The controversial six-pack mom is nearing the end of her pregnancy, but the surprises just keep coming.
Lingerie and fitness model Sarah Stage has been sharing updates throughout her second pregnancy, each baring her visibly shredded abs. As she posed nude at six months and shared an at-home ab workout at seven months pregnant, followers have criticized the fit mom’s journey.
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On Tuesday, she revealed her total weight gain so far by snapping a photo of the scale for her Instagram story.
It read 137.2 pounds and her caption said, “Total weight gain so far: 18 lbs.”
She also posted a bikini shot to her profile with the caption, “#31 weeks, baby is kicking like crazy !!”
Though Stage has assured followers that she’s following her doctor’s advice for a healthy pregnancy, haters have flooded the fitness model’s page.
“It’s probably kicking because there’s no room you shouldn’t work out if [you’re] pregnant,” one user wrote.
“Is the baby in her back or???? Like I know her uterus is tilted but where is the baby I’m so confused,” asked another.
Others have accused her of using a surrogate and lying about her pregnancy. But this isn’t Stage’s first time dealing with haters.
Her first pregnancy:
When Stage’s abs remained well-defined throughout her first pregnancy with son James, she says it was a result of being super fit before getting pregnant.
After posting her first pregnancy photo, her Instagram account quickly grew to over one million, but Stage told Cosmopolitan that she didn’t see what set her apart from all the other pregnant women on social media.
“I didn’t think anything of the way I looked, I just thought, This is me,” she said. “I think women are beautiful, and we’re all different shapes and sizes. Some women don’t show a lot when they’re pregnant and my mom carried this way when she was pregnant. She didn’t show until around six months, so I didn’t think anything of it.”
Stage even said that she was able to continue modeling lingerie and swimsuits up until the seven-month mark of her pregnancy.
But at nine months, Stage was attracting even more attention on social media. After posting a photo with the caption “Still waiting…” she received comments from “Wow! You look amazing!” to “My stomach gets like that when I smell chocolate.”
Three days after the above photo was shared, Stage gave birth to a healthy son, who weighed 8.7 pounds and measured 22 inches.
“I was most surprised at how big James was!” Stage told Cosmo. “[Childbirth is] a different experience for everybody, but with me, it wasn’t traumatic at all. There were no complications, so we were lucky.”
Stage said she gained 28 total pounds during her first pregnancy, and she lost nearly all of the extra weight just two weeks after giving birth.
The second pregnancy:
Just like her first pregnancy, Stage says she’s taken flak for the size of her ‘barely there’ baby bump. “I could eat a taco and look more pregnant than that!” one person commented on her Instagram birth announcement. Someone else wrote, “Is the child underdeveloped or a damn jelly bean, cause her stomach makes no sense?”
Still, the mom and model says she’s trying to stay focused and positive. “The majority [of comments] are very supportive and positive, so I focus on that,” she told Cosmo. “The entire [first] pregnancy, I felt reassured from the feedback from my doctor, which was always that the baby was measuring normal and healthy. The same goes for this pregnancy.”
She credits her own ebook for her current state of fitness, since most of her workouts these days are done at home while James, now a toddler, is napping.
“Having a toddler makes it tricky to have the time [to work out],” she said.
She works out three to five times per week, mostly weight training — just with lighter weights. She’s a big fan of exercises that get her heart rate up, like squats, lunges and ab work, she notes.
Working out while pregnant:
At seven months pregnant, Stage shared one of many at-home workouts on her Instagram.
She’s sweating it out as James runs around her (and joins in a bit), even though a few weeks prior, commenters questioned the safety of the exercises she was performing in another video. (The workout in question included crunches; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends avoiding lying on your back during the second and third trimester. Stage shared in the caption that she had been cleared by her doctor to perform the exercises in the video.)
In the latest video, Stage skips the crunches and opts for standing toning moves instead. The model shared that she’s still exercising moderately two to three times per week.
In the caption of her post, she calls out the “bullies” who continue to put her down: “I represent anyone who has dealt with doubters, trolls, and bullies. It feels great to prove ignorant people wrong and even better to know that all you have to do is believe in yourself.”
But that didn’t stop followers from criticizing her fit appearance. Some commented about the small size of her belly, despite being seven months pregnant. “How do you look so thin but pregnant?” one wrote. “It amazes me that there’s a baby in there and so far along!”
“Hope there is enough space for that baby in your abdomen, and hope that he/she will be alright,” wrote another.
Her final words:
Stage responded to all her “Instagram medical experts” in a post on August 15, which seemed to be her attempt to get the last word in after receiving so much backlash.
“As I’m nearing 8 months I’ve wanted to share what’s been on my mind. Since I’ve announced my second pregnancy, I’ve had certain ‘Instagram medical experts’ tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. And while I find some of the comments hilarious, I choose to only listen to my OBGYN and of course I also listen to MY body. If something feels off, I don’t do it! I always do what’s best for my growing baby and put him first!,” the fitness model began.
“It’s a proven medical fact that continuing exercising while pregnant has many health benefits for you and baby. Clearly, I have greatly reduced the intensity of my workouts and stick to at home home exercises…”
Finally, she addressed those accusations that she’s only obsessed with her appearance. “There are also some people who assume that since I am exercising while pregnant, that I’m obsessed with how I ‘look’ but in fact I’m obsessed with maintaining a healthy lifestyle that will give my baby and myself the best possible quality of life. Alternatively, I don’t judge anyone who chooses to not be active while pregnant etc. as it’s their own life… I’m just sharing my pregnancy journey and appreciate the positive support from most of you.”
