my husband took this picture of my pregnant belly last week — 34 weeks pregnant with our second. it’s an artistic shot, not a realistic one, so you can’t really see my stretch marks and i look thinner than i really am. i will try to put up a more realistic one soon, maybe after this baby comes. but this picture is very symbolic for me, of healing and blessing.
Firstly I want to say thank you for this web site. I feel less alone and perhaps I am finding a newfound appreciation for my body.
This is a long story. In 2002 I got married. I had a fairy-tale wedding. It was everything I dreamed of and more.
One month after my wedding I attended a routine Pap test appointment. My doctor suspected Fibroids and so sent me for an Ultrasound. I was diagnosed with bilateral Dermoid Ovarian Cysts. The cysts were 5 on my right ovary and 4 on my left and growing. I was told to have surgery as soon as possible as they could burst and the contents of the cysts were quite caustic.
I researched and found a Surgeon who would remove via keyhole surgery through my belly button. Surgery was undertaken on 03/03/03. I was nervous but thankful they had been diagnosed whilst I might still have some ovarian tissue left to salvage.
I was admitted at 6am, the surgery was meant to take 1 hour. I woke up three hours later in the most incredible pain. The surgeon had grazed my artery during the procedure and I had been sliced open and my keyhole surgery resulted in a 10 scar, which ran through what was my bellybutton. This needed to be done to save my life. He had seconds to open me up and so the cosmetic appearance of the cut he would make was irrelevant. On waking I was informed of what had happened and the doctor informed me how I had ruined his statistics of no complications. Not the best bedside manner!
When my husband visited me (my only family where I live now all my family are overseas), I lifted my gown to show him the mess and he passed out. He is very squeamish. He was admitted to Accident & Emergency with memory loss. I received a phone call from his Neurological Doctor stating he didnt remember getting married. So I was left alone worrying whether my husband would regain his memory and looking at my newly butchered body. Some 8 hours later he returned to visit me with his memory mostly restored. It was a very lonely wait.
The scar was a constant reminder of how close I was to loosing my life. Instead of being thankful for being saved I couldnt recover easily from the experience. I lamented how I would never wear a bikini again and of course I no longer felt attractive to my husband. This impacted on our marriage greatly for a long time. I decided to have plastic surgery to straighten the scar. This resulted in a slightly neater but 2 longer scar in length. It didnt change my feelings about how I looked I still felt very unattractive.
In 2005 we decided to try for a baby. I researched and came up with a quick plan to conceive. Thinking it might take many months due to my age (35) and scarred ovaries I was quite aggressive with my plan. I fell pregnant the first cycle and the first time we tried. Ten days later I knew I was pregnant. I was very thankful and of course incredibly surprised.
I had an uneventful pregnancy. I worked in Panama and was informed by the OB we were expecting a boy and all was well. I returned home to Australia and at my 20-week scan my boy was actually a girl. We were amazed and it did take a little getting used to.
I had nausea initially but found if I ate constantly I would never throw up. Eat I did and piled on 55 pounds. My husband was overseas for the last 2 months of my pregnancy. I was lonely and I ate for comfort. Now I was overweight and scarred.
Ten days overdue I went into labour. 48 hours of trying resulted in a failure to progress and I was told I had to have a c-section. More battle scars. Our baby was born 8 pounds 8 oz and all was well. She latched straight on to my breast.
Six days later I still had no colostrom and no sign of breast milk. I went home and pumped my breasts due to cracked and bleeding nipples in an attempt to bring my milk in. Six times a day for weeks and the most I would get would be 4 teaspoons for a whole day tied intermittently to the pump. I never did find out why I never engorged but I felt a failure. It hurt so much not to birth my baby and to never feed her. People asked for days whether my milk had come in and were always quick to offer advice. When my daughter was 6 weeks old I decided to give up the pumping it made me unhappy and I couldnt enjoy the time with my baby. It was the best decision for us both. She has thrived on formula and my husband has bonded during his time
feeding her.
Here are some photos 6 weeks post-partum. I am still carrying a good 20 pounds extra or more and of course a pooch, which you cant see as it is way down, and hangs over my new c-section scar. My weight gain is mainly on my hips, butt and thighs.
I am determined to regain my former figure but in the meantime I should love my body for all its failings. We have a beautiful daughter who is healthy and happy.
Updated here.
Hi, my name is Autumn. I’m almost 19 years old, I had my son a week after I turned 18. During my pregnancy I ended up getting preeclampsia, which resulted in me gaining excessive weight. I started my pregnancy at 164lbs and ended it at 241lbs. Most of this weight was gained at the end of my pregnancy. I gained 29lbs in just the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy! can you believe that? I was swollen from end to end of my body, I was so swollen that the stretch marks and the bottom of my stomach actually popped out, I had this huge water pocket hanging off of my stomach (which when I went to L&D they told me it was my son’s head. HAH okay. last time i checked my baby’s head wasn’t squishy. but my OB then told me at my next appt that it was edema). my pregnancy was induced at the beginning of my 37th week, 3 hours, no epi, 25mins of pushing and delivered a healthy, beautiful, 7lbs 15oz baby boy.
(Photos have been lost somewhere in time, please excuse us! – Bonnie)
I just want to say that this site is absolutely wonderful, all of you are beautiful.
This site has been so inspiring. I cried when I first came here, tears of understanding and finally realizing that its a sign of beauty to have reminders of nurturing babies. All the women who have shared their story, body, I thank from the bottom of my heart.
