This is me today, i am 37 weeks pregnant with my 3rd baby. I do have quite a few stretch marks and bulges in places that i hate. I have battled with eating disorders and gaining weight with this pregnancy has been a mental struggle with me. I think the only thing i like about being pregnant this time is my stomach isn’t all lose and flabby like it was when i wasn’t pregnant. I do have quite a bit of extra skin that i hate and no amount of weight loss will get rid of it.
The pictures I’m attaching are of my 3rd pregnancy due March 2009. I never let anyone take a picture of me while pregnant because I was ashamed of my body. This is my last pregnancy and I didn’t want to let shame prevent me from documenting such a beautiful experience. I changed the pictures to black & white because I think the contract is so much more striking. I am 30 weeks pregnant in the pictures and took them myself using my Nikon Coolpix digital camera on a timer.
so here is a picture of my two sons and myself…my lovely tummy after the damage of having two children in under a year..exactly 11 months to the day apart to be literal. To my boys, I am the most beautiful mommy in the whole world and when they ask me about my stretch marks or extra skin, I tell them that it’s from them growing in my uterus and my body stretching to give them the best home I could. They love to look at pregnant bellies, watch the birthing video’s on youtube and we talk about THIS baby *my third* growing inside my tummy now. My kids don’t look at my tummy with shame, they look at me with pride and knowledge..they know I gave them my body and in turn, they give me their love. I am proud to carry my flaws, they are a small price to pay for the love I get in return. ~Melissa
My first contribution was taken six months ago, before the latest preggo belly. This is me at 32 weeks and counting. I don’t look like a hollywood preggo, and I didn’t edit anything out. This is real, this is me, and it is so BEAUTIFUL!!!
I am a 24 year old mother of 2, with a third on the way. By the time I meet my daughter, I will be 25. It’s been a short 5 years by many means of measurement, but make no mistake, those 5 years have encompassed more than their fair share. With my first two pregnancies, my husband and I had repeated visits to high-risk centers. Both our baby boys had fetal heart defects and on more than one occassion, our midwife could not detect a heart tone, even with Doppler. Both pregnancies were fraught with worry, but we managed to remain in the birth center the first time, and risked out the second time due to complications on my end. After multiple hospitalizations both for babies and myself, I felt that I had absolutely no right to complain about the shape my body arrived in after birth. I gained more weight than I should have, and my horrible stretch marks were the high price of that weight. It wasn’t until June of this year that I was diagnosed with a disease that caused most, if not all, of my previous, as well as our babies’ previous problems. After that, we decided to try for a third after all. Part of me dreaded it: great, another chance to become even more broken down and worn in. Here’s another sparkling opportunity for my body to become irrepairably damaged! Woo-hoo!
I quickly got over it when I first saw that little jelly bean on the black and white screen… Sort of. I was at least able to bury it deep in myself again… And now, here I am, 22 weeks into this pregnancy, and having a very, very hard time with my post-baby body image. While I’ve never been terribly positive about my body, after my boys were born, it was atrocious. I finally got the nerve to post my thoughts on my blog, here.
My only resolution for 2009 is to post a real entry to this site; I WILL post an entry complete with before and after pictures. If I can draw some strength and reassurance from all the brave and beautiful women I have seen here, I hope to be able to do that for at least ONE other woman… Even if the mere sight of me traumatizes ten other. :-P
I WILL POST IN 2009!!!
