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I had a child when I was only a child. Try telling me that at the time (like so many people did) and I wouldn’t have listened. I was 16 years old when I gave birth to my baby girl. She was 6lbs and 4oz, 20inches long and perfect. I have only two pictures of my pregnancy and none of my birth. I think I was slightly embarrassed of my changing my body. I am so angry at myself now for not documenting that beautiful experience. I’m mad my little girl won’t be able to look back and see my naked belly, carrying her. I’m mad she won’t be able to see herself entering this world. I pray she doesn’t resent me for not documenting this time in photos, though I did write to her often. I hope she doesn’t think I was embarrassed of her, because of her- I would never be. I loved my pregnant body, though I felt to ashamed to allow the world to know I loved it. I remember when I had gotten that first positive test, I went into the bathroom and pushed my belly out to see what I ‘might’ look like. I gained almost sixty five pounds, but I never got a stretch mark on my belly. I have them lining my upper inner thighs all the way up to my vagina. I have one single stretch mark about 3/4 of an inch long smack dab in the middle of my pubic area. I’m glad I can hide these stretch marks, but I’m also thankful when I look down and see that solitary stretch mark it reminds me of the coming of age I experienced, some would say, much to soon. It reminds me that I can handle any dirty look and mean comment, and that gossip has no effect on me anymore. I can hold my head high, even when others are trying to force me to keep it down. The “god have mercy on that unborn child” I heard in the food court during my 27th week makes me smile now. The lord did have mercy on my child. He gave her to a herd of people who love her so much our hearts could explode. He gave her to a mother that could not possibly imagine loving her more. Though I threw myself into the whirl wind of motherhood that has brought me up, down and everywhere in between, at a very young age, I would never change it. My daughter was sent to me because I needed her, and because she needed me. She is my heart, and we all know that you can’t live without your heart.

this is what i look like almost 4 months after the birth of my son. i gained about 45 pounds while i was pregnant and stopped working out altogether. i was in really good shape before i got pregnant…i weighed about 140 or so and i am 5’6, but i worked out 5 days a week and had a lot of muscle tone….i quickly learned that is goes away quickly once you stop exercising. :) i am down to 152 right now (as of the pictures) but my pants are a lot more than 12 pounds away from fitting me..,.funny how that works :) anyway, i have started working out and i am eating really well so I hope to be back to my old size within a few months….but i’m being realistic. i got a few new stretch marks on my hips while i was pregnant and a couple on my inner thighs. i gained almost all my weight in my butt and thighs…i didnt look very pregnant at 9 months…people kept telling me that i only looked 5-6 months pregnant….but my normally bubble butt was EXTREMELY HUGE! and these thighs….well, lets not even talk about them! it was for a good cause though. i have the cutest, sweetest, most wonderful little baby boy in the whole world!

Here are photos of my while I was VERY pregnant with our first child. My due date was Feb. 23 2007. I went into labor while I was 41 weeks pregnant at home, well my labor did not continue at home. I delivered our baby Birdie via emergency c-section, and Birdie was stillborn.

Here I am during pregnancy and after. I actually bounced back just fine and am proud to say I was pregnant at 39.

Coming from someone who never likes to be in pictures this isn’t actually all that bad. but, when I look at myself on a daily basis, I feel like a flabby frumpy whale. I’m 5’3 and 152 pounds. It seems like my body likes this weight even if I don’t. My baby was born by c-section on 8/18/04. He is healthy, beautiful and full of enormous SPUNK! when I look at this picture I see a body that birthed that beautiful spunky fellow. Now, if only I could feel that way everyday… Thank You for this sight even if it only made me feel good for a little while.

These are pictures of me 38 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child (taken yesterday). My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 12 weeks. My second pregnancy went well and I have a beautiful 2 year old daughter. This time we are expecting a baby boy. He is due in 2 weeks. I love this site. I will admit I get jealous of the girls who bounce back to their small figure after pregnancy. But we are all different.

I wanted to share pictures of my belly. I have had five children, all were born 2 years apart. I nursed for almost 8 years straight, with child-led weaning.

I gained about 30-35 pounds with each pregnancy. It took about 2 years after my last child was born to get down to a size 4. I am happy with my weight at 120.

I would love to have another baby…would like to get pregnant again this summer. I am blessed with a high metabolism and lose weight pretty easily, however I have not always had a good body image. I was anorexic in 9th grade and weighed 94 lbs. Everyone in my class was jealous and told me so. Isn’t that sad? After my last child was born, I weighed the most I ever have in my life at 155. I didn’t care, I was SO happy to have him! I am now a vegetarian and find that this
diet has greatly improved my health and kept weight from creeping back. For years, I had a pregnancy website because we have our babies naturally, at home. My husband caught two of his children as they slid from my body…that is the most beautiful way to have a baby! My
oldest son was born at the hospital and my daughter chose to arrive in the front seat of our car on the way to the hospital, thus leading me to a beautiful and amazing journey in trusting myself and my body, learning that birth works and finding my faith in God. I love my body because it grew and brought forth life. It sustained life through years of nursing. It is strong and capable…I love being a woman! I am not perfect, but I am happy and in love. I love my simple life in
the country, homeschooling my five children. I love the natural life…picking wild blackberries and pecans/walnuts and persimmons on our five acres of land…laying in the sun, enjoying nature and the simplicities of life…like children laughing and birds singing…I think we focus too much on how we look…learn to enjoy the simple things, for they truly are the grandest of all! ~Peace~

I am a mother of two toddlers. I had them 19 months apart, and my oldest is 3 years old. I maintained a weight of around 105 to 110 lbs pre pregnancy. I am now at 93 lbs, but that is mostly due to stomache problems. I rarely work out, but put alot of energy into playing outside with the kids everyday. I do however, feel more comfortable in my body than I ever have. I have more self-esteem, and feel like more of a woman having birthed two children and breastfed.