Original entries here and here.
I have posted recent photos of me twice before, but now I have a beautiful drawing a friend did, from the only photo I have of me pregnant, almost 26 years ago, 2 days before my son was born. I am going to display this in my lounge – my sons and some friends may be prudish but I have no shame and am so proud of this lovely, sensitive drawing he did especially for me.
Original entry here.
i had liam april 10 via cesarean at 11:53, 7 lbs 15 oz, 19 in. he is very healthy, although i am still so scared to lose him. it has been a very emotional month…the 1 year anniversary since connor passed was may 1st. i miss him so much, he would have loved his little brother! i know he is in heaven watching over us and making his baby brother smile! liam is amazing and i love him just as i love connor. i will be posting my body at another time…but that is not what matters right now, it gave me the 2 greatest boys ever!
pics:
connor
me the night before i had liam
liam at birth
liams 2nd walk and my connor shirt
liam and mommy 1 month pp
I’m a 20 year old single mother to a beautiful baby boy and I HATE my new body. Before I got pregnant I was 5’8 138lbs and wore a size 4. I gained 55lbs while I was pregnant and I did nothing but sit and eat. All I did was eat and I regret more then anything. My doctor knew I was going to have a large baby so I was induced 2 days before my due date. I was in labor for 30 hours when finally a nurse felt my stomach and realized my son was sunny side up. I was then prepped for a C-section. My son was born March 3, 2009 weighing in at 9lbs 8oz and 21.5 inches.
The first time I look in the mirror and saw my new body was 2 days after the c-section. I was getting in the shower and got a glance of myself in the mirror. WHAT? Is that me? I was so disgusted with the was I looked.. Every time I took a step I felt my fat jiggle. I cried the whole time in the shower looking at my legs and my stomach. My stomach was covered in stretch marks up to my belly button, despite my effort to religiously moisturize it. My once tight and firm tummy looked like a road map was on it.
11 weeks PP now. I’m weighing in at 150. I’m of course happy that I’m loosing weight quickly, but the stretchmarks still remain.. And that’s what hurts the most. I feel ugly and unattractive still. I live in walking distance to the beach and I used to just put on my little bikini and walk to the beach and I’m incredibly depressed I can’t wear a bikini anymore. I had a great figure before I got pregnant and now I just look gross. I’m so insecure with the way I look. I feel I will never feel good about my body again. My breast were once a small B are now a full C small D. I’m breastfeeding and I can already tell my breast will not be the same once I’m finished breastfeeding.
I love my son more then anything and I would rather look the way I do now then not have him but I’d definitely looking into treatments to reduce the appearance of my stretchmarks.
The first 3 photos are me pre-pregnancy and the last 3 are of my stomach (currently 11 weeks PP)
Updated here.
Original entry here.
age: 18
1 pregnancy, 1 birth
1 month PP
I posted about a month ago. I was expecting my child on the 9th of April… Well he came! April 7th, at 10:50pm weighing 8lbs 4oz and measured 21.5″ long! We planned a home water birth. We barely had time to make the water part work because he came so fast, but it was just what we wanted, and more! In my earlier post I had shared my fears about my coming PP body and how this website was helping me get over them, not in the way that I wouldn’t look different, but that my body would be something to embrace instead of loath. I prepared myself for the worst, maybe if I hadn’t already been learning to embrace my body I would have still been upset and disappointed with my body. What I DIDN’T expect was to have the opposite reaction! Instead of just accepting my post baby body I actually love it! I have curves now, my belly and sides are still riddled with stretch marks, but they are barely visible, and my tummy skin is soft as can be. Im still about 30 pounds from my starting weight at 130something (I think, we dont own a scale) but I dont ever want to get that skinny again, this body is too enviable in my eyes! When I delivered my son, Levi, I was 196lbs, so to be down to 160 already is quite encouraging, but I have no problem if I platau here and dont loose anymore for months! Maybe I lost so much because I’m breastfeeding, but who knows.. Just wanted to share my utter joy with all the ladies on here!
1st: 3 hours before Levi was born
2nd: bringing our son into the world
3rd: 1 day pp
4th: 1 week pp
5th: 1 week pp
6th: 2 weeks pp
7th: 3 1/2 weeks pp
8th: 3 1/2 weeks pp
9th: my little treasure
As I come towards the end of my pregnancy it surprises me that life is so fragile. I have seen my body grow from fat to another human being. However what takes my breath away is the loss of my bellybutton. It has not gone to being flat or popped out instead it sits in a strange stage looking like a pair of lips. My husband looks and says to me “your belly button reminds me of lips like a puffer fish.” I can honestly say I am jealous of those who’s belly buttons look perfectly flush or popped out.
~Your Age: 28
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2nd pregnacy, 0 births
~The age of your children, or how far postpartum you are: 35 weeks pregnant
Updated here.