I’m 23 now. I currently weigh 165 lbs. I hated my body 5 years ago when I weighed a whopping … ready for it … 115 pounds and stood 5’9″ tall. Yeah. A lot has happened in 5 years. Three babies, one marriage, and tons of God’s AMAZING grace later I am stronger and happier than I have ever been. I have gone up and down with my weight throughout the years. My attitude toward my body was ALWAYS a negative one, until I got pregnant with my third child. Matthew was a “whoopsie”! He will be 5 in January. Noah was planned and will be 2 in a week. And Cadence was a “not-planned-not-prevented” when Noah was 8 months and she just turned 6 months old. I breastfed Noah until he was 6 months (he quit on me after I started him on solids) and I am exclusively breastfeeding Cadence until she’s closer to a year old (she has gained exactly 9 pounds in 6 months so the doctor recommended it). I love being a mother even if at first I honestly did NOT want to be. I believe now that this is God’s calling for my life. My body may not look perfect to everyone else. But it carried LIFE for crying out loud. Three of them in fact. God gave me the gift to carry life inside this imperfect body, and to Him it IS perfect, so to me it is perfect. Every curve, dimple, stretch mark, and flabby place. Confidence really IS everything. Me pregnant with Cadence Me today at 6 1/2 months PP My family!
Hi, I was 16 when I found out I was pregnant with my son. after a otherwise great pregnancy at 34wks and 4days my water broke and I was taken to the hospital. I was in labor for 63+ hrs wth no meds except antbiotics I only dilated to a 3 and he didnt move down and I ended up having a c-section. When my son came out all I can remember is not being able to hear him crying. He was rushed to the NICU. Although he was 6lbs 5ozs he could not breath on his own. He was in the NICU for 2wks. The hardest thing I have ever done is leave my son there everyday. Right after I turned 18 I found out I was pregnant again. I was so scared my son was only 9m old. But I had a pretty good pregnancy. And after 38wks and 1day my baby girl was born after 18+ hrs of labor via c-section I was tryig for a VBAC but the same thing happend I only dilated to a 3 and she didnt move down. She was a healthy 8lb 3oz big girl. Then 5m after I had her I found out I was pregnant again. With another baby girl. When i found out i was already 8weeks. I am now 32wks and I am going to have her via c-section. In December. 4m before I turn 20. The only think I can really say is that at least i’m not doing this on my own I dont live with my parents me and my BF live alone and he works HARD so I can stay home with the kids. I love him to death and I dont knw what I would do without him. Here are pics of my babies and me at 21wk.
After meeting the man of my dreams and spending two years dancing and modelling at 173cm and 57kg and 10d Bra size, I fell pregnant with my first son.
I quit smoking, Nightshift, Dancing, Vegetarianism and took up a healthy diet.
10 months later i weighed 85kg- I had put on 28kg.
My bra size went up to a 16EE.
After the gentle birth of my 9pd Son, I lost all the weight and was back modelling 7 months later.
My breasts were smaller and saggier, but If I dressed accordingly- I looked firm and fit.
I continued to dance and model and kept my family on a good wage and paid off my home.
We had a good quality of life and I spent a great deal of quality time with my son.
I conceived again- My second son.
This time I was 75kg pre-pregnancy weight.
At 20 weeks I quit dancing and modelling and took up office work for my partner.
Sitting on my bum in front of the Computer, Drinking Hot-Chocolate in Winter took me up to 95kg.
For a girl who relied on her looks and body to look after her family- This was disasterous.
I felt like I had let myself down, and that I had taken my income stream away.
I apologised to people why I was so fat and had a terrible time finding nice clothes that fitted well.
My 10pd Son was born unnassisted in the most amazing home water birth and His presence has been an absolute gift.
I would despair at my figure- Knowing that my partner was attracted to a thin-lean look and small breasts.
He Never mentioned anything, but I knew he was not attracted to me- As loving as he Is.
This broke my heart. I began to get jealous of Younger Girls with thin thighs hips and Arms.
At least twice a week, I would be holding my newborn and peole would ask me when the next baby was due…
I commented- “this is what you really look like after a baby for a little while…”
I would see my reflecting in the mirror and get a shock and then cringe.. I realised how judgemental of myself I had become.
I stopped going to social functions because I felt “too fat”..
I lost only 5kg after baby was born.
At 85kg and 4 months post-partum I conceived again!
I was breastfeeding and still in my maternity pants! I surrendered and decided to change my attitude and lifestyle.
