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

Cadori

Congratulations on having the genetics that allow you to be stretchmark free and for not having your abdominal muscles separate. :flowerforyou:

Mamahana82

I recognize you meant this as a motherhood empowerment post, OP. But this is a blanket statement that treats every woman like all our bodies are the same and unintentionally implies those who don't have bodies that return to normal or better are simply not working hard enough. It's like making a blanket statement that no woman should ever gain more than 50 pounds being pregnant. Or you can prevent any stretch marks with putting lotion on your belly. It doesn't work that way! Sure, there is no reason to throw in the towel without trying to look the best you can after having children, but it isn't possible for some women to look and be physically in the state they were before motherhood.

glovepuppet

vile thread title. vile attitude. the attractive body isn't enough to compensate.

stretchmarks aren't exercised away.
diastasis recti can't be exercised away.
the nerve damage that makes it difficult to orgasm isn't exercised away.

and none of the above were caused by letting myself go.

but yay you, etc. it's always nice to see someone belittle other people's issues.

kawickham85

lol. perfect pregnancy. if you call having hyperemesis and vomitting several times a day, every single day for 4 months straight perfect. I realize that not everyone bounces back as quickly as i did. recently, i heard someone say they dont want kids because they dont want their body to be 'ruined'. i posted this to show people that having kids does not automatically ruin your body. hell, i look better than almost all my childless friends. am i bragging about it? hell ya i am because i'm proud of it.

ctalimenti

It really depends on your individual skin integrity.

I had one child and never any stretch marks. He was 7.5 lbs.

I've seen some real roadmaps for abdomens though.

caterpillardreams

I agree with the idea that pregnancy and motherhood are not excuses to "let yourself go."

I disagree with the "Look at me, if I did it, so can you" thing.

I have split abdominals that no amount of crunching or lifting will heal. Only a surgeon can put those back together. You can reach down to my guts through my belly.

I have stretch marks all over. I look like I got mauled by a tiger.

I have loose skin in my belly from having my huge husband's gigantic offspring.

I am not you. Parts of my body are badly damaged from pregnancy, and that's okay. Do not hold everyone up to your standards.

I have had one hernia surgery and will have to have another because of my pregnancies. I had horrible back pain while pregnant, and I was very active for my first, Ate a little too much for my second. But I know there are stretch marks I can not take away, I am an active person, but there are also hormonal changes, I lost hair after my 1st pregnancy.
for some women I have seen them spring back to teensy weensy in a week, for most not so easy, and I actually worked very very hard to get back in to shape.
genetics play a role, and so do our choices.

Oh yeah and my boobs look like rocks in socks, They were always small but now they are deflated and small. LMAO

Good for you though, I would be happy if I could get back sooner,
Its a good thing we have the chance to change if we want, unless there is some medical issue.

sarahann513

I'm with a few of the other people on here. When you are thin pre-pregnancy, it is likely that your belly will bounce back. I however was overweight before I got pregnant and have come to accept the fact that my belly will never look normal. I also don't want anyone to feel inferior or bad about themselves if they are in the same situation as me. Everyone is different, and pregnancy does affect some people's bodies. I have a section that covers from hip to hip on my lower belly in the front that is just fat. I'm back down to a weight where I should be able to wear most of my jeans again, but cant because of the extra that sits there now. I know its a combo of the extra skin left from pregnancy and the extra weight that I already had on me.

Mamahana82

lol. perfect pregnancy. if you call having hyperemesis and vomitting several times a day, every single day for 4 months straight perfect. I realize that not everyone bounces back as quickly as i did. recently, i heard someone say they dont want kids because they dont want their body to be 'ruined'. i posted this to show people that having kids does not automatically ruin your body. hell, i look better than almost all my childless friends. am i bragging about it? hell ya i am because i'm proud of it.

