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(Originally written on March 9)

I am due tomorrow! This is my first baby and I’m 20 years old. During my pregnancy i have gained 30Kg and my body will probably never be the way it was before, but i don’t mind as i will have a beautiful baby to show for it.

Updated here!

I have 3 kids and I think my body is still great, although I do work on it. My stomach is harder than before kids. My only problem is my breasts are no longer symmetrical!

I never felt good about my body until I became pregnant. Although I was very young and very scared, my pregnancy made me feel complete. My body changed and I began to feel…beautiful. I felt like my life had meaning and purpose. I was only 18, but I had to make myself a woman worthy of being this tiny person’s mother. I gained 30 lbs during my first pregnancy and within 10 days of her birth it was gone. I liked to run my fingers across my stretchmarks and remember the glorious belly that once housed my precious daughter. 13 months later I met the man that would become my husband. We got married a short time later and he adopted my daughter, I also became a step-mother to his little girl. We conceived our son during our honeymoon. I gained 36 lbs during my second pregnancy. The weight didn’t come off as easily afterwards, but eventually I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I am now 23 years old. I am happily married with 3 amazing children. Once my youngest child started looking more like a little boy and less like a baby, I began to appreciate my stretchmarks. Not long after my son stopped nursing, he started asking to use the potty and wear underwear. Although the signs of babyhood are fading and my babies are growing up, I can still see the marks on my belly that they left behind. When my daughter asked me, “Mama, what are those things on your belly?”, I answered her with a smile, “Those are called stretchmarks and I got them when you grew inside me.”

I think this site is great, but to a new or expecting mom is can be VERY scary. I think I was about 7 or 8 months pregnant when I first came across this site and I was scared to death! I think it’s important that you show a varity of women and how they look. We don’t all look the same before pregnancy and we’re sure as hell not all going to the look the same after. We don’t all end up with so many battle wounds,but we’re mothers and women just the same. I was really thin before I had my daughter. 5’4″ and 107 pounds at the most. I gained 40 pounds while I was pregnant. My daughter is now 9 months old and I’m only a few pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. The weight has shifted differently though. I’m curvier. I don’t really have any strecthmarks or saggy skin, but my boobs are a bit deflated. My pics are from before pregnancy, at the peck or pregnancy and about 8 months after the birth of my daughter.

I was 140lbs when I got pregnant with my first daughter at 17 and had her at 18. I ended up being 150 postpartum and then gained 10lbs while breastfeeding. I got pregnant in 2003 and lost the baby at 12 weeks. I got pregnant with my 2nd daughter in 2004 and lost all of my prepregnancy weight from that pregnancy but then gained 20lbs more while breastfeeding her. (She is still nursing at 2 years old =) I found out we were expecting #3 on Earth in January of this year and then lost the baby at 6 weeks. I am now 180lbs but losing weight. This picture was taken when I was 5 weeks pregnant with our 2nd Angel.

My sister and I went to Victoria’s Secret during one of our many power walks through the mall…trying to induce labor! While she was busy slipping on darling little neglege, I opted towards the most rediculous bra top I could find! I only gained 12 pounds while I was pregant and my son was 9 of that. I did a great job of maintaining my weight although I did get stretch marks on my stomach. After my husband and I separated I was quite self-concious about letting someone other than my son’s father see my tummy. I’m now expecting my second baby with a wonderful man. I learned that if you can carry yourself with confidence and are with someone who really cares about you, those little details will be overlooked. I am happy with my body now even though it’s starting to get the early bump on the bottom! My boyfriend will come up behind me and just hold me and rub my tummy and tell me how excited he is about our baby being in my tummy. The beauty of a child will make anyone forget the physical changes that happened during pregnancy.

This was the first time we ever took maternity pictures. This is taken about 4 weeks before my baby was born.

I have always struggled with my body image. As a teenager and a young adult, what I saw looking back at me in the mirror was alway a bit distorted. After gaining 46 pounds with my first and right now only pregnancy, I had to let myself become ok with the idea that my body will never be quite the same. This first picture was taking 5 days before my beautiful baby girl Grace was born. I remember looking in the mirror at my belly, thinking oh my it is so big but at the same time I had never and will never feel that beautiful. For once in my life I was ok with who was looking back at me in the mirror. I had found my purpose in life, and with that a peace came over me. Now 3 months later, I am still breastfeeding and loving every minute of it. I have a new look on life and my body, I still struggle with the way it looks sometimes but truely I think my body is quite incredible for growing this beautiful little human whom I adore so much. The second picture is of my daughter when she was one day old.

(Professional photographs by www.RachelJacobsPhotography.com. Posted with permission.)

I had a 9.5 lb baby on a very petite frame. He is worth every stretch mark, however.

Edited to Add: That was me at 14 wks and I’m 5’9!!!!