This is an original post written by Keisha.  Thank you for listening to her story.   Share your story.

I was so surprised to find StillLookPregnant.com this evening as I was actually googling on what are the appropriate clothes for my shape.

There was an hourglass shape, oval shape, diamond shape, apple shape and pear shape.  But I cannot seem to find the… “I am 12 months post-partum after three kids over a 10 year period and my stomach looks like it is housing another child at 6 months gestation” shape.

Oddly enough, the average woman who cannot lose that baby belly does not fit into any category.

I seem to have lost all my breasts by way of breastfeeding but gained the biggest butt in the world; and still kept this absurd belly.  It is rather frustrating when you are at work and people will not let you carry heavy items or look at your funny when you are on your 3rd coffee of the day.

Or the worst, when they just come out and ask, “Are you pregnant?”!!  I am always mortified.  It has been a year and I am still upset when people ask me.

But can I blame them… I seriously look 6 months pregnant at all times.

I think what some woman need to know from experience is that I had 3 boys.  My son’s are ages 10, 3 and 1.  After baby 1 and 2, my belly went right back into place; flat and pretty.  I actually was in the military between baby 2 and 3 and completed basic training and AIT.  I lost over 30 lbs and could do 40 push up’s in 2 minutes and run a mile in a breeze.  My body was in the best condition of my life!

However, between baby 2 and 3, there was not enough time for my abdominal muscles to heal.  So with baby 3, I only gained 20 lbs, but my stomach basically remains the same way it did after I had him.  I have seen 3 doctors and they all say, my only option is plastic surgery.  With 3 kids, a husband, house and bills… plastic surgery is not an option.

So what is your option for women who still look pregnant and cannot afford the risky plastic surgery to repair the damage of their beautiful births?

Just try to find ways to love it.

I have not gotten to this point but I know it will come.

This summer I went on the beach in a two piece bikini with my kids and I did not feel ashamed at all.  So I know I am making strides.  Ironically, the more weight I lose, the more my stomach protrudes… so maybe being a little overweight is more aesthetically pleasing for me.

I think all in all… we need to be more supportive as woman.

I know I am not the only 28 year old woman of 3 kids who looks this way.  I may feel that way when I cannot find anything to wear to work or feel unattractive in that sexy red dress that used to look oh so fab.  But we have to find ways to overlook the pre-defined vision of perfection.  That hourglass, symmetrical beauty.  We are not perfect and I may be close (LOL)

We all need work on learning to love ourselves – especially for our kids.

Keisha is 28 years old, married, and the mother of three AWESOME son’s ages 10, 3, and 1.  She lives in Atlanta, GA, with her family and she works for a hospital.

photo credit: flequi

This is an original post written by Stephanie. Thank you for listening to her story.   Share your story.

I am so happy to find this website.  I really thought I might be the only person who still looks pregnant!  Actually, if I hold my belly in, I don’t look pregnant, but this is not really comfortable.

I have been listening to this incredible series of interviews which you can find at The Body Image Revolution.  The last speaker was a woman who wrote a book called The Woman’s Belly Book: Finding Your True Center for More Energy, Confidence, and Pleasure and she talks about how she yo yo dieted for years before realizing that she could love her belly, and embrace it as the center of her femininity.

I love that concept, but I have a hard time not holding my belly in, because I am afraid of people thinking I am pregnant.  Yes, people have thought that after both my pregnancies.

It is encouraging — really encouraging — to hear that other people get this response too.

I have been wondering,

Is it a big deal if someone thinks I’m pregnant?  Does it really matter?

What if my fear is keeping me living in shame and keeping me from really loving my body and myself?”

Now that I know lots of other women still look pregnant, or look pregnant even if they have never had a baby, I am not going to be so worried.  I do think bellies are cute and feminine, and a person who looks comfortable in their body is generally attractive.

If anyone wants to read a really great article by Lisa Sarasohn, check out The Goddess Ungirdled.  It’s an article on how she came to love her belly.

I am encouraged and going to work on being comfortable with my belly.

Stephanie is a mommy of a three year old boy and ten month old girl.  Her blog is www.lionmammaspun.blogspot.com.

This is an original post written by Cat. Thank you for listening to her story.   Share your story.

My daughter Henna is 2+ years old and I look like I am 4 months pregnant.  It is really hard for me because practically every time I leave the house someone asks me about my “baby.”

