The stretch marks have landed.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think nothing of the tiny pink dots that have appeared on either side of my belly, but since this is my third pregnancy, I know what those seemingly innocent pink dots become: hot, red grooves running down my tummy, like the angry tears I’ve cried over their arrival.
Actually, I’m not too bothered by them. I endured stretch marks as a teenager on my hips when I went through puberty, and I’ve had them with both previous pregnancies, so I suppose I’ve somewhat resigned myself to their presence.
Sites like The Shape of a Mother have done so much to give women a realistic idea of what childbearing does to our bodies, and I don’t think there’s a mom out there who would trade her baby for her former abs of glory.
Did you get stretch marks with your pregnancy? Did you try to prevent them with creams and lotions and exercise, but they won out? Or do you have blessed genes that helped your body bounce back with nary a war wound?
I never knew other people got stretch marks from puberty…but I totally did! Nice to know I have sisters there. I didn’t get a mark on me from being pregnant. My friends and I liken it to having gained and lost the freshman 15 multiple times – my belly was used to the stretch!
I have them from both kids, they started with my first and just kind of continued upward with the second. I always used a good quality body butter as I was getting bigger, and while it didn’t help the stretch marks I didn’t have an itchy belly as it was growing so that is a bonus.
I don’t really care about my stretch marks, they are just part of me and that’s that, kind of like a tattoo to mark an important event. I am not the same on the inside since having my kids, so it is OK with me that I am not the same on the outside anymore. End of story.
ha! just about choked on my coffee at that. yes! you are so right about the deodorant…was weird, non?
i just remember smelling like a chocolate easter bunny
I avoided stretch marks with my first 2 and bounced right back.
With my 3rd I wasn’t so lucky. She was 5 days late and by the third day over due I developed several – on my lower abdomen and on my hips and butt.
And haven’t really bounced back…she’s 3.
Julie – I religiously used the BS cocoa butter stick everyday. Felt like i was putting deodorant all over myself!!
i’ve never heard of this stretch mark thing during puberty! maybe that’s why i have’em on my breasts! they’ve never been large and i’ve had them ever since…well…i can remember having boobs. interesting….
that being said, i was wondering if i’d get them on my stomach so i used the body shop cocoa butter stick every day and i got nuttin’ so i’d like to think that helped….2 kids later and doing okay.
I don’t worry so much about the stretch marks on my stomach, it’s the loose skin that makes me cringe. A friend of mine described loose belly skin as a balloon that has been blown up too many times. My stomach was great after my first pregnancy, but horrible after my second.
I never had abs of glory and got lots of stretch marks during puberty (that’s what happens when you are 5’11”) so my tummy marks during pregnancy were not a huge shock. However, I still try to keep them under wraps. No 2 piece suits for me.
I never did get any on my belly, but I got them on my butt! Oh, pregnancy.
I have leftover stretch marks on my thighs from puberty, too, so I was just happy at least these had a point. 😉 I was disappointed when I had lots more with my second pregnancy, though… guess I hoped I’d already been stretched out, lol! 😉