Cesarean Scar and/or Incision

19 years old, 5 months post partum (Ashley)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 9 Comments

Before I got pregnant I was a slim 135 pounds, at 5’7″. I felt my greatest and was so happy that I could shop and wear just about anything, all the way down to a bikini in the summer. I got pregnant in March and gained a total for 55 pounds! I got so many stretch marks, and extra weight around my hips that i’m finding impossible to get off. I had to have a C-section the day of my due date, so that’s another scar that I will have for the rest of my life. However, I am not looking at the scars as a bad thing. From all this I have a GORGEOUS baby boy and my fiance doesn’t love me any less than before, actually, I think he likes the extra junk in my trunk ;o)

~Age: 19
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5 months

052410-ashley-1

Mom of 3 boys -1 set of twins (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Tattoo, Twins 23 Comments

I wanted to submit this picture as a way of affirming to myself that my body is fine and I don’t need to listen to what others think. I have been going through a difficult time with my husband (soon to be ex) and one of the things he told me as a reason for not wanting sex with me anymore was that he thought I needed to lose weight. I’ve never been stick thin but have been pretty happy with my body. Even after having 3 children, including a twin pregnancy, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I thought my body handled it. Then the one comment from my husband made me feel worthless and ugly. I found this website when I was pregnant with my twins and I always thought how wonderful it was that women were brave enough to share all of themselves. Women are beautiful no matter what shape, scar, stretch marks etc and I wanted to include myself in this mentality.

~Age: 35
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies, 3 births (1 set of twins)
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5 yr old and 1 yr old twins

051710-anon-1

Trouble Accepting My New Body (Aarica)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Plus-Sized Mom, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 2 Comments

Age~ 23
Pregnancy/births ~ 1 Pregnancy,1 birth
Postpartum- 7 months

I had just started dating my little guys dad six months before we found out we were expecting. It was a great moment for me and I’m sure him as well.
Before I met his dad I was in a long term relationship for 5 years with a different man and had planned on marrying him and having children with him, but it just never worked, I met Landon’s dad when I was working with him and we started dating. Everything about our first six months went fast, we moved in together a month after we started dating, six months later we found out we were having a baby.

The pregnancy was so easy we had nothing but good news the whole time, we decided we didn’t want to find out the sex and waited. It was hard for me I really wanted to know.
We went to every checkup and they all went well,I did start having some trouble with my sciatic nerve and I leaked a little of my fluid(nothing to worry about). Everything was perfect and I was so in love with the dad and baby. My parents and doctor were worried about after the baby if I could handle it emotionally because I have Bipolar, but had learned to cope with it and was even medication free for over 3 years so I wasn’t worried, but they were trying to look out for me you know parents.

I was nearing the end of my pregnancy and I was stating to get excited, I had my Birth Plan ready and the OB loved it and wanted to follow the plan as best he could, which made us so happy. My due date was Monday, July 13th, 2009 and when that was a week away the OB decided to book an ultra sound for Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 just in case I was late and I was. So when the 15th can I was so excited to see the baby at least that way so I could be sure everything was ok. The OB wanted to see the position of the baby so he could make a plan for that.

The night before the Ultra sound I seemed to have to pee a lot, but since I was over due I figured that was normal, but I was wrong it turns out my water broke and was leaking slowly and only when I had the urge to pee. The doctor sent me to the hospital and said by tomorrow you will meet the baby and we were so excited until we got there and they hooked me up to the monitor and I was in full labour and didn’t even feel the contractions I was told they were bad. I thought it was ok maybe it wouldn’t hurt like everyone said it would. They also noticed that everything wasn’t ok with the baby every contraction made the heart rate drop so they moved me to a room and said the doctor will be in, in just a min, he got there and did an internal and I had not dilated even one cm. Turns out my hips were fused together (reason I couldn’t feel anything) so he wanted a c-section(not what I wanted) but we did one and Landon was born at 8:58pm just in time to still share the same b-day as my brother.

They took him and finished with me. I met him almost 2 hours later and he was so cute and big 8 14.

