Submissions

I was a fat child growing up and had stuggled with weight always. I had lost a lot when I got pregnant, but was about 220lbs. was 285 at 41 weeks- the day I gave birth to a 9lb 11oz baby boy named Orion (now 15m and 32lbs!)-I lost 20lbs right away. I had a lot of problems with nursing and that beat me up emotionally, as I planned to nurse for 1 year or longer- when I could barely produce 10oz of milk a day (with the help of meds and herbal remedies-6oz without) I decided to go over to the bottle when he was 6 mos old- I weighed 296lbs at that point. Since April, with the help of a low-carb diet that my doctor endorsed I have lost 86lbs and am 35lbs away from the ultimate goal- at which point I will try for baby #2. I still get down on my body- but I feel more like a woman that I ever have and I appreciate my body so much more- I have wider hips that balance me out (I am 6ft tall and had narrower hips) and my breasts, albeit a little south, are fuller than they were and I love them. I’m still going for the mother’s special when I’m done having children- but even if that never happens, I love my body more than I ever have, because I gave life to the most precious being the universe has seen (in my eyes!!)

For the pictures I submitted-
the first is me now
the second is me @ 6mos pregnant
the 3rd is me @ 9mos pregnant
the 4th is me 10mins postpartum
the 5th, 6th, 7th is me after 86 pounds lost- 15 months postpartum with 35/40 pounds till goal.

My body has never been like other teenage girls or women my age- I love it more now than I did when I struggled with ED and was thin for about 2 mins. My husband loves my body and cannot wait until I am ripe with baby number 2. My husband reminds me everyday about how wonderful it was to see my body do such fantastic work and about how happy I was and am now since I have been able to use my body the way it was designed to be used. I still want to be in better shape for next time- but at least I know that the human machine is a magical thing and that no matter what- I am beautiful!

There was a long and hard road I traveled down to become a mother and I am extremely blessed & grateful I was granted the gift of bringing our beautiful daughter into this world and that I had her father by my side every step of the way. After years of complications, followed with a year of surgeries, cancer diagnosis, and drug therapies I was informed I may never conceive a child. Instead of writing a short novel, here is a congested timeline of events:

** First period – Lasted 45 days: 1999

** Years of doctors visits & unanswered questions: 6

** Pap test results that changed my life: October 2004

** Given the news I may never have kids: September 2005

** Conception: May 2006

** My pre-pregnancy weight: 104 pounds

** EDD: February 14, 2007

** BD: February 10, 2007

** My delivery weight: 175 pounds

** My current weight: 110 pounds

** Ava’s Birthweight: 7 pounds 13.5 ounces

** Permanents earned along the way: 3 surgery scars, stretch marks, line of pregnancy & an episiotomy scar

** First time Ava Lynne said “Mama”: just shy of 6 months old

Original entry here.

I am so happy to be posting again. On November 6th of this year I gave birth to my second child; a baby girl named Isadora Saraphina Ruthara. She was born by c-section weighing at a healthy 7 pounds 7 ounces and was a height of 18.5 inches. She is my blessing and a perfect completion to our family. This time around I took extra special care of my body. I gained a total of 23 pounds, and seven days after birth I was 1 pound shy of my pre-pregnancy weight and three weeks after birth I am now 5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight. My daughter is totally breastfeed and latched on immediately after I was out of recovery; we’ve been breastfeeding since then and have had no problems.
As for my body, well I didn’t get any new stretch marks this time around; my old ones just slightly stretched a little. I also had to go through another c-section since I had a series of complications with this pregnancy and though I wanted to try for a VBAC I ended up just scheduling a second section based on the fact that I was afraid of any more surprise complications. The best part is that with this pregnancy I was happy with my body; I was ONE with my body. I accepted the fact that it was going to change and mold into something completely new and instead of being ashamed of it I wore my skin proudly. I am so blessed to have a healthy child-bearing body and two beautiful healthy children in my life; I can not think of anything better.

