Third Time Mum (Anonymous)

I met my husband when I was 17yrs and he was 21yrs. This September we have been together 18yrs, and married 12yrs We had our first child when I was 23yrs. We were the only ones in our peer group to have a child that young, even though in reality, it isn’t that young! Our oldest son is now 11.5yrs old. My daughter was born 3yrs later when I was almost 27yrs, she is now 8yrs. We had one of each, and thought we were finished having babies. Then, we accidently got pregnant with our third! He has been the light of our lives, we are so blessed to have him join us. The baby was born at home last August, unexpectedly breech (I have included a photo of him with his feet near his head just after the birth!). My body has evolved over the years and the children. I am 5’2″ and in the last 18yrs, I have fluctuated in weight from 47kg – 67kg. I have breastfed all of my children till they were preschoolers, and have birthed all of my babies vaginally. I got stretchmarks each time, but not too many. Just enough to remind me of the amazing job my body has done in nourishing my family over the years. I am happy with my body. Sure, I would love to lose a few pounds, but if I had to stay how I am now for the rest of my life, that would be fine by me. pix are 25wks pg, 38wks pg, 39wks pg, 15 mins after the baby was born at home, and the last two were taken last month, 9.5mths after the birth.








Me after 3 (Anonymous)

at age 18 i was 98lbs then i find out i was pregnant at age 19 i had a beautiful lil boy after giving birth i was up to 200lbs,it took a long time for my to lose weight i got back down to 120 then at age 22 i find out again i was going to have another baby that took me up to 165 went down to 115 and once again i was pregnant at 24 i had her in march 2006 and this is what my body looks like…….but my boyfriend excepts it and he loves me so thats all i need!!!





Never been more proud (Anonymous)

I have always had self-esteem issues. But now after having had two babies, ironically I am more proud of my body now than I have ever been. Not because of the way it looks on the outside (my babies definitely left their mark!) but because it has nurtured and given life to my two beautiful and healthy babies who are now the center of my world. I am so thankful for them and for my body for giving them to me. I appreciate this website so much. Thanks!



Updated here.

Baby #3, Post #3 (Babs)

First Entry

Second Entry

The last submissions I put in were about not having any stretch marks, and a c-section recovery but baby #3 came 3 weeks overdue (and by UBAC) and weighed over 9lbs; he left his footprints when I reached about 40weeks and my fundal height crept past 43cm (it went to over 46). He came 11 months after my cesarean/childloss.

These pictures were a few weeks before birth, one during labour (an hour before birth) and one 2 months postpartum.


Updated here.

Home to Three (Anonymous)

Hi, I´m a 34 year old proud mother of three girls… and this is how my tummy looks like after that… and my breasts… and my thighs…

Sometimes its so hard… I´m always making excuses to go to the beach and makes me so sad not to have what once was a perfect body.

Saggy breasts, stretch marks, cellulite, fat… At the end it was all woth it and I´d do it again, but it still hurts me to see all this women with little clothes showing off everywhere and makes me wonder all the time if my husband its ashamed of me or if he goes around paying attention to them…

I have my days…

Stretch marks & flabby skin, OH MY! (Anonymous)

I just found out on Monday that I’m expecting our 4th child. Today (1/17/07) I’m 4w0d pregnant, so I took a belly picture. I couldn’t believe how my stomach looks, I thought it was looking better now.

My first pregnancy I weighed 135lbs and then gained 70lbs! My son did a number on my skin! Oh well, I’m proud of my service strips!

Anon

When I took this picture I had 3 children (ages 5, 3, and 1). We thought we were done. I looked at my belly and would just think about how “empty” it looked. Stretched out and empty. A few weeks later I found out we are pregnant with #4. One more person is going to grow in this belly of mine. It is just an amazing thing. After my first I would look at my reflection and be dissapointed in how I looked, but now it seems more natural. This body of mine has produced some pretty awesome people! Thanks for your site, it is helping me overcome alot of my anxiety over how my shape has changed through the years. More pictures of my beautiful “creations” can be seen at https://pottymomma.blogspot.com

Anonymous

I have debated for quite awhile now if I should post this picture. I have decided to. I have three wonderful boys and the body to prove it! But that is OK, I wouldn’t ever choose to trade them for my old body back. In this picture I am in my 8th month with my last baby. While I was pregnant each time my belly got hairy, there is so many fun aspects of motherhood…:)

This web site is such a great thing.

Nan

We found out that baby #1 was coming 2 months after we got engaged. Shocked wasn’t the word, considering that we were barely 20 years old and weren’t even sure that we ever wanted children. We decided that one baby would be delightful, and that gorgeous daughter was born in October.

Her birth taught me a lot about how important knowledgeable support and education were to birthing. I became a doula when she was 1 year old and had a thriving practice.
I also began bellydancing and around this time. Before long, I was assisting a local midwife in her practice and had the opportunity to see many beautiful home births.

5 years and 100 births or so later, we decided that another baby was a great idea. After an early miscarriage, we conceived little girlie #2. We decided to birth this baby at home.
My labor was quick and easy, and I’m still trying to decide if it was the bellydancing, the trust that I had gained from seeing so many natural births, or the simple fact that second babies are often easier to get out!

Now, nearly 7 years later, I am still attending births at home with a very busy practice; now officially as an apprentice midwife, dance 3 times a week, perform with my troupe regularly; and I teach bellydance to many of our pregnant clients as well!

I have the honor of touching many pregnant bellies. I see women use their bodies in what I consider to be two of the most powerful ways it can be used – in dancing as a tribe and while
birthing their babies. What a blessing.

Thanks for the great site and the opportunity to tell our stories.

Warmly,
Nan

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