When they see me out with my two year old at Target they say, “Oh my! You sure will have your hands full! How far apart in age will they be?”

When I go to pay off my car they say, “Baby on board!”

When I am in a room full of people they say, “So, you are having another baby, huh?”

I say…

“No, I just have a big belly.”

They say…

“Oh, I just have babies on the brain.”

or

“Oh, it’s just the shirt that you are wearing.”

or my favorite,

“I’m sorry, it’s just that you are so small everywhere else.”

If I had a big butt nobody would come up to me in the grocery store and try to talk to me about.  It’s just that I am so freakish looking that the general public is 100% positive I am pregnant.  I am a mother of two and a full time college student.  I try to lose weight, but it definitely doesn’t come easy to me.  I try not to let it bother me, but let’s be honest, how could it not?

Sorry that this isn’t a more uplifting post, but I am struggling with this, and constantly tormented by well meaning morons.

Cat is a mother of a 10 year old boy, Spirit, and a 2 year old girl, Henna.  She has been married a little over three years and is currently going to school for medical coding and billing.

Some people in my real life often ask me why I created a blog called Still Look Pregnant? Obviously, the people who ask me have never been asked if they still look pregnant. And for the people I meet who have been asked (many times) if they are pregnant (when they are not pregnant) light up when I tell them about this Still Look Pregnant blog. Some call it brilliant. I call it a need…a need for all women out there to know they are not alone.

Being asked if you are pregnant when you are not pregnant can be a very lonely experience. If you found this blog because someone asked you if you are pregnant (when you are not at all pregnant) be sure to look around this blog and read real stories from real women fighting what can seem like a never winning battle of still looking pregnant.

Why did I create this blog?

I created this blog for the all the women goggling things like…

• Why do I still look pregnant?
• Asking someone if they’re pregnant but they’re not.
• How to hide your tummy.
• Postpartum and still look pregnant.
• How to hide a post pregnancy belly.
• Stomach looks pregnant.
• My stomach is so bloated I look pregnant.
• Looking like pregnant every time I eat.
• How to hide your stomach.
• Belly fat making me look pregnant.
• Still look pregnant post baby.
• Dress to camouflage tummy.
• Hide your post pregnancy belly.
• Style of dress to hide stomach.
• Year later I still look pregnant.
• Best tops to hide belly without looking pregnant.
• Dress that hides your tummy.
• Hide abdominal fat.
• Hide your belly.
• My stomach still looks pregnant.
• People still ask if I am pregnant.
• Still look pregnant after birth.
• I still look like I am pregnant.
• How do I loose weight in my stomach.
• Stomach disorder that makes you look pregnant.
• Looking pregnant as the day goes on.
• I still look pregnant.
• My stomach looks pregnant.
• My stomach is not normal.

Is the woman in this video fat or pregnant? Is it easy or hard to tell the difference?

This is an original post written by Amber. Thank you for listening to her story. Share your story.

I visit my home town once a year for the fourth of July and it gives me a chance to catch up with old friends. Last year I had been pregnant with my youngest daughter who is now 9 months.

This year, two of my friends asked “Are you trying for a boy this time?”

My heart sunk.

I thought I had been doing ok at losing weight, not awesome, but ok at least. I answered both with “No I’m fine with my girls thank you, so we won’t be trying again anytime soon”.

There comments have just been echoing in my mind ever since and now I just feel horrible about myself. I keep looking in mirrors thinking “Do I really still look pregnant?”

Needless to say I haven’t left my house since then and I’ve been moping around in T-shirts and sweats stuffing my face out of depression.

Amber started her family fairly young. She had her first daughter at 22 and she was quite skinny before her pregnancy. After her first was born her weight came off really quick, but then two months after her daughter was born, Amber got pregnant again, not intentionally.  She didn’t gain as much weight as she had with her first pregnancy so she figured the weight would still come off easily. Unfortunately she was wrong. Amber did lose a bit of weight right after her second daughter was born but she definitely wasn’t her normal size. Since her youngest was born she’s just tried occasional exercise and tried to eat smarter, nothing intense but more of a gradual method. Which she thought was working well until now.

photo credit: Tarter Time Photography

This is an original post written by Hanni. Thank you for listening to her story.