I accepted my roundness and simply decided to be very healthy and exercise frequently enough to get me in good habits so I could get fit again after the birth of baby number three.
I am now 7 months pregnant and have put on 3kg with this pregnancy!
I am still quite heavy- But I am proud that I have limited my weight gain to a healthy level.
My Two sons are the Sunshine of my Life and their happy smiling faces are all I need to feel blissfully contented.
I am enjoying my new exercise routine and am quite proud that at 30 years old I have started to take responsibility to my health..
I will never be the same again- But this is the transition from maiden to mother….I am celebrating my fertility and enjoying it while I am ripe and luscious…I know that when I am older I will look back and remember these as the best years of my life- So I am making an effort to surrender and love myself for me- not for what I look like to others…Peace.
Getting here was a tough road, in more ways than one. Although I am a young mother, my boyfriend and I planned for this baby. We had previously lost two little angels, the first was an early miscarriage while the second loss was discovered at 17 weeks. We were devastated, but it helped us to realize that we were ready to begin this journey together.
Six months after my D&C, we finally conceived our son. For years I had battled with my body, hating it, always trying to improve it, trying to learn to love it. When I got pregnant all of that faded away. I loved my curves, and I often complained about not being big enough to fill out my maternity clothes the “right” way. At 36 weeks I finally developed stretch marks. I had always hoped that I would be one of the “lucky ones” but despite genetics not being on my side, I secretly loved them, too. On May 28th, right on his due date, and after 33 hours of labor, our beautiful bundle appeared and the real journey began.
A friend of mine had her baby about 8 months prior. She was back in her pre-pregnancy clothes, looking great, at three weeks. Being the same age as she, and also breastfeeding, I was sure I would be the lucky one this time around. After having the baby I developed stretch marks on my inner thighs. Thats right, *after* the baby. I no longer loved those little marks. Try as I might, I could not picture them as my battle scars. After a month I still could not even think of fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans. I was about to return to school, and I frantically bought what I called my “suck in underwear,” horrible afraid that when I walked around campus everyone would see my excess skin start to jiggle.
Along with that, I got post partum [depression?] which took a heavy toll on my relationship with both my son and my boyfriend. I was miserable. I cried every day. Breastfeeding was far more difficult than I had imagined it would be. We developed thrush which remained undiagnosed for three months, and because of the pain, I thought of my nursing relationship more like a punishment. I honestly hated motherhood, hated my relationship, and hated myself. I had wanted this after all the heartache of losing my two daughters, why was I so miserable now?
During the third month, everything changed. I got on medication. I became an avid visitor of this website. I got breastfeeding support. I cannot say I am 100% satisfied with everything about my body (admittingly, I took several pictures for this website, hoping that I could stand or suck in to look better, but I chose to post the first natural pictures that I took) Despite that, I can say that I am truly happy. I am a mother. I LOVE being a mother. I am now nearly 6 months post partem, totally off my medication, and my son is my entire world. It is a shame that it took me this long to stop worrying about every little thing. I am truly saddened that the first two months of my son’s life were wasted while I wallowed in my grief, but I am so thankful that we made it through. I am so much more fulfilled now than I can even express.
One woman commented on another person’s post in this website that this is how we are supposed to look. We aren’t supposed to look like women who haven’t had children. To that woman, I want to say thank you. That single comment changed my entire view. I know that these stretch marks and these curves are a part of me now. For better or worse, they are mine. They ARE my battle scars and battle bumps and battle curves. I still have my days where I am less than thrilled to go walking around in my underwear, but I can say that I am proud to have a mother’s body. I am proud to be a mother.
(The first picture was taken while I was in labor, the next were taken today at 6 months PP)
I had my baby girl on July 15th 2008…I have been struggling with my self about my weight since…Before I got pregnant I weighed 100 lbs and now I am 134 lbs…I am slowly adjusting to the “new look” It is not the weight so much as the lose skin I have…I gained 60 lbs with my 3rd…But everyday when I wake to see my kids smiling and playing makes all worth it!
