Submissions

Perspective (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 4 Comments

There are days when I love my body! There are moments when I love my body. There are times when I have to remind myself I should be happy that I have two functioning arms, legs, and a relatively healthy body + mind. Alas I guess we can all have our good + bad days, our good + bad moments.

I have two daughters that I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for! I hope they will grow up to love themselves + be healthy. My oldest is 5 and my youngest is 15 months.

After my first pregnancy at 26 my body rebounded like a rubber band. I was left with some little stretch marks, but I lost all the weight, still had some volume in my breasts after I weaned my daughter and I even had a toned tummy. My skin was not really stretched out and I felt good about myself.

After my second pregnancy at 30 it was a different story. I didn’t know that pregnancy could change my body the way it did the second time around. I had a much harder time losing the weight, the tummy just didn’t spring back like it did with the first and I was left with excess skin through the mid-section. Luckily this doesn’t show unless I’m bent over. I can feel it + the tightness is just not there, but maybe it will get better with time (and maybe not—that’s ok too). I also lost a substantial amount of volume in my breasts the second time around, especially when I weaned my daughter a few months ago. Little sacrifices in comparison to the gift of mothering two amazing little girls.

I gained 34 pounds with my first pregnancy + 35 with my second so the amount of weight gained was not the difference. I weighed 169 going into labor with my first + 170 going into labor with my second. I’m 5’7″ and I weigh about 130 now, a few pounds lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight (I got pregnant weighing about 135 both times). My first daughter weighed a healthy 7lbs15oz and my second weighed in at 8lbs14oz.

Here are some pictures…One after my first pregnancy, one of me 8.5months pregnant with my second, one of my tummy standing flexed, one relaxed, a tummy shot laying down, and a couple tummy shots from under “downward dog” position to show the extra skin. The good the bad + the ugly…it’s all about perspective. I just thought I’d show that all of these are me.

~Age:31
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 5 years + 15 months

Metamorphosis In More Ways Than One (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 4 Comments

I was five days overdue with my first child. My husband and i chose not to find out if it was a boy or a girl because we loved the idea of the surprise. However, i felt very strongly ever since i knew i was pregnant that i was having a boy. I was five days overdue (which is normal for a first pregnancy). I really enjoyed my pregnancy. I didn’t get too sick, i loved my changing body, my husband did too, and we were in awe of the energy and beauty of sensing our baby grow. I did not get stretchmarks, not one single one, until i was 8 months pregnant. And then, boom, boom, boom, they rippled up my sides in angry purple streaks like lightning preparing for a storm. Out of any change that my body went through, this one challenged me the most. Now, 2 1/2 months pp, i feel that they will fade and i will learn to accept them as battle scars….for my birth was truly a battle of fears and it was a rebirth for me too. I love my son with my entire being. He is the most precious gift and i knew without a doubt he was meant to come to this planet. Thank you for blessing us with your presence my little one. He was born 5/13/13 at 10:14 pm and weighed 7 lb, 3 oz.

~Age: 24
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 2 1/2 months

Mom of Three (Amanda)

