Postpartum

Needing an Ego Stroke (Sarah)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Butt, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 42 Comments

Age:20 Age at birth:19
1 pregnacy 1 birth by c section
postpartum: 12 weeks

I met my husband at a fatal car accident. I was first on scene as a forensic photographer and he showed up as a firefighter. We became pregnant 3 weeks after by surprise. Our son was a first night encounter baby. I was a very small person. I started out as 99 lbs and was a total gym rat. I took pride in seeing how far i could push my body to the limit. I never was sick during the pregnancy but i was unable to do any physical activity. As the months passed I watched my once toned body grow and my skin rip. I gained 32 pounds during my pregnancy. At 41 weeks the doctor induced me where i waited for the baby to come for 18 hours. After a hour of pushing that was going no where, my body was exhusted and was giving up. I ended up having a emergency C-section after 20 hours of labor all together. My beautiful baby was born, not all pretty like normal c section babies cuz i had pushed so hard. but he was the most perfect baby. I ended up getting a massive infection in the hospital and gained more weight to a toal of 140. 5 days later i was allowed to go home with my new son. I was horrified at what the mass of my body looked like after. I had stretch marks on my butt and my breasts and where my belly ring had been tore. My once butt now nicely blends into my thighs. Since the birth of my son i have gone through finding out about three semi affairs my husband had with three girls and my self esteem is at a all time low. I feel like a young mommy that has a mommy body and a nice purple scar from hip to hip and stretch marks. I am trying really hard to accept my body and not being able to workout as hard as i would like due to the pain still, is discouraging. i know i will never be the same as i used to be and one day hope i can accept and love the new skin i am in. I have dropped my weight and am now to 102lbs but along with weight i have lost all form of tone.

pictures:41 weeks, hour before being induced
me and my son
my son
the rest, my body now

Baby got bigger, I got smaller -update from previous entry (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Postpartum, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 16 Comments

Facts: 3 pregnancies, 2 children, 1 cesarean. 2 1/2 years postpartum. Age 27.

Story: I first posted to The Shape of a Mother in an entry in April 2008 entitled “Never Been More Proud“.

I wanted to update because I talked about in that entry how proud I was of my body for the 2 miracles it created, and while that was true and still is true today, back then I really did not like my reflection in the mirror too much. It wasn’t long after that submission that I started working on my outward appearance…not for anyone else, but for MYSELF. To feel better about MYSELF.

And since then I have lost about 60 lbs! There are still some things I would like to work on and my body still definitely looks like a mother’s body, saggy stomach and all. But, I feel better about myself and my body now at this moment in my life than I have in years. No, it’s not perfect, but perfection is an illusion. All I want is to feel the best I can physically and mentally and have good self esteem so that I can raise my children to be happy with their bodies and feel good about themselves. And that is what I have accomplished since my last submission. I feel so good about myself now and am finally, for the first time in a long time, happy with what I see in the mirror. It’s still a work in progress, but as of right now, I feel great. :)

I tried to re-create the same image as in my last submission for comparison.

120109-anon-1

Twins and one on the way … my body’s journey! (Nicole)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Tattoo, Twins 10 Comments

At last I found a person whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and our engagement was made even more special a week later when we found out I was pregnant, then special again when I found out it was twins :)

My twin pregnancy went beautifully, the girls had to come in the world a little earlier due to pre-eclampsia and stayed in hospital with some difficulties for 4wks but now things are near perfect ;)

Now with 20mth old twins I am expecting my next bubba, due in 5weeks time.

Here are the pictures of my body’s journey so far in motherhood!

