Pregnant

I Control My Body, My Body Does Not Control Me! (Danielle)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 11 Comments

My age: 35
Number of children: 2 – Daughter 3yrs, Son 5 months

No one ever told me anything about what happens after pregnancy – the fatigue, depression, mood swings, bleeding for weeks, body changes – the list goes on. I was prepared for my baby, but not prepared for what pregnancy did to me.

I got pregnant with my daughter the month I turned 31. It was the first month we tried and my husband and I were ecstatic. I don’t remember much about the pregnancy except the fear and the aches and pains toward the end of the pregnancy. I have been a runner since the age of 19 and so continued to run while pregnant. I ran up until I was around 32 weeks along. In the end, I gained 40lbs and got severe, sudden onset pre-eclampsia and had to be induced. My beautiful baby girl was born healthy and full-term at 37 weeks weighing 5lbs 11.5oz, 17in long. She is the joy of my life.

After her birth, I continued to have high blood pressure for a couple of weeks and developed PPD along with strange looking bruised spots on my lower legs which I later learned can be caused by high blood pressure. I was unable to breastfeed my daughter because the doctor gave me water pills which dried up my supply. This didn’t help with my depression. I had suffered with depression before, but nothing prepared me for PPD. I do not believe in taking anti-depressants so I handled my PPD the way I always handled depression – I ran.

At first I thought the running was going to kill me. I remember the first time I tried to run I barely made it 100 yards. I could feel my tummy jiggling and that really upset me. I wondered if I would always feel that and I had thoughts of giving up and accepting failure. But I kept trying to run, even holding my tummy and wearing tight fitting pants to hold it in. Eventually I could run a mile, then two, then three and more. And eventually my tummy stopped jiggling.

In 3 months I dropped all of the pregnancy weight (I had 25lbs to lose) and, though still slightly depressed, I felt more like myself than I had for six months prior. Around that same time I ran a 10k and finished in an hour flat. It felt good! By 6 months postpartum I weighed the same as I did prior to becoming pregnant and was a whole dress size smaller.

I got pregnant with my second child almost two years later. This pregnancy was a lot more memorable and I was very comfortable with being pregnant. I took belly shots and documented the pregnancy up until the day I delivered my son at 39 weeks. I gained 35lbs and, as with my first pregnancy, I ran up until I was 32 weeks along, but, unlike with my daughter, I continued to walk every day for 30 minutes until he was born. There were no complications with his delivery. He weighed 6lbs 13oz and was 19.5 inches long. He is the love of my life.

This time I lost all of my pregnancy weight by 4 weeks postpartum. I believe it was because I pumped for four weeks to give my son as much breast milk as I could. I did not get PPD either. Instead, I felt amazing! I started running again at 2 weeks postpartum. A month later I added toning exercises. I currently work out 45-60 minutes a day, five days a week, and vary my workout between running, cycling, step aerobics and body toning exercises. Do I have to work out so much? No. I could keep my body looking like it does working out half that much, but I LOVE working out. It is time for ME and I feel powerful when I do it because I know that my body doesn’t control me – I control my body.

I am now 5 months postpartum and weigh the same as I did pre-pregnancy. I did not get any stretch marks from either pregnancy and the extra skin I do have is minimal. I do remember having less extra skin after my first pregnancy than I got this time around and it upsets me a little, but I know that if I continue to watch what I eat and exercise that the skin will eventually return to how it was pre-pregnancy, just like it did after my daughter. I started out a C cup and with each pregnancy, went up to a DD cup, and then back to a C cup. The only thing different about my breasts is that they are a little less perky, but otherwise look the same.

My only complaint about my body now is that I have spider veins in my lower leg and still have those strange bruise-like spots on one calf. I plan on getting laser vein treatments but am waiting until I know for sure if I will try for a third child. My doctor told me the veins are genetic, but considering the other genes I could have inherited, I am not complaining.

I could not find any photos of me pre-pregnancy for comparison, but I can tell you my body looked the same about six months after my first baby as it did pre-pregnancy.

