Twins

1 1/2 Years PP After Twins (Fraternal Twin Mommy)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Twins 18 Comments

Previous entry here.

Age during delivery: 32
Current age: almost 34
Number of pregnancies: 1
Age of twins: 1 1/2

I posted a short blurb a while ago about my experience, but I didn’t really get to elaborate on my story because I’m pretty sure one of my boys needed my attention at the time! At 8w3d I found out I was pregnant with twins. I remember the U/S tech saying to me “I have something special to tell you! It’s twins!” Joy was not the first thing that came to me. The first thing I blurted out was, “Oh god. I’m definitely going to have stretch marks now!” I didn’t escape getting them, but they are very faint. I got them 1 1/2 weeks before I had my c-sec! I was up for two night worrying about them. Lame, I know. I worked out the entire time during my pregnancy and gained 25 pounds. I’m only 5’2 and started out at 104 pounds so 25 extra pounds on my frame was a lot..and my back..my poor back! Ouch. At 33 weeks I went into what they thought was pre-term labor and was sent to the hospital for over night observation. Up until then, I had no problems. I would have a contraction and Baby B’s heartrate would drop very low. This happened a couple of times and the doctors and nurses thought that he was pulling on the umbilical cord. Little prankster! :) At 37 weeks the doctors decided that I have a c-section because the placenta was wearing out. One baby was breech, so I could not have a natural birth. I’m actually fine with having a c-section. It’s what I wanted. Little did I know how painful recovery was going to be! Both my boys were born at healthy weights (for twins) at 5.13 and 4.12 and they went home with me. I’m still working on my body and have just started doing transverse abdominal exercises to flatten/tighten the lower half of my abs. I did get slight muscle seperation so getting my abs back is going to be a challenge. I don’t know why I’m just NOW (1 1/2 years later!) working on my abs. I’m still VERY self conscious about my stomach and I hate my stretch marks but I’m learning to accept them. I even threw out all my bikinis! I’d love to have a 3rd baby, but I’m scared to death as to what it put my body through. It’s been a constant struggle. I am back down to my prepregnancy weight of 104, but I’m still a work in progress…mentally.

1st pic- 1 1/2 years PP
2nd pic- 1/2 years PP
3rd pic- New Years and about 35 weeks (sorry about the face..haha I was very uncomfy!)
4th pic- Mother’s Day 2009
5th Pic- My boys at 18 months

Twin Tummy, 5 yrs Post-partum (Anonymous 83)

Bonnie (SOAM) 5+ Years Postpartum, Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins 18 Comments

I’m 33 now, our oldest son is 8 and the twins (boy & girl) are 5. Both pregnancies were term and all babies big and healthy (Oldest son – 8lbs, 9oz…twin daughter – 6lbs, 9oz…twins son – 7lbs, 6oz). Twins had to be induced at 40 weeks + 1 day (40 weeks is term for twins)… I was fortunate not to need a c-section and the deliveries were safe, and uneventful (except that it was x2 !). I was so proud of myself for carrying the twins so long and growing them so big and healthy inside me. Never even considered what that massively stretched tummy might look like after they vacated. Hmmm.

My pride for creating and delivering 3 healthy kiddos outweighs my vanity when I consider how my stretchy tummy came to be. But I don’t think of my loose skin and stretch marks are ‘badges of honour’ — I would be quite happy to be rid of them soon (I’m saving for a tummy tuck and hope to have it completed before I am 40)… just as one wouldn’t think twice about getting braces for a child with badly aligned teeth… I don’t think there is anything wrong with altering your body to better represent how you feel about yourself (I don’t feel like a woman with a poochy tummy — I still feel like a hot mama!). But until I change my tummy, this is what it looks like…I don’t mind it… I don’t mind my husband and kids seeing it, I don’t mind sharing it with other moms. But it’s not the way I want the rest of the world to see me, so I wear clothes that keep it under wraps and lord knows NO BIKINIS!

Counting my blessings & keeping it in perspective (but still checking myself out in the mirror :)

081209-anon83-1

I brought 6 amazing people into the world, if you don’t like my body, don’t look! (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, Four or More Pregnancies, Positive Body Image/Words of Enouragement, Postpartum, Submissions, Twins 28 Comments

28 yrs old, 5 pregnancies, 6 children (twins), 3 weeks postpartum

I am a 28 year old mom of 6 beautiful children. I have 10 year old twin girls, 8 and 6 year old boys, a 4 year olds and just gave birth to our 4th girl 3 weeks ago. I am always told that I look “great for having that many kids”…I feel that although my body has changed…quite alot with every pregnancy that the changes that remain are a small price to pay for being lucky enough to be a mother to these beautiful babies. My once perky D’s…are sadly no longer perky…They have breastfed 5 children and are currently nursing the newborn…I don’t think any new stretch marks have appeared but those I have are faded…but visible, my belly is wrinkly. I dont care…I still wear a bikini. The people who want to judge us…well they obviously aren’t mothers. But alas, one day we ALL age and our bodies WILL change…that is life…why waste time worrying about that? Let’s rejoice in our ability to create and bring to life new people!!