Age: 24
Number of pregnancies: 2
Number of births: 3
Age of Children: 20mth twins & one on the way
Due Date: 24th Nov 09

Engaged, Lost and Saggy… (Autumn)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom, Update 21 Comments

Hi My name is autumn I am 19 and a mom of a 8 month old son, I also among those of you is a teen mom, I found out I was 2 months Pregnant on my 18th birthday and Had my son a couple months shy of my 19th birthday, I am engaged to my sons father but I still HATE my stomach I feel like he dont want me anymore and im just there because of my strechmarks and my stomach and other areas, I had to have a emergency c-section so I have a scar thats Ugly, I Hate the way I feel and I wanted to post this and see what your comments on my stomach, is it like yours? am I the only one that stomach looks like mine? My strechmarks have faded some they were bad, I gained 75 pounds when I was pregnant, and he weighted 9.5, I went from a size 1 to a size 7 can someone help me? How can I loose it? Is there any hope for me?

I am 19 yr of age
1st pregnancy and 1st child
and my son is 8 months old as of now.

The first picture is before I had My son
The second is when I was 9 months pregnant
and the Last ones are 8 months after haveing him

Updated here.

Wrinkled, saggy strechmarked tummy 4 years after giving birth!! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 30 Comments

I’m 31 years old my daughter is now 4 years old and was born by emergency c section after a 36 hour labour. I put on 42lbs whilst pregnant and lost most of it over a year after giving birth.

I’m so glad to have found this site, as for 4 years I have been beating myself up over the state of my tummy. The skin is sooooo wrinkly and saggy. Fortunately the stretchmarks faded quite quickly but the texture and appearance of the skin is awful. The other mums I know don’t have saggy skin or stretchmarks so this just added to my hatred of my tummy.

This site has made me feel so much better for knowing I’m normal.

4 months postpartum & 2 under 2yrs (Proudmommy0709)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Postpartum, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 17 Comments

Well I’m still getting used to this mommy belly, and saggy breasts… The past 2 years my body has gone through a lot, I know that. I AM very proud, but at the same time I am not satisfied with the way my body looks. When I had my son Nov 27th 2007 I did get a lot more stretch marks from him & a saggy belly. As you can see thank goodness, my stretchmarks from him have faded a lot. I really don’t think when I was pregnant with my daughter than much changed, my first pregnancy really did all the damage, and I really didn’t have much time in between pregnancies to try and get back into shape. But now I am 185lbs. and I just started working out everyday, and I have changed my daily diet. I have seen a few mothers really inspire me, seeing their before & afters (postpartum & after they lost weight). I’m just really hope that my saggy skin isn’t so bad that I can’t get rid of it naturally. I will be soo satisfied with just that! I don’t care about the stretchmarks… its the skin that I hate! And my breast!… I’m 21, yess I’ve breastfed for 2 years practically and I feel like they look so saggy…. I miss my perky ones : ( lol that I know will never come back ohhh well! I’m just thankful I have a beautiful family now : ) Thanks for letting my share a tiny piece of my story… And if any mothers out there HAVE lost weight & did get rid of that saggy belly let me know! I’d love to hear you’re story & what u did

Age- 21
Pregnancies & births- 3 pregnancies 2 births
Age children- 23 months, & 4months
Postpartum- 4months

Will It Get Better….. (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, No Photos (Story Only), Postpartum, Submissions 15 Comments

Age:28
Number of Pregnancies:1
10 months postpartum

I just had another “talk” with my boyfriend about my self-esteem. Of course I start to cry about how bad I look now overall.

Up until my 6th month of pregnancy, I was working out up to 2 hours a day lifting weights. I was in the best shape of my life until was put on light duty after discovering I had shortened cervix. During my pregnancy I gained 17lbs at a total weight of 152. My son was 8.8lbs.

Fast forward to present….I can’t get over how bad I look from my body to my skin. My face looks dry and tired. My belly is just disgusting, my thighs are wobbly, my arms are jiggly and my ass looks scary. I’ve lost all but 3lbs but I’ve lost all muscle I had which is the sad part for me. My breasts are still to be seen since I’m still nursing my son. I’m sure they won’t be as perky and full as they once were. I hardly put makeup on. I wear the same old clothes over and over since I can’t fit into the “cute clothes”. I don’t have the time to get my pedicures or my eyebrows done. I lost my motivation to go into the gym since I get winded out doing things I was zipping through a year ago. I feel l’ve aged 5 years.

