pregnancy doesn't "ruin" your body...

_chiaroscuro

Quoting myself because it's still so very true.:grumble:

Boo to this thread. It has descended to...well...pretty much where I knew it would. Just posting to complain, and to help this turd roll and get off my topics list.

KatLifter

Quoting myself because it's still so very true.:grumble:

Boo to this thread. It has descended to...well...pretty much where I knew it would. Just posting to complain, and to help this turd roll and get off my topics list.

ROLL

3_is_enough

You got lucky. I've had three babies, each one a little better on my body than the one before, but my stomach will always be riddled with stretch marks and loose, flappy skin. No amount of stomach tightening exercises will help this, unfortunately.

AbbyCar

No, pregnancy does not "ruin" your body. No, it is not an excuse to "let yourself go". However, pregnancy does change your body. But really, doesn't that make sense. Why should we expect to grow that miracle inside of us for nine months, to have our bodies swell and stretch, and NOT expect our bodies to look different! We are sabotaging ourselves when we think that our bodies can do all of that and still look like eighteen year olds.

3_is_enough

I have to say though, I wouldn't give up my post-baby belly for anything. It's a badge of honor and love. No matter what your belly looks like, I hope all mothers think this way. They gave life, and that's the most beautiful thing in the world.

SakuraRose13

I would love for my belly to look like yours. I weigh 15lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight but my belly is ruined.
It's not genetics, my mom doesn't have a single stretch mark on her.
Here is my belly. My youngest will be 3 in a month

You are brave by the way ,thanks for this ,my oldest turns 3 in Aug and my youngest is 14 1/2 months and well mine will probbaly resemble yours when I have lost the lat 16 lbs.

I can understand, my mom had no strecth marks and my brother was 9lbs I was 7 at birth, she weighed 98 lbs after my brother was born lucky her

Anyways kudos to you everyone is different im 4ft 10 since my belly went out and nowhere else to go .Looked pregnant only when I turned around and then it was like whoa .

SakuraRose13

When I saw the topic of this thread, I was hoping it would be about what instantly came to my mind. Our bodies were built to birth, nourish, and nurture children. Our society has deemed stretch marks ugly, and tells us to cover our c-section scars. But my stretch marks and scar are my battle wounds from bringing into the world my biggest blessing and sweetest joy. Children are a blessing, and our bodies are going to age and stretch and not look like they did when we were 18, and that's okay. Sagging breasts are testimony to nights marked by motherhood, nursing our sweet little people back to sleep. And pregnancy does leave some lasting wounds for some of us, which can be incredibly painful. But I think to call a body "ruined" that's been a bit stretched out by a burden of love is inaccurate. I think it's time to strive for healthy, and be okay if some of us don't have stretch marks and some of us do. Let's love this bodies which have bore and struggled and loved our babies, because children are so much more precious than society's standard of beauty. And let me say, I struggle with this all the time, because losing weight after having a baby has become SO much harder. But I refuse to see a body changed by giving my birth to my son as anything less than beautiful, even if I have to fight for that mindset on many days.

Yes. This!!!

Amen to this !!!

irishblonde2011

Wow I don't even have kids so it does not offend me but I am sure it will other people. I don't get why people post stuff like this.
Everyone is different and it's not for anyone to judge. Be happy in yourself and don't worry about other people and what they are doing. Good luck.

ducky715

alright, i'm going to put a thread about products which can be used to help with ab separation and stretch marks

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BlitzClipz

Yay another thread that makes me feel bad about my post baby body!!!

I was 17 when I had my daughter and I was tiny and fit (I had just started swimsuit modeling when I found out I was pregnant). I ate right, exercised, everything you're "supposed" to do to ensure a good bounce back post baby. AND I gained 60 pounds and my body was ripped up with stretch marks. My 9.7lb son made it even worse 2.5 years later.

I normally don't feel too bad about my body. I miraculously don't have any ab muscle separation and the loose skin isn't ToO horrible, besides looking like I have a C-section scar because it hangs down in precisely that spot. But my hundreds of stretch marks are a huge self esteem issue for me. I get told by my skinny, stretch mark free mommy friends that I "should have done this better or if I had just done that" blah blah blah. Yup 'cuz it's all my fault. Shame on my stupid body for not bouncing right back!!

_Wild_Card_

please roll this stinker to get it out of my post list.

KatLifter

please roll this stinker to get it out of my post list.

ROLLING

KatLifter

Rolling

KatLifter

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KatLifter

Roll

KatLifter

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KatLifter

Rolling

Pepper2185

Keep em coming! Only 62 more GIFs until the roll!

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thecakelocker

thecakelocker

HaleyxErin

Congrats for having good genetics and being young and perfect.

Some of us aren't so lucky, some of us had babies at 35, have stretch marks and had complications that caused weight gain. Try being locked into a hospital bed and told what to eat and see what happens to you.

I really don't appreciate being told how I "let myself go" because of my kidney stones and pneumonia and a list of other stuff you don't care about. I'm working hard to get back in shape and I don't appreciate your flippant attitude. One size doesn't fit all in life. Please don't pretend it does.

I'm pretty sure that isn't what she said.

Ashwee87

LOL

thecakelocker

Skratchie

isn't diet and exercise all about generalizations and anecdotal evidence? obviously there will ALWAYS be an exception to the rule.

I think in this particular case, YOU'RE the exception.

Most women don't purposely "let themselves go" during pregnancy, or even after. With my daughter I gained 18 lbs, and when I got pregnant five months post-partum with my son, I had a net gain of 2 lbs. But I was never able to achieve a "slim" look again, thanks to a botched C-Section. No matter how much work I do on my abs, how much weight I lose, or how much I want it to be true, the only thing that's going to do anything for my stomach is going to be surgery.

I prefer to think of pregnancy not as ruining one's body, because I did get two great kids out of it. I'll wear my stretch marks with pride and be content in the knowledge that while my skin might be lose, I might always have a poochy belly, and you could get to Beirut using the map on my stomach, I gave birth to and raised two phenomenal kids.

And that means more to me than the flattest stomach in the world. :-)