First Pregnancy

A Mother’s Body at a Young Age (Anonymous)

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

I was 17 when i found out i was pregnant. I was overwhelmed, scared, and excited. I’ve always wanted to be a mom, but i didn’t see me becoming one till i was around 23. But i take it as god gave me a gift of a child because he knew that it would help me. I was getting into some trouble but once i got pregnant it all stopped. I realized i needed to be a mom now i need to be a romodel to this little one. There was people telling me i was to your and i should abort the baby. i refused to listen to them. I feel in love with my child the moment that test said i was pregnant.

In the begging of my pregnancy I was so sick with morning sickness that i almost had to have a home nurse and a IV in my leg. I lost 25lbs I was 155lbs before i got pregnant and i went down to 130lbs then i started to gain weight back at around 6months into my pregnancy. but my baby was healthy and “Its a girl” I ended up getting up to 175 lbs. and i had a healthy 8.0lb and 21.25inch baby. but she pooped inside and that made me stress threw my whole labor but luckily she didn’t swallow any of it. then i hemorrhaged and i lost over 2 liters of blood and i had to have blood transfusion. then when i left the hospital i was 154lbs so i lost all my weight already

first pics is of me the night before i went into labor
second pic is of me the day i got home from the hospital
the third pic is of me now 12 weeks postpartum

Missing my darling daughter, 15.5 weeks postpartum (Jillyn)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Breech Baby, Child Loss, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 35 Comments

I have been meaning to take pictures and post on here for quite a while now, but with so much going on, i just haven’t found the inner strength or time.

When i was 20 weeks pregnant with our first child we had our first ultrasound and they found that i didn’t have any amniotic fluid. So a week later i finally had another ultrasound and the specialist fount that our baby had cysts in both their kidneys. He then told us our baby would not live. My husband and i were both devastated, but we decided to continue with the pregnancy and cherish every moment we had left with our child.

When i was about 28.5 weeks pregnant i ended up going to the ER for sever pain in my back. It turned out my kidney was inflamed and my growing uterus was causing it. They told me the only way to solve the problem would be to have our baby. The next day was my husbands college graduation and 2 days after that we were moving so we didn’t induce right away. After we were moved we set up an induction date for 2 weeks later because our 2 year wedding anniversary was going to be a week after we had moved.

They started the induction May 25th 2009 at 8pm when i was 32 weeks pregnant. On May 27th, 2009 at 5:17pm we gave birth to our daughter, Grace Carpi. She was so tiny, so perfect and angelic. The had been a frank breech so her little bum was all bruised, but other than that, she was just amazing. She weighed 2 lbs 14 oz and was 16 inches long. After she was born she tried to take a breath, she tried 6-8 times in the 10 minutes after she was born. But sadly, her lungs were not developed at all, so 10-15 minutes after she was born, she slipped away from us. She never let out a cry, never opened her eyes. The doctor has tried to tell us that she was a stillbirth, but after talking to other professionals and reading medical journals, we feel that our daughter indeed was alive and we will continue to fight for our right of a birth certificate.

I am 5’5″ and was 178 lbs before i was pregnant. I weighed 210-215 at the end of my pregnancy and now, 15.5 weeks postpartum i weigh 204-207 lbs. Because of my depression i feel it will take me a while go get down to my pre-pregnancy weight and even longer to get to my healthy weight (about 130-140 lbs). I got my first stretch mark at either 7w or 11w (i can’t remember) on my inner thigh. I got the ones on my stomach when i was 25 weeks pregnant. I also got more stretch marks on my hips and on my breasts. I went up a cup size during pregnancy, from a B to a C.

The last 15 and 1/2 weeks have been quite an emotional time for my husband and i. Not only did he just graduate from college, we moved, had our wedding adversary, gave birth to our daughter, buried our daughter, had my 22nd birthday, my husband left for orientation for a new job, we had a memorial for our daughter, went to talk to a panel of people at the hospital about receiving a birth certificate, and my husband left for 4 weeks of training for work. And during all of that we were and are still grieving the loss of our little girl. Some say we shouldn’t be a sad because we knew that she was going to die, but that doesn’t matter to us. We still lost our daughter, she still is not with us and we will miss her forever.