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

number of pregnancies-3
number of children-3
age 29
2 years PP

My name is Amanda, Im 29 years old, Ive always been “healthy” but not healthy, im a chocoholic and never put much thought into what I was putting into my mouth, if it was deep fried even better I ALWAYS had a struggle with my size, my shoulders are too wide, my ribcage too big…. I used to box a bit, would go to the gym but was never what you would call “fit”. I had my first baby at the age of 15, I gained about 70Lbs with my first pregnancy (im 5’2″ was about 110 to start) not too many stretch marks I lucked out. 24 hour natural delivery 7lbs 13.5oz. A lot of people had a lot of things to say about my age but here we are. He saved my life in more ways than he could ever understand. I was a single mother for 8 years, finished highschool ontime, went to college, got a job and moved out to support my son and myself (my parents are two amazing people not many would do for their 15 year old pregnant daughter what mine did for me) I was in and out of relationships with men who just weren’t ready to be parents, and that’s ok, I understand that now. I was barely ready myself but my son and I grew up together and we still are. I FINALLY reconnected with my first love from when I was 13, we were separated for 12 years because I moved a few provinces away. He moved to us and immediately we were a family, something “clicked” I got pregnant with my second son I was 130lbs, gained only 30 lbs walked every day to take my oldest to and from school, and worked on my feet. only 6 hour natural delivery, 7 lbs 10oz. not so lucky this time in the stretch mark department I got some on my belly more on my legs, My breasts shot from a D to somewhere in the F range. My hubby and I got married a year after he was born I was 146Lbs. And then Came bebebgirl… We got pregnant October 2010 I somehow managed to hit 160 within 3 months and just…bloomed from there, I was put off work early because of damage that was done to my hips during my first pregnancy (I was still growing yadda yaddda) so my legs were falling asleep at random. I have OCD so all I did was clean, eat, play with my kids and lay on the couch stuffing my face. that was my day, every day. take out daily, July 21 2011 weighing in at 210Lbs after two and a half “blissful” days of natural labor I gave birth to bebegirl 8lbs 3 oz. LOTS of stretch marks LOTS of extra skin… fast forward 8 mos pp and heres where the fun begins, my husband gets a promotion and moves to a different city while I stay put with all three children so our oldest can finish out the school year. Im somewhere around 195lbs have tried EVERYTHING, nothing works, I get bored easily and quit easily!! I cry in the mirror, I know im not this person, I want to be able to run with my kids again, I want my daughter to grow up without all my hangups. Finally a friend is trying this new program and I decided to try it too. And I saw results, I would have to stop half way through to feed my dd so some nights I would be working out until 1030 or so, but I LOVED IT. It was ME time and I was getting stronger!! fast forward another 16 months and I have lost 101 lbs, from my 210, have totally changed my lifestyle, my eating habits (slowly) and even became a fitness coach!! I work from home, get to be here with my babes and am heathier than I have ever been, I still have my stretch marks and my extra skin on my belly but Im HEALTHY and my babies are healthy, I still sometimes think of maybe a tummy tuck, but im scared silly. I want my kids to see that healthy is the way to be no matter your shape or size being healthy is the key, eating clean and staying active. mommy has muscles and that’s ok, I can hug them tighter and hold them longer. I can run and play and do handstands and summersaults with them. Best of all, I can out push up their daddy (shhhh that’s our secret lol)

1st is me pregnant with my first
2nd is me pregnant with my 2nd
3rd is me at my highest of 210
4th is me in labour with #3 lol
5th is our wedding day
6-8 are my transformation pictures and my recent
Have a Fit Day!!

No confidence & wrecked body! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom 6 Comments

Age:17
Pregnancies/births: 1
Age: 2
Postpartum: 2

I had my daughter aged 14, young but very mature.
Always disliked my figure even though I was thin.
I ate everything and anything I could get my hands on to. I didn’t care about eating healthy and keeping for throughout my pregnancy even though I walked everywhere. I had no bump until 24 weeks when it appeared out of no way also had no stretch marks until 34 weeks which I was devastate about. Hated looking at them and the thought of then being there forever.
I have birth to my daughter at 36 weeks in October 2010.
Almost 3 years and I still have my horrible stomach due to no exercise and poor diet.
Looking in the mirror always gets me depressed and I wonder how anyone could love me or my body if I hate myself for it.
I am now determined to loose weight and tone up my stomach by July 2014

Photos:
34 weeks pregnant!
Almost 3 years later.

Any advice on how to tone and loose weight?

First Pregnancy (Anonymous)

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

Anonymous
Age 21
Number of Pregnancies 1
Number Of Births 1
Age of Child 4 months

When I become pregnant with my daughter it was a total surprise. Luckily I had an easy pregnancy, only got sick a few times and worked up until I was 38 weeks. When I found out that I was pregnant I was 5’4″ and 120 pounds. A little on the heavy side for myself, but still at a healthy weight. Pre pregnancy I fluctuated anywhere from 110-115 pounds. I ate whatever I wanted while I was pregnant but didn’t overindulge. I ate when I was hungry, and stopped when I was full. I gained weight slowly at first but then into my third trimester it really picked up. The day I went into labor I weighed 143, so a 23 pound weight gain total.

