Submissions

21 Years Old, 38 Weeks Pregnant, 1st Baby Boy (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Breasts, Butt, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Submissions 28 Comments

I am 21 years old and pregnant with my first (unplanned) baby. A precious little boy, due any day now. I am currently 38 weeks along and still haven’t accepted the pregnant “mommy body” that everyone speaks so fondly of. I have had a healthy pregnancy and surprising still no stretch marks. (Believe me, I am not trying to brag.) I feel like a grease monkey some days at the amount of oils and lotions I apply to prevent them. I am worried that after he is born my body will never look the same again. I plan on breastfeeding, and have heard that can help get rid of baby pounds fast. My prepregnant weight was 130 at 5’7” and I am currently weighing 185. My husband isn’t that much more than me. I used to have such amazingly strong self confidence, and now its hard and sometimes impossible without tears to get undressed in front of my husband. I wonder how he sees my giant body as well, even though he says I am beautiful, it doesn’t seem to sink in. Last week I found myself wearing a pair of his sweatpants so I would be comfy. I cried harder than I ever have knowing how big I have gotten. Where did my self esteem go? How do I ever find that confidence again? Will I ever have an amazing body again? *Pictures are of prepregnant body (swimsuit last summer) and currently at 38 weeks.







32 1/2 Weeks Pregnant with Twins (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Child Loss, Four or More Pregnancies, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo, Twins 6 Comments

This is me last week, 32 and a half weeks pregnant with identical boys. This is my 6th pregnancy, we lost our first two, and I’ve carried 3 so far to term. These will be our fourth and fifth children. I’ve not had stretch marks before, and my belly pretty much went back to normal after the first two, and was just a bit less flat after my third. I’m afraid of what I’ll look like after this, but proud of my giant belly so far. I can’t wait to see how big is is in four more weeks, and to meet my boys!




16 Weeks Postpartum… Ugh! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Legs, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo 17 Comments

I love this site. Thank you all for your submissions! I come here all the time for encouragement and I thought it was time to submit my own pictures, so here goes nothing… The day I found out I was pregnant I weighed 129 pounds. At my last doctors appt (2 days before I went into labor) I weight in at 197! So I atleast weight 200 when I gave birth. I’m 4’11 so 200 lbs is a lot for any woman, but especially someone my height. I’m covered in stretchmarks from my just above my belly button down to my ankles. It’s disgusting. I had so many fluids pumped into me during labor (IVs and whatnot) that I was so swollen and all the stretchmarks you see on my legs and calves are from that. I didn’t have any there when I got to the hospital! I had stretchmarks before I got pregnant, but they were nothing compared to what I have now. Even my midwife would comment on how horrible they were when I’d go in for my appointments =) I know they will fade, but I’m not sure I will ever have the courage to wear shorts again, let alone a bathing suit! I was down to 170 lbs by 5 days postpartum. Today I weigh 165… I never expected all the weight to just fall off, but I seriously thought I would have lost more than 5 lbs in the last 3 1/2 months. I eat about half the amount of calories that I was eating while I was pregnant, and my weight will not bugde. Its extremely aggravating. And it really depresses me since everyone else I know that’s had babies recently were back to their prepregnacy sizes in a couple of weeks. I can only imagine what they must think of me. I hope that someday I will accept my body again. And I really hope that day comes soon!






4 babies by 22 has taken its toll on my body (Tanya)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Four or More Pregnancies, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom 13 Comments

Hello, my name is Tanya and I am 25 years old.
Just before I turned 16 I got pregnant. I was 110 ponds when I started my pregnancy and was 185 pounds at week 36 when I was induced due to pre-eclampsia. I had been swollen throughout most of my pregnancy but my urine tests showed that I had no protein in my urine and my blood pressure was ok. But at week 36 my blood pressure was 150/100. I was told that the baby needed to come out because if I had a seizure due to the high blood pressure it could harm my baby. My son was born at 6:30pm..and in the middle of the night I had a full blown seizure anyways and woke up in the intensive care unit. Luckily my boyfriend was staying in the room on one of those pull out couches. I was discharged after 7 days. My son weighed 5lbs 13 ounces. and had to be in the incubator and was tube fed due to the fact that he had no sucking reflex and was jaundiced. When I left the hospital I had gone from 185 pounds to 160. I got married to the father of my son 10 months later and we went on to have 3 more children. My first at 16, second at 18, 3rd at 21 and fourth at 22. I now weigh 210 and am overweight as well as have ALOT of loose hanging skin on my stomach and my abdominal muscles are separated…I hope to have this repaired at some point but I think I need to lose some weight on my own first. My skin did not hang like this until I had # 3. I hope that maybe someone else has a stomach that is similar to mine so they don’t feel like they are the only one and so I don’t feel like I am the only one with a stomach like this either. My kids are now almost 9, almost 7, 4.5, and 3.5 years..They are the light of my life and I love motherhood.

