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I had my first child at 18, was pregnant at 17. Gained pretty much in my belly only and managed to go 8 mos without any stretch marks, so i thought i was in the clear! until one, then two, then…well you’ll see the pics. After having my son, I still had to go back to high school so what a self-esteem slap in the face :( then summer time! AH, no more bikinis for me. 1 1/2 years later I got prenant again, this time I gained EVERYWHERE, my butt, my hips, my thighs, my belly (thankfully already stretched lol) which cropped up new stretchmarks all over. In college with this baby, had to return to a younger kid based population and again feel like complete crap because I didnt have the flat tight tummy, never really did, but it was at least cute looking bare, now on the other hand. It is just plain disgusting, my husband says I am still the same size and everything as when I had our son (1st baby) only I have just a “pouch”. I call it my inner-tube. haha, I guess the only way to feel comfortable is to accept it and make fun of yourself if it helps, as it does for me. It is slowly, SLOWLY returning to something then gross when I wear tighter clothes, but I saw a girl my age, NO kids and she has the huge butt, fatty hips, etc. and NO cute babies at home to look at in exchange for the chubby body. :)

I never thought anyone would call me “Mama.” I never thought I’d deserve to be called “Mama,” because I knew I was not fit to be a mom. I got pregnant within a week of turning 20. I found out a few weeks in, after my mom realized that I was not eating well, and that this was for from normal. I attributed my weak appetite and sudden on-set of depression to the fact that I was missing my husband, and that I was about to move to a different country with him, far, far, far away from my mom. Gazing blankly at my pee stick, I knew there was something wrong. “I must have some rare disease that makes hCG levels skyrocket. Maybe I have cancer.” I went to the ER and made up some symptoms to be analyzed… Apparently, I really was pregnant. At four months, I finally went to an OB, and saw my baby for the first time. I still didn’t believe it. It just didn’t make sense to me. Even as I laid on the operating table five months later, it did not feel real to me. As I shook in anticipation during our C-section, I closed my eyes tightly and immediately opened them as wide as I could. This is how I awoke myself from scary dreams when I was little. Moments later, the scary dream became reality, and not even I could deny it. Nine months of worrying, six of throwing up, nine of struggling to gain weight, and failing, five of preparing her room, nine of crying too much, and nine of trying to wake up… All leading to just one moment. No one can tell me that she was not meant to be. She fought to exist. I was on birth control. We used condoms. We did everything to prevent something, someone, rather, that would not, could not, be stopped. She fought through a tilted uterus, through a threatened miscarriage, through starvation, and through dehydration, all just to prove me wrong. No one thought she was going to do well. Deep down inside, I knew she was a fighter, I felt it everyday. Weak babies do NOT leave bruises on mommy’s tummy, they do not keep you up for days because there is not an hour that goes by that they do not kick. I was 136 lbs. when we conceived. I was 134 lbs. the day I gave birth. She was not three pounds. Not four. Not five. She was 6 lbs. and 8.4 oz. Not too big, no, but healthy. Healthier than any doctor or any nurse, or even any other woman or mother who thinks she knows everything could ever imagine. Healthier (and heavier) than most of the babies of the women who not only told me she wouldn’t do well, but also gained more weight than I did. I worried throughout my entire pregnancy not only about her, but about myself, about my body. My thighs were huge before I got pregnant, my stomach was so flabby, and I just hated myself altogether. She fixed me. While I am not perfect now, and I do still gripe about my body, I will admit that I look much better thanks to her. I don’t feel like the same person anymore, because I am not. That has nothing to do with my body, though. I still can’t believe she calls me “Mama.” She proved me wrong, though. I AM fit to be a mother. I just am not fit to be hers, because no one so perfect deserves someone so flawed. My pictures are of 36 weeks (standing), 36 weeks (laying), 38 weeks (the day she made her grand entrance), her birth (which will always be the most beautiful picture I have seen, hands down), her first day of life, other pics of her, and my post partem pics, ranging from 3 days PP, to a few months.

