Third Pregnancy

Finally In Love with My Body (Corinne)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Mom over 30, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 15 Comments

33 years old
2 previous pregnancies, 2 children aged 12 and 15 months
Currently 25 weeks pregnant

I got married at 20 and had my first baby 10 months after we married. I went from a UK size 10 to about a 16 during my first pregnancy and got what I thought were the most hideous stretch marks. I did get a lot of stretch marks, right across my belly and my stomach never went back to its previous size. My husband’s sex drive had never been high but after going through the birth with me it was non-existent. Our marriage lasted about a year or so more and then I ended things and moved out to live alone with our son. My already fragile confidence after experiencing a difficult teenage years was even more battered.

When my son was 2 I returned to university to study Environmental Sciences. It was the best decision I made, my son went to the university nursery and I worked hard. I loved studying and loved my degree. My confidence grew generally but the whole time I still felt I hated my body, I went down to about a size 12 but felt like a young woman who’d missed out on being able to wear skimpy clothes and bikinis. I hid my stretch marks and flabby stomach from the world. I never felt I had a pretty face, my large breasts and long legs got lots of attention and mainly I would feel like a piece of meat to men in the street. I would try and hide them when I was out, I hated the attention.

While in my 3rd year I met the man who was to become my second husband. He seemed to be a confident, good looking and loving man. He loved my hour glass figure and seemed unfazed by my stretch marked stomach, I discovered that having big breasts and hips could be a sexy thing, but I still had my dreaded stomach to hide, I regretted not loving my body more before getting pregnant. In time I learnt he had his own issues about his self image, he’d had a serious accident which had left him scarred and with a badly broken nose. At times he would have a complete melt down about himself, so we ended up 2 fragile people together and in the end the relationship failed.

Shortly after our relationship broke down I had a brief fling with a friend and fell pregnant with my second child. I was terrified; I already hated my body and was scared what another pregnancy would do to it. I was alone and thought that I was going to be on my own forever. At this point an angel friend came to my rescue and paid for a long course of counselling for me, I got on incredibly well with the counselling, worked hard, confronted some issues, learnt how to trust and I can honestly say it completely changed my life.

During this time and while I was 4 months pregnant, I met a man on a week-long residential course with work. I was much more wary of becoming involved but in the end I followed my heart and we continued to see each other and moved in together much faster than I would have thought sensible. Luckily this turned out to be the best decision I made, he was there for the 20 week scan and the birth of my second son. He is an amazing father to him and we are now happily expecting our own baby together, though for both of us it feels like our second baby together. Both my son’s see their natural fathers but both get to share the experience of having this amazing man in our lives.

The biggest difference is my own self-esteem. My partner clearly completely fancies and adores me. He is loving and supportive and we share the same ideals, hopes and dreams from life. He sees my belly, both when pregnant and after as a beautiful miracle thing which has produced beautiful children. This attitude couldn’t help but rub off on me, I am finally feeling proud of my body and the wonderful work it’s done and is continuing to do. A few days ago I asked him to take some photos of me and the bump, stretch marks and all. I felt brave, liberated and beautiful. I am so proud of these photos it seemed fortuitous to then discover this website, so I’ve decided to share them with you, this is my biggest step yet in accepting my body, especially as I’ve decided to show you my face too.

Updated here and here.

First Baby at 16 Years Old and Still Going! (Kasee)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Submissions, Teen Mom, Third Pregnancy 5 Comments

I got pregnant at 15 and had my first baby at 16. I always thought cocoa butter would not give me stretch marks and loose skin ! Let me tell you…I was wrong. I was so hurt when I see the stretch marks appear, loose skin, and breasts that sag. I knew I could never ever wear a bikini again no matter how much weight I lost. There would always be loose skin and stretch marks. My second baby at 21 – 22 I did not get anymore stretch marks or loose skin. Now I am working on number 3 and Im due Feb 20th. Still no more stretch marks or loose skin. I am trying to accept my body and how it will never change. I need to see the beauty that I made with my children and be blessed that my body held them. I should look at my body as a trophy and rewarding for my blessings. I still struggle with this. I know this site will help me.

