i have post here before i just want to share my 11 months pospartum pict i dont like my body and my huge thighs!
11 Months Postpartum, After 5 Kids! (Anonymous)
Postpartum
In Love With Myself (Anonymous)
I posted here nine months ago thinking that I would return loathing my post pregnancy body. Superficially thinking that “recovering” from my pregnancy would be important.
On April 30th ten days late I birthed a 7lb .5oz baby girl gently into my own arms. Not only was I blessed with a healthy child but I also left my daughter’s birth feeling confidant, and accomplished.
Amelia turned 8 months old yesterday and I couldn’t be happier with myself. While my body looks (mostly) unchanged my belly is just soft enough for her to blow raspberries on, my breasts loosened just enough for her to tug while she nurses, and the little stretch mark above my belly button constantly reminds me of how much I have changed in the last year.
I hope everyone that comes here finds as much happiness in her body as I have.
*First photo 39 weeks pregnant
*Second photo Just moments after our daughter was born
*Third Amelia’s first steps in the snow.
*My new and improved self.
36 and Concerned (Anonymous)
I came to this site for two reasons. One is to offer hope. I had my first child at 27 and bounced back well. I lead an unusually active lifestyle at my most sedentary because I have horses, goats, and a bunch of dogs and other animals. I can’t keep still for very long. As a result, I achieved a look I can be proud of about two years after my first child. The photo is me about four years after my first child. This link goes to a photo taken about two years ago.
I hope it offers hope to a few and a reality check for those who need that. I never became Twiggy thin, but the larger breasts and hips became assets because I thought of them that way. To some, this is a picture of a woman who is much too thin. For others, it may be a ray of hope. Either way, it shows that the postpartum body need not be something to feel ashamed of. I’m quite sure this photographer realized I’d given birth and still he felt the picture (NOT airbrushed) was beautiful enough to appear on his web site.
That said, I know genetics played a role and that being older will make it that much harder to achieve the same results, if they can be achieved at all. That brings me to my second reason for being here. I have remarried since that picture, and am a couple of years older. I don’t look appreciably different, perhaps a few pounds heavier. My new husband loves my body and is, in fact, proud to show me off. I want to keep him happy with my body as long as I am able. I also want to offer him another child. He loves me and all three of our collective brood and has a great deal to offer a new baby. I am struggling with these seemingly incompatible desires. I kick myself for being so vain, especially in light of issues like stepsisters, a stepfather, sibling rivalry, education, finances, etc, but I am no more than human.
Most of the women here seem so young to me, and it makes me think “But they are not like me,” even though I know that isn’t necessarily so. That human thing again, trying to make my situation different. I keep wondering if being fully physically adult before having my first made any difference. I look for the older woman who is proud of her postpartum body so I can feel some slight hope, even knowing that I will not be quite the same after another child.
In any case, I will likely continue to do what we as humans love to do-find excuses to do just as we please. I know I will get over changing my body’s shape if I really want that baby. I also know that, whatever the outcome, it will be worth it and my husband will love me regardless.
The REAL Beauty (Anonymous)
This is my body 11 weeks after the birth of my beautiful baby girl. She saved my life and lifted my soul out of the darkness. I have never seen anything more beautiful than my daughter and every time her tiny hand grasps mine, I see the reason why I am alive. There is no greater gift and love is not enough for how I feel for her. She is everything worth living for and all that is wonderful in this world. A baby is truly a miracle no one can describe. My body cradled her inside of me and now I cradle her in my arms. I will never look the way I did before. My body gave up parts of itself to create this beautiful being. I cry about the fact that I cant wear my old jeans….I feel unattractive and fat every day…..But I realize that these changes gave me HER. So I pick myself up and I put on my jogging pants and keep going. I would give my life for her so what’s a few extra pounds and sagging breasts? Women, you are ALL beautiful. No one is immune to pregnancy changes. Accept that a human body is not meant to be perfect. It is meant to be loved. And our children will love us no matter what we look like. That is the beauty of motherhood and the real beauty of being a woman.
