Pregnancy can bring stretch marks and before I go any further if you are going to get them you are going to get them. Period. Its genetics unfortunatly. My first pregnancy my tummy was covered in them fairly early on. I wish I could find my old pregnancy journal so I knew exactly when they started. I remember my first one it was to the right side of my belly button and it was horizontal, it was about a half an inch long and I was so sad when I saw it. I figured I would get them, I have them on my hips and breasts from puberty so there was that possibility. My mother also got a bunch while she was pregnant. I gained a LOT of weight in a short period of time with my first pregnancy- about twenty pounds in a span of about 4 weeks. Thats a lot of wieght to put on and it definatly wasnt all baby or even baby related I know that went a long way to my stretch mark explosion. A slow and steady weight gain will minimize your stretch marks. A huge gain is going to make things worse! If you are prone to stretch marks try to keep it slow and steady and that is your best bet on keeping them to a minimum. My second pregnancy my skin was already badly scarred from the previous pregnancy and I didnt get any additional stretch marks until very late in my pregnancy. Unfortunatly stretchmarks will never go away, they will fade from a bruise or red color to a silvery white (if you are caucasian) Mine are currently silvery scars, there are hundreds of them, Im not exagerating. My entire stomach below my belly button is covered completly by stretchmarks, some were a half inch wide when I was pregnant. Some people find their stretchmarks ache or itch. A good body lotion or body butter will help with that. Keeping your skin moisturized will help reduce that itchiness as it stretches. To pick a good lotion look on the ingredients list, try to find a lotion that has an oil or butter high on the list.
Right now at 19 weeks pregnant my stretch marks havent started to get worse but one is really bothering me. Im putting lotion on my tummy twice a day to try and help that out. That discomfort drives me up the wall!

Posted by Shelley in Journal on August 20th, 2007 |