I am 23 years old. I am on my third pregnancy. My daughter is 7 and my son is 18 months.

022811-kasee-1

Loving Myself (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Postpartum, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 7 Comments

I had 3 children, close together and it took quite the toll on both my body and my mind. I’ve struggled with depression since my oldest was born. Shes almost 5 now. It has also taken me awhile to embrace myself; my body and see it as a part of my story rather than ugly and I think I’ve finally done that. My body is amazing. It can breastfeed, birth children. My body tells a story.

~Age: 23
~Number of pregnancies and births: 3 pregnancies, 3 births
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 4.5yrs, 3yo, 19mths.

020711-anon-1

Trying to Accept My Body (MJ)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Butt, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 3 Comments

hello my name is MJ i am 23 years old have a beautiful daughter who is 4 and a handsome son who is 2 and i am currently 25 weeks pg with baby #3!! i have looked at this site on and off for over a year and it has helped my self asteem and my marriage so much so i would like to say thank you to all of you who post your stories and your pics of your HOT bods!! ive decided to post my own pics cuz i am comfortable with my body now its not perfect (it never will be) but its growing a baby inside of it and thats pretty freakin cool…. i am doing really well this pg with walking and not eating everything in site lol!! i am 5′ 8″ and weighed 193 at the start of my pg and today i way 202 (25 weeks in) i deliverd my daughter at 206 and my son at 198 so this will be the heaviest ill ever be at the end of this pg i would like to get down to 155-165 after baby is born. My weight and stretch M’s use to bother me so much but my hubby is awesome and tells me i am beautiful and he doesnt care bout my S/M’s he loves me for me the women he married and the mother of his kids!! so i couldnt really ask for a sweeter man! i hope my pics can help another person realize they are beautiful and deserving of nothing less than a wonderful self asteem and self worth!!

My Ever-Changing Body (Ashley)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Child Loss, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 12 Comments

Age 24
3 pregnancies 2 births
Children- 4.5 and 16 months

It all started when I was 19 years old. I found out I was pregnant with our daughter sometime during the end of August 2005. I was around 140-145 before I got pregnant with her and gained 51 pounds during my pregnancy, she was 10 days early. It took me awhile to start to lose weight. My daughter was around 18 months old when I finally started to exercise, I don’t know why I didn’t start sooner. I manged to get back down to my pre pregnancy weight and also lost an extra 13-15 pounds on top of that, putting me around 125-127. I was really happy with were I was at weight wise and I felt wonderful. Mind you, my daughter was about 2-2.5 by this point so it took a little while. I basically just walked a lot, became a vegetarian and eat really healthy whole foods as much as possible. My husband and I decided it was time for another baby, it happened faster then we thought, 2 months after trying we got our positive test but I miscarried that baby at 6 weeks. In those 6 weeks I gained 5lbs. So I went up to about 130. I was determined to get pregnant again, the next cycle we got another positive. I was scared but excited. I felt better with this pregnancy, it felt different. I was able to eat a good diet and drank lots of water and continued to exercise. I really didn’t want to gain another 50 pounds. My pregnancy went really well! A lot easier then the 1st and 2nd. I only gained 37lbs. Putting me at 167ish. About a week after my son was born I had already dropped 20lbs. I honestly thought it would be easier this time but I was wrong. I exercised as much as a could with 2 kids. My daughter was only a 3 years 3 months when brother was born. She still needed a lot of my attention and I was still breastfeeding her. I tandem nursed for 3 months. Then she was done. So my son is now 16 months old and a little more independent, still breastfeeding. I managed to get down to 132 and was really happy about that, but my thyroid is acting up and I’m back up to 139-140. It seems that my waist line and other measurements are going up .5 inch as well. I’m going to see my midwife on Thursday to discuss some things. I have been exercising and eating well and gaining weight. Very discouraging! It all started to go downhill after my father passed away in November 2010. I just started to wear my pedometer yesterday and I will be trying to walk 10,000+ steps a day and see if that helps.
I have always been very self conscious, it is so hard. I love having children and watching my body grow, but hate having to fit for it back :) Our plan is for me to get back into shape and start trying for our next in a couple months if God is willing!