Surrogate Belly – After Two of My Own (Anonymous)
My first contribution was taken six months ago, before the latest preggo belly. This is me at 32 weeks and counting. I don’t look like a hollywood preggo, and I didn’t edit anything out. This is real, this is me, and it is so BEAUTIFUL!!!
Two-Time Gestational Surrogate and Mother of Two (Anonymous)
Hi I am a 2x Gestational Surrogate. I also have 2 kids of my own Baylee 11 and Tyler 5. I am a proud surrogate of 2 baby girls. One born 2/27/07, and another born 8/25/08. I am proud of all 4 babies I have given birth to. However my first child was the pregnancy to give me my lovely stretch marks and chubb. All 3 other pregnancies gave me no additional stretch marks. My weight has been up and down over the years. I am actually at my lowest now 140lbs. I am proud of this as this is after 4 pregnancies. I would not change a thing, but do admitt I wish I did not have the stretch marks and chubb around the belly. My 2 kids were vaginal births in 1997, and one in 2003. My first surrogate baby was an emergrncy c-section, and my second surrogate baby was a repeat c-section. I am proud of them all. And have grown to accept my body as it is.
Here I am 38 weeks along with my 4th pregnancy. This pregnancy was my second surrogate baby
This is me after my 3rd pregnancy and first surrogate baby. See how heavy I still was. Im the lady on the right.
Here I am at 26 weeks along with my 4th surrogate baby. This is my son Tyler 5yrs old.
This is me Christmas 2008 with Tyler again. After 4 pregnancies. I lost 42 lbs since delivering my last baby and that is 15 less than before I was pregnant. I am very proud of myself as I have always been over weight.
Getting Used to the New Me (Anonymous)
Before I got pregnant, I had a pretty decent body — not great, just average. Since giving birth to my son 6 weeks ago, I am struggling to adjust to my new, “mom’s” body. I guess I got away luckier than some — while I have tons and tons of stretchmarks on my chest, some on hips and inner thighs, I only got one on my stomach in the entire pregnancy. I gained 21 lb during my pregnancy and have already lost the weight, and then some. I don’t really have any problem with my tummy, even though it’s still softer than it was before… I know that will change with time. I am, however, having a hard time dealing with my breasts. I’m only 23 years old, and before having my son, my breasts were a large B/small C, and very perky. Now they’ve gone up to a D, and in my worst moments, I can’t help but feel like they are ugly, pendulous udders sitting on my chest. It doesn’t help that they’ve got a stretch mark ‘bra’, or that they are covered with very visible blue veins (I am very pale, and breastfeeding constantly) all over. I hate getting sweaty under my breasts; that never happened before! In my best moments, I feel so proud that I am able to nourish my beautiful son with my own body, and that he has already gone up to over 11 lb in just 6 weeks (he was born at 8 lb 6 oz) on my breastmilk, alone. I guess when it gets down to it, I will learn to cope with my body. It will always be different, and thankfully, my husband says he finds me even sexier than before I got pregnant. My struggle now is to find myself as sexy in a new role — not just as a young woman, but as a mother.