I got pregnant with spontaneous triplets when i was 20. I had them two months early on july 1st 2007. At 21 i got pregnant again with my last baby and it was only one! He is now two months old and growing wonderfully! He had to be 3 weeks early because of my previous c-section. They had to cut a J incision to get my oldest triplets head out so i had a higher risk of rupturing my uterus if i had gone into labor with my newest child. When my husband and i got pregnant with Brennan i hadnt lost the weight or the skin from the triplets. Ive never been happy with my body until i got pregnant. I wish sometimes i could always look and feel that way i loved my body with a big baby bump even though i was so huge. now that we had our 4th child i had to get my tubes tied. We are in the military and I dont know if i could handle being pregnant again and tring to take care of 4 babies at the same time. With the last pregnancy i was alone my husband and just been deployed to iraq. Luckily he was able to come home before Brennans c-section. I am definately in love with my children and i cant imagine being without them. they make everyday different for me and super exciting. I had a lot of people tell me “god bless you” or “im sorry” when they see me out with my kids. I guess they have no idea how much fun it is to have multiples. Yes there are hard times the good always out weighs the bad. With my body i wish i could be like some of the younger girls who have one baby and go right back to the way they were before they had a baby, but of course having had 4 babies in 2 years the chances of that werent there. I look at myself and shrug but i know that i made wonderful babies and would never take it back. My husband loves every part of me and sometimes i wonder why but i know its because he appreciates what i did to have our children. I wish i could look like a normal 22 year old but then again what “normal” 22 year old has put their body through this? It makes me smile also sometimes when i see the tattoo on my belly and how messed up it is becuase then i remember how wonderful i felt while i was pregnant and how much im going to miss going through it again. But now i get to enjoy my babies and watch them grow and i can finally run around with them and not be out of breath. I could have never pictured my life like this but i guess thats the way god works everything is a surprise and he gave me the best surprise ever! The picture of my belly is 2 months PP from my last son. The names of my children are Riley Chloe and Aiden and our youngest is Brennan!
age: 22
2 pregnancies 2 months PP
Triplets age 2
Brennan 2 months
triplet pregnancy, second pregnancy, four children
Updated here.
I submitted here when my daughter was 12 months old.
I’d like to say that I’ve reached my weight loss goal over the last six months, but the truth is that the scale has barely budged a pound. I’ve been running three times a week, though, and have started to really enjoy it. I’m noticing some changes in my body, my clothes are definitely fitting better, and I’m learning that exercise isn’t just about losing/maintaining weight, but that it also has a huge mental health component. Like most women who post on this site, I struggle with body image. What frustrates me the most is that, when I am feeling stress about anything, I take it out on my body and attack myself.
My husband an I are considering a second pregnancy at the moment, and I really struggle with the idea of being pregnant before I reach my post-partum weight. What frightens me more, however, is that I suffered from depression during my first pregnancy and afterwards, and though it was treated fairly early on and I’ve recovered wonderfully, I am terrified of going through it again. I am speaking with a counselor at the moment about my fears, and am trying to accept my body the way it is and to stop wanting to change it. Life is too short, I think all of the time. I wish I could just shut off the part of my brain that focuses on hating my body. I have a daughter I love so much, and the idea of her suffering in this way just makes me want to weep. I know that I need to learn to love my own body before I can teach her that she is perfect just the way she is (even though of course I will teach her that.) I want to be a role model for her– of someone who might not fit the ridiculous physical ideal of our culture, but who loves herself inside and out. Thanks to everyone on here for posting their stories. We are all beautiful.
These photos are of me 18 months post-partum.
Updated here.
Previous entry can be seen here.
Here I am at 21 weeks with our second child. I would be happy to keep you guys posted on this pregnancy with progression pic submissions from this point out but I just don’t want to steal space from others. I’d like to invite all to shoot me an email to chat at rachelsigfried@yahoo.com.
Updated here.
Im 19 and im still coming to terms that my body changed. I gave birth 21months ago and I thought my body would go back to normal like when my mother gave birth to me but no that didn’t happen. I wasn’t skinny before but a normal weight for my body I just thought that it would be the same but no. My partner tells me i shouldn’t care or worry he loves me no matter what and has told me my tummy has gone down more
But its what i feel.
~Age:19
~Number of pregnancies and births: 1 pregnancy
~The age of your child: 21 months
Photo 1 is me today.
Photo 2 is me pregnant.
Photo 3 the last day I was pregnant.
Photo 4 My pride and joy. Daughter.
Updated here.
I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant. I was scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time. Ive never been the thinnest girl walking around, but I didn’t realize how nice my body was, until after I became pregnant. I had an easy pregnancy for the most part. I traveled a lot, to and from Australia where my boyfriend was from. He ended up leaving me when i was 32 weeks pregnant and I had to move back to Canada. My body went through hell and back after he left me. I kept losing weight because I was so depressed and my doctors started to worry about me. I gained all together about 30lbs even though near the end I lost some. I got stretch marks starting at 4 months. No matter what I tried, and how many times a day I put it on, they kept coming. I hated it. My son was born a healthy 6lbs 13oz on November 22, 2008. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and all my worries and stress just floated away the second I saw his face. Being a single mother is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I’m sure Its going to be a struggle everyday for years to come. But when I see my son smile, it takes away all those fears, on that day, that I may have. Everyday when I see the stretch marks, and saggy skin on my belly and my uneven saggy breasts from nursing, I hate myself a little bit more. I wish I could have appreciated my old body, before becoming pregnant. I’m trying to see the beauty in the stretch marks, and the fact I grew an amazing son inside of me for 9 months, but it is hard. I try to tell myself that I am still good looking but the truth is, I cannot stand to look at my self in the mirror most days. I haven’t had a chance to start going to the gym, I don’t have the time. Between trying to take care of him and myself and our busy life, there just isn’t time to fit in a work out. One day, I hope Ill love my body again. Until then, Ill just do what I know I can do best, and that is raise my son to be a loving, caring man.
My age – 20
Number of pregnancies and births – 1
I am 4.5 months postpartum
