Second Pregnancy

My Stomach Looks Distorted (Rebecca)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Child Loss, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom 12 Comments

Age-21
Pregnancies/births-3/1
Postpartum-3 years

Hey there ladies! First off I’d like to say that I love this site and what its all about!! So, here’s my story. I gave birth to my first child,stillborn, at the age of 14. I was very petite, had a flat stomach,small boobs, and a bubble butt. I delivered Benny @ 7.5 months…..my stomach bounced back right away, but because I did go through a natural labor, my breast still filled with milk
and went from a 34 A to a DD which left me with very stretched out, saggy, dark nipple breasts. I later became pregnant with my second son Jody, at the age of 16 and birthed him @ 17….weighing in @ 8.5 oz. Throughout my whole pregnancy with him, I was smooth sailing….eating whatever I wanted when I wanted….thinking “oh, well since im still young and I already know that my body will bounce back- I don’t HAVE TO take precaution because I’ve been through this already.” BOY WAS I WRONG!!!! my pre-pregnancy weight was 112(I was actually struggling to gain weight,as I wanted to be “thick” like the other girls..which I some what did!!! I had finally fit into a size 3.yayyy!!!) flat stomach, ruined breast…with the same bubble butt. So I started @ 112….finished off the pregnancy @ 160(roughly) this left my stomach in a horrific sight!!!! After I delivered….. My stomach wasn’t huge anymore so I automatically felt “sexy” again. A few weeks later when the whole parenting thing was set….I started focusing on my body! I was so depressed..I cried and cried for days straight, having pity parties and constantly reminding myself that I WILL NEVER look as good as ANY OTHER FEMALE WHO EXISTED ON PLANET EARTH. 3 years later….I still have a hard time looking in the mirror and believing the compliments people give me, especially my BD (we’ve gone through the whole ” why the fuck do u have to look @ porn when I’m right here motherfucker!!! WHAT? AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!!) Its better….but we still can’t watch rated R movies that show the perfect bitches. I still have a lot of learning to do to be confident with who I am, how I’ve changed, and accepting the wrinkling skin that I’m in. I find myself seriously considering surgery.

My stats before/after: 112/140; size3/size9 ;34A/34B (stretch marks, saggy, forever cursed with large dark nipples) ; firm body& confidence/ very loose jiggly body with very low confidence. I can’t help but to compare myself to EVERY WOMAN, especially the ones close to my age (21) and feel nothing but envy. They can wear bikinis and crop tops and look great…me on the other hand…. … *tears* will never know how that feels. I pretty much feel like a fat girl trapped in a skinny girls body. I can’t wear what I’m attracted to because its meant for girls who have nice bodies. I hope to one day, get off my ass, get back into sports…..exercise and quit throwing pity parties in fitting rooms. Any words of advice??

Not Happy With My Breasts (K)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 13 Comments

Age:25
Number of pregnancies: 4
Live births: One 5.5 year old (and one on the way!)
22 Weeks Pregnant in photos
Breastfed for 19 months

I had my daughter when I was 20-before that I had nice perky and full breasts, a nice stomach and a butt I was happy with. I always had cellulite, which did always bother me, but until I had a postpartum body, that was my only insecurity. When I come onto this site, I look at the photos of mothers who have great bodies and complain about them, and I only wish I could find a body (or boobs in general) that looked as bad as mine, to make myself feel normal. My breasts are sagged much more than those who post on this site. My nipples aren’t always as big, as they have expanded since I am pregnant, but they were never matching-at least not after I gave birth to my daughter, over 5 years ago. My stomach is a road map of stretch marks, and while I know it’s not attractive, i can live with that. My breasts are my issue. They don’t even sit right in 99% of all bras which makes me self-conscious about wearing shirts that show even a tiny crack of cleavage.

I decided that I should submit my body photos to the site to 1: show women their bodies are not bad at all, and 2: in case someone does have breasts like mine, to let them know they are not alone. Maybe I will update again after I have baby # 2…

Thanks so much for reading my story!

Two Weeks Postpartum Baby # 2 (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, PUPPP Rash, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 5 Comments

My first child is 7 years old and I had the pupps rash and severe stretch marks that later faded. I had some lose skin but this baby has given me a hanging pouch. My son was born 9-22 and I carried him straight out front like a watermelon. I gained about 26 lbs and have lost all but about 12 . I had lost that after about the first week but I’m staying steady at 130 now. I am swollen or have a hard spot above belly button(uterus?) I don’t remember this with DD. my belly button is awful. It’s flipped completely out. Here I am 2 weeks and 1 day pp, 2nd child.

4 Weeks After Second C-Section (Heather)

Bonnie (SOAM) Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom 8 Comments

4 weeks after second c-section

Hi ladies. I’m 26 years old and this is my second baby. My first was at 19. Both have been c-sections.