This first picture is of me at 28 weeks pregnant and my 5yr old son Quailin
Second is 4 days after my c-section
Third is my daughter and I
Fourth and fifth are of me three weeks and 2 days after my c-section

Being so young when I became pregnant with my son, I assumed that my body would return to its “normal” state with a month or two and minimal effort. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how THAT worked out. Now I have a new “normal,” though it has nothing to do with bikinis. My body is perfect – perfect for feeding my son when he’s hungry, comforting him when he is upset, and teaching him all there is to know about his new world.

Well, I have no idea of why I’m writing this, but it seemed the right thing to do. If you have any comments about my spelling, I’ll just have to say, I’m not an American, I’m from Sweden.

Down to business. I saw in the newspaper, this page of yours. It was an article about women.
Real women if you ask me. I have two children with a woman who’s my previous wife. She has had four children, two before the little angels (and on occasion little demons) we have together.
I remember seeing her trough her pregnancies, she absolutely was the most beautiful I ever saw. She looked like someone who knew everything. It felt like I could ask her anything and she would give an answer.

It seems like the reason you started this blog of yours is how women are portrayed. Women aren’t supposed to be women anymore, but girls. There are in fact a lot of guys/men who prefer real women out there. Maybe someone should sit down with the “great” fashion/media/movie people out there and tell them how things work. None of the little boys or girls they make clothes for, take pictures of and make movies about should have been there to wear or show it, if it weren’t for their mothers (and fathers).

The fellowman.

I had a picture up of when I was about 5 months pregnant with my third child. This picture is me 6 weeks after I had my daughter, I am not very happy with my body, but it was worth it for my 3 beautiful children. I also included a pic of my new baby girl with my son, and one with my oldest daughter.

Previous entry here and updated here.

I always wanted to be a mom. I got pregnant in late June 2006. I also got REALLY big. I am almost 5’7″ and started out weighing 130 lbs and thought I was a little fat in the beginning. Boy was I wrong! hahaha. At the very end of the pregnancy I weighed a whopping 187 lbs. I was MISERABLE! I was so bloated that my lips even swelled up and I suddenly had a slight lisp. I hope that with the next pregnancy I have that I will harness a little self-control with my eating habits. I got pretty crazy for a while there. The problem was that I was so freaking HUNGRY all the time. I could not stay full for the life of me. I tried everything. but I think I ended up gaining so much from the number of meals I was eating daily (and nightly) and not so much from the types of foods I was eating. (although chocolate chip cookies and fat-free milk were definitely an everyday thing). *blushes* Oh well, whatever, I got fat. I am currently 8 months post pregnancy and weight 137. I am working off my last 7 lbs. I have a beautiful baby girl named Amelie Nicole. My stomach is not perfect right now. I am constantly working on it to bring it back in where it should be. it’s a few inches bigger than pre-pregnancy, which is a bummer. but i think it will get back to where it should be eventually. The texture is weird and soft since the skin got a lot of stretch marks, so bikini’s are definitely OUT. But whatever, it could have been worse. At least me and my baby are healthy. First pic is Before pregnancy. Second is the day before c-section. Third is 6 months after birth. Fourth is my beautiful daughter :)

I was in a restaurant this weekend and opened the door to the restroom as another woman was coming out…she was mid-t-shirt-tug…and I saw her Mama tummy as she exited by me. A year ago, I would have thought “ew” or “poor her”, “gross”, “thank god I don’t have stretch marks like that”. But this weekend? After a year of reading this site? I admired her, applauded her, honored her…as I now admire instead of judge myself for my own “faults”. Thank you SO MUCH for this site. At forty, I truly feel I am at my best…emotionally, spiritually AND physically. I know what is important; I have a beautiful 4 year old daughter, an amazing husband, my family, my friends, my health. All of you are wonderful and thank you SO MUCH for the stories and photos you share. And I REALLY admire your photography abilities! It’s so hard to get a shot of yourself!!!

I’m 38, married 15 years, have 3 kids between the ages of 6 and 11. My breasts now sag quite a bit, and it’s hard to see any daylight between my thighs. And sure, my stomach is not flat (no side view in the photo, but from the side, I have a nice mound). But thank God for good bras, and jeans.