Submissions

First of all I absolutely LOVE this site. I wish it were around after my daughter was born. She is 20 months old now, my only child, and I had her when I was 21. I absolutely love her and she is my world, but after she was born I felt like she “destroyed” my body. I love the positive comments here about stretch marks and sagging skin being badges of honor, but back then I really couldn’t see it that way. I was diagnosed with anorexia at the age of 12 and have been in and out of hospitals and treatment facilities ever since. Needless to say I have some major body image issues. I was healthy during my pregnancy for my daughter- ate right, didn’t fast, and ended up gaining 75 lbs as a result of both my diet and an excess of amniotic fluid. After my daughter’s birth I suffered from severe post-partum depression and ended up being institutionalized for a few weeks. I think the shock of my new body had a lot do do with that. So anyway last June I had a tummy tuck which I suppose I am glad I did, but had I seen a site like this and realized that this sagging extra skin is normal I may not have gone through with it. None of the women in my family had the type of bunching skin that you need to tuck into your jeans. Not even my mother who had twins! Not a stretch mark on any women in my family. I really thought I did something wrong during my pregnancy to cause what I thought was such an awful disfiguration. Recently (3 weeks ago) I also had a breast lift/reduction although that was more for medical purposes, as after breastfeeding my daughter my breasts went up past DD which killed my back considering I’m living here on a 5’2 frame. Anyways here are some pictures of the current me…though I still haven’t lost all of the weight I put on while pregnant. I will try to post some of the ones of my big pregnant belly soon..they’re on my other computer :)

Updated here.

I was 14 when I had my first baby, a boy. My love for him was so strong, the bond we shared was built on the understanding between us that we would say goodbye to one another and the faith that we would meet again.I became a birth mother. Every thought I have, He is there echoing each one. I am now almost 22 years old and 24 weeks pregnant with another boy. the emotions I feel with this baby are so different. I know that this time I will watch him grow, his father and I. I will change his diaper and soothe his cries. I will be there to see him smile for the first time, and it will be me he smiles at! I will help him take his first steps, I will know the sound of his laughter and He will call ME Mother….My Samuel….God has heard.

Well, here it goes…After years of self-esteem issues, here I am. I’m 32, gave birth to the most amazing little girl the day after my 30th birthday. The heart tattoo on my belly is “her heart”, as she calls it. Red for ruby, our birthstone. I weigh less now, just by a few pounds, than before I had my darling, but I’m far from shaped the same. It was all more than worth it though, and I know I should be mighty proud of my mommy body, and I’m really working on it. Thank you for this site, it’s so empowering and REAL. You are all beautiful. Thanks for giving me a place to be secure and share.

I always thought of myself as a woman who was comfortable in her own skin. I knew that pregnancy would change my body and during pregnancy I welcomed these changes. The first photo is my belly pre-pregnancy. I waited impatiently to “look pregnant” and I couldn’t wait to wear maternity clothes. I looked in awe at my expanding belly and felt beautiful. I gained 63 pounds during pregnancy. Every week I took several belly photos to document the growth. I looked forward to these weekly pictures and compared them with the earlier ones endlessly. The 2nd photo is my belly just 12 hours before my labor started, on my due date. When my son was born (via c-section due to the impatience of the medical hospital) the belly photos stopped and he was the center of attention. A week later I missed the weekly photo that had become a ritual with my husband and I so I had him snap the 1 week post-partum photo, which is the 3rd photo. I had a PUPPP rash on my belly and I was amazed at how pregnant I looked still. I was horrified by it but snapped the photo because I thought it would somehow help me in the healing process of accepting my new body. The next photo was taken at 3 months post-partum and the last 3 photos are at 6 months post-partum with a close-up of my c-section scar. While I will never have my flat pre-pregnancy belly again I actually look at my c-section scar fondly. Sure, I had a horrific birth experience that ended with a c-section but my son came out of that scar. I see the scar now and I see him. I still like to think that I’m a woman who is comfortable in her own skin, even though that skin is scarred, loose and stretched out a bit. One thing that helps me is that I remember going to the beach with my mother as a little girl and I thought she was the most beautiful creature in the whole world…her stretch marks and all. She still is the most beautiful creature in the whole world–that creature is a mother. Now I’ve joined her as a mother and I’m learning to see the beauty in myself.

Hi, my name is Brittany. Im 21 from Pennsylvania, and the PROUD mother to a 2 1/2 year old little boy, Isaiah. I didn’t plan on having kids until I was in my late 20’s but that didn’t exactly go as planned. Before I got pregnant I was a small girl only weighing in at 105 pounds. During my pregnancy I gained about 42 pounds, bringing me to almost 150! The most I’ve ever weighed in my entire life. Soon after giving birth to my son, I realized my body would never be the same. 2 1/2 years later and I still have that “pouch” that just doesn’t seem to want to go away. Although I am disgusted with how I look at times, I wouldn’t give these marks up for the world. They are marks of love in my eyes :)

This is two months after my second child. My breasts went from a B to a D when I was only 2 months preg with my first child. They never recovered! lol. I wish I could remember what they used to look like. My left is bigger than the right because nursing babies don’t seem to like my double nipple.

I loved my pregnant body! It is absolutely amazing what my body can do. What it did do! I tried to capture the sensuality of pregnancy, the smoothness and the curves.

I was never skinny, and knew I never would be. Yet I strived for it; I yearned for the flat stomach and bikini body. It never came. Instead I got the most beautiful round belly, that carried even more beauty inside. Then came the stretchmarks, and the saggyness that I knew I would carry around with me for the rest of my life. They are my true beauty marks, my badge of honor; For I did one of the most wonderful and beautiful things a women could ever do. I became a mother. The outcome was more than I could have imagined and now I have come to treasure those marks that fade, but never disappear. I have come to embrace the extra skin that shows how much love I have to give. Without ‘The Shape of a Mother’ this love of my new ‘Mommmy belly’ would have never emerged. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I attached pictures of me 10 1/2 months post partum and the most beautiful little boy who makes it all worth it.

This is me at 12, 25 and 31weeks pregnant with baby number 2. My first is 18 months old I am only 20 and 5ft10 so I managed to get away without saggy skin last time and I am hoping my luck will continue, although any amount of sagginess will be worth it. I do have quite a lot of stretchmarks but I don’t mind them, in fact I am proud of them! Also I breastfed my daughter right up until I found out I was pregnant with this one so my breasts have seen better days, although I haven’t seen the final results yet. I will post more pictures as I get bigger and when my baby is born. This site has really helped me, it’s hard to think you are normal when there are pictures of Victoria Beckhams super flat stretchmark free stomach all over the magazines.

(Originally submitted on 3/28/07)

I found out about my third pregnancy about 5 weeks ago. I am losing my baby now. I was so excited and I was going to post a nice big bellied picture, I never took pictures with the other two, and I do get to be quite large around my eigth month. I am in total shock. I had normal pregnancies with the first two, now 7 and 5. I am so sad. But, this is part of my healing process. Here are my pictures, at 6 weeks and 8 weeks. No big belly shots for me this time. I thank you for your site, and I hope you will post this. I will always believe I was a mother of three for at least a little bit.