Goodbye beautiful body, hello beautiful daughter. (Elivert)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 4 Comments

I have 21 years old. For a long time my body had taken care of no gain, of stretch marks,always look my beautiful belly. Until I met my lovely husband, who has supported me and always wanted, we wanted very much a baby in our lives.

Until a year ago gave us the news of my pregnancy cute, and today at 4 months postpartum, I have the most beautiful in the world, my daughter, and the havoc it caused in my pregnancy with stretch marks until my stomach and few extra pounds.

My daughter was born on 9 1 / 2 pounds and very healthy, I’m trying to accept my body positively, see my life with “I am a mother” I have not got my body and my life before but I have a precious gift, good two precious gifts My daughter and husband Milind who supports me and loves me so, are the most beautiful I have in life and is the only thing that need to be happy, but you always want to look better.

I thought undergo a abdominoplastic and improve the appearance of my new body,which I hate but is the sacrifice of the most beautiful and paid profession in the world,become mothers. I look forward to seeing me sexy for my husband, is the most important and to whom I am full after my daughter.

these are my photos:1- before Pregnancy2- 1 months pregnancy3- 5 months pregnancy4- 8 months pregnancy5- 1 months postpartum6-7 – 3 months postpartum, my belly.

Updated here.

SOAM Changed Me (Corinne)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 6 Comments

Age 33
3 Children; 12 years old, 20 months old and 8 days old.
3 Pregnancies, 8 days PP

Previous posts here and here.

I still remember the sick feeling I felt when I saw that my post had appeared on SOAM. I very nearly emailed Bonnie straight away to ask her to take it down. I decided to keep the fact I’d posted it a secret from people I knew and then I read it myself and looked at the photos as I would look at photos of another woman. I realised that my words of confidence didn’t reflect how I truly felt, but looking at those photos I realised my body was beautiful. I went on to share the post with some friends and family.

With my second post I felt so much more confident and loved taking the photos. I think it shows.

This experience inspired me to start my own blog in order to share my experiences through pregnancy and after. I hope that women in the UK will share their experiences in a similar way to this site. I know this site is open to anyone but it is lesser known in the UK. Since starting the blog I have felt truly confident and have loved writing it, I have also had many people tell me it has helped them and for that reason alone I feel proud.

I would like to end by saying a HUGE thank you to Bonnie for SOAM and for helping me change the way I feel about my body. I am thrilled to be able to say I love my post pregnancy body too, it has done an amazing job producing my 3rd baby boy, Wilfred. Already my belly is shrinking back, it’s always going to be a bit wobbly and stretch marked but I am looking forward to getting back out on my bicycle and getting fit so I can be a healthy, happy woman and mother.

I will leave you with some photos, me at 41 weeks pregnant, my stomach immediately after the birth and 7 days post partum.

27 Weeks Pregnant With My Fourth Baby, My First Son (Apryl)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Children with Health Complications, Four or More Pregnancies, Mom over 30, Pregnant, Submissions 8 Comments

With my first pregnancy in 1996 I was 20 years old and have hardly a handful of photos to remind myself of that first beautiful 9 months of my life when I was becoming a mother. With my second and third daughters I took more pictures, I had a digital camera by then and taking belly pictures was somewhat easier, I also had timers so I could rely more on myself than my husband or older child, to get pictures when I wanted them.

Last night I was lying in bed reading with no shirt on due to the warmer weather, feeling my son kick the mattress the way my third daughter always used to, and I reached for my camera in the hopes of getting a picture I would really like. The picture I’m sending turned out well for this particular website, I wouldn’t share a photo that includes my breasts anywhere else.

Speaking of my breasts, I have breastfed my three girls a total of 8 years and 11 months. I hope to nurse my son for 2-3 years, if he is the kind of baby who likes to nurse, my third daughter wasn’t a big nurser.

The baby I’m carrying now, my first son, has a hole in his heart, and possibly Down Syndrome, we are hoping for the healthiest possible outcome at his birth, which would include him staying with us, not needing surgery, and being able to nurse right away. His name is Adam.

