Third Pregnancy

At the end of it all (Nicole)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 1 Comment

Previous entry here.

~Age: 30
~Number of pregnancies and births: pregnancy #3/Birth #2
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 16 months and currently 36 weeks

My first was born shortly afer my first submission. She was suppose to be our last, our only-but there were other plans in motion. At first we weren’t thrilled at the prospect of having two little ones, but as my pregnancy progressed we the same feeling of excitement. Our daughter still has no clue that her life is going to change, but she will soon enough. I have run the gambit of emotions. I have managed to still stay strong.

My first go-around was very easy going-lots of energy, no morning sickness, gentle movements from the life within me. This time my pregnancy has been plauged with morning sickness, lack of energy, and movements that have caused brusing, but you know what-I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. These are the times that I relish, just me and this growing little one (even when the random little body part ends up in my hips or ribs). My heart is a little sad that this is our last one-for real, but I will always cherish these moments. I have strongly felt that everthing happens for a reason, sometimes we just don’t see it right away. My first was born to soften the blow of losing my father. This little one is a blessing in some cosmic way for us. As much as I enjoy pregnancy, I can’t wait to meet this little person.

Let Me Out of Here (Angele)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cosmetic and/or Reconstructive Surgery, Diastasis Recti, Postpartum, Submissions, Surrogacy, Third Pregnancy 6 Comments

Hi everyone, this is my third entry; my first 2 can be seen here and here. A little recap. I am 29 years old and I have 2 daughters, ages 8 and 4. I recenlty gave birth to a third daughter in April 2010; but she was not mine to keep, I was a surrogate! :) I had decided long ago after the birth of my second daughter that one day I would have a tummy tuck and get my diastasis recti and lax skin fixed!! I did it!! I am 5 weeks post surgery and recovering slowly but surely.

As I was looking through some pictures, I was amazed at what I saw. I had always joked that when I was pregnant, it felt as though the girls were trying to claw their way out of me!!Well, it looks like they almost suceeded! I outlined the clawmarks aka: stretchmarks on my belly so it could be easier for you all to see!! LoL 10 silver clawprints !! I have to say, I am so happy that I still have these! I love them!! Would a smooth belly be prettier to look at? Possibly but not to me! I may have altered my mommy belly, but I cherish my childrens permanent finger paintings! :)

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My struggle, the stretch marks are totally worth it (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Child Loss, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 8 Comments

I have an incompetent cervix. This means that my cervix opens way too soon, resulting in a miscarriage or stillbirth. My first pregnancy I lost at 9 weeks when the baby was discovered to have passed away. My second pregnancy I lost at 4 months, when my water broke and I was dilating. The baby was already on her way out, so I had to deliver. At this point.. no diagnosis was made. They said it was a fluke, and no mention of a cervical condition was made.

When I found out I was pregnant again, needless to say, I was terrified. All I could think is “What if it happens again?”. I was very cautious, and so was my doctor. Every little pain I felt I made sure I was checked out. At around 18 weeks I was feeling some strange pressure, so being the nervous mama that I was, I went to the ER. The ER docs checked me out. They did a manual exam which concluded that my cervix was still closed. I was relieved. They decided to call my on call doc to let him know what was going on and then they were going to release me. I was sitting in the exam room waiting, quite relieved that everything appeared to be OK. Then, the on-call doc walked in. He just happened to be in the hospital, and given my history he decided to check me out himself. He did another exam and said that my cervix was closed but felt a little bit soft and not like that of a woman who has never given birth at term. He took me up to L&D. I started to get a little nervous but figured he was just being cautious. He did a transvaginal ultrasound and found that my cervix was serverely funneled (opening from the inside out) and very short. Usually this happens when you’re going into labor, but in my case.. it was just happening. I cried, got dizzy, almost passed out. The doctor was very kind and explained what could be done and that all hope was not lost. I decided to go home that night, and call my own doc in the morning. I truley believe that the on call doc being there was a miracle. If it wasn’t for him, I would have lost this baby too.