I started pregnancy 1 at 145 pounds (athlete). I was a size 4/6. I finished that pregnancy at 185, size 16.

I got some stretch marks in that pregnancy. I lost the weight in 9 months through fairly hard exercise (1 hour cardio 6x week) and a 1200-1800 calorie a day diet. It SUCKED. I also got 550cc implants to restore my breast fullness about 3 years post-partum. (Silicone under muscle for those wondering).

When I got pregnant this time I vowed not to gain the weight and hired a trainer. I worked out until 7 months and ate fairly well. I went from 135-170 this time. Interestingly, I did not get stretch marks.

These pictures are at 4 weeks after this pregnancy. The “before” one is in between pregnancies. I destroyed all my old PP pictures sadly…

In these pictures I am 147 lbs. 12 pounds over my goal. Currently a 6/8, 38-28-38. I seem to get pregnant in my ass…wow…not liking the size of it or the weird over the hips fat. However I know that patience is key and hopefully in 9 months from now I’ll be back into a 2/4.

Right now I’m walking an hour a day until I’m cleared for workouts and averaging 1800 calories a day, not breastfeeding.

I truly believe there is very little a person can do to control their body in pregnancy. Everything is genetics, well part how you take care of yourself but mostly genetics. For that reason we need to be easy on ourselves. I’m fairly ok with my outcome but I am VERY critical of my body so any weight is a struggle. Women are crazy like that, totally too hard on ourselves :)

After Two Babies Under 22 (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 19 Comments

Two births have taken a toll on my body. My breasts have sagged and the skin on my abdomen has stretched. I plan to have these things fixed as soon as I have my last child (3 to 5 years from now) but for now, I feel hideous. I can’t have comfortable sex with my husband, I am extremely insecure and jealous (I never used to be) and although once a glowing beacon of happiness, I have become a bitter person. My friends and family don’t recognize who I have become and I’ve pushed people away and still do on a daily basis. I hate how much this body has affected me. Although the blessings it has given me are priceless and will be cherished always, I can’t help but feel the pain of not being able to look at my body in the mirror. I wish it could all go back to normal but basking in the joys of being a mother comes with a price.

~Age:22
~Number of pregnancies and births:2
~The age of my children: 4 and 1 1/2

Always Insecure (Ashlin)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom 7 Comments

I’m not sure how to begin this, I have started an entry only to delete it I don’t know how many times out of fear… So I guess I’ll start by saying Hi :) My name is Ashlin, I am 21 years old. I spent most of my teen years taking care of my mom and little sister. My mom has had MS since I was born. When I was 14 her doctors put her through chemo treatments hoping it would slow the progression of MS. It did the opposite, she went downhill so fast. It killed me to watch my best friend lying there with her legs curled up to her chest, not even able to remember my name, and having the doctors tell me they didn’t think she’d “last very long.” I’m shaking just typing this, it still infuriates me. Anyways that was a very dark time in my life. I started self harm, eating disorders and isolating myself from everyone close to me. Everyone was telling me the one person who was always there, always loved me was going to either never be who she used to be or was just going to die. I didn’t want to be alive anymore. That’s when I met my husband, he helped me stop harming myself and supported me through the eating disorders. Shortly after, my mom started to slowly recover. When I found out I was pregnant at 16 all I could think was how I was going to tell her. How could I do this to her? I was scared it would crush her. I had so much guilt and anger and sadness built up inside. I waited as long as I could to tell her, when I did she cried a little but as always she supported me, through the whole pregnancy, and delivery, she was there, I named my daughter after her…Somehow I never realized just how much influence my mom has had on my life until writing this.. Anyways 2 years later we found out we were pregnant with baby number two. We thought were going to have another little girl whose name was going to be Hope, but in the delivery room “she” ended up being a he. Best surprise ever. :) Before My pregnancies I weighed 135lbs, After my second pregnancy I weighed 161lbs. I was happy with everything except my body. My husband loved it, but I had SO many stretch marks and so much saggy skin and no boobs… I couldn’t bare to look at myself. When my son was a year old I decided to do something about it so I worked my butt off and lost 40 lbs. I can still only see the old me in the mirror, I don’t see any differences most of the time. Although some days I feel better about myself than other days. I know the most important thing is my beautiful healthy babies, and if the most perfect little people in the world think I’m beautiful then that’s all that matters. :) The first picture is my momma and my son, The second is me a year PP, the third picture is just showing how deep my marks are, the fourth picture is my now the fifth is my beautiful babies :) My babies are 1 and 2

Fit After a Son and Twins (Jen)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins

I am Jen and I am 30 years old. I have an 8 year old son and 6 month old twin girls! They are awesome kids and they make me smile every day. Of course having twins is not something that everyone plans. I found out that they were twins when I was only 6 weeks pregnant. Of course I was overjoyed but scared to death also. I have been a genetically thin person my whole life, but a few years back I got into working out and eating healthy and my body changed from being thin to being muscular and strong. I loved it. I was a very active person before my pregnancy. I had great abs and I was scared that I would never see them again. I wanted healthy babies of course, but I didn’t want to gain a bunch of unneeded weight. My doctor told me that it was ok if I continued to workout during my pregnancy not exceeding a lifting amount of 20lbs. I stayed within his rules of course for my babies’ safety. Naturally, before pregnancy, I worked super hard for my body and health and was really scared of the after effects of carrying twins. I had never had twins before and yes everyone had to tell me their after baby body horror stories. I knew right away I was going to deliver via c section. I had a hard birth with the first and a horrible episiotomy. I knew I didn’t want to go through that again and it was safer for the babies. Everyone told me about how I better kiss the bikini body goodbye because c sections cause a lifelong potbelly that cannot be fixed. I am not the type to listen to this stuff because just because it happened to them does NOT mean it will happen to me. I lotioned every single day, up to 8 times a day towards the end. I only carried my twins to 33 weeks. I gained a total of 17 lbs and the babies were very healthy!! They came early due to a membrane rupture. I held them in for 10 days after my water ruptured. They did have a NICU stay but it wasn’t for long. They were just tiring out while eating. I want to tell women that I am just an average Jane. I am nothing special, not a celebrity. I want women to know that you don’t have to be a celebrity to have a bikini body after babies. I want to be an inspiration to eat healthy not only for your benefit but for the baby as well. My c section recovery was very quick. I was super sore for 72 hours. I went back to the gym after 2 and a half weeks. I did not work abs because my doctor told me it wasn’t safe just yet. After my 6 week check up he gave me the ok to go back to abs. It was hard at first but I kept at it and my core strength came back stronger than ever. I’m 5 foot 8 and weigh around 127 now. I did not get any stretch marks with either pregnancy due to tons of water, tons of lotion and good collagen genetics. Before pregnancy I was 135. I feel great being able to run after my 8 year old and catch him! I enjoy being able to run around like a crazy person aka mom of twins, and have lots of energy. I want my children to see me working out and follow in my footsteps on the healthy road the way I did with my dad, who was a competitive power lifter during my childhood. I love living a healthy lifestyle! I couldn’t feel better!!

Number of pregnancies: 2 and 3 births
First photo is 3 weeks pp, 2nd photo is 32 weeks pregnant vs 8 weeks pp and the last photo is 6 months pp!

Perspective (Anonymous)

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

There are days when I love my body! There are moments when I love my body. There are times when I have to remind myself I should be happy that I have two functioning arms, legs, and a relatively healthy body + mind. Alas I guess we can all have our good + bad days, our good + bad moments.

I have two daughters that I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for! I hope they will grow up to love themselves + be healthy. My oldest is 5 and my youngest is 15 months.

After my first pregnancy at 26 my body rebounded like a rubber band. I was left with some little stretch marks, but I lost all the weight, still had some volume in my breasts after I weaned my daughter and I even had a toned tummy. My skin was not really stretched out and I felt good about myself.

After my second pregnancy at 30 it was a different story. I didn’t know that pregnancy could change my body the way it did the second time around. I had a much harder time losing the weight, the tummy just didn’t spring back like it did with the first and I was left with excess skin through the mid-section. Luckily this doesn’t show unless I’m bent over. I can feel it + the tightness is just not there, but maybe it will get better with time (and maybe not—that’s ok too). I also lost a substantial amount of volume in my breasts the second time around, especially when I weaned my daughter a few months ago. Little sacrifices in comparison to the gift of mothering two amazing little girls.

I gained 34 pounds with my first pregnancy + 35 with my second so the amount of weight gained was not the difference. I weighed 169 going into labor with my first + 170 going into labor with my second. I’m 5’7″ and I weigh about 130 now, a few pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight (I got pregnant weighing about 135 both times). My first daughter weighed a healthy 7lbs15oz and my second weighed in at 8lbs14oz.

Here are some pictures…One after my first pregnancy, one of me 8.5months pregnant with my second, one of my tummy standing flexed, one relaxed, a tummy shot laying down, and a couple tummy shots from under “downward dog” position to show the extra skin. The good the bad + the ugly…it’s all about perspective. I just thought I’d show that all of these are me.