I had always had small breasts, but proportionally they looked fine on my small frame. I was a B cup pre pregnancy and a large C throughout my pregnancy. When my milk came in I was a DD. My pregnant belly always was on the smaller side, when they measured it at my appointments I usually was measuring anywhere between two and four weeks behind schedule. I even had an ultrasound to check and make sure my daughter didn’t have growth retardation. I was told that since I was on the small side myself it was likely I would have a small baby. Because of the fact my belly was generally smaller than average, and I gained my weight so gradually, I attribute that to the fact that I didn’t get a single stretch mark on my tummy. My breasts are another story altogether however. I call them “tiger boobs” because they are so covered in stretch marks. My daughter was never able to latch so I pumped exclusively for two months until my milk dried up. When my milk went away I went back to a B cup. My breasts are still perky, but feel less dense. They are definitely softer, but aside from the stretch marks they look nearly exactly the same as they did before.

I went overdue with my daughter and was set to be induced on a Wednesday. On Sunday night I had horrible contractions that made me double over in pain, they finally went away so the next night when I had them again, I thought that they would just go away. They started Monday morning at 2 am, by 9 am I couldn’t take the pain anymore and was begging my husband to take me to the hospital, if nothing else I could get something for pain to hold me over until Wednesday. We went to the hospital and hooked my up to the monitors. I was 3 cm dilated (I had been 2 cm for weeks). They left and said they would check back in an hour to see how I had progressed. After 45 minutes I hit the call light in tears begging for some relief from the pain. They checked me again and I was 5cm, they then admitted me. I was expecting to be sent home, so I was definitely in shock that today would be the day. I got the epidural at 12 pm and from there it was smooth sailing. At 4:32 pm after pushing for 3 contractions my sweet girl was born weighing in at 7lbs 1oz. Up until I pushed, I was told she was ‘definitely small’. She was so beautiful and I was instantly in love.

I wore a post partum belly binder for a few weeks. My belly was flat after six days but still felt like mush. It took about two months to feel firm again. At 5 weeks I was working out again. I weighed 133 when I came home from the hospital, 117 at two months post partum, and 107 at three months postpartum. I now fluctuate between 105-108. I run about 16 miles a week, and watch what I eat, but overall I am happy with my body. I gave another person life and that is the most miraculous thing a body can do. I didn’t have expectations to look exactly as I used to so I can’t be disappointed.

I used to check this website religiously throughout my pregnancy, I wanted to see how pregnancy affected other women, I was nervous but I knew that giving new life and being a mother was the most important thing. To say that pregnancy didn’t change my body would be a lie. I do think that genetics and age play the largest role in your transformation though. That’s why I never slathered myself in cocoa butter or bio oil. I knew if I was going to get stretch marks that’s just the way it would be, and it was useless to worry about it. The picture of me in the pink bikini is pre-pregnancy. I weighed 112 in that photo. The photo of me in the green sweatpants is six days after giving birth, I swear by the belly binder for making your tummy go back down quickly. The next is a side by side comparison of 39 weeks pregnant and two months post-partum. Two months is when I began to feel good about my body again and my tummy started to firm up, I was about 115 in that photo. The last photo is of me four months post partum weighing in at 106. I’m now at a point where I’m just trying to maintain my health. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I know how much this website helped me and I just want to help others in their journeys into motherhood. :)

Loaded with fat and a belly that won’t go away. Looking for advice and input. (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 19 Comments

Hi! I’m looking for some advice on my 4 month post-partum body. I had my first child at age 32 via c/section that took us 5 years to conceive. God had a major plan for us and I ended up pregnant again when baby #1 was only 7 months old. Prior to pregnancy #1, I was 5’9″ and fluctuated between 145-150lbs and was 178 lbs on the day of delivery. Within 2 weeks after my first son’s birth, I was back to 150 lbs without breast feeding or doing anything . The second pregnancy I had to go through the holidays and the massive amount of sugar intake killed me. I ended up weighing about 188lbs on the day my second son was delivered. With my first son, the hospital staff kept commenting that they couldn’t tell I had just had a baby. After having the second son, I knew I was in trouble because no one made similar comments and when I got home from the hospital I weighed 172 lbs and my son was 8lbs 8oz!

