Today we want to recognize the moms of the BuzzFeed Community! We asked them to share their postpartum bodies with us because we want to celebrate the fact that their bodies are a direct reflection of the strength they've shown (and uncomfortableness they've endured, lol) growing a human inside them.
1. "This is somewhere between three days and one week postpartum. Wearing a nursing bra and Depends undies. I couldn't hold my pee for a few days after delivery. I was afraid it would be that way forever, but I eventually regained control."
2. "The left photos were taken two days before my C-section, and the right ones were taken two days after. It felt as if they had sewn my stomach to my kneecaps, and my boobs were 24/7 milk fountains."
3. "This is nine days after birth. After years of fertility struggles, we had our daughter through IVF. After hating my body for what it couldn’t do for so long, the first time I saw myself in the mirror post-birth, I felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation and love for my body and everything it had gone through to produce our daughter. I love every single stretch mark and change, and now thank my body every day for this amazing achievement."
4. "Eighteen months postpartum, and I've kept the 'baby weight.' I breastfed up until a month ago and didn't 'snap back' as most people claimed, especially since I was breastfeeding. It's taken me a long time, pretty much the entire time since birth, to really be comfortable in my body. My husband constantly tells me how beautiful I am, and yes, I am incredibly lucky to have been able to carry my son and provide for him. I wouldn't change a thing."
5. "Here I am two weeks after giving birth to my quadruplets. I was able to get back into my prepregnancy jeans very quickly, whereas with my older son, I was in maternity pants for six months. I am proud of my body and how it was able to carry five babies — four of them all at once!"
6. "Eleven days later, but worth it for my little girl!"
7. "Here I am less than 24 hours after giving birth..."
"...and here I am six days postpartum. It still looks as if I have a cute baby bump, but I don't! It's big and squishy before your uterus shrinks back. Nothing wrong with squishy, it just feels very different from when you're actually pregnant."
8. "Undefined."
9. "I’m two months postpartum with my second baby. Lots of stretch marks, and my belly button is huge! I also had the awful PUPP (an itchy rash that can appear in stretch marks) with both pregnancies, so that made my stretch marks even more reMARKable. I carried and birthed two tiny humans into this world, and these are my battle scars! Moms are warriors!"
10. "This is what six days postpartum versus four months postpartum looks like. I had a C-section with my twins. I'm proud that my body was able to carry them to term, but sometimes it's hard not recognizing the body I am in."
11. "Here I am three months postpartum — looking back on this now (currently one-year postpartum), I’m actually really proud of it!"
12. "I posted this photo of myself three weeks postpartum on Facebook, even though I was super insecure with it. I thought, Screw what anyone thinks — this is my body now, and I am going to love it no matter what!"
13. "I have endometriosis and had to endure over 10 procedures and surgeries, in addition to countless infertility treatments. In the end, I had my miracle baby and I'm proud of my body!"
14. "I loved my pregnant body but am having a difficult time coming to terms with my postpartum one. This was taken a day after my emergency C-section, and it looks like I am still pregnant! I have multiple stretch marks all over my body, and a giant, itchy scar. My boobs feel deflated and numb from breastfeeding. I'm now nine months postpartum, and while I’ve lost a lot of weight, it has been a huge emotional and physical struggle to learn to love my ‘new’ body."
15. "Here I am at one week postpartum. I ended up getting PUPP rash at the very end of my pregnancy, which carried over two weeks after I delivered. Nothing relieved the pain except putting ice on my belly."
16. "After having two 9-pound baby girls, I realized I could fit my whole hand between the ab muscles near my belly button! I found out I had diastasis recti (ab separation) and started physical therapy six weeks postpartum. I spent a few months taped up, doing low-impact exercises, and learning what I could and could not do."
17. "In the left picture, I am two weeks postpartum, and in the right I am 33 weeks. My body is nowhere near where I was hoping it would be, but it is what it is. Some days I’m OK with it, and some days I’m not. But that little boy in my arms is worth every stretch mark and my lifelong baby pouch."
18. "Top pic is my first, and bottom is my second!"
19. "I had three pregnancies in two years and am trying to remind myself that it’s OK not to be where I was before my first pregnancy."
20. "This is my stomach six months after giving birth, with scarring from my gallbladder surgery."
21. "I gave birth to my third baby two months ago. I'm still learning to love the body that gave me three beautiful children. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who tells me every day how much he loves my body just the way it is."
22. "I took this picture 10 days postpartum. Now — over 16 months later — I still have my glorious mom pouch!"
23. "I am seven weeks postpartum, and learning to accept my post-baby body has been harder than I ever thought it would be. It’s all worth it for him, though."
24. "I struggle with self-image sometimes but try to put things in perspective: I grew, carried, and birthed two baby boys who are my whole world now. My stretch marks and scars are proof of that."
25. "The top pic was taken one week before giving birth; the bottom left was taken one day after. The bottom right pic shows a nasty infection I got after my C-section, so my scar is pretty gnarly looking."
26. "This is me eight months after my second C-section and the day before my first bodybuilding competition! I love my body at all the sizes, but I wish there was more information about successful rehabilitation for active people after a C-section!"
27. "Tired, bloated, and striped like a tiger. Worth every bit."
Special thanks to all of the mamas in this post — you're amazing!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.