But the next morning they said he had jaundice and need the NICU he was there for 3 days and had a feeding tube, so I had to pump and go to the NICU every 3 hours do they could force feed him 50 ml. nothing was going the way we planned, we finally left the hospital 5 days after he was born.

I hate my new body I was never tiny or skinny, but this is as big as I have ever been. Strange part is I only gained 15 pounds while pregnant. Now I sag everywhere and and the scar i know will fade but until then I don’t like looking in the mirror.

Pictures:

Black shirt 10 weeks pregnant, Dress and phone 40 weeks pregnant, front view of 7months pp, 2 scar views and side view all 7 months pp

My son played a few tricks on me (J.D.)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 5 Comments

My story starts in March 2007 when i decided to move to another country and start a new life. I was bored of my life, my job, my city and i felt very lonely and depressed. It was a great choice as i started on a new path with lots of joy and happiness. I managed to get a job a week after moving abroad and i met the father of my son at work. We knew each other, but never talked until one day when he had to supervise my team and he invited me to a pub. We started going out a lot but i thought he only wanted to be friends. That was happening in September 2007. On the October 31 2007 something happened and i missed the last night bus – the stop was in front of his house – so he didn’t let me walk home. I spent the morning in his house eating spaghetti and watching family guy. this is how we started our relationship. In May 2008 we moved in together and in November i told him that i want a family as i am getting old – we were 31 at the time. He always loved children but i didn’t think about having any until i met him. He was very happy to ear that and we started working on it. On January 26 2009 i was at work and didn’t feel very well. I went to the pharmacy with my friend and bought a pregnancy test. Didn’t wait to go home and had it in the toilet at work. I knew i was pregnant, i just needed the confirmation. I sent a text to my bf and he called straight away. He was extremely happy and when i went home that evening he couldn’t stop kissing me and hugging me and making plans. My pregnancy was great. I was a bit nauseous the first weeks but it went away in the second trimester. I walked everyday and tried to be active but i put on lots of weight. I was 117 the summer before getting pregnant, 124 when i got pregnant and 172 when i went to the hospital for the induction. My son was very comfy in my huge belly and he was 12 days overdue. I felt like i couldn’t carry my belly anymore when i went to the hospital on October 12 and they told me that i had to come back on the 14th as there weren’t any free beds…I cried and i went back to the hospital on the 14th. The induction started at 11 but nothing happened. I had contractions but i wouldn’t dilate. It went on like that till the next morning at 9 when i had been given another pill and i started being in agonizing pain. I had to be on a monitor for 1 hour then they moved me to the labour room when i was given an epidural even though i was only 2 cm dilated. After that i was given oxitocin and started to dilate. The epidural would finish after about 2 hours and i would have to wait 20 minutes in horrible pains for the nurse to come give me another dose. I was very lucky to have my bf with me all the time. At 5 pm i felt like i needed to push and called the doctor. I was 9 cm dilated but my son has moved up and he was in distress. The chief of the clinic was called and after he examined me he told me that there is no way i can give birth naturally so i needed an emergency c section if i wanted my son to live. I signed the paper straight away and in 2 minutes i was hurried to the OR. I didn’t even had time to say “love you” to my bf…I was very scared and was shaking, my bf had tears in his eyes…The last thing i remember is having my belly covered in something orange. I woke up a few hours after that in a room with lots of monitors and beeping machines and people going around…I had 2 iv lines in my left arm and 1 line in my right arm. A very nice nurse told me that i need some blood as something happened during the surgery and i lost lots of blood. I was terrified for a second but she told me that my baby was ok and i was going to see him in few minutes. I managed to drink some water and felt so happy that everything was fine. I saw my son that night at 9 and i was the happiest I’ve ever been. On the 19th we went home and started our life as a little family as i like to call us.
I didn’t get stretch marks during pregnancy, but i have this scar to remind me how lucky i was to be living in these days and in a country with great doctors. My son was 8 pounds 7 oz at birth and after birth i found out that it would have been impossible for me to give birth naturally as my son was too big for my pelvis. My only issue is the fat that i still have on my belly, bottom and legs. I am 137 pounds now and would like to go back to the weight i had pre-pregnancy. It’s hard but i hope spring it’s going to help me. If i won’t loose the weight and even put on more – i want to have another child fairly soon – i won’t be very upset because my son is more precious and important than my image.
Believe in you and feel confident. Health and happiness are more important than a flat stomach or flawless skin. Enjoy your babies!

