Submissions

(originally sumbitted 7/9/07)

My name is Amanda. I want to share my brief story and pictures to everyone.

I became pregnant January of 2006 at the ripe age of eighteen years old. My ex boyfriend and I were very in love, but well you know how that story goes. Needless to say he isn’t in our life anymore, and it really is for the best.

My daughter Sofia Marie was born on October 17, 2006. I was barely nineteen when she was born. She is almost nine months old now. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. In three months she will be a year old!

I was very thin when I became pregnant. I probably weighed about 115 pounds at 5ft 6in. I gained about fifty-seven pounds over those nine months. I have lost a lot of weight but not enough for me to be completely satisfied. I weigh in right now at 130 pounds. I wouldn’t mind losing another fifteen to twenty pounds. I have struggled with eating disorders and issues with my weight for many years. I struggle daily with my weight and size. I know it is something that I will probably struggle with for a while. I also dance ballet quite intensely so its hard not to look at the emaciated girls that surround me daily and compare myself to them. I remind myself that they haven’t given birth. It still doesn’t make it hurt any less.

As for the strech mark department I got off fairly easy. My stomach doesn’t have any. The ones on my breasts were really bad, but they have faded now. I have a few on my inner thighs.

This was me in my four pack glory. I will never have that definition ever again

Shortly before my daughter was born…

This is about eight months post partum.

(Originally Submitted in June)

My name is Cassie, and I am a 20 year old proud single mama to my wonderful baby boy. I got pregnant with my son at 19 years old (I’m now 20). I was due to give birth September 26/06. At the time my ex and I had been together for a little over a year. I had gone to visit him for Christmas and when I got back home I woke up the next day with sore breasts and thought ‘I’m pregnant.’ Crazy I know, but I ‘knew’ even though I would have just conceived not 2 weeks before. I got a positive test result mid January and even though I knew, then it became real. I was excited but terrified. I was in college, I was 19 years old, lived with my parents, how would I handle a baby? But it didn’t really matter, because I was going to be a mother. My lifelong dream coming true, even if not at the perfect timing. My stomach and heart quickly expanded. Everyone was surprised how large I got so quickly and kept growing. My pregnancy went fairly smoothly other than extreme morning (all day really, haha) sickness and one scare when I didn’t feel the baby move for over 24 hours. I hired a doula to be with me during labor as I didn’t want any drugs. One day shy of 41 weeks I went to the hospital in the morning to meet my baby, thinking it wouldn’t take long since I was already 3cm. 12 hours later my baby boy was born via emergency cesarean. I was so relieved it was over and he was here and safe, and just wanted to see him. He was so perfect, I was crying I was so happy. My baby boy was born at 9:09pm October 2nd, 8lbs 3oz and 21″ long. I have had a hard time accepting my post pregnancy body. My breasts sag, I have stretch marks all over my stomach/hips and my stomach sags. It’s been almost 9 months and it still disgusts me. I wouldn’t trade it for the world because it grew my baby, but I wish I’d appreciated my body before more when I had it. This site is amazing, it has helped me seeing so many women so confident with their bodies! I have a picture of me when I found out, about 6 weeks, the day I had him, now almost 9 months pp.

I didn’t orignally plan on having children young, but when my husband and I found out that we were having a baby, we were thrilled. I will be 23 this month. Nothing could have prepared me for pregnancy, birth and postpartum. I loved (most) of my pregnancy. No morning sickness and no serious complications. I even thought I was going to escape stretch marks – but they showed up at 37 weeks along with a terrible PUPPPs rash. For those who don’t know about PUPPs, it is a terribly itchy rash that appears on your stretch marks and doesn’t go away until delivery. Nothing I did for itch relief worked for more than an hour at a time. I gave birth 5 days before my due date to a wonderful little boy. The birth went wonderfully and was all I could have hoped for. I did end up with a 2nd degree tear and a week post partum had popped some stitches. Even now, while they are completely healed, nothing looks quite right down there to me. My stretch marks are still visible (though lightened a bit) and my stomach is still a lot saggier than it used to be. Although I do at times miss my pre-baby body, I love my son so much and feel blessed to be a mother – marks and all. I am 5’2” and was 110lbs pre-baby. I gained 37 pounds during pregnancy. Now 2 months post partum I am 118lbs. The first pictures were taken by my husband at 29 weeks pregnant, before stretchmarks. I hated my PUPPPs covered stretch marked belly so much later in pregnancy that I don’t have any pictures (but now I wish I did). The clothed pregnant picture was around 37 weeks pregnant. The last pictures are from 8 week post partum.

I am a woman, wife, mother, doula, childbirth educator and breastfeeding activist. Just this morning I tested postive on a home pregnancy test. We just started trying this month for our third child, so I’m shocked and elated that it happened so quickly.