The next morning my doctor had called me. He had my report to a local women’s only hospital. The High Risk specialists there were awesome. They confirmed that my cervix was indeed dilating and short. They then set me up for an emergency cerclage. A cerclage is a stitch placed in the cervix to hold it closed and keep the baby in for as long as possible. They admitted for the night, and the procedure was set for the morning. I was TERRIFIED!! I barely slept all night long. I cried the whole time I was wating to go into surgery. There are risks to the procedure (breaking of the water, infection etc) and I just wanted to bad for my baby to be OK. Turned out, the procedure wasn’t so bad. I was awake for it, but was given a Spinal Anesthetic so I couldnt feel a thing. It was over in about 30 minutes.. and then I was sent to recovery. I had some cramping but was doing OK, so they sent me home that night.

At first, I was scared to even move out of my bed. I was taken out of work and was told to stay at home and relax for the most part. I wasn’t on bedrest persay but I was still terrified of doing anything to mess things up.

Ok, fast forward to now. Every since the placement of the cerclage my cervix has been being very good! The funneling has resolved and my cervix actually gained length. I am now 31 weeks, and the baby is doing great!! He kicks me all the time and I love it. Some days I sit here and watch my belly move all around.. It’s so cool :) No one had even expected me to make this far. But here I am.. still doing great. No signs of labor or anything. I am so thrilled.

What’s funny is that once things started to look up and I started to get a lot less nervous.. I started looking at the changes in my body. My belly really started to pop right out at around 28 weeks. I am short (5’2) and I am all belly it seems. I have only gained about 15-16 lbs during this pregnancy but I still have a lot of stretch marks. They are running all across my belly and sides. I was depressed about them for a while, but when I mentioned it to my boyfriend he just looked me funny. He said “Babe, all this time you’ve been so worried over this baby and now you’re worrying about something as superficial as those stretch marks? I’d love you if you were covered in them. Don’t worry so much!”. He was right. How could I worry about such a thing? They are my mommy marks. Proof of what I’ve overcome to make it this far with my little one. Don’t get me wrong.. I still constantly use creams and lotions on my belly.. but I am not depressed about it. I can worry about my body later. For now, I just want to get this baby into the world safe and sound. I worked so hard at this.. I refuse to let such a silly thing get to me. I have included some pictures of myself. The first one is pre pregnancy, I was about 125 pounds there. The second is me at 21 weeks, the third is at 25 weeks, and the last is at 30 weeks. Thanks for listening!!

Your Age: 24
~Number of pregnancies and births:3 pregnancies, currently 31 weeks

Updated here.

Why Can’t I Love My Body? (Ileana)

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

I am a 21 year old mother of 3. I got pregnant at the age of 15 and had a wonderful little boy when i turned 19 i had my second little boy and at the age of 21 I had my little girl. Last year i met the love of my life it was love at first sight, he is a wonderful man, he is my hero. My husband is in the United States Navy, he is 23 years old. He is such a wonderful man, he accepted my two boys into his life like if they where a piece missing from a puzzle and he has loved us unconditionaly.But now I feel that he deserves much Better than me even though he tells me im beautiful and just perfect the way I am, I just don’t feel the same way he does. My whole life I have had body issues even when i was younger and now that I had my little girl I look at pictures of when i was younger and i think to myself how dumb I was for not liking what i saw! Now that i see myself I just see imperfections everywhere I am 8 weeks post partum and i hate what i see in the mirror. My stomach is full of stretch marks and my belly is just so big I try to stay positive but I just look big all around. I love my children and i would not change any of the decisions that i have made. And even though each pregnacy has changed my body I would have them all over again. But I just wish I could love myself (my body) as much as i love them. Everyone tells me i look great for 8 weeks post partum but I just don’t see what they see. How could I love myself more?