~Your Age: 32
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: Finn is 4 month, 1 week and 3 days old

pics description ;

1. me and my bf summer 2008
2. 28 weeks pregnant
3. 41+5 the day my son was born
4. Finn 2 days old
5. The day we left the hospital – 4 days after birth
6,7,8,9 my belly today 4month, 1 week and 3 days after birth

It Has Taken Time (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Piercing, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 14 Comments

This is such a wonderful place for mothers to come! I recently stumbled upon this place while I was searching on facebook for different groups, and I am so so glad I did!

I have honestly always had body issues… I don’t know if it was learned from my mother, or from the society we are living in these days. Looking back I can see how silly I was, how could I have ever comlplained about the youthfull body I had? Crazy as it is I find myself doing the same thing now. It seems it is an everyday battle for me… certain days I defeat the doubt and shame I feel about the stretched out skin, leftover weight and oh of course those stretchmarks. Other days I let the mirror and my lack of self-esteem get the best of me. So ten years from now I wonder if I will be looking back again and thinking how silly I was to complain ( Probably will! haha).

I was married at 21 years old. My husband is an active duty Marine and was deployed twice within the first 3 years of our marriage… We finally got pregnant two months after he returned from his second deployment, I was 24. I had no idea what was in store for me! My mother has always been very slender and I thought I would take after her and only gain about 20 lbs during my pregnancy and bounce right back. Well it started off well… no morning sickness, nothing but the minor aches here and there and a lot of swelling during the end of the pregnancy. I turned 25 during my 7th month. Then ate my way through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years LOL. My due date came and went. I was finally induced at almost 42 weeks!! The day I was induced they weighed me in at 198 lbs (When I found out I was pregnant I was at 140 lbs). Well, my son and I didn’t do well with Pitocin and so there was an emergency c-section. The week I came home was interesting to say the least. I remember asking my Mom a few times if the flap of skin hanging over my incision would be permanent.. I was so scared! She told me not to worry, but I was still horrified at how I looked.

I have often described myself as an optimistic person, but wasting so much on doubting myself and concentrating on negative things is totally not being an optimistic person. It is a struggle no doubt… but I think I am coming closer and closer to being at peace with my post baby body. It has been 2 years and 2 months since my wonderful perfect amazing son was born and I would have never imagined it would have taken this long to start feeling more like myself and more comfortable with who I am today. I still have an extra 10 lbs of preggo weight… I still have the stretchmarks, although they have continued to very slowly fade. My c-section scar has lightened… and I have gained back some muscle tone after starting a workout plan.

Motherhood has taught me so many things already, and to think of the many years I have ahead :) A big thank you to all the ladies who have posted their stories and shared their feelings.. it really has helped me feel like I am not alone. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday. My stretchmarks are tricky… every single angle they will appear different… sometimes in the right light you can’t see them… sometimes they look pink… sometimes silver or white, they are such funny things. I used to have such intense hatred for them, but I have gotten better at accepting them. When I bend over my “skin apron” appears. I have a wrinkle under my bellybutton, especially when I suck in my tummy. I have an old scar on my hip which blends in pretty well with the larger stretchmarks LOL. With all that said… I have to remind myself that along with those “imperfections” I have been given the most precious gift in the world, my son.

Updated here.