Photo 1- 7 weeks pregnant with 3rd pregnancy
Photo 2- 41 weeks pregnant day of induction
Photo 3- 16 months postpartum
Photo 4- 16 months postpartum

My bikini days are definitely over! (Stacey)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom, Third Pregnancy 10 Comments

I’m a 25 year old mother of 2 amazing little boys, and a gorgeous baby girl. I got pregnant at 18, and had my oldest at 19. I was 110lbs when I got pregnant with him, and when I had him was 153. I gained pretty much all in my stomach, and breasts. I have stretch marks from my breasts, to my knees.. Literally! I ended up having an emergency c section after 31 hours of labor. I used to think I was a failure because I could not dialate, and give birth the “normal” way, but I’ve honestly come to terms with that now. I had a pretty OK scar from my first birth. It never really bothered me. I did have a little extra skin from getting so big, then losing so much weight. I went back down to 107 shortly after I had him.. Then eventually settled at 115. Then I married the most incredible man a few years later.. I’ve known him my whole life, but had moved away when I was 12.. We reconnected because he had joined the Army and was stationed only a few hours from me. We got married in August of 08 and started working on adding to our family immediately. Got pregnant right away, but then we lost that baby shortly after finding out we were expecting. We got pregnant again a couple months later with our youngest little boy. He was born in July of 09 when I was 24. Then.. The extra skin that I had, turned into a FLAP! I was 120 when I got pregnant with him, and only got down to 130.. When he was 6 months old.. We got the crazy idea in our head to try for a little princess.. We tried one time, and I changed my mind on the timing.. But we found out a week later we were pregnant. We were still thrilled. I only gained 18 lbs with her. I figure it’s because of my Gestational Diabetes, and the medication I was on.. Not to mention I had a 5 year old and a little boy under a year to chase.

Anyway, we had our little girl in October 2010 (she’s 2.5 months old now) and I lost 28lbs total so far.. So I lost hers and my youngest sons pregnancy weight (thaaaaaaaank you breast feeding!) I honestly could care less about the stretch marks anymore… And I have a pretty gnarly scar from my second OB/GYN who just sliced however he felt at the time.. My 3rd OB/GYN tried to fix it.. But she could only do so much.. Still.. I’m not that bothered by the c section scars. It’s the extra skin that gets me so down. I have pretty much no self confidence anymore. I mean, I have a pretty face (or so I’m told) and my boobs.. Well they look good clothed anyway.. Of course they’re a little saggy from having 3 kids, but I’ll live.. But I literally have to tuck my stomach into my pants.. Sometimes it hurts, too.. From the scar, and the skin being pinched sometimes. I see a lot of girls who just snap right back like a rubber band after having a baby, and I just want to bawl up in a corner and cry. My husband is hardly ever home. He’s always deployed, serving our wonderful country. I’m so proud of him.. But when he is home, I just never want him to see me naked. He’ll want to keep the lights on when we’re intimate.. And I want it pitch black.

Am I ever going to be OK with the way I look? Is it ever going to get better? I really want to get a tummy tuck… But I’m also pretty sick of having surgeries. I want to say a quick thank you to the person who opened this web site though. I really felt alone in these feelings for years, but I see there are a lot of wonderful mommies out there going through what I am.. And it’s so amazing to see so much support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Age:25
Pregnancies: 4
Births: 3
Children: almost 6 years, 18 months, 2.5 months

Those are both after my second child.. I look the same now, but a little less weight.
My gorgeous children

Flames (Heather)

Bonnie (SOAM) 5+ Years Postpartum, Back, Child Loss, Mom over 30, Positive Body Image/Words of Enouragement, Postpartum, Submissions, Third Pregnancy 2 Comments

I am a 37 yo mama of two children. I have been pregnant 3 times: one miscarriage, one natural birth in the hospital, and one home birth. My children are now 14 and 11 years old. I paint my stretch marks every Halloween as flames to honor the power of my body and the love I feel for my children! They have changed me body, mind, and soul.