I am posting pictures of me before my pregnancy, at 28w 3d, at 32w (with Henna Tattoo from blessing way), pictures of Grace, and then pictures of me 15.5w postpartum and a picture of my first and worst stretch mark on my leg.

Updated here.

Postpartum (Anonymous)

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

For the longest time I was told I was not able to have children. My husband and I just put the thought away. Shortly after we were married I found out I was expecting. I was shock. It took awhile for it to set in. I have always been an active person but due to my job I was not able to go to the gym. So throughout my pregnancy I did very little. I started my pregnancy at 106 and stopped looking at my weight at 165. I know I weighed much more than that by the time I gave birth. My pictures I sent are 6 months PP. I still have some work to do to ton my stomach area a little but I am not in a huge rush. Spending time with my son is the most important thing to me. When I work out I try and incorporate him. We do a lot of stuff at home. It makes me feel good that I am taking time for myself to make sure I am healthy but also by doing it with my son. We recently starting some water classes. It is great to see his fearlessness!

Confidence took a blow! (Lizzy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 12 Comments

Age:23
Number of pregnancies:1
7 months post partum

Im from South africa,im 5″2 and pre pregnancy weight was 110lbs.
I loved my body.

Then April 2008 i fell pregnant with my first baby,a girl.My body changed but i didnt get stretchmarks,which im very gratefull for,i grew alot,my tummy was huge.
I gained 33 lbs and im currently 139lbs,which im not happy bout.When i look at myself in mirrors i start to bawl.

Theres just no time to exercise now.My husband loves the way i look.

But i dont.I love my daughther to bits though.
How can i make myself feel better bout myself?

Its amazing knowing my girl grew inside me,but cant accept the way i look.

The first pic is me 8 weeks pregnant(its says pre pregnancy but i didnt have a pp pic so i just use this one)

Second one is me 37 weeks pregnant

Third and fourth one is me 7 months pp

New Shape, New Life… (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Eating Disorder, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 5 Comments

Age: 21
Number of pregnancies and births: 1 live birth
Age of Child/postpartum: 25 months

I had only been graduated from high school for 6 months when I became pregnant with my son at age 18. I was a dancer for 13 years and never was a “stick” per say. I started high school in a size 4 an graduated in a size 12. I had body image issues which led into bulimia and anorexia. I was relieved when my baby bump started growing because I finally had an excuse to be “fat”. I only gained 9 lbs with my pregnancy. I lost a lot in the begining and I ate healthy throughout. When my son was born there was a smaller number immediately on the scale. I have had stretch marks ever since I remember because of such dramatic fluctuations in my weight and I was not surprised to see those little red marks appearing as the months passed. So in addition to a child, I have a belly flap/pooch, stretch marks on my thighs, hips, sides, stomach, arms, boobs, sides of knees, and a weird looking belly button. Over all, I like my body. I currently have 27 lbs to lose and a lot of toning to work on. My goal is to be bikini ready by next summer. I like my stretch marks. I call them “mommy marks”. No, I don’t have a flawless stomach with perfect abs, but I have a stomach of a mother, a nurturer, and a real woman. I would like to have tummy tuck after I birth all of my children, but I would never want all of my stretch marks to be removed (which I believe would be impossible). They are kind of like a trophy for me and if someone else can’t accept them then they can just move on and not look :). I am attaching a few photos.

8 months pregnant
25 months postpartum front
25 months postpartum side
25 months postpartum clothed
me and my son

Finally Learning to Love Me (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Eating Disorder, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 14 Comments

I am 20 years old and gave birth to my beautiful daughter on August 9th, 2009. I loved being pregnant but was so afraid of how I would feel about my postpartum body…in the past I have suffered from body image issues and bulimia which I was slowly recovering from when I discovered that I was pregnant. My biggest fear was that I would look and feel worse than ever about myself after the baby and go back to my old harmful ways of binging, purging and abusing laxatives to try to lose weight.

But the most AMAZING thing has happened: by experiencing the astounding process of growing my daughter inside my body, and then giving birth to her and seeing this PERFECT little creature that I made!- I find myself feeling so much respect and awe for my womanly body and all that it is capable of. Something I have never felt before….I feel Beautiful and Strong and I’m (mostly) okay with the fact that I don’t look perfect. I am capable of being gentle with myself for the first time.