Uneven Breasts (Proud Mom)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Question, Submissions 30 Comments

My baby boy is 7 months tomorrow, and I’m a 23 year old all proud battle scared mom… I’ve been 1 of the lucky ladies to not develop strech marks, but a single one right on top of my belly button, the problem I’ve had is that at least 4 months ago my baby won’t feed from the left breast for longer than 2 minutes, he just likes the right one, causing the uneven growth of the breasts, as you can see on the pics…. I will like to know if anybody else has had the same problem and if anybody has a solution for that, or else if they will get better after I finish breast feeding, I plan to do so until at least 1 year…
I will post as well some more pics on my c section scar

~Age: 23
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregancy & birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 7 months boy

Just gotta keep plugging away at it (Tara)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo, Third Pregnancy 11 Comments

Age 29
Pregnancies 3
Births 1 Cesarean
5 months PP

This is a great site, I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s stories and seeing pictures of other women PP and their beautiful babies. I have a 5 month old son, he was born by cesarean. I am still trying to get used to the scar, it is red and ugly but thankfully it is low enough that nobody but me and my husband will see it. I am about 10 pounds away from my prepregnancy weight. I am finding that every pound has been a struggle to get rid of. I am breast feeding and it has still been hard. To those women who say the weight just melted right off of them from breastfeeding I am jealous because I have had to diet and exercise hard to lose every single pound so far. I don’t mean to complain, I am grateful that I have my son and that I was able to have a successful pregnancy. I am hoping to have another child in the next year or so all going well.

The following pictures are of me at 37 weeks pregnant, me 5 months PP and my son at 4 1/2 months.

1 month after twins, born at 35 weeks 3 days (Jacoba)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Surrogacy, Toxemia, Twins 18 Comments

I had my son in 2008, and shortly after decided that I would pursue my dream of helping an infertile couple have a child. I met a wonderful couple in November, and by March 2009 we had contracts signed, and were moving ahead to transfer day! We transferred two embryo’s in May, (not my genetics) which resulted in a twin pregnancy. Twenty weeks later they found out they were expecting two girls! At the end of December 2009, I began to experience a severe headache, which eventually led to experiencing vision problems. I called 911, as my husband was out of town, and was on my way to the hospital shortly after. I was quickly diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and rushed in for an emergency c-section. Unfortunately the parents were not able to make it there on time, but they met their little ones shortly after.

I’m currently 5 weeks out from the c-section, and feeling pretty good. The incision still hurts when my little guy bounces on me, but I’m more or less back to daily activities. I think I was vacuuming a week and a half after, so I really didn’t have much ‘recovery’ time. I guess that’s to be expected when you have a little one at home! :)

The pictures really don’t do my stretch marks justice. They appear a bit darker in person. Although I had expected much worse in terms of sagging skin and stretch marks, I’m still pretty disappoint at the ‘overhang’ created above my scar. I’m REALLY hoping it somehow disappears :D

~Your Age: 23
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies and 3 births
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 17 month old, and 1 month old surro twins

Description of the pics:
#1- Less then 12 hours after c-section
#2- Less then 12 hours after c-section
#3- 3 days after c-section
#4- 5 weeks post scar
#5- 5 weeks post scar
#6- 5 weeks post

Starting to Accept My New Body (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, Child Loss, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 9 Comments

~Age: 24
~Number of pregnancies and births: 3 pregnancies, 1 birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 months post partum

After two miscarriages I finally have my beautiful baby! Throughout pregnancy I loved my new body and was amazed watching it grow. I was lucky, I didn’t have stretch marks and I didn’t gain much extra weight. I was genuinely happy with the way I looked for the first time ever and enjoyed the special feeling of knowing that I was carrying a special, secret little person inside my big bump.

All that changed when I had my daughter.

After what many would class as an ‘unnecessary’ (or at the very least ‘premature’) caesarian I struggled to bond with my daughter, I struggled to accept the birth that she had had and struggled to come to terms with the difference in my body. I think the fact that I hadn’t given birth to her myself made the whole idea very abstract: to suddenly go from a pregnant belly with squirming baby inside to jelly belly and all of a sudden I am handed this baby. Well it was hard to accept. To top it off I suddenly woke up with stretch marks. Not only on my hips but on my breasts! That one blindsided me.

Four months on and I feel I have made some progress. I have always had small breasts so breastfeeding has been a real bonus – “nature’s boob job” someone called it and how right they are! In these photos I have just fed my daughter but they are normally a good size bigger. I am pleased to have a bit more curve to my top half.