120710-heather-1

I Feel I Will Never be Satisfied With My Body (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Submissions, Teen Mom, Third Pregnancy 15 Comments

After having my first child at age 16 eventually i got back down to my pre pregnancy weight and had a body i loved and felt beautiful in, but now that i have givin birth 2 more times in the last two years i think i have done permenent damage, i just feel i will never be happy with my body unless it looks like it did when i weighed 98 lbs…i just wish i could be thankful for the body i have! the picture is from when i was 10 weeks postpartum

age: 23
number of births: 3
age of children: 7- 22mos -4mos

I CAN Love Me, Finally (E)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Child Loss, Children with Health Complications, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Teen Mom, Third Pregnancy 16 Comments

This is a story about love,loss,,discovery and my young body’s journey through motherhood. I guess you can say my journey to motherhood has not been the easiest, but I wouldnt trade the expeirences I’ve had at my young age for anything. I found out I was pregnant with my first child a week before my 15th birthday. I found out while hospitalized for a suicide attempt, I was in the tenth grade,a straight A student, and a very battered little girl. I knew I was pregnant before they even told me, mothers intuition I suppose. As soon as it was a reality, a switch went off and I became this super woman. A strong and confident side of myself I had never encountered before. At the time I was broken up with the father, but right away we had the pressure to “make it work for the baby sake”, which I had a ” whatever” attitude about over the next 8 months. I was an extremely athletic cheerleader. I was 5’3 and 105lbs. Which for my build, was underweight. Ribs and backbones protruding etc. Which oddly was the most confident I had ever been about my body in my entire life. Ive always had a horrible body image for as long as I can remember. At 34 weeks pregnant I found out my son had a heart defect, I was born and raised in Alaska and they didnt have any doctors that could treat a condition of that severity, so I had one day to go home, pack, and ship myself and my mother off to Seattle. Long story short, I had a horrible birth and UW Hospital 9/11/2006 and my beautiful baby boy was immideatly taken to Childrens Hospital. I stopped weighing myself at 185lbs 6 weeks prior to his birth. I literally felt like two of myself. I went from a 34A to a 38DD. My son had open heart surgery at 4 days old, left the hospital at 3 weeks old, and spent 3 weeks at home in Alaska with us before his time here ran out. He was the most precious person I have ever encoutered and changed my life forever. I lost 30lbs right after delivery, but after his loss, I was left with ” this big,fat,strecthed out version of my old self” In my eyes I was huge going from a size 00 to a size 12 and then not having my sweet baby was a recipe for depression. I managed to get myself down to about 130(due to stress mostly) and 9 months post-partum with my son, I found my self pregnant again, this time a sweet baby girl, at the ripe age of 16. Her pregnancy was amazing, I was still self consious but I didnt really show with her until almost my 7th month and after her beautiful water birth, my healthy baby girl was here on 3/1/2008. Mine and her fathers relationship was one for the record books. He was an addict,thief,liar, and everything in between. I raised my daughter by myself, despite the fact we were actually together. After nearly 3 years of abuse I had enough, I took my daughter and moved to Washington from NC(long story how we ended up there), he was soon on his way here, all of a sudden about my daughter. He managed to come and do his damage here aka drug me, rape me, and take pictures and then leave the state. I was mortified ( found the pictures in his jeans pocket, eww). I filed charges and he skipped across the country, never looking back. After years of never “being good enough” skinny enough, flat enough, to deserve to be faithful or loving to. Once he was out of my life, I was left with, What the hell do I do now. What guy at my age is going to be interested in a battered, single mother, and an 18 year old body that has been torn apart by babies? In steps prince charming :). My body took along time to recover from two babies in 18 months. I was left saggy, stretched marked from breast to calf,cellulite, and so self critical it was sickening.At random my crush from middle school(who was everyones crush) messaged me just to say hi, and then began talking to me rather frequently and for the first time in a long time I just let my guard down and let him see the good, the bad, and the ugly right from the start. Assuming he would run away kicking and screaming I kept going, he kept staying. He was a risk,a ladies man, life of the party, insatiably good looking, and everything I never had the confidence to go after previously. This man fell in love with me just the way I was, stretched marked, battered and broken, and told me everyday what a beautiful person I was. At a time I should have felt my best I was more body conscious then ever.This body was not what he was used to looking at,and I did everything I did to hide it. This man left his whole life in Alaska and moved to Washington to be with me, switched companies, and never looked back. So here I sit 19 years old 15 weeks pregnant with my third child, another boy and Im learning to love my body for exactly what it is intended to be, a baby factory.Its an amazing beautiful thing to be born with an ability to give life to another human being from the most beautiful source, the person that you love. So I don’t look like Heidi Klum 3 weeks post par tum but who cares. My body grows, nutures, and feeds another human being and you have to be thankful for just that. It has taken me a long time to appreciate just what my beautiful baby factory can do. I know this story is long but I want to offer encouragement to any mother with a poor self image, anyone who had been sad, battered, and broken and tell you that yes you are beautiful and that there are people who will love and appreciate you for just the amazing person that you are. There is no mold for motherhood. We are the trendsetters in our own lives and now that I have a daughter I hope she can learn and appreciate the female body the way it looks in real life and not what you see on t.v. Its a constant battle for us, but its worth every scar!