Instead of constantly putting myself down and thinking I’m ugly and I should eat less and try harder and I’ll never be good enough, etc., etc……I am surprised now when I find myself thinking “Good job, you’re doing fine. Take it easy.”….

I HATED myself at 115 lbs, thought I was fat and ugly and no one could ever love me, and now at 142 I’ve never felt so beautiful, happy and worthy of love in my whole life. My body that I loathed so much has made my wonderful daughter for me and I will never intentionally hurt it again.

Just wanted to share :)

These pictures are of me 1 month PP.

Updated here.

22 years old, three beautiful kids (Andree)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Twins 8 Comments

My story starts about four years ago, when I met the man of my life. Shortly after dating we decided to get married, and start a family of our own. We were wed in August 2006, and then in November 2006 found out that we were expecting a baby! I didn’t gain much weight up until the 6th or 7th month of the pregnancy — it seems like I got massive overnight! I gained a total of 50lbs, and had a very large, pointy belly, and ended up giving birth to a healthy 8lb 8oz baby girl at 42 weeks gestation. My stomach looked pretty bad for a long time, I used to call it my jello-filled fanny pack…. hehe Because I had such a large belly my bellybutton obviously popped out, and never went back in. I guess I am at fault for not working out and whatnot, so my stomach never looked very good after that. Then a year later we decided that we were ready for another baby, and found out in October that we were actually expecting identical twins! To be honest I was very upset upon learning that, I mean, it’s scary when you start thinking about all the complications, risks, etc, that come with bearing twins. I knew I was going to get very large, and be in a lot of physical pain. It was a long and strenuous pregnancy, having to travel twice a month to a specialist, one hour drive from home, one hour drive back home. They had to closely monitor me for gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and twin-twin transfusion. I had a lot of pain just about everywhere –I grew incredibly large, larger than I ever imagined…. at around 32 weeks gestation I measured 48″ around! The doctors wanted me to make it to 37 weeks gestation, but at 35 weeks I learned from an ultrasound that there was a 17% discordance between the twins, twin A being about 2lb smaller than twin B (twin A also being breech). So the next week, at 36 weeks gestation, I went to my regular obstetrician to schedule a c-section, and at 11:30am that morning I found out I was having a c-section at 6:00pm that night. Everything went very well, although I was completely stressed out, insecure, having all the fears in the world. At 6:05pm our baby boy Jesse was born, followed by his brother Jeffrey at 6:07pm. Jesse (twin A) weighed 6lbs 0oz, and Jeffrey (twin B) weighed 6lb 1oz. It turns out that the ultrasound technician who had performed the ultrasound at week 35 was in training, and didn’t measure things quite right, making us believe that our babies were sick. We are happy that our family is complete, having a girl and two boys. I am hating my postpartum body more than ever now, I have so much excess skin, stretch marks, you name it I have it. And some poor lady at the grocery store asked me when I was due, to then be informed that I’d had twins one month earlier….. hehe I have been a big fan of girdles and shape forming underwear since the birth of our first child. I’m unhappy with the way I look. But I tell myself that all this doesn’t matter. That my body is what has given me all these beautiful babies.

Name : Andree
Age : 22
Pregnancies : 2
Births : 3
Age of kids : 2 year old daughter, and two 3 month old sons.

Picture #1 : Nine days before giving birth to my first child
Picture #2 : A year and a half after giving birth to my first child, and right about when I got pregnant with our twins
Picture #3 : The morning of my c-section for our twins, at 36 weeks gestation
Picture #4 : A week after our twin boys were born by c-section
Picture #5 : My beautiful two year old daughter
Picture #6 : Our adorable three month old twin boys

Plus-Sized, Proud and a mommy to a monkey! (Monkey’s Mommy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Plus-Sized Mom, Submissions, Thyroid Issues 31 Comments