Missing my baby boy, and expecting my second (Shannon)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Child Loss, Children with Health Complications, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Update 46 Comments

Before I ever had children I was 5’2″ and 105-110 lbs. I got pregnant with my first (Connor) when I was 19. I got stretchmarks everywhere possible! We had no idea that Connor was going to be born with any issues. He was born emergency c-section at 37 weeks. Right when he came out the doctors knew something was wrong. Connor was not breathing well, and he looked “different”. He was taken to the neonatal ICU at Children’s Hospital just hours after birth. He spent a month in the NICU (I was there every day by his side reading to him and holding him). He had to have a trach placed to breath and a g-tube placed to get nutrition. I was lucky to have an amazing fiance (now husband), who was absolutely wonderful with Connor! Connor did well for a while (lots of hospitalizations, but nothing longer than a week at a time), then when he was about 13-14 months he started running fevers all the time. They would get as high as 105.5 and nothing other than IV meds would bring them down. After running countless tests the doctors called them “central fevers”, a neurological problem. Connor was 19 months old when he passed away in his sleep at home. His heart could not handle the fevers any longer. He was and is the most amazing boy I have ever known, and I miss and love him so much. Who would have thought that a baby would be my hero. He was the happiest child I have ever met! He smiled all the time! I will never regret choosing to stay home full time with Connor. I used to say that when I was done having children I would have a tummy tuck…not anymore. I want to keep these stretch marks that my angel baby gave me. I found out I was pregnant again just 3 1/2 months after Connor went to heaven. It was very unplanned, and too soon for me. But my husband and I figure that Connor had us get pregnant with his little brother when he was ready. I am now 31 weeks along, and being followed by high risk pregnancy doctors very closely. As of now, Liam (baby number 2) looks good. I will never have the body that I used to have…but who else can say that they carried a saint?


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In labor with Connor

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Connor after birth, before Children’s Hospital arrived

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January 2008

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September 2007

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November 2007

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Valentine’s Day 2009 – 31 weeks pregnant

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Liam at 22 weeks

Updated here, here, here, here and here.

Mum to 3 boys and 1 girl (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breastfeeding, Breasts, Four or More Pregnancies, Mom over 30, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Update 12 Comments

Original entry here.

I had my little girl 7 weeks ago today. She was born 1 day after her due date. I let the Dr. induce me after he said “she’s going to be big, over 8lbs” so he broke my water and put me on a pit drip and after 4hrs of labor our 9lb 21″ girl was here! I gained 40lbs and have lost 22 already, that’s just with breastfeeding though. I haven’t had the energy to workout yet. When I do get back into a routine I hope to lose another 20lbs to fit back into my old jeans. I didn’t get any new stretch marks and the old ones are fading again. It is hard to look in the mirror and feel sexy or beautiful but maybe that will come again in time. I’m just amazed once again at what a woman’s body can do! I feel so very blessed to be given the chance once again to be pregnant and deliver and now nurse a healthy new life! I spend so much time now trying to think of ways to teach my girl to love herself and her body no matter what it looks like and teach my boys to honor the women who may come into their lives. Thank you again Bonnie for creating this site for everyone!
1st pic 8 months pregnant, next pics 7 weeks postpartum, pic of newborn baby girl and last pic of nursing babe.









Loving my mama body! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Mom over 30, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 12 Comments

I’m a 40 year old mom of a beautiful 5 year old son, his dad accepts and loves my body as it is, and worships me in the most loving way. I was 35 at the time of my son’s birth and gained 50 pounds! I avoided the stretchmarks completely by slathering myself 5 times a day with belly butter, but only lost about 25 of that in the last 5 years. I wouldn’t mind fitting back into those skinny jeans from when I was a size 6, but I’m a happy mama at size 12. I eat healthy, do yoga, and breastfed my son until he was 4. We’ve been attachment parents and loved co-sleeping, and our son is very confident and well adjusted. This photo was taken by my wonderful mama friend, Jude Mooney. She does great pregnancy photos, and I’m thrilled I had her do these for me. My pregnancy journal is on www.spiralmuse.com