Submissions

Anonymous

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Submissions 1 Comment

My husband took this picture of my tummy when i was about 6 1/2 months pregnant. I`m just now coming into my 35 week period . . but i look back on this picture and realize that i wasnt very big nor am i today. I was a very small girl before i got pregnant but at times it seems like things just arent growing like they should be. But then i see women all the time online (( looking for comfort )) that i`m not the only one. I’ve enjoyed being pregnant very very much so and how my tummy has grown its just at times i wish i could have gotten the big ball :-) But none the less the dr`s say that my baby boy is healthy and growing wonderfully so i guess we`ll stand with that thought :-)

Sydney

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 12 Comments

My name is Sydney, I am 21 years old with a wonderful 4 month old daughter.

I gained about 65 pounds during my pregnancy, and after my c-section, I felt so sick that I could barely move or eat, and I lost a lot of the weight. Now that I am fully recovered I have gained it all back, and then some. Sometimes I look down and think I might still be pregnant!

Since I can remember, I have had major self-esteem and body image issues. And I have to say, that most times I feel ugly. I am a single mother, and I worry a lot about finding someone now. The thought of someone seeing me naked keeps me awake at night sometimes. But after looking through the lovely photos on this site, and reading the amazing stories, I looked in the mirror, and thought ‘maybe I am beautiful, too…’

And maybe, if I can believe that I am beautiful, and love my body after all, I can teach my daughter to do the same.

I, Mother (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Infertility, Postpartum, Submissions, Update 5 Comments

My son came to us after years of suspecting I may be unble to conceive. I had tried to conceive before, always to my disapointment when my period came, month after month. It was sad, but I came to accept my infertility. I figured if I wasn’t meant to bear children, then why tamper with karma?! When I finally saw those 2 little lines staring back at me from the stick dipped in my pee, I had to sit down. My life was about to change forever. I’m a mom! Wow!

I enjoyed few stretch marks & a scar from a surgery 11 years ago weathered the pregnancy better than I feared. My labor was long & hard, but it was the natural, drug-free birth I had wanted.

This body brought my little boy into the world & I could never be disappointed with it.

Update here.

Anonymous

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Four or More Pregnancies, Postpartum, Submissions 12 Comments

This is me in my 40’s after giving birth to 4 children. My first 3 were born when I was very young and the last was over a decade ago.
I got stretch marks with the very first one and gained a few more along the way.
I’m happy with my body now but was embarrassed by it for many years and yet it’s only begun to look like this in the last 3 years.
Before then I was very slim with smaller, perkier breasts and a flat stomach.
It’s ironic that I should now be perfectly accepting of my body when it no longer looks as good.
I think every new mother should have access to this site. My acceptance of myself has become even more so since viewing all these beautiful ladies.

Anonymous

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 5 Comments

I was so touched by the words woman wrote about their bodies after have given birth to their children.

I myself feel so unpretty, now that I am a mother and went through pregnancy and birth. My whole body takes part in this: my breast which grew to melonsize, my belly with all the dark red streams and lines, and even my vagina which wasn´t stiched up properly after i had torn pushing out the head of my beloved boy.

After birth was over, I felt I was locked up for any sexual thing which could eventually go on in the future. Since I am a single parent, I too lost hope to find a man who could love me in the close future.

But still … I loved the experience of being pregnant and now being a mother. But this all didn´t only leave wounds on my body but also in my soul.

The first picture is taken now – almost 3 month after birth. The second picture shows my 28th week pregnancy belly – which I was very proud of.

(My motherlanguage is german, so I guess my english is not perfect. Could you sort out all the mistakes I made? Thank you!) I added a word here or there, for you! ~Bonnie

Anonymous

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Child Loss, Four or More Pregnancies, Postpartum, Submissions 13 Comments

All my childhood I wanted to do nothing more than to be a Mom. I dreamed about pregnancy and childbirth. At career day, I didn’t want a career other than to be a Mother.

Before becoming a Mother, people always commented about how tiny I was, how thin I was. Now, 4 pregnancies and 2 live children later, I don’t have the figure I once did. The hardest part has been the reaction on people’s faces when they haven’t seen me for a long time. I am no longer 115 pounds, but 150. The look of disgust has been so hard for me to swallow. I’ll never forget the “old high school friends” I visited when my last child was 5 months old. That was the worst I have ever felt about my self-image. It wasn’t what they said, it was what they didn’t way. That short hour ruined the rest of my vacation. Never again will I give someone the power to make me feel embarassed or ashamed of my body. I have experienced loss and heartbreak. The marks on body are the remaining memories of the babies that didn’t make it and the reminder for the love I have for the 2 that did. I am thankful for the opportunity to house my children safely in my body. Some people want the chance, but don’t get it. I however, am one of the lucky ones. Every stretch mark, every pound gained is a reminder that I have the family I always dreamed of.

Anonymous

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Four or More Pregnancies, Piercing, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions 11 Comments

I am a 29 year old mother of 4 beautiful girls (14 months, 3, 8 and 9). I want to teach my girls when they are older that real women don’t look like the ads in magazines, and that they should be proud of the body Nature gave them and be proud that they are able to give life. I never had big breasts but I was a decent perky B cup before I had my first baby. I had what I considered nice breasts. I have nursed 3 out of 4 of my babies, one for almost 19 months so my breasts have taken quite the beating. I am now a 34 A with big dark nipples (my nipples used to be pink and small but after I had my second baby they never went back to their old appearance). This was/is very depressing to me. I feel less “womanly” because of my flat old looking chest. I tend to cover up even with my husband. But your site has helped me so much that I have decided to share my pictures and story in hopes that it will help someone else as well just as the other stories did for me.

I had a hard time accepting my body after I had my last baby even though my husband would tell me often how great I looked and that my breasts were perfect the way they were. I became very depressed. I know I am lucky because I do not have any stretchmarks on my stomach…only on my upper thighs and my breasts (went up to a C cup while nursing resulting in stretchmarks around my nipples). But my once perky and round breasts are now just a distant memory.

Recently, I had my nipples pierced to celebrate the new chapter in my life since we are now done with babies and breastfeeding. I wanted to do something for ME only to make ME feel better about MY body. This certainly did…I am a little more confident when I am topless now. I think “the girls” are a lot prettier now and it makes me feel better about what I have.

I have never gained a lot of weight while pregnant and was lucky to lose my baby weight quickly although I am still about 8 pounds heavier than I was pre-babies, I now have cellulite on my thighs and my navel got all stretched out so it’s a little crooked now. But that’s ok. Your site has shown me that mothers are beautiful and “normal” even though I don’t like to use that word. What we see in Hollywood and in the magazines is not reality…we are real and we should be proud of that! I gave life to 4 bright and beautiful little girls who will someday go through motherhood as well (hopefully!) and I hope that they will be as empowered about it as I am now thanks to your site.

Thea

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Tattoo 7 Comments

I found your site when I was 5 months pregnant with my first child earlier this year. I was so deathly afraid of my body being “ruined” once I had my baby, so I looked through the pictures and stories at your site to get an idea of what I might look like. It really helped me realize that gaining weight, getting stretch marks, or droopy skin were not important once my baby was here.

Updated here.