You still must misunderstand. Bouncing back quickly or not still implies that all women can eventually bounce back and many women will not have the same body that they had pre-pregnancy. Period. I'm happy for you that you feel you look better than some childless friends, though by stating so you sound like the more childISH friend. You should be proud of it. But the woman who lost her baby weight and still has scarring and stretch marks and extra skin does not have her pre-pregnancy body back, can still feel as though pregnancy ruined her body, and should still feel like she is as empowered and proud as you. It is possible to be proud of yourself without putting down other people.

caterpillardreams

I'm with a few of the other people on here. When you are thin pre-pregnancy, it is likely that your belly will bounce back. I however was overweight before I got pregnant and have come to accept the fact that my belly will never look normal. I also don't want anyone to feel inferior or bad about themselves if they are in the same situation as me. Everyone is different, and pregnancy does affect some people's bodies. I have a section that covers from hip to hip on my lower belly in the front that is just fat. I'm back down to a weight where I should be able to wear most of my jeans again, but cant because of the extra that sits there now. I know its a combo of the extra skin left from pregnancy and the extra weight that I already had on me.

I was thin and extremely fit, that's from my experience, I was running 5ks, doing push ups, just over all I was extremely strong, I was in the Air Force and my first pregnancy I was running around 6 months passing all the not pregnant women in my squadron. This belly of mine just wont go back, but maybe one day, one day. I Hope.

AlongCame_Molly

lol. perfect pregnancy. if you call having hyperemesis and vomitting several times a day, every single day for 4 months straight perfect. I realize that not everyone bounces back as quickly as i did. recently, i heard someone say they dont want kids because they dont want their body to be 'ruined'. i posted this to show people that having kids does not automatically ruin your body. hell, i look better than almost all my childless friends. am i bragging about it? hell ya i am because i'm proud of it.

You still must misunderstand. Bouncing back quickly or not still implies that all women can eventually bounce back and many women will not have the same body that they had pre-pregnancy. Period. I'm happy for you that you feel you look better than some childless friends, though by stating so you sound like the more childISH friend. You should be proud of it. But the woman who lost her baby weight and still has scarring and stretch marks and extra skin does not have her pre-pregnancy body back, can still feel as though pregnancy ruined her body, and should still feel like she is as empowered and proud as you. It is possible to be proud of yourself without putting down other people.

Who, specifically, and how, did she put down? Are you sure you know what putting down means? Because nowhere in any of her posts did she insult anyone. Stop being so sensitive.

Alison12121

You look absolutely great! What did you do to keep in shape before and after?

jakidb

Congratulations, you really look gr8t. I'm going to agree with alot of commentors on this post--I think GENETICS (and hard work--I won't discredit that) worked in your favor and that's a good thing. I'll have to find out what I can do after I have my baby in October. Based on past experience though (I have 3 adult children), the weight came off, even got my thin waist back, but was stuck with the "pouche" and yes, a few stretch marks though i have to admit, I did NOTHING to "tighten" or try to tighten the pouche up. I will make every effort to do what I can but if it doesn't do what I'd like, I'll be happy just the same--children are a blessing. No, pregnancy doesn't "ruin" your body but it definitely can do some "damage" to some.

Again Congrats on your sucess--I'm definitley not a "hater"; you look really good!

Achrya

Must be nice. I have an awesome scar from hip bone to hip bone. Also, I lost about half of my hair and got acne. Pregnancy does crazy things to your hormones and not everyone reacts the same way. I lost 30pounds while pregnant and popped a rib out while throwing up. It took the chiropractor multiple weeks of adjustments every day just so I could lay down to sleep.

So yay for your perfect pregnancy...but yours is not normal and neither was mine. There is no normal when it comes to these things. So please step off your high horse.

Bitter, much? What happened to being happy for others' success?

What fun YOU must be at parties...

Interestingly enough if I had to choose who to go to a party with I probably would put the OP at the bottom of my list, and the woman who posted what you responded to at the top. A woman who can throw out a rib but manages to keep it moving sounds like someone who would keep my own my toes all night

Just saying.