Let me start of by saying I am very proud of who I am. I don’t let the numbers on the scale dictate my happiness. With that being said, here is my story. I am 24 years old and i am a plus sized mommy. I have been plus size since 4th grade and so I really don’t know or remember life any other way.
I got pregnant May of 2008 at 308lbs. I had recently become engaged to my now husband and we had planned a July 2009 wedding. Little did we know we would become pregnant and push up our wedding to September 2008. Our child wasn’t planned, but was 100% wanted. Since we weren’t planning this pregnancy, we were unsure of when she was conceived. We ended up having a Due Date Scan to find out that our child was due January 27th, 2009.
I was over joyed with the fact that I had this life growing inside me. I couldn’t wait for the 1st kicks and I counted down the months until we knew the sex (a girl that we found out 3 days before our wedding, and kept it a secret until our wedding reception where I announced it to all our family and friends). I had a normal pregnancy. No Gestational Diabetes, and only a high blood pressure issue from 36 to 38 weeks that corrected itself. My due date came and went. I stayed at 1cm until I was induced.
My induction went very smoothly and my daughter entered the world on February 4th, 2009 at 8:10 pm via a vaginal, medicated birth. She weighed in at 8lbs 9.4 oz and scored a 9 out of 10 on both her apgar scores. I ended up weighing 326lbs right before delivery. Once home I weighed myself and I was down to 311lbs.
At 4 months postpartum I was diagnosed with PPT (Postpartum Thyroiditis) I have to now take medication for my thyroid. Other than that, I have had no issues with myself. My current weight is 290lbs and I am 7 months PP. I have been working on trying to be healthier, not so much with weight on my mind. I am happy with my body, my husband has never know, seen me any other way and he loves all my curves.
For all the women out there who feel like they would be happier a size or three smaller I say, be proud of who you are, not what your BMI is or your weight is. Love you for you!

~Your Age: I am 24 years old
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy resulting in 1 birth

~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: Mya, my daughter is 7 months old and i am 7 months PP

Wanting accept my body changes (Ashley)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 10 Comments

August 26, 2008 was the day i found out i was pregnant, this day was also my boyfriend’s birthday (what a birthday gift I gave him…hahaha). So I woke up that morning and for some reason I thought maybe I’d take a home pregnancy test because the day before I was worrying since we weren’t using protection. When I saw that positive I was so distraught, very scared and clueless of what to do. I barely turned 18 and my boyfriend was turning 17. Both very young with a big future ahead of us and finding out we we’re expecting wasn’t very easy to accept. We both thought about abortion and I made an appointment, the day came and the doctor told me the baby was too little to be seen in sonogram, I was probably less than 4 weeks and arranged another appointment 2 weeks later. During those 2 weeks so much changed.

I was living with my best friends family. I told my best friend I was pregnant and it was suppose to be a secret. She told her mom and she was against the abortion and talked to me about the choices I could do but abortion wasn’t an option. That day I realized I couldn’t kill the love I’ve made with my boyfriend. I felt very stupid for ever thinking I could abort and felt selfish. There’s a reason why these things happen. I thought to myself that if i would have aborted I would have felt like a coward and would have not owned up to my responsibilities for the actions i made. Each day passed and I was very happy with my choice except thinking of what my body would end up like.

I’ve always been a girl with low self-esteem my height didn’t help (4’11) and knowing that my body would change drastically wasn’t something I liked to accept, all the stretch marks and a big belly. Though days went on and I was happy that I had a real easy pregnancy with no morning sicknesses, I was able to sleep good even to the last day, and still no stretch marks. Until the last month was when I was able to see my stretch marks, they weren’t very visible but I knew they we’re there.

The day my water broke was May 1st and I was nervous, excited, scared, so many mixed emotions I just couldn’t wait to meet my little one I had been carrying inside me for 9 months. I was having trouble during labor. My cervix wasn’t dialating and after 10 hours I only dialated barely 2 centimeters. Doctor told me I had to get a c-section. I was very upset at first because this was not how I planned on how I wanted to give birth. On May 2, 2009 I gave birth to a beautiful healthy daughter named Hailey weighing 7 lbs. and 7 ounces and 18 inches long.

It’s been almost about 4 months since I gave birth and I am very proud and happy young mom. I love being a mother and I am very glad that I didn’t go through with the abortion because I know if I did I would never be able to forgive myself.

