pregnancy and crossing a very scary number (I got to 204lbs) I gave birth (via unplanned Cesarean :() to a healthy 8lb 12oz baby girl! Despite c-section I planned on getting back into shape right away, as a former college ice hockey player I had been in pretty good shape before, but as with the birth of my daughter, things didn’t go quite according to plan.

I healed pretty fast and played a couple games of hockey at 8 weeks postpartum, so far so good, it was now summer and I started taking my daughter on long walks, 1 to 2 miles a day (now here was my big mistake) IN FLIP FLOPS! After about a month of walking pretty regularly I started having pain in my ankle, no big deal, I’m tough, don’t like to complain, I keep going for long walks. My ankle keeps getting worse, once my other ankle starts hurting 2 weeks after the 1st one, walking becomes pretty difficult. So I finally decide maybe I should see a Dr. (fast forward a month and 4 doctors!) I am finally told that I have severe Posterior Tibial Tendinitis in both ankles, how did it happen? Well it was pretty obvious after the fact! Walking in flip flops that much is bad, but I’d always done that, turns out walking that much in flip flops right after your pregnancy is really bad! My muscles and ligaments were still lose from the “relaxin”. Combine that with long walks in flip flops and you get two destroyed ankles!

Nine months postpartum and I am slowly getting better I had to wear a really stylish (sarcasm) walking boot for 2 months, and have been in ankle braces for the last 4 months now. But I am finally able to start going to the gym again!

Moral of the story… flip flops, aka thongs. aka slippers, etc. ARE BAD!

So what does all of this have to do with breastfeeding? Glad you asked! Like I said, I gained 60 lbs during my pregnancy and basically haven’t been able to work out, or even walk for that matter, for about 8 months of my 9 months postpartum. BUT thanks to breastfeeding and a good metabolism I lost 60lbs in the first 6 months! No diet, no exercise! While I have lost all of the weight, I am excited to be able to get back to the gym again. My body may weigh what it did pre-pregnancy but it certainly doesn’t look or feel like it did! I have lost A LOT of muscle, especially in my legs which are totally atrophied from lack of use :(

Moral of THIS story, BREASTFEEDING ROCKS!

The first picture is 8 weeks postpartum and the second is 8 months postpartum (hence the 6 months of breastfeeding) I’ll try to remember to come back and up date this after I’ve had some time in the gym.

I’m still working on accepting the stretch marks… But, even with the stretch marks, and the ankle nightmare, I’m pretty grateful for the body I have.



Updated here and here.