I am not so upset with my figure. I have always carried a little extra fat (I was a UK12 pre-pregnancy and am a UK14 now) but I can usually hide the flab under my clothing. I even went on holiday recently and wore a bikini (although I did feel extremely self conscious in it).

The scar has healed better than I thought it would but it is still an ugly reminder of the way things went, but it is also proof that I have conceived and nurtured an incredible little life inside me for 9 months. It is hard to accept my body. I was no racing snake before but it is still a big change and hard to come to terms with. But my husband has been amazing and makes me feel just as sexy as when we first started going out. He has helped my self confidence and self esteem no end!

As for bonding, I am still waiting for someone to knock on the door and tell me “it’s all a big joke, you have to give her back now!”. I hope it never happens and I am constantly amazed at this incredible little person that we have created together.

I happened across this website by chance and I am so glad I did. I immediately wanted to participate. I wasn’t shy about showing off my pregnant body (not to this extent I hasten to add!) but I was still very hesitant. I thought about doing ‘underwear shots’ but then decided I would bare all and go for the full monty! And how liberating! I have never ever taken nude photos of myself before and I am so glad I did. If my stretch marks, love handles and podgy bits make other ladies feel even a little bit better about themselves then I am glad I did it. Thank you!!

Photos attached are at 33 weeks pregnant and 4 months (18 weeks) post partum.

My Twin Mom Body @ 1 Year Postpartum (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Twins 22 Comments

I delivered twin boys via c-section in January ’09 at age 38. Now I am 39 (40 later this year). For many years pre-pregnancy, I worked out frequently and intensely. I am 5’5″ tall, and at the time I got pregnant (my first and only pregnancy), I was very fit and weighed about 120 pounds. I definitely was concerned with what pregnancy would do to my body, but I also knew I had to gain a great deal of weight, and do so relatively quickly, since twins were more likely than not to come early, and I wanted mine to be as big and healthy as possible. I exercised mildly through week 30 or so, and religiously applied vitamin E oil to my belly, back, butt and thighs, though I knew this would probably have little or no effect. By the day I delivered at 34 weeks (when my preeclampsia became too severe for my doctor to allow me to continue with the pregnancy), I weighed over 190 pounds; my boys weighed 4 lbs & 3 oz., and 4 lbs 13 oz. at delivery. Although they had to spend a couple of weeks gaining weight in the NICU, the doctors and nurses all told me how impressed they were with boys’ sizes given their gestational age.

I nursed and pumped my breasts until the boys were 6 months old, and then switched to formula. During this time, when I wasn’t going crazy taking care of twin infants, I was despondent about my weight and my body but had absolutely no time to exercise or do anything else for myself. I wore maternity clothes for at least 4 months postpartum, and then bought 2 pairs of large cargo pants (I couldn’t come to terms with buying any other “big” clothing), and wore them to death, along with empire-waisted nursing tops. Lots of weight came off, but still I couldn’t stand the sight of myself naked, and avoided my friends and colleagues. By July ’09 I was down to around 145 pounds.

By September ’09, I was still up about 20 pounds, and vowed to do something about it. By that time I had the assistance of a nanny to help with the kids, and could take some time to exercise. I started going back to the gym, but even with help it was too difficult to have to schedule workouts outside the house. I committed myself to a home workout program, and followed through (note this involves approximately 1,000 abdominal exercise repetitions weekly — in addition to very challenging resistance routines for each major muscle group). By Thanksgiving, I felt like I had 90% of my old body back. I am now half-way through my second round of the program, and I can actually see my old body when I look in the mirror — so long as I’m standing far back enough not to notice that my areolas are a bit stretched out, and I have a bit of extra skin on my belly. I am actually very self-conscious about my areolas, but the extra belly skin is okay and I love my c-section scar!

My husband hasn’t given me any positive feedback on my body whatsoever. I have worked my butt off (literally), and am really pretty proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished, which is why I’m sharing here.

As for my boys, they are absolutely amazing. Within a few months, they were all caught up in terms of their prematurity. Now, at just over a year out, they are healthy, hilarious, gorgeous and smart. I love them beyond all measure.