Got Stretch Marks?

[tschifo]

This is the first time I've started a thread, so I hope it's OK. You ladies are such an inspiration to me with your homebirth natural family lifestyle experiences. I'd guess you could say I'm a wanna be, but I'm taking good notes and giving this my best shot.
Anywho....I was just wondering if any of you first timers have stretch marks yet? And to the experienced mommas when did you notice the stretch marks? I don't have any yet, and definitely not looking forward to them, but I was just curious. And, maybe this will generate a much needed new conversation.

[IfMamaAintHappy]

i didnt see mine, DH did. They are all on my underbelly, and I have to stretch back to see them when I am pregnant.

As far as I understand, your skin elasticity, genetically, determines whether or not you get them. You can shea butter your belly from now till doomsday, but the actual makeup of your skin is the real determining factor.

I never did wear bikinis, and my husband doesnt find them unattractive, so I dont really have an opinion on my stretch marks. They bear testament to the fact that my skin can do amazing things around a baby!

[*green*faery*]

Hi mamas~

This is my first baby...and I started getting little stretch marks on my inner and outer thighs first, about a month ago. Now I have some on my lower belly. The are not real dark yet, but I do have really pale skin. They don't really bother me, even though pregnancy has had its ups and downs, I kind of like every symptom I still oil my belly and chest up about every day, I know it doesn't really help, but its good for your skin anyway.


*erin*
#1 edd 10/29/05

[lovnbnhome]

: I've had stretch marks all my life!

[RyvreWillow]

i'm having trouble telling the new from the old, lol, but i have noticed more the last few weeks. Mostly the thin white kinds.

[oetien]

My strech marks are pretty dark (reddish color..)
I can even feel it. My skin is kinda bumpy. Seems like the s/m are deeper/thinner than my 'normal/regular' skin. I wonder if this is normal...
Should I do something about it? *confused*

[Carsonsmama]

I got a TON of stretch marks with my first baby....very low on my stomach so that I couldn't see them.
HOWEVER I never started showing till the beginning of my seventh month so I did allot of growing FAST!
They stayed low on my stomach but as SOON as I went overdue they grew upwards! It was very sad for me...they never passed my belly button but they were great big purple lines!
And thanks to this pregnancy they have passed my belly button in search of my breasts I do believe!
Yes...my stomach is ruined for life! I found that hard to deal with for a long time afterwards....no matter how flat I got it again it would never again be a nice stomach....

[movingon]

I didn't show for the longest time, with my first baby. But at 5 months, I got my first stretch mark that started from my naval ring and extended a couple inches. It looked like a little purple river on a map. In my last two months, I started to put on weight and really started showing. I woke up one day (well, that's how it seemed to me) and my belly and hips, around my entire body, there were a million of them. They were purple and dark for a long, long time, too. In fact, the ones on the soft parts of my hips are still dark, soft, and get all kinds of crazy little bumps in the folds of them - they never smoothed over. I have to scratch very carefully around them. I can't tell if I'm getting any new ones. I guess if I go the same way this time, I'll find out in a month or two!

[amanda2b2]

With my first I didn't get stretch marks till the last month. and I gained 65 lbs. I mostly got them on my hips.

[onlyboys]

I don't think that there's a whole lot prenatally that you can do about them. Really, they are normal for some women! I have them on my underbelly, and when I get sun on my belly, they fade almost into nothingness.

I kind of like them, in a possessive sort of way. They make me remember my big belly even after it's gone. As this is my last time with a big belly, I think I'll be even fonder of them after this one!

Amanda--did the powers that be make you change your sig? Hum. Shame on them.

[Rach]

Originally Posted by lovnbnhome

: I've had stretch marks all my life!

Me too. On my hips, thighs, bum, calves!

For my first pregnancy, I didn't get them at all. I measured small though, and delivered at 35 weeks. I did get a few on my belly AFTER she was born, though!
This is my second pregnancy and I just noticed a new one the other day. I'm 30 weeks. We'll see if I get any more. This baby seems bigger than my first!

[emmasmommy]

I have a ton of stretchmarks from my first. They are all over my belly, and I got the first one at only 13 weeks or sometime REALLY early. I also got some on my upper right arm when I swelled up from pre-e. Those I didn't notice until after dd was born, and they are barely noticable now.

I think they are primarliy genetic. My mom has lots of stretch marks from her pregnancies, and my brother has stretch marks from a major growth spurt he had when he hit puberty. I'm not sure there is really much you can do about them.

[catholicmama]

I got them awful with my first pregnancy. From way down below to wayyyy above my belly button. They looked horrible!
They faded and I haven't gotten any new ones with my other pregnancies. 'cept they still look bad- just white and silvery colored.lol

[Patti Ann]

I have one small one on my lower belly that didn't show up until I delivered my first. It has gotten a little longer each time, but it is still tiny and white. Now my breasts, hips and thighs are a different story. I've gotten those from growing as a child and losing weight in my early 20's. Oh well.

Patti

[tschifo]

So, I shouldn't think that I've been skipped over by the stretch mark fairy? I'll just keep hydrating from within (yum water!) and hope that is my secret weapon if my luck continues. Otherwise, if I do end up with them then they will just be my mommy marks.

[FitMama]

Well, I'll say no. But I count "stretch marks" as the ones you get on your abdomen in pregnancy. I have plenty along my backside & hips, as well as on my breasts (I suddenly grew D-cups when I went away to college and gained a bunch of weight...plus I've already nursed one kid for 2 years). For some reason, those particular stretch marks don't bother me one bit. This summer, I'm wearing a 2-piece swimsuit, cellulite and spider veins be damned!! LOL

My mom did not get abdominal stretch marks either, so I do put faith in that gene theory. She also has the hip & backside variety though.

[Bookworm]

Just on my boobs so far. Sigh. I kinda liked my boobs before they had big red streaks running all along the insides of them. :

[allgirls]

I got some on my inner and outer thighs and lower belly(4 actually) with my first pregnancy..I haven't gotten new ones since but they do get red each time.

I didn't get my first one until I was nearly 8 mos

[Rach]

They're heeeeeeeeeeere!
They're here. Stretchmarks. Lots. All on my lower belly. In fact, I can't see them, unless I look in the mirror.
Ah well!! Stretchmarks have got to mean bigger baby right? My first was 4.5 pounds at 35 weeks. We want this one to be at least 8 pounds full term. :P

[Worldshakerz]

With my first pregnancy I got stretchmarks on my belly, some on my hips and waiste, and on my boobs too. They were really red, and over time they have faded to a silvery whitish color. I'm just about 32 weeks now and don't see any new ones, although my old ones are a bit more apparent again...not red like last time though, although maybe slightly pink in spots.