(Third photo is updated at seven months postpartum – Jan 2010)

Update: 22, Surviving Newborn Twins and a 2yo (Sierra)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Cesarean Scar and/or Incision, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins, Update 16 Comments

I recently posted on here when i was 2 weeks postpartum with twins. I am now 5 weeks postpartum and wanted to share with everyone the update. My girls are doing fabulous. They are both breast feeding like champs and since birth have each gained 2lbs!! My 2 yr old is doing so great with them, he is a very big help and doesn’t show any jealousy towards his little sisters at all. I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of children, they are my life! Again this website has been very inspiring and i absolutely love it!! I am very self conscious of my body and myself, but then again there are very few women who aren’t, this website has taught me that no matter what i am a mother and i am beautiful and it’s bc of my children that i am who i am. My stretch marks are beginning to fade ( i didn’t get very many, which i was completely surprised about carrying twins and being so small) and my stomach has gone down drastically since my 2 week postpartum picture, i was very concerned and worried about muscle separation in my stomach and have since learned that there wasn’t any and i’m very thankful and blessed…just wanted to share my update i will continue to update as time goes by and my twins continue to grow.

pic #1: 5 weeks postpartum front view w/ incision from c-section
pic #2: 5 weeks postpartum side view
pic #3: My twins
pic #4: My son

Updated here.

1 Year Postpartum With Twins (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, HELLP Syndrome, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Twins 18 Comments

1 year postpartum with twins
anonymous
29 yrs old

I gave birth to twins last July, time really does fly when you have kids!

My little girl weighed in at 6lb2oz and my little boy at 6lbs14oz. I made it to 38 weeks and had a scheduled c-section. I was huge as you can tell from my pic. I am a pretty small person so it was really rough at the end carrying around of the 53 pounds I gained with the pregnancy. I developed HELLP syndrome at the very end, it wasn’t discovered until the morning of the delivery strangely enough.

I am okay with how my body looks most of the time now, although I do miss my old perfect stomach that I will never have back. I was going to buy a one piece swimsuit for the summer but I thought “why should I cover up my wrinkly twin skin? I should be proud and show off the belly that produced my two absolutely perfect, beautiful babies. :)

Although…. if I could get rid of the damn stretchmarks I would in a heartbeat!

22, Surviving a 2yr Old and Newborn Twins! (Sierra)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins, Update 18 Comments

Age: 22
Number of pregnancies: 2, 3 children
Age: 2 yrs old, and 2 week old twins (2 weeks postpartum)

I had my first child, my son at age 20, he was 7lbs 11oz born vaginally and perfect in every way! i got thru the entire pregnancy no stretchmarks or anything lost all the baby weight and then some by the time he was 10 mos old, and was in better shape than i had been in high school! 5 mos after his 1st birthday i found out i was pregnant, at 9 wks 4days i found out i was expecting twins!! I freaked!! My bf has 2 sets of fraternal twins in his family and i have 2 sets of twins in my family so i guess it was inevitable!! i was very scared at first and later elated! our twin girls were born 4 days before my son’s 2nd birthday on May 19th 2009, at 36wks 6days, both were in the Nicu due to breathing problems 5 days after birth we got to bring the smaller of the twin girls home she weighed 4lbs 14oz at birth and 10 days later we finally got to bring our other baby girl home she weighed 5lbs 8oz!! I should say i’m very luck i gained a little over 45lbs during my pregnancy and have minimal stretchmarks, i’ve already lost 24lbs after just 14days and hoping to lose the rest fairly quickly…I’m totally in love with all of my children and they are a complete blessing to me, i must say i was completely mortified at how my stomach would look postpartum and i guess i should say i’m rather lucky and after seeing so many other posts i should think i have nothing to complain about. there are so many strong and wonderful women on here and this is truly a beautiful and inspiring website!!

Pic #1 & 2: 14 mos postpartum w/ my son
pic #3 & 4: 8 mos preg w/ twins
pic # 5: 14 days postpartum w/ twins…

Updated here and here.

3 pregnancies, 2 children, and pregnant with what we think are multiples! (Leigh)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Child Loss, Four or More Pregnancies, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Twins 11 Comments

Hi ladies! I am a (25 year old) mother of 2 right now, and pregnant for the 4Th time! We were pregnant with natural fraternal twins in 2004, but sadly lost them due to complications @ week 12. Now we are pretty sure we’re expecting twins again, if not more. We are both terrified and excited at the same time, it’s crazy!

I got a positive EPT on 3/19 then took 3 more because I thought they were lying to me. I had NO symptoms at all, which is odd for me. With my other 3 pregnancies I threw up if I even HEARD the word eggs & heaven help anyone within 5 feet of me if I smelled any kind of meat cooking.

I ended up in the ER 2 days later with spotting & cramps. They checked for a heartbeat, and found none. Since my periods are random I got an U/S to find out a due date & to check on baby. I hear this “Oh dear. I see 2 sacks but 1 may be a blood-pocket, so don’t worry if you have more bleeding.” I got no other information, and was terrified.