WDEvy

The OP pics are hope and all the other comments are scaring the he** out of me. I'm terrified of doing all this work. Losing over 100 lbs, finally have a decent body for once in my life and then ... mangle it with a pregnancy. this is seriously unfair.

heyyoudontgiveup

pregnancy can kill women and still does. your results are not everyone's. I don't care.

JenAndSome

Wow! You look fantastic. I wasn't so lucky. I gained a LOT of weight with each of my 3 pregnancies. I really didn't eat too much or let myself go, I just gained a lot of weight. I worked my butt off after each child and would get back down to pre-pregnancy weight, but my body won't be the same. I am okay with that. The stretch marks and the loose skin don't "ruin" my body, they just add a bit of character.

Mamahana82

lol. perfect pregnancy. if you call having hyperemesis and vomitting several times a day, every single day for 4 months straight perfect. I realize that not everyone bounces back as quickly as i did. recently, i heard someone say they dont want kids because they dont want their body to be 'ruined'. i posted this to show people that having kids does not automatically ruin your body. hell, i look better than almost all my childless friends. am i bragging about it? hell ya i am because i'm proud of it.

You still must misunderstand. Bouncing back quickly or not still implies that all women can eventually bounce back and many women will not have the same body that they had pre-pregnancy. Period. I'm happy for you that you feel you look better than some childless friends, though by stating so you sound like the more childISH friend. You should be proud of it. But the woman who lost her baby weight and still has scarring and stretch marks and extra skin does not have her pre-pregnancy body back, can still feel as though pregnancy ruined her body, and should still feel like she is as empowered and proud as you. It is possible to be proud of yourself without putting down other people.

Who, specifically, and how, did she put down? Are you sure you know what putting down means? Because nowhere in any of her posts did she insult anyone. Stop being so sensitive.

Yes. I know what the term means. I also know it comes in direct and passive agressive forms. I posted earlier that I don't think she intended for her post to come off that way, but compassion for others goes a long way. In that sense, no. I will not stop being so sensitive, as you put it.

_chiaroscuro

Oh, OP.

In your mind, you posted this for the woman who fears what pregnancy may do to her body. But who you're going to get in response are women who are already mommies.

Mommies.

Mommies.

Can you think of a more sensitive/defensive demographic? I can't. Your approach, while not evil or anything, didn't take this into consideration. This thread will likely explode.

_kannnd

...and it shouldn't be an excuse to let yourself go.

When I got pregnant, I searched the internet, hoping to come across post baby belly pictures. No one continues to take photos of their belly after the baby is out! I desperately wanted to know what to expect and was terrified of what pregnancy would do to my body. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't ruin your body and you will bounce back quickly.

few days before delivery
http://oi39.tinypic.com/343qm38.jpg

6 months post delivery
http://oi41.tinypic.com/1zd43o7.jpg

now. 1.5 years post delivery
http://oi44.tinypic.com/1tu87r.jpg

I was the size you were in your pre-delivery pictures at about 5 months preggo with my daughter. I was a relatively small person, 5'3 and 132 lbs when I got pregnant. I gained 39 pounds, and all of that was in my belly. If you look at my pre-delivery picture of the day I went to the hospital, you would swear I was at least carrying twins.

I still carry my weight in my belly and have stretch marks galore. You were lucky. Not all women, myself included, have your genetic makeup. Not everyone goes back to the perfect body quickly. Everyone is different.

DontStopB_Leakin

I am a Mommy, damnit! Therefore I have the right to sit upon my Judgy McJudgerson throne in my Ivory tower with the other Mommies!

The weather is FABULOUS up here. I see why you all hang out up here.


*to the OP - I am being totally sarcastic. I understand what you're saying, and you're right. Good on you for taking care of yourself during what can be a very difficult time. God knows I didn't, but I am now, so that's all that matters*

*to the other "Mommies" - ISN'T THE WEATHER UP HERE IN THIS IVORY TOWER FABBBUULLLOUUUUSS?!*