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August 2017 Moms
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Let's talk tiger stripes...

babyoakesbabyoakes member
in August 2017 Moms
Hi Mommas!

Have any of you struggled with a not so great body image while pregnant or postpartum? 

Here's a little backstory: After a rough year of eating my feelings, I'm starting off my pregnancy weighing what I would have liked to end my pregnancy weighing. I feel more like a bloated blob than a cute little pregnant lady. I've been getting down on myself about it and worry that my body will never look the same again.

I'm sure this all sounds shallow and like I should just be happy that I can even have a baby, but I doubt that I'm the first woman to think about this. I know all of us still have a ways to go until we are working on our mom-bods, but I think it's a good idea to get ahead when possible.

Are any of you ladies thinking the same thing? Any tips from STMs on loving your body again, losing the flab, or being cool with some unavoidable tiger stripes? Am I crazy for even thinking about this? 
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Re: Let's talk tiger stripes...

  • middy411middy411 member
    edited January 2017
    Truth be told, I wouldn't be so upset with tiger stripes, it's all this loose skin that has really had me beating myself up. I was huge. I mean HUGE with DD. Everyone thought I was overdue months before my due date and friends kept saying there was no way I would make it to my due date. Fun fact I was 5 days overdue lol. Anyways I felt like it took a long time just for my stomach to shrink and I got upset when I saw moms with much younger babies who were smaller than I was. I have always been thin and never struggled with weight which was a blessing but I didn't know how to handle these new effects. Working out didn't seem to help much. By the time my tummy was back to flat and I was under my pre-pregnancy weight I just had so much dang skin. My husband kept telling me I would have to do more to get rid of it but... it's skin! I started to feel hopeless like I can't work skin off can I?? My belly button sinks into this giant sea of wrinkles. Truthfully, I am glad my belly is already growing and showing because it has stretched out a lot of that skin and feels sort of like a temporary fix. However I'm already bigger in the belly (but not heavier) than last time so I'm sure the problem will just be tenfold once this babe is out. Is the only option plastic surgery or are there really workouts for this problem? Sorry for the long post guess I'm in my feelings lol. And at the end of the day, I do love my body for creating these beautiful, big babies haha and if wrinkly tummy is what I have for life then wrinkly tummy it is! 

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  • middy411middy411 member
    edited January 2017

    Pic from last pregnancy. 
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  • bumpybumpbumpybump member
    There is no way to know how your body will react to this pregnancy and postpartum.  I weighed 199 on my due date (started at 145) and it was mostly water weight for me.  It took weeks postpartum just for my leg swelling to go down from all the water I retained (I was a huge water balloon for 18 weeks total).  I wore maxi skirts a lot and looking back, they looked even worse on my than I realized.  I wasn't back in pre-pregnancy clothes until 5 months and thanks to breastfeeding and exercise, I was smaller than my pre-pregnancy clothes at 6 months.  Although BFing and exercise worked for me, I had friends doing the same who just couldn't drop the weight.  One thing that helped me as I was losing the weight was to get some "transition" clothes that I felt good in.  As I said above, there's no way to know how your body will react.

    ***TW in Siggy***
    Me: 34 / DH: 33
    Married: Nov 2011
    TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
    TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017
    BabyFetus Ticker




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  • clairemwalkerclairemwalker member
    I am struggling wifh my body image this time around. This time i am starting my pregnancy only 8lbs lighter then my full term weight fromnthe first baby, and it really gets me down. I just try and take comfort in the fact that there is plenty i can do to help control weight gain (healthy eating, stay active etc) and to remember that after baby comes there will be plenty of time to try and get back in shape. 
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  • and_peggyand_peggy member
    Like PPs have said, everybody will go through pregnancy differently and every pregnancy for each woman can be vastly different. My first pregnancy, I was sure I was going to be huge. My mom gained 80 pounds for each of her pregnancies and since our body types are similar, I assumed that would happen to me. I only gained 20 pounds, lost it all right away, and never got any stretch marks.  (And I don't say this to brag, just to point out that it's so different than what you think.) This time around, I have easily already gained 10 pounds. It's just never what you assume.

    Know that even though I only gained 20 pounds, I still was flabby, and had a poor image of myself because it wasn't what I was used to.
    Pregnancy Ticker

    5.5.16 | 8.14.17 | 1.30.19
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