Fortunately within two weeks I was back down to 162 lbs..unfortunately, that is where it has stayed! I’m 5 weeks into an intense cardio conditioning program (Turbo Fire) and added weight training last week (Chalean Extreme). Nothing is pushing my belly down OR budging the scale. The scale keeps fluctuating between 162-165 lbs..no inches lost (again, since I was 2 weeks post partum). My current goal is to work on eating clean and healthy. Hopefully I can get some of my muscle mass back and lose the fat deposits that appear to be throughout my abdomen and back. Two years of inactivity has really taken a toll on my body. I’ve checked repeatedly and it doesn’t seem that I have diastisis. Everything seems to connect down the midline above, at and below my belly button. I do seem to have a soft bulge above the belly button, but it isn’t painful or anything.

Each day I spend probably an hour examining my stomach and wondering how to get it to look not pregnant anymore. I’m lost with what to do. I do wear a binder almost every day, but try to take it easy with that because I have heard it can cause the muscles to become dependent on it. I’ve never in my life had to struggle with my weight and have always been able to eat whatever I want. Obviously things could be a lot worse and I know I’m blessed in the fact I didn’t get any stretch marks. However, at the end of the day, I am not comfortable in this body and am tired of having ill fitted clothes. I’m wondering if there’s any hope to fix this? The fact I am not seeing any improvements makes me concerned this is going to be something permanent.

~Age: 33
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies/2 births
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 20 months and 4 months; 4 months post partum

Struggling to Accept My New Body (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Diastasis Recti, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 9 Comments

I am a 23 year old mother who got pregnant unexpectedly. I was 120 before pregnancy and gained 75 pounds. My baby was 9 pounds 5 ounces and my body will never be the same. I have diastasis recti, and my boobs are uneven and sagging. Although I’ve lost all the pregnancy weight (nursing), my body is definitely much looser than it was before. Trying to get my confidence back by posing in a swimsuit although I’m sure I’ll never wear a bikini in public again :-(:-(

~Age: 23
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 pregnancies, 1 birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 6.5 months postpartum

8 Months Postpartum, Second Child (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions 4 Comments

I have posted to this website once before, almost two years ago. As I am sitting and typing this I am going in with a very different mindset than I had the last time I posted. I am now 8 months post partum with my second daughter weighing in at 145 pounds. I still have 15 pounds to lose to be at my pre-pregnancy weight but this time I am taking it slow. After I had my first daughter 2 years ago, I knew that I loved her and I loved to breastfeed her. Now with my second daughter I know that I love her and love breastfeeding her. I do not however love the stretch marks that pregnancy and breastfeeding have given me on my breasts. I do not love the fact that my stomach is no longer toned like it used to be and I really do not like the stretch marks that I’ve gained. I didn’t get any new stretch marks with the second baby which was great and they are fading now which is even better. I thought after my first daughter that my body was ruined and it wasn’t good enough for my husband to look at. He only ever made me feel that way because of some unfortunate porn viewing (which has now stopped for a year). It took me a long time to realize that his porn viewing was not because of the stretch marks and weight gain, it was something in him. We are now doing amazing and parenting together the way we should. My girls make me so happy but, up until 2 months ago I was suffering some post partum depression. I dealt with it by talking things out with whoever I could. I know that part of the depression was feeling terrible about my body. Everywhere I look there is a woman who is supposed to be ‘perfect’ and that was really getting to me because I am not perfect. I am not a model or a porn star or anything else that is made to look flawless. I am me, with stretch marks, weight gain, extra skin, things that I was not used to before. I am not only used to these things but I accept them, because I have learned to accept myself on the inside. The things that are on the outside are the least of my worries now. That’s not to say that I don’t struggle somedays because I do, but I bet EVERYONE does. I still want to lose 20 pounds but that’s because of toning up and being at an optimal health level for me and maybe one day if I am terribly unsatisfied with my breasts after weaning, I may get implants. People can judge me for that, I don’t care because I am the one who will deal with the consequences and rewards. If a spray tan or makeup or a new outfit makes you feel more confident and sexy then I say go for it (obviously surgery is much more serious). A breast augmentation will also depend on how I feel it will affect my daughters later in life. I always want my daughters to feel beautiful and I plan to lead by example and if I ever have a son I want him to respect women for the bodies they have, not the bodies they could have from photoshop or airbrushing. I am happy with who I am, the wife I am, and most of all the MOM that I am. I may want to make some physical changes, but is anyone ever completely happy with every single part of their body? I don’t think so, I don’t feel any shame in wanting to make changes that will please ME not anyone else. Attached are pictures of my body 8 months post partum with my second daughter. Don’t mind the hole in the wall in the side view picture, it was here when we moved in. :)