I can’t appreciate my body after having my son. I love my son to pieces but just hate the aftermath. This is hard to admit, but I don’t have much pictures of my son and I because I hate to see myself and see what I now look like (hence no pictures). I tell my boyfriend that I won’t marry him or have another baby until I get back in shape. I was once overweight and I just don’t want to return to that time. Will this get better and if so when????

My Body, My Story (Anonymous)

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

i am 24 and have been blessed with two gorgoeus boys, with my first pregnancy i got very big very quick! i was being asked at 20 weeks when i was due by people thinking it must be any day now. Of course the problem is when you get big quick you get loads of stretchmarks and i had them on my belly, the backs of my legs, part of my back, my breasts and even the underside of my arm. My eldest was due near halloween and i used to joke with my friends and family that i didn’t need a fancy dress costume as i could just go out naked and the sight of a beached whale covered in stretchmarks would scare everyone anyways. Then i had him and i hated my body it was saggy, horrid and completely unnatractive. when i was having my second son i had to have an emergency c-sect which then got badly infected and my self esteem was at an all time low. then slowly i began to accept my body instead of trying to find fault with it and lusting after the toned figure i used to have before kids. now at nearly two years post partum i am a typical woman curvaceous and confident and when i look at my body i realise that it tells my story, it is just another reminder that i have been truly blessed and if other people dont like it, its tough they dont need to look!

Mother of Two Baby Boys (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Butt, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 18 Comments

Age: 24
Two Pregnancys/ Two Births.
Children Ages: 2 1/2 & 10 weeks.

I find it pretty hard being 24 and dealing with friends and their perfect bodys in bikinis..their perky boobs, and flat stomachs, lack of stretch marks. My husband says I look great in my body now, but when your not used to something its hard to deal with. Even after 2 1/2 years. With my first son, i gained way too much weight. 53 lbs to be exact. Bringing my 110 lb body up to 163..giving me stretch marks and saggy skin. After an enormous weight battle and approximately 1 year ..I was actually smaller than I was before getting pregnant. But, my body was changed..my boobs sag..my nipples are bigger..i still have the stretch marks..but the worst is the saggy skin/ better known as the muffin top. No clothes seem to complement my body. Its now 11 weeks after my second child. I did well this pregnancy only gaining 23 lbs and i have 5 lbs left to loose to get back to my weight agian..I am starting to accept my post baby body and even wore a bikini to the beach last month. If you dont like it..you dont have to look at it. … Im not always okay with my body in public, but I am trying.

Hating My Post-Baby Body (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 15 Comments

I was always in great shape. I used to have visible abs, perky boobs, and a pretty shape. I got pregnant at 18 by my high school sweetheart, and had my daughter at 19. I put on 85 lbs with my first pregnancy. I suffered from terrible ppd and for a long time was depressed about how I looked, but didn’t really care. I was in a terrible relationship and hated my life. 2 years later, I was still 40 lbs from my pre weight, up 7 pant sizes, but finally able to start getting my life back. I decided to leave my relationship and get a better start on my life. Unfortunately I found out I was pregnant again. This time on my own, I gained little extra weight, and combined with excessive blood loss due to a difficult delivery, I left the hospital at 30 lbs over my initial prepregnancy weight, down 10 from when I got pregnant. Now, 2 and a half years later, I am 15 lbs from my pre weight. I wear a size 3, but I am still in agony over how I look. Due to the large weight gain in my first, I have strech marks EVERYWHERE and they are terrible. On my thighs, some are 3-4 in long and an inch wide. I have them on my arms, boobs, starting 4 in above my belly button all the way down to the backs of my knees and my calves. I hate my belly, my breasts, everything. I was married 2 years ago, and I have become jelous, possesive, and incredibly loathing of myself and anyone my husband might find more attractive than I. Some days I think its not so bad, but other I want to lie in bed and cry over what has become of my previously great body. I used to be a happy, confidant, independent person, but now I’m shy, insecure, and needy. I hate what I have become, and am hoping things are going to get better.

Age 23
Pregnancies: 2
Ages 4 and 2