Postpartum

What 6 Months of Weight Training Can Do! (Ashley)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 62 Comments

You can read my full story in my 1st entry, but to sum things up: I was always pretty fit and a healthy weight but gained 60lbs during my pregnancy. Three months after giving birth I suffered from severe ankle injuries which left me pretty much unable to walk for 6 months. While I lost all the weight by 6 month PP I still felt jiggly and soft. I was able to start working out 9 months pp. I had a lot of muscle atrophy especially in my legs.

I have now had 6 months in the gym and I wanted to share “What 6 months of weight training” can do for a woman! I don’t like cardio so I haven’t done any other then going on walks pretty regularly. I lift weights for an hour a day 5 days a week. A lot of women are afraid to lift “heavy” weights, I want to show them that they won’t look like men if they pick up more the a 10lb weight! I’m TRYING to gain muscle and it’s not easy!

So to try to put things in prospective here are my “stats”:
Height: 5’9.5″
Weight: ~138-140lbs
Estimated One Rep Max Lifts:
Bench Press: 156lbs
Squat: 168lbs
Dead Lift: 168lbs
Leg Press: 600+lbs

I can do 30+ military style push-ups, only 4 military pull-ups (working on bringing that up), I can do 3 sets of 10 dips with my body weight, I’m doing bicep curls with 25 to 30lb dumbbells, etc.

I still want to get stronger but I’m pretty proud of how far I’ve come in 6 months! I think I lift pretty heavy and I sure don’t think I look “too big or manly” lol. Hopefully this will inspire some other mama’s to pick up the weights too!

-1st 2 pics: My progress, the 1st pic is 8wks pp, the second is 6 months later (I had lost the weight but not made it to the gym), 3rd pic is 6 months after the 2nd with 6 months of weight lifting (15mo pp).
-The 3rd pic is of my ab progress with 1yr between photos.
-The 4th Pic is of my ab progress with 6 months between (after I’d lost the weight to after 6 months in the gym).
-The 5th pic is my back.
-The 6th pic is back/shoulders/arms flexed.
-The 7th is front/shoulders/arms flexed.
-The 8th pic is of my legs flexed.
-AND the last one’s just for fun.

~Age: 27
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1
~The age of your children and how far postpartum you are: 16 months (15 months in the last pictures)

Updated here.

Update (Roxy)

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

Previous entry here.

hey ive posted my story when I was 1month pp and my selfesteem was very low because my pregnancy left me in a pretty bad shape, but Ive worked my self up. Ive been doing a lot of exercise, running, walking etc,and I have noticed that I have improved alot. My stretch marks are still there but I have tried a lot of diferent lotions and they have fade away a lot. The skin ripped looks better and after 7months I feel sexy again.

The pictures are me when I was 1moth pp and 8months pp (now) and my little princess.

Breasts, Acceptance (Autumn)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom, Update 13 Comments

My name is Autumn, I’m 21 (22 in September), and almost 4 years postpartum.
I’ve posted here 3 or 4 times before, mainly with updates. This time I wanted to share my postpartum breasts (my belly is included, too!).

(Previous entries here, here and here.)

I’ve always been extremely insecure about my breasts, when I was a teenager I used to cry almost every time I looked in the mirror and I’d avoid the mirror until I had to shower, because I was so ashamed of my breasts. Thinking back, I don’t understand what I was seeing that was so awful and realizing they were actually quite pretty back then, made me realize I may not be seeing them in the correct light nowadays. I’ve been on a mission recently to feel as little shame about my body as humanly possible. I’m sick of devouring myself in insecurity. I’ve come to accept each of my body parts in their own time, I’ve been okay with my tummy, legs, butt, etc for awhile now. But I just could shake off the insecurities about my breasts, and seeing the breasts in the media (mainly movies that my husband watches, mainstream movies that tend to have breasts) really did not help me in coming to terms with them. So I started Googling natural breasts and was very pleasantly surprised at the amount of breasts that resembled mine and the fact that the super perky perfect ones didn’t completely monopolize the search. They were there, but I didn’t feel threatened by them with how many other breasts weren’t super perfect (but were still very attractive!). Over the last couple of weeks I’ve found acceptance for myself as a package and I’ve never felt so good. It’s a wonderful feeling not being down on myself every second of the day. So I figured since this site has helped me immensely in coming to terms with my body and seeing that I am attractive, in spite of what the media tells us, I would add these photos to show I’m no longer ashamed!

Updated here.