From Loving My Body to Loathing It (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Eating Disorder, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions 24 Comments

I got pregnant at 17. It was unplanned and unexpected. I was scared, but a little excited too. My boyfriend was supportive and so were his family. I loved being pregnant.. I so enjoyed watching my belly grow each month. For the first time in my life, I felt womanly and sexy. Pre-pregnancy I was a mere 89 lbs. Keep in mind I am very petite- only 4″11. Well, by the time I delivered my son I was 115 lbs. I was happy though, because I really felt like I was all belly. I never got a single stretch mark. My beautiful baby boy entered this world weighing 6 lbs 3 oz.. a decent size for me I think. By the time I got home, I realized what pregnancy had really done to my body. My stomach was loose and flabby. My boobs were so saggy I hardly recognized them. Not to mention my nipples went from being small and pink to being giant and brown. My ass is too big to get into any of my jeans, which I wore my ENTIRE pregnancy, I might add. Every time I look in the mirror I want to scream. My vagina looks like complete roadkill.. I won’t include a pic because I’m honestly too embarrassed but my urethra is much lower than it used to be, and my labia is very stretched out. I also have a new ‘lip’ from getting snipped down there. I feel like no one will ever want me ever again. My boyfriend assures me my boobs aren’t ‘that’ saggy and I’m not ‘that’ fat, but then he tells me to curl ups and go running. If we ever break up, I know that no man would want me. I have battled anorexia, bulimia, depression, and bipolar disorder since I was 13. I have been self harming for many years as well. My body is already covered in scars. I no longer feel beautiful and womanly like I did when I was pregnant.. I feel empty, deflated, and disgusting. My son is so much more important than my body, but I am so depressed about the changes that came after him that I’m finding it really hard to enjoy being a mom. I cry during late night feedings, I hardly leave my house, when my dad offers to watch him I decline because I don’t have anyone to hangout with anyway. No one wants to hear me cry about how awful I feel.. and I really don’t blame them. I currently weigh 97 lbs, I’m hoping to get down to 90 by the time my son is 12 weeks old. I only hope that I can overcome this loathing of my body so that I can fully enjoy him while he’s this small. I feel like I’m missing out on being a mom because this is eating away at my self esteem. I don’t want to fall back into the cycle of cutting myself, starving myself, and purging because I want so badly to be happy for him. I hope god hears my prayers, because right now, I am lost.

Your Age: 18
Number of pregnancies and births: 1
The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 weeks postpartum

Inverted Nipples (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Breasts, First Pregnancy, Inverted Nipples, Pregnant, Submissions 10 Comments

Age: 26 ys
pregnancy 31 week

Hi, this e’my first pregnancy and my breast nipples hey were always Inverted.
We know that many women leave to breastfeed their babies by reason of not having breast nipples!
I was always ashamed by tua inverted nipples I hate them I feel ashamed and so ugly.
There is little time they went out to outside. I’m afraid of not breastfeed my baby. Some mummy has or has had the same problem???