I have two boys, one is three years old and another one is one and a half.  They were both quite big babies, both weighing in at almost 4 kg (8.8 pounds). I am quite short (1.62m/5.3 feet) and have a very short upper body, so I carried very large in both my pregnancies, especially with the second one.

People were constantly asking me if I was sure I wasn’t expecting twins.  Also, when I was only about 5 months along, people would ask me when I was due – as if I was going in to hospital the next day.

Now, however, a year and a half after my second boy’s birth, I am constantly asked, or people who barely know me (and some who do) inquire as to whether I’m pregnant again.  Just the other day, in fact, when I was visiting the zoo with my boys, a lady in front of me started talking to me, and through our conversation she just happened to casually ask:

“When’s your baby due?”

I’m not pregnant at the moment, but wanted to spare her the humiliation, so I answer:

“Oh, I’m not very far along yet.”

On hearing this she replied:

“But you’re so big already!”

I was quite exasperated by this answer, but it didn’t really hit me until my husband and I started making love that night.

Then I started feeling really fat and ugly and sad.

Many others have also recently asked or implied they thought I was pregnant again.  I hate this, but know that my tummy does indeed look big enough to think I might be pregnant again.  Am struggling to eat the right things as my boys are not sleeping well and I’m constantly tired.

Sweet things are sometimes the only thing that makes me feel like I’m being nice to myself.

Hanni is a mother of 2 very busy boys. She works a couple of mornings a weeks and struggles to keep her weight off after two pregnancies and two big babies (both delivered by C-section). She has no motivation to exercise and she’s eating all the wrong things though she knows she shouldn’t.

If you can relate to Hanni’s story, reach out and leave a commit below…

photo credit: Alyssa L. Miller

This is an original post written by Rosanna. Thank you for listening to her story.

I was still young (24), slim (100lbs) and then I got pregnant.

At first I didn’t gain that much weight until my last 4 months when I gained a whole 63lbs. I gained most of it at the end. For the first few weeks after the birth of my son I looked like I was 5 months pregnant. My stomach has not gone down so much and now my son is 14 months old.

I get it every time I go out in public…

• Oh when are you due?
• When are you expecting?
• Oh you’re having another one so soon
• Blah blah blah

My stomach isn’t like most stomachs. It starts from right under my breasts and goes all the way down like an actual pregnant belly. It’s somewhat hard too (not squishy like a baby is in there).

Is anyone’s stomach like this or am I the only one? I have gotten blood tests and they can’t find anything yet. Does anyone know if its normal for my stomach to be like this?

This is an original post written by Lucie. Thank you for listening to her story.

I got back from vacation and downloaded my pictures. While I knew I was no where near my ideal weight, I still did not think it was too bad. Boy was I wrong. On the first day the waitress pointed to my 8 year old son and said “1 baby” then she pointed to my 5 year old daughter and said “2 babies” and then she pointed at my stomach and said “3 babies”. That did not start the vacation off too well. But now that I have downloaded the pictures I so see what she meant!

I’m the mom of two great kids, without another on the way.  I have battled my weight for 15 years now and even if I have tried every diet out there, I never have managed to reach my goal.  I find I lose weight so much slower than anybody else I know even if I follow everything correctly.  I follow a spinning class 3 times per week and weight train at least once per week, but I cannot get the weight off my stomach no matter what I do.  I have recently started a website www.knit1painttoo.etsy.com where I sell hand knit baby hats.  I love knitting so I tend to want to sit down after supper to make hats instead of go for a walk or play with the kids.  I’m sure I have metabolic syndrome as I pretty much have all the signs but no high blood pressure.  I’m so glad I’m not alone out here and I’ve found others with the same problem.

photo credit: grongar

It seems like eating certain foods make me look pregnant more than other food. I ate almost half a loaf of challah bread the other day and I’ve look extra pregnant ever since.

Can gluten or wheat or any kind of carbohydrates really be keeping me so bloated for days and days and days?

I’m thinking about trying a gluten free diet to see if that impacts how large and bloated my stomach grows throughout the day. I need to spend more time investigating celiac disease to see if I have it and if it’s contributing to my belly looking pregnant.

Some sites I’m going to check out below…

• Live Gluten Freely
• Wikipedia – Gluten Free Diet
• GlutenFree.com

I’ll keep you post and would love to read your comments if you have any thoughts or insights on the subject.

~ Stacey