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I Don’t Think I Will Ever Come to Love this Body (Carrie)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Teen Mom, Third Pregnancy 7 Comments

~Age: 23
~Number of pregnancies and births: 3 pregnancies and 3 births.
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 6 1/2 year old daughter, 4 year old daughter, and 2 year old son.

So, where do I start? I found out I was pregnant at the very young age of 15. I was not dating her dad and he went active duty Army, so he got stationed in Colorado. Far from our hometown in Indiana. I felt like, great.. he’s getting off easy. He then found out he was deploying and we decided to try and make this work. This was in 2003. Our daughter was born on Christmas Day that year. I was then 16. He came home from deployment when our daughter was 4 months old, that is when he first saw her. We decided that I would move to Colorado with him, even though I was only 16. My mom protested, but it happened anyway. We married on my 17th birthday in 2004.

When I was 18, my husband deployed again. We found out we were pregnant again just 3 days after he left. He came home when I was 7 months pregnant. We had another baby girl in May of 2006. 2 weeks after her birth, I had to have my gallbladder removed. Then, a week later we had to move across the country to North Carolina. With a toddler, and a baby not even a month old, and just having surgery, the move was no fun at all.

Fast forward 2 more years later, and another move down to Georgia, we were finally pregnant with our son. This pregnancy, my stomach grew larger than before, but still I delivered at a weight of 157. That was my ending weight with all 3 of my pregnancies. Well, the 2 times before I stayed around the low 140’s after having my children, not this time! I EBF for the first 2 months, found out I wasn’t producing NEALY enough milk, so I had to switch to bottle feeding. My milk dried up IMMEDIATELY! It made me very sad, which I read is very common. Anyway, to the point.. After my son was around 9 months, I had gained 20 pounds! I was then 175 lbs! The heaviest I have ever been in my whole life, even being pregnant! I then found out I have a hypothyroid. Which explained my low metabolism, no energy, not being able to sleep, mood swings… and the list goes on. I thought, great! now I will finally be able to get something done with the medication! WRONG! The medication didn’t help me at all. My doctors don’t seem to care, either. So, here I am. My son is 2 years old. I now weigh 167 and that is AFTER taking Adipex for 7 months straight! How can that be? And I work out a good amount. I am trying the P90X to no avail. I can’t help but be depressed! I would be happy if I could just fit into my clothes right. Where I could get dressed and not stare in the mirror at how horrible I look. I am at a loss at what to do now. I have even had thoughts of trying to be bulimic or anorexic. Which lucky for me, have only been thoughts. I know I could not EVER do that!

So, with this. I hope that my story relates to at least 1 person. I wish I could say I am becoming closer to accepting my body, but I know that is a lie. I absolutely hate my body and know I will until I at least lose 25-30 lbs. I wish I could wake up 1 day and have my energy, motivation, or just plain out not be tired all the time! Oh, and yes.. I am still married to my wonderful husband. It has been over 6 years now, and I see many more years in the future.

PICTURES:
1ST AND 2ND – ME PRE PREGNANCY DAYS WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS FAT
3RD – 4 DAYS BEFORE I DELIVERED MY SON
4TH, 5TH AND 6TH – ME TODAY

Bittersweet (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, Postpartum, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 19 Comments

Age: 31
3 Pregnancies and 3 Csections
Ages of Children: 7, 4, and almost 3 years.

I call my story “Bittersweet” because my journey has often felt that way. I’ve struggled with my weight
all my life. I was very active when I was younger and didn’t really gain a lot until college and marriage.
I stayed in size 10s and 12s. At my heaviest I was 250 and wore size 18s. I’ve been on every diet.

Now I’m 31 years old, I weigh 139 pounds, I am 5’7 1/2″, and I wear clothes in sizes 6, 7, and 8.