Well I got home and ended up searching the net for 7+ hours for blood pocket info. Then started freaking out about it, and then started relaxing when I saw that many women have had them and not lost their babies. Still I was/am scared and my OB couldn’t get me in until 4/26! I just want to know how many little humans I’m growing and if they’re OK.

I am 10 weeks along now and have gained 20lbs already! My 1st preg. I gained 13lbs, and got SM’s on my butt and breasts. #2 I gained maybe 15lbs and preg. ended at 12 weeks. #3 I gained 40lbs, became a Gestational Diabetic, expanded the SM’s on my butt (I couldn’t stop itching it) plus new ones on my thighs.

I think I am going to gain a lot more, and will probably get more SM’s, maybe even on my tummy this time. Being just 25, and having body image issue anyhow, I worry about it. Especially if it IS twins! I am scared to see the aftermath. What if hubby doesn’t want to touch me after? I already worry about that now, and have few stretch marks. :(

I want to share my some pictures with you all, and I plan to take a new picture every week to build a collage. Finding this site has helped me see that 1) I am NOT alone in my feelings & fears; 2) Bodies after birth are BEAUTIFUL, they really really are; and 3) Our bodies really don’t look as bad as we think they do!

Pic #1 – 8 1/2 months pregnant with my daughter
Pic #2 – 8 weeks along with my son.
Pic #3 – 16 weeks along with my son.
Pic #4 – 9 weeks current preg.
Pic #5 – 10 weeks with current preg.

I dunno, I am pretty sure its twins if not more, but that is just my opinion! Well thank you for reading this, and looking at my pictures. Hopefully I will keep taking pictures up until the end, and hopefully post partum as well to share!

3 Children in 3 years (twins) Coming to terms with the change (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Cesarean, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins 13 Comments

I found out that i was expecting twins at 19 years old and was then a very slim toned girl, the pregnancy was difficult throughout and i was not lucky when it came to stretch marks. They covered my whole stomach, way up past my bellybutton. They were Very thick, severe purple looking marks and it looked like i had flames tatoo’d up my stomach! I cried, my boobs were hanging low with thick deep marks also. I considered surgery, wouldn’t allow anyone to see me naked and felt the constant worry of my top coming up in public. I then went on to have my third child, my son. My son is now 2 and a half and my girls are almost 5. Im a 25 year old woman and i am starting to appreciate my body. I love my curves and my body shape but i still have strong issues with my war wounds. I compare myself to others my age who have no kids and feel sad that i will never look that way again. I wanted to post here though mainly to show that scars do fade, my stretch marks are hardly visible now and i wish i had a photo of how viscious they were initially. Anybody with new stretch marks that is upset by them, you will feel better about them one day. I never thought i would wear a bikini again yet last year i decided that i am going to embrace what i have and be thankfull for the beautiful kids that i have. If stretch marks were money then i paid alot, but my kids were worth every one.

Uncomfortable in my own skin (Becky)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Pregnant, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Twins 13 Comments

Age: 29
2 pregnancies and 3 births
Ages of children: 8yo, 4 mo twins (4 months 1 week postpartum)

My life has been about many journeys. My husband and I got married when we were 18. Of course most people thought I was pregnant… I got pregnant at 20 and had our daughter right before I turned 21. It was a pretty uneventful pregnancy with no complications. Natalee arrived on her due date October 20th 2000. I was about 175 lb when I got pregnant with her and gained 50 lbs with her landing me at 225 on the day I gave birth. She left me with a road map of stretch marks from my belly button down to my pubic area. I was able to lose about 30 lbs after her birth and stayed around 195 or so for the last 8 years.

I can’t say I was entirely happy with how heavy I was, but I did like the curves that came with gaining a little weight. In January of 2008, my husband and I decided (after much begging!) to have one more baby. And so another journey begins. I went off the pill and by February 2008 I was pregnant. I was so happy! I had my first OB appointment on March 28th… I will NEVER forget that day because it changed our entire life as we know it. My OB did my first ultrasound and discovered I was carrying twins! I thought I was going to pass out on the table… I think I went through every emotion in the book!! We found out in May that they were boys and 70% chance identical. Again I had a very uneventful pregnancy. No issues with high blood pressure, no scares, no hospital visits… I could no longer bend over once I hit 25 weeks… and by 36 weeks I was begging to be induced. He finally induced me on October 20th 2008…. If your keeping track, that was also my daughters birthday. I went in to the hospital at 11 am had my water broken and pitocin started by 1:30 pm and was rolled into the OR at 3:30 pm. Silas arrived at 3:59 pm and Marcus at 4:05pm. Marcus was a little harder delivery because he was breech. He did not breath right away and once he did start breathing his apgar scores were very low (3 and 5).

They are 4 months old now. When I look at my body in the mirror, its not mine. I don’t know where I am, but its not me that I see. I see a woman with stretchmarks and fat rolls and breasts that are obscene and gross…. Don’t get me wrong… I am thankful every day for the wonderful job my body did in carrying my babies. I gained 46 with my boys and have only managed to lose 20 so far. I am uncomfortable in my own skin… and I don’t like the feeling… So now I begin a new journey to find me inside here…

The pictures are 25 weeks, 32 weeks, 36 weeks 3 days, 4 months pp, and my happy boys.