I gave birth to my beautiful daughter on May 3rd 2006. She weighed 7 pounds 1.2oz and was amazing. I gained 51 pounds while pregnant and gave birth 10 days before my due date. I’m now about 135 pounds (5 pounds under pre-pregnancy weight) but I do not feel/look it! I’ve always struggled with body image disorder. While my husband says I look great (so does everyone else) I cannot seem to think that. There are days when I think I look great, then there are other days when I feel so gross…Its horrible. I need to learn to love my body, I love it because it held my child for 9 months, but I hate it because its not the same. I’ll get there someday! I’ve added a few pictures, the first two are me 22 months post partum, and the last one is my beautiful daughter.

I love how this website portrays the female body, I got pregnant November 2006. My boyfriend and I were engaged. I was 24 years old, it wasn’t planned but I was excited to be a mom. September 6th 2007 my life changed forever. I was induced and after 10 hours of contractions and only 2cm dilation I was given a c-section. I am now 6 months pp. I have finally lost all the weight and feel grateful to have done so, but I look a lot different. I have developed lovehandles, my breasts are saggy, and my stomach ravaged by stretchmarks and a stretched out belly button from a piercing. I do feel pretty good about my body considering my husband loves my body, but I still do question it. The first few pics are during pregnancy the next are 6 months after pregnancy and with my son, who was sooo worth it!

I am a mother of 4 beautiful children. 2 boys who were born vaginally, and 2 girls who were born via Csection. My first born gave me hundreds of stretch marks, from my stomach, inner thighs, breasts and outer thighs. I didn’t get many more from the other children. My attitude towards my body changes daily. Somedays I think I look great for having 4 children. I have kept my youthful appearance since I am told many times a day I do not look 32 yrs old. But there are some days when I am getting dressed or walking out of the shower when I feel disgusted with myself. When I got pregnant with my first son I weighed about 135 lbs, at 5’5″, I gained 45 lbs with him. I kept my weight around 170 after him and after my second son. Then I lost all my weight, I was back down to 135 and shortly after got pregnant with my daughter. I had many issues through that pregnancy and didn’t gain much weight, only 22 lbs. and lost it immediately. My last daughter I weighed about 150 when I conceived her and now 18 months later I weigh 163. Right now I’m in the depressed mind about my body. I feel ashamed of it, I want to hid it, I point out the gross areas daily, each time I walk by a mirror. When my husband doesn’t want to have sex I convince myself it’s because he’s disgusted with my body. It’s a roller coaster of emotions when I think of my body, my children. In the end they are all worth it all. They are my blessing from above, and made from love. I appreciate this site and I am glad I found it, to feel there are others that feel the same way as I do helps.

I was always the skinny girl. I weighed 105lbs when I graduated high school. I was a size 3 when I got pregnant with my first son. I got huge, and got a ton of stretch marks.I had a c-section with him, and when my first son was 3 months old, I got pregnant with my second son. I had a scheduled c-section with him. So 2 c-sections less than a year apart. Not only did I have that horrible sag, but I got wide. I’ve got stretch marks on my legs, my butt, my stomach, a few on my boobs, and even one on my right calf! They are everywhere. Needless to say…I hated myself. Part of me regretted having babies so young and wished I had enjoyed my body more. I really thought I would bounce right back. I didn’t. I thought my belly was rare. I really thought I was the only one with a stomach this bad. Then an online friend shared this site, and it was like a whole new world opened up. No one posts pictures of themselves like this normally. So to finally see I wasn’t alone, and that I was normal, was such a sigh of relief. I feel bad of course, and I wish we could all have our old bodies back! But I want to thank those of you that have contributed, because it helped me, and gave me a sense of belonging, and feeling “normal”. I love this site, and I love what it does. What a great thing, for us mothers to come together and share something that haunts a lot of us, but we aren’t normally free to talk about.