Here’s what happened:
I’ve had 3 pregnancies where I gained too much weight, and I’ve had 3 csections- the first of which being a perfect scar on the bikini line by an amazing doctor, the second and third cuts were made above the bikini line by not so great doctors causing me to have horrible scars and a lopsided belly.

After my third baby, I decided to get in shape the healthy way. I eat great, strength train, and do cardio.
Long story short, I lost 100 pounds and am now at a weight and size that is smaller than the day I got
married. I finally could wear a bikini, but do you think I would- Hell no.

I’m about at the finish line with my weight loss journey. There’s still 5-10 pounds I’d like to shed.
And what has happened- no I didn’t win a prize- instead, my boobs have completely deflated- they are
not perky and full like when I weighed 160 pounds and higher, my entire body is covered in stretchmarks.
It seems as though new ones appear daily on my boobs, my sides, my butt, and now down my thighs and
legs (which used to be my best feature).

I’m saddened by all of this. I don’t feel sexy at all. I cannot afford any kind of plastic surgery or special
lotions, skin treatments. I often want to gain the weight back- not all of it but enough to get my boobs back
and not be so saggy.

I appreciate everyone who reads this. It saddens me especially because it seems as though I cannot
watch a movie without seeing a beautiful naked woman on it. Men see gorgeous naked women all the time
without even having to try. How can a man appreciate a body like this. My husband says he likes my
body and likes it smaller now, but come on!!! I’m not buying it. I feel disgusting. It’s bittersweet to lose
weight and not love my new body. I hate it worse than when I was overweight.

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Story of a Teen Mother (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Abortion/Life after Abortion, Belly, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom, Third Pregnancy 5 Comments

Your Age: 19
Number of pregnancies and births: 3 pregnancies 1 birth.
The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4 years postpartum

I was 15 when I found out I was pregnant,I was scared and did not know what to do. My boyfriend was very supportive and together we decided to keep our baby. My dad was always working, my mother did not live with us at the time and my siblings were always so busy with their lives that somehow I managed to get by my first 6 months of pregnancy before they even suspected anything. I finally decided to let my father know that I was 6 months pregnant with a baby boy and that I had decided to keep him.He was surprised but overall very supportive of my decision. After telling my father I let everyone else know what was going on. My mother and sisters were very upset with me and my decision but they got over it quickly. They all tried to make my last few months of pregnancy pleasant.Then on a warm day in June my son was born , he changed our lives for the best.He is a joy and just what we needed in our family.Having him at a young age wasnt easy for us at all: money was always and issue and we had to give up our teenage lives and grow up fast. Unfortunatley I carelessly became pregnant twice after having our son. We decided we both werent ready for any more children and decided to have an abortion.We have learned from our past and make sure we do not get pregnant again.I have been using Nuvaring for 2 years now. I have since then graduated High School I plan on going to college in Fall, My boyfriend is in college and a year shy of getting his associates degree. and yes we are still together and do not plan to have any more children any time soon. I hope my story isnt to badly written and that it makes some sense & please ask questions or comment if youd like.

4 Babies – 3 Years (Malissa)

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

I am a mother to 4 beautiful little girls: 2 year old fraternal twins, 15 month old, and a 3 month old. All were carried to term and born vaginally. Pre babies I weighed about 140 and was in pretty descent shape and now post partum I weigh 174.