7 months pp. A crazy new life. (Anonymous)
I was surprised to find that my story was a lot more common than I thought. I first found out I was pregnant as a senior in high school. My boyfriend (who is now my husband) reacted differently than most young men would have in his situation. He told me that whatever I chose to do, he would support. The though of abortion crossed my mind for a brief moment but I knew that I was in love with the baby that was already growing in me. As the months went by I got bigger and bigger. No thanks to my steady diet of anything greasy. =)I saw the pregancy as the only time in my life when i could indulge. Because I never did before. Pre pregnancy i weighed 125 pounds 5’7″. I fit nicely into a size two and would freak out if my weight approached the dreaded 130. At the end of my pregnancy i weighed 175 pounds. I used coco butter religiously but I still got stretch marks all over my sides, underneath the belly button, and thighs. Following the birth of my son I fell into post partum depression. At the time I did not know that I was actually depressed. I felt guilty for my thoughts and actions and the only person who experienced my bad attitude was my husband. I would snap on him because I was so unhappy with the way I looked. It was hard to accept that my body was “ruined” ( or so I thought). I would blame him for getting me pregnant and blame him for the way I looked. I found this website browsing the web one night depressed and feeling hopeless about the state of my body. I couldnt believe that the stretchmarks that I got would stay on me forever, in fact I refused to believe it. I spent countless hours looking for the “miracle creams” and hundreds of dollars. I looked into plastic surgery and laser treatemts. Every time that I would feel sad and hopeless my husband would tell me that I was beautiful and that he was so lucky to be with me. Around the 4th month after having my baby my depressing got out of control. I refused to stay home alone with the baby and I would often hand him off to whoever was around so that I could “live my own life” I am now 7 months post partum and I have a new outlook on life. I went back to work which made a huge difference. Talking about how I felt with my mom and close friends helped me get my problems and anger out. I now weight 140 pounds and have about 10 more to drop. Its definatelly been a wild ride. I love my son more than anything. But being a teen mom is hard. I missed out on my high school graduation and prom. Those precious moments that I have with him however cannot be described. I couldnt have done all that I have without the love and support from my husband, my parents and my friends. I hope that my post will be able to give hope to someone. Anything is possible in life. I feel like this whole experience has completely changed my life around and for the better. I now have a purpose in life and that is my beautiful son and amazing husband. <3
Updated here.
Struggling with my mommy body (Jenn)
Hi I’m Jenn I had my first, and only, child five years ago. I was very lucky that I had no stretch marks despite being very big while pregnant, apart from a few faint ones that are hardly noticble on my breasts and bum. I carried my son very high and had a c-section. I never put on much weight while pregnant and lost about 5kg after he was born, but in the five years since then the weight has just piled on, I don’t know if that’s due to lack of sleep, stress or not eating or exercising properly — or maybe a combination of all these factors. I never had a small waist — in fact I was always quite chunky in the middle, but I found that after my son was born my stomach just collapsed and I now have a section of tummy that bulges out above the belly button and my body has become positively apple shaped. I am really struggling to lose the weight (about 15kg gained since he was born)and no matter how many sit ups and crunches I do, I still end up with a muffin top, jelly belly. The swimming costume I have on in the pictures actually holds my tummy in a little and the only tops I look good in are maternity tops — has anyone experienced this? I don’t want to go through life wishing I was thinner or my tummy was flatter and being miserable and self-conscious, and I don’t want cosmetic surgery. It astounds me that celebs look so great after their babies, even after twins. How do they do it? What also annoys me is that clothing stores seem to cater for teenage girls only and the bigger clothes and underwear are dowdy. It’s Christmas so I’m not going to spoil my vacation by going on a diet but I think after Christmas I am going to eat all my meals off a small plate, cut out all sugars, simple starches and fats, and try pilates. Weights just seem to make me chunkier. Anyone who has struggled and regained thier body ultimately, if you have any advice, please let me know. Wishing you all a merry festive season and happy new year.
3 Years Later and Still This?? (Angele)
Hi everyone, I am 28 years old. I had my first daughter when I was 20. I was 130lbs pre-baby and I gained 38 lbs in 38 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy. I lost most of that weight and was back into a size 7. I became pregnant with my second daughter at the age of 25; starting weight was 140lbs and I gained a massive 58 lbs which brought me up to 198lbs at delivery. Well, not as lucky with my second as my first. I stretched out very large, I carried all in the front. My daughters are now 7 years old and 3 years old, and I still have the left over of my pregnancy…I have seen specialists and doctors on how best to deal with my stomach.. only solution.. is a tummy tuck.. so we are saving for plastic surgery. A whopping 9 000$ to just feel normal..just to feel as tough my stomach isnt a foreign object on my body….I just want to be able to wear clothes without having to tuck my belly into my jeans! This site was a Godsend to me, I finally felt like I wasn’t alone, and thought..wow, these gorgeous women have similar bellies, maybe showing mine, might help another mom dealing with her insecurties also. Thank you for reading.. Just a note..I am doing this for me, and myself only. My husband doesnt seem to see the belly and stretch marks.. he still sees me as me..the me before our babies.