Everything is great except one thing. I love daughter so much but I’m still learning to accept my body. So far I’ve learned to accept my stretch marks because I know somehow one way or another my belly had to stretch for new life I was carrying and also because my stretch marks we’re made with love because of my little one. I just don’t like my sagging tummy and I just don’t feel good about my image. I see how many girls my age would dress and I would like to feel good in what I dress in and not worry about how I look or people say. Sometimes it helps when my boyfriend tells me that I shouldn’t worry that he still loves the way I look and my tummy is special because that’s where Hailey came out from. But I guess it’ll take sometime. I’m just glad that I was able to give life because she makes everything so worth it.

below are some pictures

1. Before pregnancy
2. 39 weeks pregnant
3. Hailey’s latest picture
4. 16 weeks postpartum front view
5. side view

Age: 19
Number of pregnancies & birth: 1
Age age of my child: 3 months and 4 weeks

My Story (Chrissy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 19 Comments

~Age: 19 almost 20
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy, 1 birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 2 1/2 months postpartum

After nine months of trying, starting almost imediately after our honeymoon ended, my husband and I became pregnant for the first time. It was very shortly after my eighteenth birthday that I conceived. I had a relatively easy pregnancy, not a whole lot of morning sickness or heartburn. I was very uncomfortable, what with round ligament pain and other aches. So much so that I would sometimes remain in bed all day. I did feel beautiful and fertile, all rounded and plump. And I treasured every little kick and movement that ensured me of the healthy, happy little one that was growing inside my womb.
Today marks the day when my son Raydon turns 2 and a 1/2 months old. He is the most beautiful little boy and I wouldnt trade him for anything in the world. I was 38 weeks to the day, June 14th, 2009, when my water broke. I had been pulling an all nighter with my uncle and husband and therefore had had absolutely no sleep. Unfortunately, that left me facing a 16 hour labor exausted. My original goal had been an all natural birth, with no chemical pain relief. In my case, that was not going to be an option because I totally panicked at four centimeters and begged for an epidural. After the epidural kicked in, I was finally able to sleep. Midway through the labor, my son began to have difficulties and was showing signs of distress. His heart rate kept dropping too low and the doctors were worried that my labor was too vigorous for him. They proceeded to flip me all over the place, without explaining what was going on, to try and raise his heartbeat. They also administered a drug to stop my contractions. As you can imagine, I was frantic. I still feel sick to my stomach thinking about the entire ordeal. The delivery itself seemed to be going well until the doctor thought my little boy was stuck. I had a nurse on top of me pushing on my belly while two others pushed my knees to my ears and the doctor pulled and twisted my poor baby around. My husband was unable to cut the umbilical cord and it was nearly ten minutes before I was even allowed to see my baby for they thought they had dislocated his shoulders. After all was said and done, both my son and I were fine and dandy and headed off to our room. Only a few short hours later, I hemoraged and had to receive the most excruciating treatment that I could ever imagine. The doctor had to use his hands to clear out the blood clots that had formed in my uterus. You can only imagine how painful that was. I am not completely sure if I want to have any more children. I am thoroughly traumatized.
Fortunately, I have recovered well and my son is growing rapidly. I am pumping for him because I have disfunctional nipples ( I have flat or inverted nipples, making it very painful to breastfeed ). I gained a total of 45 pounds throughout my pregnancy and within the first three weeks, lost 30 of it. In the end of my pregnancy I weighed somewhere around 213 pounds. I am now down to 179, only nine pounds over my prepregnancy weight. I really hate the way my body looks… I have stretch marks that start two inches above my belly button and extend all the way down to approximately 5 inches below my knees. I feel as though I am disfigured and I fear, at times, that my husband will not find me desirable… I am self concious and sometimes feel awkward undressing in from of my husband, though he assures me daily that I am beautiful and sexy, that he loves my badges of honor ( stretch marks ). Even so, I feel ugly and floppy and I trully regret the fact that I never appreciated the body that I had before getting pregnant.
I know that with the proper diet and exercise, all will get better. I was recently in a car accident, so Im in physical therapy and I am afraid to pursue a more vigorous exercise regime.
This website has shown me that I AM beautiful and that I should wear my scars with pride, because with them, I brought the most beautiful little man into the world. My son is my life and I strive to be the best mommy for him. I just wish I felt more confident looking into the mirror…

Photos # 1-3 : 2 and a 1/2 month postpartum tummy
Photo # 4 : stretch marks on my leg
Photo # 5 : Side stretch marks
Photo # 6 : My little man
Photo # 7 : Mommy and Baby!