My story started three years ago when I met my now husband and had the shock of my life when I missed my period a mere month after we had met. Low and behold I was pregnant and pregnant with twins at the age of 20. My twins were born healthy at 5lbs 2oz and 5lbs 14oz on January 8th, 2008. When our twins were about 8 months we found out we were expecting again. This time only one. She was born on April 23rd, 2009 weighing 8lbs even. My husband had gotten a vasectomy and we thought we were in the clear but obviously not because I began feeling nauseous and I’m not one to get sick often we knew baby number 4 was coming. Fortunately we had baby number 4 this year on April 2nd, 2010 and she weighed 8lbs 9oz. Things were not planned but hey when you do the deed you’re bound to get pregnant. Luckily now for sure my husband is in the clear and there will be no more babies for us. Four is a lot but also a blessing. I am a stay at home mother and love my kids and would do anything for them. At times I do get down on myself not looking like I did pre-babies but have to step back and realize my body has been through thick and thin for the past 3 years and has given birth and held 4 beautiful little angels. I may not like it all the time but it’s my body. I realized that no matter what my husband and kids all still love me no matter how ugly my skin may feel to me or look to me at times. I am slowly starting to embrace my new found body and looking at each stretch mark as a mark of love my children have given me. I am now 23 and love looking at my beautiful girls each day. Knowing I carried each one of them amazes me.

Katherina

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Reader's Favorite, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Vulva 40 Comments

My name is Katherina and I am a mother of three beautiful children, ages 7, 4 and 3. All my births were natural and I breast-fed all three of my babies. Like most women, I intended to gain the recommended 25- 30 pounds with each pregnancy, but I ended up gaining 50+ pounds each time. I ate nutritious food – fruits, veggies, etc. – I just ate a lot because I was hungry ALL THE TIME, even in the middle of the night.

I received a lot of veiled hurtful remarks about my weight gain, like: “you were so thin before, I just assumed you would be a thin pregnant person”, “wow, your baby is going to be gigantic” and “you don’t really need to eat for two”. Some people made comments that were outright hurtful, including my husband. It left me wondering, when did my weight become everyone else’s business?

The photos below show what my body looks like now that my youngest (and last) child is almost three. I gradually lost the extra sixty pounds I had gained and I’ve taken up yoga. As for my last pic, I took it to disprove the myth that a natural delivery ruins your vagina. I know that c-sections are a blessing to those who truly need them, but so many women who don’t need one are ‘electing’ to have one anyhow. Hopefully my photo will take away some of the fear associated with natural birth.

Motherhood has brought so much joy into my life and I hope that all the pregnant women and mothers who read this will realize how beautiful and special they are. Insist on celebrating yourself in all of your phases – you’re worth it! : )

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Third picture can be viewed here. It’s more personal than most photos on this site, so I am not posting it within the entry itself. :)

Do I look pregnant? (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Ectopic, Postpartum, Question, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 18 Comments

Hi Im really confused at this point and just want some honest opinions. I believe in “intuition” so somebody go there if you will. :)

Im a mother of 3..I had a tubal ligation in 1997 and I became pregnant again in 1999, it was ectopic and ended in surgery. I have not been worried about being pregnant again until now..I was told I had a cyst on my ovaries a few times..some very small ones but they cant ever really be sure if it was a permanent cyst or due to ovulation because both images were taken a few days before my cycle. Other than that I dont have any known conditions.

My question today is do I look pregnant or do you think I have something else causing great swelling. My stomach has continually grown over the last few months. I have taken several pics just to monitor it all but Im about to go crazy:) No positive urine test, although I had a very faint line one time I also had some opk tests which I used recently over a period of 3 days and all gave a line which I am told can sometimes detect hcg, I had an ultrasound earlier this month, it was the fastest one I ever had so I cant be positive she didnt miss anything but its said nothing was seen. The doctor noted my uterine lining was thicker than normal but could of been due to my cycle coming. I have not missed any cycles they have shortened and been less though. I have all other pregnancy symptoms such as bigger breast, heart burn, movement (quickening), cravings, tired and urinated like crazy (a few months ago), my hips have spread, and most of all I got a growing abdomen and a “crooked” darkened linea negra?

I would conclude this all in my head if only there was no movement, and no growing abdomen..So please anyone take a look and all ideas are welcome. The first pic is today 6/21/2010 The second pic is a combination of how my stomach looked in november 09 or so and 5/2010, and the last one is a few days ago 6/17. If anyone feels I am pregnant Im interested in why or how far u think ect?