I am 35 years old, this is my fourth baby, I had two miscarriages years ago at 5 and 9 weeks. I am 27 weeks pregnant right now. My girls are 14, almost 7, and 4

I Finally Feel Sexy Again (Babs)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Child Loss, Eating Disorder, Four or More Pregnancies, Homebirth, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Mothers with Health Complications, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo, Update, VBAC 12 Comments

Original entries here, here, here and here.

This was my fourth pregnancy and birth, and both were extremely difficult. I suffered with moderate hyperemesis gravaridum throughout (helpHER.org), lost a significant amount of weight, muscle and nutrients and was on the edge of hospitalization and IV feeds throughout (even with extensive medicating). I also suffer with a spinal disease called ankylosing spondylitis which caused my vertebrae to fuse together from my coccyx up to my mid-back; it also causes very painful nerve damage in my hip joints and legs due to those bundles of nerves being trapped in the fusions.

The way my body changed over the course of this pregnancy felt very different than the other times: I was tired, and in a lot of pain and very sick. Toward the end I was mostly bedridden and had to push myself hard to get in a short walk a few times a week. I felt like I was falling apart, and was beginning to really hate my body: it was big and awkward, desperately sick and so, so painful. Through the last months of pregnancy I had to walk with a cane, which left me feeling very self-conscious and extremely unattractive. I felt like this pregnancy had stripped me of my femininity and sex appeal… and for the first time in my life, even with a disability diagnosis for years, I really felt disabled. On top of that, I’d had a relapse of an eating disorder shortly before becoming pregnant and was struggling hard with maintaining positive body image even before all that crap. As a result of that, I requested to not be weighed throughout my pregnancy, nor have weight used as a judgment of my health since it was such a fresh trigger. (Numbers alone are not a good, accurate diagnostic tool: your health is a big picture, and can’t be judged by a flawed BMI calculator or tiny range of “healthy pounds”. Big or small, your overall health is what is important to take care of and there is so much more to it than standing on a scale! Even with the diagnosis of hyperemesis, being weighed on a regular basis was not necessary to monitor my health and nutrition. You may have to argue with your care provider a little, but if scales and numbers are a trigger for you during pregnancy, you CAN avoid them so you can stay strong and supported).

Just three days ago now, 9 days past my due date, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. My hard and fast (two hour!) labour was very difficult with the spinal fusions, and very painful, but I made it through with the wonderful support of my midwife, doula and my husband. With their love and care I was able to achieve a second home VBAC, even with my disabilities. I have to say, waterbirth helps a TON for moms with chronic pain, or spinal disabilities!! I don’t now if I’d have been able to do it without the pool.

The night after giving birth I was laying in bed with my husband watching TV shows on my laptop with our new baby sleeping between us. I was laying there, mostly naked, and looked down over my new postpartum body all squishy and deflated and realized that… I felt really good. More than that, I felt sexy! This pregnancy that was so hard on my body and made me feel stripped bare, this birth that was so hard to get through and had me screaming at the top of my lungs, they’ve both been such huge challenges but by making it out the other side I feel strong and capable and SEXY! When I went out in public earlier I didn’t feel like sucking in my stomach and hiding my middle in loose-fitting clothes. I even went out wearing a form-fitting top, proudly showing off my squishy new postpartum body so I can proclaim to everyone, “THIS is beautiful!”. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to look at my body in such a truly positive way. Even with a disability, with a history of struggling with an eating disorder, with severe illness and a very hard year that left me with a very changed body… I can be sensual and feminine and amazing. Four babies have passed through this body and left their footprints on it with stretch marks, cesarean scars, milky breasts, love handles, cellulite and weight gain… but today, just three days postpartum after my fourth birth, I feel sexier than I ever have.

I’ve posted to this site before, several times, but I never thought I’d ever have the guts to submit any images of myself fully nude. Even while I took these images through pregnancy, hoping that I’d eventually find the courage to submit (anonymously, maybe with my head cut off and my tattoo obscured! PS. that’s why my head is cut off in a bunch of these!) I didn’t really believe I’d be able to, so it brings me a lot of joy to post these (albeit still a little nervous…) and say, “I FEEL GREAT!”. Now I feel like encouraging everyone to do the same thing. Take pictures of your body, and not just any old pictures – put aside some time and experiment with taking some really nice photos. Go get some boudoir photos done if you don’t want to or can’t take your own, but whatever you do don’t neglect capturing some of your beauty… even if you feel crappy about yourself.