I’m Paula and i want to thank you all for this website. It has been such a good thing to me knowing i’m not alone. I thought i was the only one to have so many stretchmarks. I got pregnant for first time when i was 16. The baby died in my uterus before i even knew i was pregnant. I had a surgery to take her out. It was so hard. I’ll never forget the pain of loosing her. I say her because in my inside i know it was a girl. I feel guilty because when i found out i was pregnant i was in shock and i have considered abortion. When i made my mind to have my baby i found out she was dead at least a month ago. My, then, boyfriend wanted me to have an abortion and was pressing me to do it. He said if it was his brother he would force me to do it. I was the only one who cried for my baby girl. For him it was a relief. I hated him so much. When doctors told me my baby was dead i run like a crazy, i locked myself in bathroom and cried for so long that i don’t even remember how much time. A nurse tried to calm me and said i was so young and had many time to have other babies, but i lost my baby, that baby, no other baby will replace her, never. Later, 8 months later i married my, then, boyfriend, after 3 months i got pregnant with my son, the love of my life. It wasn’t planned but it was the best thing in my life. Once again my, then, husband, didn’t want the baby. This time i didn’t even had doubts, i wanted to have my baby. And my, then, husband started to abuse me physical and worst off all, emotionally. He used my son to hurt me. Noone on my family was alowed to speak to my son or touch him, hold him and so on. It was a living hell. My son is now a very sad teenager, 14 years old, don’t talk to much and doesn’t like to be in social events. He’s always reading, in computer or sleeping. I love him so much, he’s my life, my world, i don’t even have words to describe how much i love him. Now i’m 32 years old, i’m divorced, my husband left me 1 year ago after 14 years of marriage. I was betraied, and he left me in such a way that i find myself thinking he never, ever, loved me. He said he didn’t love me anymore when we were having lunch, and in the presence of my son. Things weren’t well for a while, or never was. What’s worse it’s to be left like garbage, like i have no value whatsoever. He never thought about our family, our son. He said he didn’t want any responsabilities. Motherwood was hard on me. I had a very good pregnancy but i was letf with many scars. I have 3 stretchmarks on my belly but i have hundreds of them on my sides, tights inner and tons on outsides, my breast are covered with them, and have a lot on my calves. I’m honest, i don’t see in here anyone who has so many and so bad stretch marks has i have, even though i don’t have them in my belly. I’m so depressed, so depressed. I take bath with no light, just a light far way because i can’t stand to watch at my body, and so many time has passed. I also have a horrible scar in my left arm. When i was little i had a domestic accident, i burned my harm, i have done 4 operations and it’s still horrible. And after having my son i started losing my hair. And never got it back, it’s worse and worse. And i have varicose veins from my pregnancy also. So many issues. I don’t see anyone who has stretch marks in outer front part of tights, i see many of you who has them in belly but i have them in my sides an A LOT OF THEM on my tights. I feel i was tired apart by a tiger. I used a cream on my belly but none on sides and tights. I gained 30 kgs in 3 months, the first 4 i was almost always nauseated. I’m so sorry that i gained so much weight. Now i’m depressed, i just want to die, and hate myself.

I gave birth to my 1st child, a son, in August. It was a big surprise to find out that I was pregnant. I was in the middle of my college year and only 21 years old. My boyfriend was 30 and although I had doubts about the baby he was ready and excited. The fact that he was so eager to have the baby made the decision alot easier for me. I still had doubts until my 1st ultrasound at 11 weeks. After seeing my baby growing and changing inside me I knew I had made the right decison and I became very excited! My biggest concern about being pregnant was, of course, how my body would change. I am 5″2 and when I found out I was pregnant I was 110lbs. I loved wearing bikinis and belly tops and cute skirts and hoped and prayed my body would go back to normal. I only gained 25lbs throughout my pregnancy but I got tons of stretch marks. On my tummy and my thighs. I was devestated. I cried almost everyday. I did everything suggested to me to prevent the marks from appearing but I got them anyways. I also got PUPPPS in the last week of my pregnancy which made me soo uncomfortable and soo itchy and made my stretch marks bright red and really painful. At 41 weeks I was induced and after 10hrs of labour I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy weighing 8 lbs 5 oz. I am now 6 months pp and slowly learning to love my body. I have lost all the weight and a little more but I have a pooch I can’t seem to get rid of and My stretch marks have forever marked my once smooth,supple skin. I have days where I smile when I look at my body in the mirror because I know it was a good home for my son to grow and develop in and then there are other days when I am upset that I won’t be able to wear a bikini again and my marks make me feel like a disfigured freak. But if I had the choice I would do it all over again without even a second thought!!