Two Blessings (Jess)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Child Loss, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Twins 17 Comments

Age: 24
Pregnancies: 1
Children: 2

I was told round 20 years old that I would not be able to have children. Then at 23 I had some further complications and the Dr’s did a surgery to remove massive growths on my ovaries and told me it was a long shot, but if I wanted to try and have children now was the time. Within two months I was pregnant. I went in at 8 weeks with heavy bleeding and tissue… I thought I had miscarried, they did an immediate ultrasound and said “There is heartbeat A, and there is heartbeat B…” My husbands mouth dropped and I just laughed. Come to find out I had had a miscarriage (I was preggo with triplets) but still had two healthy heartbeats! We were ecstatic! The first 20 weeks my pregnancy were great, I was working out, had only gained about 16lbs and really looked good (so I thought) then I went in and my world changed… I was diagnosed with an incompetant cervix and was told I was funnelled out to about 2mm of cervix left… I was put on strict bedrest. Needless to say week after week I kept trucking along. At 28 weeks they told me 2 weeks longer of pregnancy would be a miracle… at 30 weeks I was thinned to .7mm and dialted to 2 cm… still pregnant and still had two healthy babies! At 35 weeks I went into preterm labor and was dialted to 5cm and completely thinned out, but my contractions stopped and I was sent home… at 37 weeks I had no change… I had now gained 70lbs and had more water retention than most had ever seen in the hospital (so they say) Finally at 38 weeks and one day they started me on pitocin and after 5 hours only dilating to a 7 they broke my water and gave me my epi and 11 hours I pushed out our little girl and 52 minutes later I pushed out our boy… they were a healthy 6lbs each! We were told we would never have children and now have two beautiful babies… now back to me!

I had a really hard time gaining weight, I was 140lbs prepregnancy, but with only 18% body fat, I have always been active and have worked out my whole life and try hard to stay at a healthy size 6… I gained 70lbs and had bad bleeding for 3 months after my pregnancy… I only lost 40lbs the first 4.5months post pregnancy… finally I was given the okay to start working out again, I was no longer in my size 6’s but more in a size 11/12… I have been working out for 2.5 months and have lost an additional 15lbs… I still have 15 to go, but I am feeling better about my body and my progress. Our babies are healthy and happy and everytime I get down on myself about how awful I look, I just look at their beautiful smiles and tell myself that it’s a miracle I was able to bring them to this earth and that my body will one day be acceptable… my husband loves me more than before and still finds me sexy (he tells me this often!) Thank you for this site, I feel so lucky to share my experience and feel a little better about being a woman…

The first picture is pre-pregnancy at 138lbs
The second picture is me a day before delivering
The third-fifth are my 7 months PP pictures at 160lbs
and the final are my gorgeous babies

4 Months PP (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom 13 Comments

im a single teen mother of two . im 17 and im 4 months post partum .. i fell in love at a young age wanted a baby for unconditional love & to be in love got dumped pregnant with my second do to the work of a home wrecker , & a bad father =[ im comepletly devistated but my children keep me the happiest mother alive im so proud of them & what ive created . i was great when i had him (babydad) in my life well when we were happy , i dident feel the need to look perfect because i had who i fell in love with & dident need to look good for any body but him … i was with him for about 5 years now im soo devistated and heart broke i really thought this would truley never happen … but i thank god for my babies they keep me going seeing little kicky feet and smiles every mornin . heres my belly 4 months post partum i truley want to get a tummy tuck for my new and single me….. 082409-anon-1

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23 year old mom 18 month postpartum, 5 kids later!! (anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Butt, Four or More Pregnancies, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 11 Comments

hello i’m a 23 years old mother of 5 young childrens, i started having kids at the age of 14, i know i started young but i wouldn’t change it for anything in this world, now about my body i cant say the same thing, but i have 5 kids what else can i ask for? if i have to do it all over again i would do it in a heart beat, so here are picts of me 18 month postpartum 5 kids later my kids ages are 7 and under… i hate my stretch mark i have stretch mark everywhere of my body i have lose skin and all but ya know there nothing i can do but accept my body i thank god for the little blessing i have and the childrens that make my days brighter, at the end at least i can cover everything with nice clothes lol my husband love me like i am so what else can i ask for? I’m so very blessed!

Michaela Marks (Anonymous)

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

I’ve been visiting this site on and off over the past year. I happened upon it one day when I was trying to see if there was anyone else out there who was struggling with body changes, due to pregnancy, on the web.

How much more perfect can you get than this site?! This site has really helped me realize that I’m actually quite normal in how my body looks post pregnancy. I have a lot of stretchmarks … that’s the only thing I don’t like about my body. But, over the past year, I’ve gained encouragement by reading other people’s stories … especially those who are proud of their marks. I want to be too. I am striving everyday to get to the point where if someone saw my marks in a derogatory way I’d be able to say … “What about them? … You got a problem … you don’t need to look”! :)

In fact … I often call them “Michaela Marks” because that’s my daughter’s name. She left me cute little marks to remind me of when she was in my tummy. When I’m old, gray, no longer able to have children and vanity is considered for what it is … nothing more than a smokescreen … I’m going to love being able to see these marks on my tummy and hips. They represent love- Michaela is the love of my life.

I posted on here right after my daughter was born, 15 months ago, but wasn’t quite ready to share pictures. However, since I’ve gained so much encouragement by looking at other people’s pictures, I thought it was only fair to share some of my own. Hopefully it will encourage someone else to know that they are normal and not alone in their body changes.

I just stopped breast feeding too … and let me tell you … the boobs aren’t what they used to be! I’m 34 and look like I’m 12 in that department. It’s kind of funny though! That doesn’t bother me too much.