Despite I felt like absolute hell and hating my body through most of my pregnancy, I’m really grateful to myself that I pushed through to document my changes. I think it’s in us all to learn how to appreciate how amazing our bodies are in all their power. Just look at the incredible things they can do! Thanks to this site I found the motivation to nurture that, and I’m really glad I stuck to it.

(As a note: I’m a professional photographer, so these were taken by me with professional gear. Even though you can’t see them very well there are stretch marks and scars there, though I don’t have the type of genes that get a lot. Good quality, even lighting makes a big difference in how your skin appears in pictures. For anyone curious to experiment with their own lighting, I included a “behind the scenes” photo to show how everything was set up to take these. I used a Nikon SB800 flash mounted on a stand with a home-made beauty dish made out of a planter and some spare parts for about $12 total (instructions here: https://davidtejada.blogspot.com/2008/04/beauty-dish-for-sb-800.html), and a desk lamp pointed at the corner of the wall behind me to reduce some of the shadows. From there just experiment with the settings until you find something that looks good! I triggered my light with a radio controlled device called a Pocket Wizard, but you can just use a sync cord or one of many other inexpensive options and get the exact same results. You also don’t have to use a big fancy flash either, any will work including the cheap Vivitar 285V which runs about $90. :)

In Love with Stretch Marks (Jesi)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom 5 Comments

Age: 19
Number of Pregnancies/Births: 2 (1 birth and currently 15 weeks with second)
Age of Children: 9 months; 15 weeks pregnant

I have a loving relationship with my stretch marks… They show that I have created a child and am currently creating another one. Sometimes I do long for that “normal” fit 19 year old body that I should have. But I wouldn’t trade my son or being pregnant again for the world.

With 2 pregnancies so close together (my son was 5 months when I got pregnant), my body is going through a major rollercoaster. I’m also still breastfeeding my 9 month old and I’m so blessed that my body is capable of caring for 2 children simultaneously.

I am 5’6 and the day before I gave birth to my son, I weighed in at 240. I got down to 203 when my son was 4 months old (yay breastfeeding!) but am now up to 215 again as I am 15 weeks along with my second baby.

I sympathize with all of the women out there that struggle with body issues and self-esteem. But always remember, you ARE eternally beautiful to the child that you gave life to. They won’t care how many stretch marks you have or how much you weigh.

Just to show the world how beautiful pregnancy, motherhood and even stretch marks can be, I always flaunt my mommy figure in a 2 piece :). In this photo I am 14+5 weeks pregnant and already have a belly..

First Child, Deployed Husband (Jessi)

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

I’m Jessi. I will soon be turning 21 and my baby girl is 3 months 1 week and 2 days old. She is my pride and joy and I thank God for her every day for allowing me to have her while my husband is off serving our country.

When we first found out I was pregnant we were both so ecstatic! It was a bittersweet time in our lives though because my husband was to deploy when i was at 7 months in my pregnancy. Throughout my pregnancy i had the “morning sickness” which ironically ALWAYS came in the afternoons! Other than my morning sickness (which didn’t bother me at all) i had a perfect pregnancy! I had never in my life been so happy! I was at 150 before i became pregnant and at the end i had only gained 27 lbs… no swelling, no extra weight, nothing! After my husband deployed i “went home to mama” because I was so afraid of trying to go through the rest of my pregnancy alone… and it was a good thing that i did.