This is me today, four weeks and two days pregnant. I am a size 14, larger now than at the start of all of my other pregnancies, despite giving hundreds of dollars to a Weight Watching company that came close but not close enough to satisifying my needs. In the last eight years, I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for all but the last three months. I have oscillated between 145 pounds and 170 pounds not pregnant. But with my term pregnancies, I gained only 24-26 pounds and lost most of it. I blame the re-gain on too many Kit Kat bars and tall mochas. You might notice that my tattoo stretched and bounced back, but the appendectomy scar and lower mole were not so cooperative.

I decided to submit these photos because I want to celebrate this pregnancy in ways that I have previously missed. I have had two miscarriages, and the last pregnancy came and went without anyone knowing until the announcement was bad news. Both miscarriages have been before 12 weeks and even though they were early, they were still extremely painful with strong contractions and surges just like my labors.

I’ve never taking pictures of my body without clothes. My hubby is quite modest, and that spreads to his image of me as well. This time is different. I want to take pictures of my progression through pregnancy, do some maternity portraits, document the birth in both photography and videography, and do a belly cast. This will be my last child (and he says last pregnancy no matter what–his sensitive nature can’t take any more disappointment). I have so much love and energy and hope and joy around me for this baby that I can feel my apprehensions melting away, my anxieties fading and my spirit bouyed by optimism.

I hope to finally have my homebirth. To give my daughters the baby brother they have been requesting. To give myself permission to complete my fertility with a third child. To look forward to growing older with my family around me, whole and happy.

I give this pregnancy to nature, to God, and these pictures to the world. This is me and the microscopic baby is inside.

I’ve always been pretty average in size. I’m just now starting to accept my body and appreciate the fact it has been able to carry 2 beautiful babies within it. These pics are taken almost 4 years after my second child was born.

I have visited this site from time to time and commend the impact and connection this creates for woman.

However, I come from the other side of the street and wanted to share my thoughts.

I have been in optimal shape since the age of 15 (Body Mass Index of 18) – height 5’7 and 130 pounds (approx. 10 pounds of pure muscle). I modeled, instructed aerobic classes and studied personal training. My six pack of a tummy held that little baby in so tight, you couldn’t even tell I was pregnant at 5 months. I delivered my first son at 20, went right back to my “optimal” shape within 4 months and had my second son at 25. Within 1 year after a very scary internal infection resulting from the c-section, I again was back to my “optimal” shape. Let me also tell you, that my second son was 10 pounds. Strangers would assume I was having triplets because my stomach was so large. Now, five years later I continue to maintain the same BMI, eat everything I want and wear a size 0-2. The last time I owned a scale was 9 years ago. I worked out to the end of both pregnancies, and also ate everything in sight. I still gained 50 pounds with each pregnancy. Since I had trained my body for so many years, it was easy to lose and regain shape.

After the birth of my sons, I did have the initial, oh my goodness, what just happened to my body? In fact, the first time I saw myself in the mirror, I cried both times, several times over. I took this shock and sadness and turned it pro-active and made the most successful outcome I could provide myself.

My advice: If you do not exercise almost everyday (at least every second day) including weight training and are educated upon how to do this, then you are creating and setting yourself up for failure. Take a look at my photos and see what I mean. Yes, I do have some stretch marks on my tummy and scar from the c-section, but as you can agree, they are from this magnificent experience in my life. However, does that mean we wear this badge of honor, do nothing about it and wonder why we don’t feel well or look well? I have tons of energy, and no, I don’t have a lucky gene. I could easily gain weight if I allowed myself, believe me!

I do about 200 crunches everyday (while I watch tv), workout every second day and run very fast in between those days for 45 minutes. It feels great. When my children were babies, I would exercise with them in my arms to create resistance…I always made this a priority and fit this into my busy life.

Our bodies are susceptible to saggy tummy’s, flabby bums and cottage cheese thighs, however why not try to combat and do something each and everyday to feel better about this? Fad diets don’t work, breastfeeding is not enough, nor is walking and keeping busy. It is continual hard work with an educated mind on how the body works and responds to exercise and diet – but it is important to feel good and show a positive role model to our children and society. And let me tell you girlfriends, the feeling is amazing and you’ll be instantly addicted once you get there! After two children, I still run down the street as fast as I ever could and not even one body part jiggles. You can do this too! You go girls!