My story is similar to many women here. After becoming pregnant with my first I had a hard time accepting even that change, little did I know what was in store. In the sixth month of pregnancy I began to get the flames of motherhood. The doctor said he hadn’t ever seen the marks as bad as mine as they cracked and bled. Nothing helped and it was the proverbial straw that broke it all. After the birth I had ripped so bad I needed reconstructive surgery. My breasts swelled so large I didn’t even have a bra that fit, which of course created “love” marks on them also. Pregnancy and child number 2 did not add any other ‘damage’ as I think my body was broke in already and I knew what to expect.
Now 3 1/2 years post partum I’ve returned to almost my pre-baby weight but definately NOT my pre-baby body shape. There are ‘beauty’ marks in all areas as proof I carried my children in my womb. My breasts are marked and literally had the life sucked out of them for 5 years, years I wouldn’t take back for anything. My stomach is like a deflated balloon and not getting any smaller from seperated abs. My thighs show proof of the extra weight to carry them. I was an itty bitty women before and, now, I am as my oldest likes to say: squishy. Being squishy brings and has brought both my children life, joy and nurishment. Now I know its something to be proud of and respected in all women. Having natures tatoos IS something to be proud of, as one has already said, a gentle reminder of the lives they brought into the world.
My name is Andrea and I gave birth to my son Alexander on July 4th, 2005. I gained 30 lbs with him and by my 6 week check up I had lost all but 4 lbs of my pregnancy weight.
This picture was taken 4 days before he was born.
These pictures were taken today, 12.5 months after he was born.
Me at 8 months pregnant, unedited version. This photo hangs in my daughters room above our rocking chair. Please give a photo credit to Jane Bailey Photography.
I have never been so happy as tonight when I was given the address for this site. I have and still am so in hate with my post baby belly, but this site just seems to make me feel SO much better. To know there ARE other women out there with the same body as me, definitely helps!
I have one child. A little boy who is now 2 years 2 months old. He keeps me goin thats for sure..
Prior to my pregnancy I had just lost 30lbs, so I was looking nice, my tummy was quite flat and bam I get the news that Im expecting.
Here I am at about 5 months pregnant. The stretch marks were still to come!
Here I am when I was about 7 months pregnant.
Here I am at 42 weeks pregnant with him.
He weighed 9lbs 6oz when he was born. I gained 46lbs during my pregnancy. I had lost it all accept 10lbs within a couple of days which was surprising to me.
Today my little boy is so worth all the stretch marks and even the saggy boobs from nursing him.
Here I am today, 1lb below my pre pregnancy weight. My belly is definitely not the same as it used to be, but you know what? Thats okay because I have him.
Thank you so much for making this site so everyone can see what a true, beautiful, womanly body looks like!!
Update here!
Hi there,
I am mama to five children ages 20, 14, 13, 10 and 4. I have been pregnant six times in the last 20 years and have nursed four of my five babies for 2-4 years each. I would say that my biggest regret is that I do not have any belly shots while I was pregnant. But here I am, standing in front of my kids dirty bathroom mirror, a 44 year old mother of five.
I sometimes tease my 20 year old that she has my body and I want it back. Yes, she does seem to have the physical shape and size of myself before I became pregnant with her at age 24 but no, I like the body I have today at age 44 as a mother of five. Thirty pounds lighter, 20 years ago, I truly lacked body confidence and did not see myself as beautiful…if I I knew then what I know now! Motherhood has given me the confidence and the strength that makes me beautiful.
About the footprints tattoo, those are an exact replica of my youngest’ feet at birth. He was born 4 months premature. My other children were born at 41 weeks, 37 weeks, 36 weeks and 38 weeks respectively.
This is an amazing undertaking. I applaud your vision that celebrates the beauty of motherhood.
I am a 25 year old mother of two. My son is 3 and my daughter is 1. Prior to the birth of my son I weighed 115 pounds. I had it in my head that my belly would grow into a perfect basketball shape and that right after birth my tummy would flatten back out. Haha…I was rudely awakened. My 115 pounds eventually grew into 215 pounds by my 9th month of pregnancy. My body had changed in ways I had never imagined. My face, finger & toes, my back, my breasts…Stretch marks covered my body. Legs, arms, belly… My 9 pound 5 ounce baby boy was born via emergency c-section. I had a very hard time accepting my “new” body. It took me about 2 years after the birth of my son to be able to look at myself naked or to touch my scar. I had only lost about 25 pounds by the time I was pregnant with our daughter. I went into this pregnancy overweight. I had no idea what my body would do this time…Our 9 pound 15 ounce daughter was welcomed into the world via c-section. My body didn’t change too much that time. My breasts now hang even lower, as does my belly. I have now come to accept my loose skin, scars and marks. I would not trade them for anything. For without them, I would not be a mommy to the loves of my life….
-Anonymous
This is what I looked like prior to baby number three.
This is me laboring in the water with my third baby.
This is my belly 4 1/2 months after my third was born. I got remarried between babies 2 and 3. My husband is 6 years younger than me (he’s 23 and I’m 29), so now I’m extra self conscious about my tummy. My belly wasn’t perfect when he met me, but baby 3 did even more damage. I’m also holding onto the weight a little longer this time. When I met him, I was a size 6, but right now I’m holding at a size 9. Some size 7’s will fit if I squeeze. He’s a breakdancer, so we do go out to clubs when we can. I have resorted to saran wraping my tummy under my clothes so I can compete with those flat bellied 18 year olds. Nothing deflates my self esteem like going to a nightclub and seeing all those bare flat bellies. This is the first place I have come where I feel comfortable showing off my badge of motherhood. If only the world would honor motherhood in this way, I might feel comfortable going to the pool in a bikini again.
Here’s a picture of Adrianna (baby 3) nursing when she was a few days old. I like my larger breastfeeding boobies. I didn’t get many stretch marks on them, but they do sag naturally with the extra weight. My nipples are also much darker now to make a great target for baby.