Three days before my due date my mother-in-law had me out walking and trying to get the labor moving along. That night the weather was supposed to get bad and I had been having contractions for weeks that were about 15-20 minutes apart so she insisted that we go have me checked before heading home (which i had been checked 2 days before and i was only at 1 cm so i didn’t think that i had moved along ANY!) As the nurse came in and checked me she started counting 1…2…3… id say you are about 5 cm lets get you back to a room! My mom was in the room with me when she said this so we both immediately got on our phones and started telling people. After a few hours in labor my husband calls not knowing ANYTHING that’s going on so i told him and he didn’t believe me at first but his words to me were when i call back you better have a baby here :D

Needless to say after 11 hours of labor thru the night the Dr. finally came in and said what i think we have here is a square peg trying to fit into a round hole… I had only dilated to 8 cm in 11 hrs and a lip of my cervix wouldn’t pull back so we went in for a caesarian section. My mom immediately started crying because she had all 3 of us naturally. I set up my voicemail on my phone to say something like “Baby if you call i had to have a c-section call your mom i love you”. As our baby was being put into my moms arms to go see everyone he was just about to get off the phone with his mom and my mom walked thru the doors with our crying baby girl in her arms… and he got to hear her first cries!!! That was simply amazing to me.

So now as i sit here watching our baby girl sleep and i type this story i realize just how blessed we were for him to be able to call and actually hear her first cries. We still await his arrival home but that joyous, amazing return will come soon! He will be able to meet our daughter for the first time and we will be able to start our family together and not long distance…

For Chanel (Dalena)

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

~ Age: 25
~ 1 pregnancy 1 birth
~ 5 weeks postpartum

I stopped taking my birth control pills at the end of May 2010. I found out I was pregnant on July 17th, 2010. I would say my pregnancy was normal. There weren’t any complications. I gained a total of 45lbs. I was 185lbs at my first prenatal appointment. And 230lbs at my last prenatal appointment. At 36 weeks my doctor told me that my baby was measuring a little big. An ultrasound estimated that baby was 8lbs 12oz. My due date came and went. I was scheduled to be induced on a Monday April 4th. I went into labor at 8:30pm on Thursday March 31st. I was 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant. My contractions started at 5 minutes apart. By the time I got to the hospital at midnight they were 2 minutes apart. I was checked and only dilated to 3 and a half centimeters… I walked around the hospital for 3 hours until the contractions became unbearable. I was checked again and was at 5 cm. I was taken to my room and given my epidural shortly after. I was checked again and had dilated to 7 cm. So far so good right? The doctor broke my water to try to speed things up. Hours later I was still at 7 cm so I was given pitocin. I was contracting so much at one point they had to turn my pitocin off. I never dilated past 7 cm. My babys heart rate was high and I had a fever. My only concern during my entire pregnancy was that I would have to have a c-section… And that’s exactly what had to happened. I was distraught. I cried for about an hour while they got everything ready. I didn’t want the pain and the longer recovery time and even more I didn’t want the scar and the “lip” that my sister has from her c-sections. The moment I heard my baby cry I forgot about everything else. Chanel Marie was born Friday April 1st, 2011 at 3:39pm. She was 8lbs 8oz of pure perfection. I recovered quickly from my c-section. I was up and moving at the hospital. I took it easy but I didn’t baby myself. I lost 30 pounds in the first 2 weeks after delivering. Since then I’ve been losing about 3 pounds a week. I have 8lbs to lose until I’m back at the weight I was at my first prenatal appointment. I’m breastfeeding and eating a healthy diet and I’ve been going on walks about twice a week. I’m hoping to be cleared by my doctor to start working out at my 6 weeks pp appointment which is this Friday. My final goal weight is between 140 and 145. I’m going to give myself a year to meet that goal. And I’m hoping by the time I reach my goal weight my “lip” won’t really be noticeable. It’s already looking better since my tummy is getting flatter. In the end everything I was worried about hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. Besides it was all for Chanel so it was more then worth it. I’m sooo in love. I’d do absolutely ANYTHING for my babygirl.

Thank you SOAM for letting me share. I owe a lot of being able to accept my body after the pregnancy to the site and women who have posted their stories. I hope that someone will read my story and it will help them to accept their body after their pregnancy as well. There is nothing more beautiful then life and love. And that is what our bodies have done. Created life and love.

Pic #1 Me before pregnancy
Pic #2 is 15 weeks pregnant
Pic #3 and #4 is 27 weeks pregnant
Pic #5 is 39 weeks pregnant
Pic #6 and #7 is me 5 weeks postpartum.
Pic #8 is the “lip”… Where the tummy pokes out over the scar.

Updated here.