When I found out I was having twins I was overwhelmed with a lot of different emotions. Not excited emotions, but fearful ones. I didn’t ask for this. I was fairly ambivalant about the whole thing for months. But I was determined to have strong healthy babies. I ate protien, protien, and more protien. (Lots of everything else too!!) My total gain was 57 lbs. I gained 48 with my first singleton. At 39 and a half weeks, my girls arrived. I woke up from a nap that afternoon and went to the bathroom. I heard my water break while sitting on the toilet. I knew I was going into labor that night. After sitting on the toilet with mild cramping and pain, I got up to make dinner. My DH told me to go take it easy and relax. Then it got intense. within 15 min I was in intense pain. I told my DH to take our 3 yo next door to grandma and grandpa’s house. My last words to him were THIS IS GETTING REALLY INTENSE. GO AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN. As soon as I heard him leave I felt babys head come down. I was in labor land so I didn’t panic I just used my natural primal instincts and with the craziest noise I ever heard myself make I pushed her out squatting in my bathroom. When she was in my arms I just screamed. I couldn’t believe this just happened. Then I looked at my beautiful baby girl and realized that she was perfect.I held her on my large potruding abdomen until DH got back. He called 911 and got a towel to wrap our baby in. The fire department arrived first. They clamped the cord and just seconds after, I pushed out baby #2. She was a footling breech. Her feet and body came flying out but her head was stuck. With just a few more mighty pushes she was out too. Moriah Rose was first 6lbs 13 oz and then Emilia Autumn was 10 min later. She was 7 lbs. We were all transported to the hospital. Emilia came home with me but Moriah needed 6 days of special care. She had some apnea problems. Today, my girls are 9 months. Happy healthy and strong. I love them with every ounce of my being and would never change them for the world.

This is an update of my triplet pregnancy. I had the babies 10 weeks early on July 1st. Everyone is very healthy but still in the hospital because they are still learning how to bottle and breastfeed. They are a month old and would be 35weeks gestation if i were still pregnant. Everyone was able to breath on their own when i had them and they were only under jaundice lights for a few days. Riley my first little girl weighed 2lbs 6.5oz, Aiden my boy and second to be born weighed 3lbs 7oz, and Chloe my last girl weighed 2lbs 13oz. Now Riley is 3lbs 6oz, Aiden is 4 1/2lbs and Chloe is 3lbs 13oz!!! everyone has gained a pound.

To see my pregnancy pictures just go here – that is my other page.

So this belly picture is me at one month PP, and then of course my kids, Aiden is in the blue, Riley is in green and Chloe is in Pink.

This is a picture of my third pregnant belly at 7 months. By far, my biggest baby, my most demanding baby, and also my sweetest baby. My pregnancies were 21 and 22 months apart respectively. I’ve always been a slender and fit person (5′ 8″ tall and 130 lbs) and was lucky enough not to get stretch marks, but I did get a rather generous case of diastasis (separation of the abdominus recti muscles) that I have not been able to resolve despite a very athletic lifestyle. I have chronic abdominal pain and fatigue from holding in my belly, or “engaging the core” as we like to say in my fitness classes. Relaxing it is painful. I have a bulge that is always bigger than my frame and although my third child is 18 months and my bodyfat percentage is 18, I am constantly congratulated on how “cute” I look as a pregnant person. “How far along are you? Four? Five months?” My husband had a vascectomy 17 months ago. I breastfed all three of my children and my former 34B’s are now 36AA’s. And they seem to be located a bit lower than they were previously. But, they just don’t bother me in the same way that my belly does. Truthfully, I love my body. As long as I don’t bend over (abundant pleats), I think I look damn good. However, due to the necessity of a diagnostic laparoscopy (fluid collection of unknown origin in the pelvis) and appendectomy (abnormal positioning, possible inflammatory process), I am looking into having my diastasis repaired at the same time. I didn’t realize this meant a tummy tuck. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I have a constellation of moles on my belly that will be sorely missed. I like my slightly hooded out-ty navel. Quite frankly, its wierd to think about losing part of my body even though it is, at this point, redundant and annoying. I see the plastic surgeon next week for a consultation and for all I know, he may find it completely unnecessary. But, I’m secretly hoping he won’t.

I’ve gained 28lbs and I have 4 weeks to go. This is our first baby, I’m due on my 35th birthday, my husband is also 35, we’ve been together since we were 19. My stomach has remained stretch mark-free up until now, mostly because of genetics but also because I’ve been drinking a gallon of water a day and my weight gain was slow and steady . My breasts have some but so far not too bad, I don’t know what’s going to happen after the milk comes in but I will breastfeed regardless of what shape my breasts will end up in. It’s hard not to worry about what my body will look like after but right now we are at the last month of pregnancy and so excited to meet or little pumpkin (we want the sex to be a surprise). I’m also worried about the c-section scar as my doctor told me that my baby is transverse right now and I may have to have a cesarean if my baby doesn’t move in time. Anyway, here’s one boobie (the other is the same it’s just that this was the clearest cameraphone pic) and here’s a tummy profile.