I really hope that this site becomes more and more popular so that people in our society can become more and more realistic, and through that less critical, about post pregnancy bodies. There’s so much going on in this world – why do we waste so much time worrying about our physical appearance anyway? Although I’m guilty of it myself … it’s a very selfish thing to be consumed by don’t you think?

So here’s some snaps of me! The Michaela Marks, depending on the light, are sometimes more prominent than in these shots.

Updated here.

1 1/2 Years PP After Twins (Fraternal Twin Mommy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Twins 18 Comments

Previous entry here.

Age during delivery: 32
Current age: almost 34
Number of pregnancies: 1
Age of twins: 1 1/2

I posted a short blurb a while ago about my experience, but I didn’t really get to elaborate on my story because I’m pretty sure one of my boys needed my attention at the time! At 8w3d I found out I was pregnant with twins. I remember the U/S tech saying to me “I have something special to tell you! It’s twins!” Joy was not the first thing that came to me. The first thing I blurted out was, “Oh god. I’m definitely going to have stretch marks now!” I didn’t escape getting them, but they are very faint. I got them 1 1/2 weeks before I had my c-sec! I was up for two night worrying about them. Lame, I know. I worked out the entire time during my pregnancy and gained 25 pounds. I’m only 5’2 and started out at 104 pounds so 25 extra pounds on my frame was a lot..and my back..my poor back! Ouch. At 33 weeks I went into what they thought was pre-term labor and was sent to the hospital for over night observation. Up until then, I had no problems. I would have a contraction and Baby B’s heartrate would drop very low. This happened a couple of times and the doctors and nurses thought that he was pulling on the umbilical cord. Little prankster! :) At 37 weeks the doctors decided that I have a c-section because the placenta was wearing out. One baby was breech, so I could not have a natural birth. I’m actually fine with having a c-section. It’s what I wanted. Little did I know how painful recovery was going to be! Both my boys were born at healthy weights (for twins) at 5.13 and 4.12 and they went home with me. I’m still working on my body and have just started doing transverse abdominal exercises to flatten/tighten the lower half of my abs. I did get slight muscle seperation so getting my abs back is going to be a challenge. I don’t know why I’m just NOW (1 1/2 years later!) working on my abs. I’m still VERY self conscious about my stomach and I hate my stretch marks but I’m learning to accept them. I even threw out all my bikinis! I’d love to have a 3rd baby, but I’m scared to death as to what it put my body through. It’s been a constant struggle. I am back down to my prepregnancy weight of 104, but I’m still a work in progress…mentally.

1st pic- 1 1/2 years PP
2nd pic- 1/2 years PP
3rd pic- New Years and about 35 weeks (sorry about the face..haha I was very uncomfy!)
4th pic- Mother’s Day 2009
5th Pic- My boys at 18 months

Not Feeling so Confidant (Shaylene)

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

I wasn’t ever the thinest person around. Im 5’2 and I was 160 lbs before I had given birth to my son. I gain 29 Lbs during the pregnancy and gained a few stretch marks which I am not bothered by. I have never been confident in the way I look. And lately i’ve been getting worse. I had my son April 17, 2009 and I thought I would be fine with my body afterwards seeing how it had been my childs life source, and it had created my son. But I just don’t feel good in my body. I am now 3 months Post. And am currentlyat 159 lbs. My fiance tells me im sexy and look the best I have ever looked, but I just don’t feel it myself. I just don’t know what to do so I feel good about myself.. Im confused. Im 19 years old and I feel I should look alot better than I do right now.

1st pic – Days before giving birth
2nd pic – 3 months pp front
3rd pic – 3 months pp side
4th pic – My lovely son Aspen :)

Twin Tummy, 5 yrs Post-partum (Anonymous 83)

Bonnie (SOAM) 5+ Years Postpartum, Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins 18 Comments

I’m 33 now, our oldest son is 8 and the twins (boy & girl) are 5. Both pregnancies were term and all babies big and healthy (Oldest son – 8lbs, 9oz…twin daughter – 6lbs, 9oz…twins son – 7lbs, 6oz). Twins had to be induced at 40 weeks + 1 day (40 weeks is term for twins)… I was fortunate not to need a c-section and the deliveries were safe, and uneventful (except that it was x2 !). I was so proud of myself for carrying the twins so long and growing them so big and healthy inside me. Never even considered what that massively stretched tummy might look like after they vacated. Hmmm.

My pride for creating and delivering 3 healthy kiddos outweighs my vanity when I consider how my stretchy tummy came to be. But I don’t think of my loose skin and stretch marks are ‘badges of honour’ — I would be quite happy to be rid of them soon (I’m saving for a tummy tuck and hope to have it completed before I am 40)… just as one wouldn’t think twice about getting braces for a child with badly aligned teeth… I don’t think there is anything wrong with altering your body to better represent how you feel about yourself (I don’t feel like a woman with a poochy tummy — I still feel like a hot mama!). But until I change my tummy, this is what it looks like…I don’t mind it… I don’t mind my husband and kids seeing it, I don’t mind sharing it with other moms. But it’s not the way I want the rest of the world to see me, so I wear clothes that keep it under wraps and lord knows NO BIKINIS!

Counting my blessings & keeping it in perspective (but still checking myself out in the mirror :)

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