I Found My Beautiful (Jessa)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Update 6 Comments

Previous post here.

Age: 23
Number of pregnancies and births: 2, 2
Age of children: 3 (next month) and 10 months

I know my previous post had that confident vibe, but most days the confidence and acceptance of my body just isn’t there.

The other day I was very discouraged about my shape. It had been a rough day and I decided to take a picture of my stomach laying down post-Lexi to compare to the picture I took laying down while pregnant with her. It was a way for me to feel accomplished.

I snapped a couple pictures and forgot about them.

Life went on as normal for the next couple days, days that I was proud of myself and proud of my body for two successful pregnancies. Then I had another downer day. On my downer days I snap pictures of my kids playing. I then proceeded to upload those pictures to my computer so I could share them with our family who lives 12 hours away.

And that’s when I saw it. One of the pictures of my post-Lexi body. The way the light hit it, it was beautiful. It literally took my breath away. My skin, though dimpled and scared looked like a thing carved out of marble. Surely my body is art and my children are the medium. I think that is the first time since either child has been born that I have looked at my body in awe and total appreciation.

So now when I have downer days, on top of taking pictures of the girls, I look at this picture and feel proud. And you can bet I will be in a bikini this summer. A fact which has my husband thrilled. <--- No really, I'm serious. He is excited for this *snicker* Pictures: #1 Laying down 9 months pregnant #2 Laying down 9 months postpartum #3 The beautiful picture. #4 My oldest, Haylie #5 My youngest, Alexis [gallery]

Finding Myself in My Folds (Haley)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Child Loss, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 13 Comments

Age: 18
Number of pregnancies/ births: 2 pregnancies, 1 birth
Age of child: 14 months

Let me begin by saying that in my family being overweight is normal and I’ve always been the odd one out. You would think being the healthiest one would be a good thing, but it wasn’t. I was always different, and I always wanted to be like everyone else, big.

I came into my own at 14 when I started my period. Finally I had the breasts, and the butt to match my family. I wasn’t rail thin anymore; I even started getting attention from boys. Within a year the attention put me in a sexual relationship I wasn’t ready for. It took its toll on me both physically and emotionally. My weight suffered, losing 17 pounds in a matter of weeks, two bouts of Mono, and a severe depression. When the relationship finally ended I was lost. I threw myself into being a teenager, going to games, working at the local dinner and just forgetting where I had been. I flew through a relationship, began talking to an older guy, and got the courage up to talk to the boy in health class.

The boy in health class, who knew he was my future? It was a slow beginning which swiftly turned into a serious relationship. We were inseparable and planning a future together. The plan was two year engagement and a wedding after I graduated with him joining the military in the meantime. But what always happens when you plan too fast? Life, a baby. When we got the news everything went into fast forward.

We married in July, days after my 17th birthday. He enlisted and went off to BCT in my first trimester and I finished school. At this point I had just gotten my body to where it really needed to be. I was thriving. My pregnancy was a walk in the park. I had no complications and barley gained any weight if anything I didn’t gain enough weight. When my daughter was born I lost most of what I had gained and within the first three months I was back to my old self.

And then came marriage. My husband came home, and we moved to our first duty station. Stress, motherhood, hormones, hormones galore, and the role of being a wife was the first 20 lbs. When we found we were pregnant again just six months after having our daughter we were elated. We couldn’t wait to have another child. But too soon things went wrong. We lost the baby when I was just two months along. The doctors said it was normal and it happened often, but it tore me apart. I was put on birth control; we did not want to face a situation like that again. Depression and hormones caused me to gain another 20 lbs. At this point I was no longer the twig in the family. I struggled with my new self. I missed who I had been.

Now months later I have learned that though I may be different I am still me, the girl who found herself after a terrible relationship, the girl who fell in love with a boy in Health, the mother of an energetic one year old, and the woman who lost a baby. My daughter is a gift, and my husband adores the body I now own. I have finally become the norm in my family, and though there are times when I struggle and think less of myself. I know I am beautiful and that I can do anything no matter what my body type.

The pictures are of Me before I got pregnant, at 41 weeks pregnant, and 14 months postpartum.