~Age:31
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5 years + 15 months

Loaded with fat and a belly that won’t go away. Looking for advice and input. (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 19 Comments

Hi! I’m looking for some advice on my 4 month post-partum body. I had my first child at age 32 via c/section that took us 5 years to conceive. God had a major plan for us and I ended up pregnant again when baby #1 was only 7 months old. Prior to pregnancy #1, I was 5’9″ and fluctuated between 145-150lbs and was 178 lbs on the day of delivery. Within 2 weeks after my first son’s birth, I was back to 150 lbs without breast feeding or doing anything . The second pregnancy I had to go through the holidays and the massive amount of sugar intake killed me. I ended up weighing about 188lbs on the day my second son was delivered. With my first son, the hospital staff kept commenting that they couldn’t tell I had just had a baby. After having the second son, I knew I was in trouble because no one made similar comments and when I got home from the hospital I weighed 172 lbs and my son was 8lbs 8oz!

Fortunately within two weeks I was back down to 162 lbs..unfortunately, that is where it has stayed! I’m 5 weeks into an intense cardio conditioning program (Turbo Fire) and added weight training last week (Chalean Extreme). Nothing is pushing my belly down OR budging the scale. The scale keeps fluctuating between 162-165 lbs..no inches lost (again, since I was 2 weeks post partum). My current goal is to work on eating clean and healthy. Hopefully I can get some of my muscle mass back and lose the fat deposits that appear to be throughout my abdomen and back. Two years of inactivity has really taken a toll on my body. I’ve checked repeatedly and it doesn’t seem that I have diastisis. Everything seems to connect down the midline above, at and below my belly button. I do seem to have a soft bulge above the belly button, but it isn’t painful or anything.

Each day I spend probably an hour examining my stomach and wondering how to get it to look not pregnant anymore. I’m lost with what to do. I do wear a binder almost every day, but try to take it easy with that because I have heard it can cause the muscles to become dependent on it. I’ve never in my life had to struggle with my weight and have always been able to eat whatever I want. Obviously things could be a lot worse and I know I’m blessed in the fact I didn’t get any stretch marks. However, at the end of the day, I am not comfortable in this body and am tired of having ill fitted clothes. I’m wondering if there’s any hope to fix this? The fact I am not seeing any improvements makes me concerned this is going to be something permanent.

~Age: 33
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies/2 births
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 20 months and 4 months; 4 months post partum

8 Months Postpartum, Second Child (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 4 Comments

I have posted to this website once before, almost two years ago. As I am sitting and typing this I am going in with a very different mindset than I had the last time I posted. I am now 8 months post partum with my second daughter weighing in at 145 pounds. I still have 15 pounds to lose to be at my pre-pregnancy weight but this time I am taking it slow. After I had my first daughter 2 years ago, I knew that I loved her and I loved to breastfeed her. Now with my second daughter I know that I love her and love breastfeeding her. I do not however love the stretch marks that pregnancy and breastfeeding have given me on my breasts. I do not love the fact that my stomach is no longer toned like it used to be and I really do not like the stretch marks that I’ve gained. I didn’t get any new stretch marks with the second baby which was great and they are fading now which is even better. I thought after my first daughter that my body was ruined and it wasn’t good enough for my husband to look at. He only ever made me feel that way because of some unfortunate porn viewing (which has now stopped for a year). It took me a long time to realize that his porn viewing was not because of the stretch marks and weight gain, it was something in him. We are now doing amazing and parenting together the way we should. My girls make me so happy but, up until 2 months ago I was suffering some post partum depression. I dealt with it by talking things out with whoever I could. I know that part of the depression was feeling terrible about my body. Everywhere I look there is a woman who is supposed to be ‘perfect’ and that was really getting to me because I am not perfect. I am not a model or a porn star or anything else that is made to look flawless. I am me, with stretch marks, weight gain, extra skin, things that I was not used to before. I am not only used to these things but I accept them, because I have learned to accept myself on the inside. The things that are on the outside are the least of my worries now. That’s not to say that I don’t struggle somedays because I do, but I bet EVERYONE does. I still want to lose 20 pounds but that’s because of toning up and being at an optimal health level for me and maybe one day if I am terribly unsatisfied with my breasts after weaning, I may get implants. People can judge me for that, I don’t care because I am the one who will deal with the consequences and rewards. If a spray tan or makeup or a new outfit makes you feel more confident and sexy then I say go for it (obviously surgery is much more serious). A breast augmentation will also depend on how I feel it will affect my daughters later in life. I always want my daughters to feel beautiful and I plan to lead by example and if I ever have a son I want him to respect women for the bodies they have, not the bodies they could have from photoshop or airbrushing. I am happy with who I am, the wife I am, and most of all the MOM that I am. I may want to make some physical changes, but is anyone ever completely happy with every single part of their body? I don’t think so, I don’t feel any shame in wanting to make changes that will please ME not anyone else. Attached are pictures of my body 8 months post partum with my second daughter. Don’t mind the hole in the wall in the side view picture, it was here when we moved in. :)