Children are: Would have been 4, 2 1/2, and 15 weeks pregnant.
Age:19
Weight 105-185,130-155,115-120 pregnant
Height 5’3

Picture # 1 is 40 weeks pregnant with baby number one
Pic # 2 is my precious boy at 5 weeks old
Pic #3 is 8 months post partum
Pic #4 is the day I went into labor with my daughter
Pic #5 is about 6 months post partum
Pic#6 is my little diva
Pic #7 was 2 years post partum
Pic#8 is my current 15 week bump

Update – I Had My Baby! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Child Loss, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Third Pregnancy, Update 7 Comments

~Age: 24
~Number of pregnancies and births: 3 pregnancies, 1 birth
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 2 1/2 weeks postpartum

My previous entry is here – Since then, I’ve had my baby! The day that I turned 36 weeks my water broke. It was about 6 am. We had gotten to the hospital within 10 minutes since we knew that my cerclage would need to come out. My doctor came in and immediatly got set up to remove the stitch. This is a procedure that is usually not painful at all, but sadly, for me it was. The doctor tried and tried but the stitch was embedded into my cervix and the pain was excrutiating. The doctor gave up and it was off to the OR for a C section. My baby was born on September 28, 2010 at 10 am. He weighed 6 lb 4 oz and was 18 1/4 inches long. He is a good size for preemie! We had a 5 day hospital stay because of the C section and the baby was a bit jaundice. He is home now though and is doing great! I truley love him more than anything in the world. I am breastfeeding and it’s really been rough on me but I am doing my best and baby is gaining weight! It’s been two and a half weeks postpartum and I’ve gone from 152 pounds down to about 130. I am almost at my prepregnancy weight but my stomach is still flabby with stretch marks. I have that stupid little flab that hangs over the C section scar. Oh well.. it was all worth it for my little man. I have lots of pictures here for ya :) The first is my last pregnancy photo at 35 weeks.. I was huge!, the next is my boyfriend holding our little boy after my C section, the next is my first look at my little guy.. so in love!, next is my little guy!, then it’s me about 2 1/2 weeks postpartum, and then a picture of my lovely stretch marks!, and last is a picture of me and my little man. Thanks for reading! :)