Stretch marks...

Sorry to DDC crash, but I always like to pop my head in on any stretch mark/itchy skin threads.

I use Burt's Bee's Mama Bee Belly Butter. Mouthful of a name I know. I use it EVERYWHERE though, and it has helped dramaticaly.
Good luck!

Stretch marks do fade after the birth, and they become "smaller" in appearance. Exercise is good, lotion is good, a balanced whole food diet is good, staying hydrated is good....but stretch marks are basically a permanent addition short of medical/surgical interventions. A tendency towards stretch marks is mostly genetic (combined with opportunity)....

I didn't develop stretch marks with dd1 until after the birth (nice smooth preggo mama skin turned into stretch mark skin within a week or two of the birth!). With dd2 I started adding new stretch marks towards the end of the pregnancy even though I gained less weight than I did with dd1. And I've already got a few new stretch marks this time round. The "opportunity" I mentioned... apparently my skin could handle one babe easily, two babes with a bit of effort, but babe number three was a bit too much!

This is not going to be the happiest advice.. I did everything one could do to prevent stretch marks with my first pregnancy and still got them. I ate super heathy food (no junk at all), I took tons of omega fats/fish oils, lots of protien, etc. I used lotion daily and drank a ton of water. Perhaps all these things helped some, we'll never know for sure. Stretch marks are mostly genetic and the only way to not get them is to grow slowly (not always possible in pregnancy)..

After a while you'll get used to them. My skin went back into place and looked fine even though there are stretch marks. Also, they fade to a silvery color after about a year or so. I went to a dermatologist and asked if there is anything that will actually take them away. The best they can do it use a laser to lighten them (which happens naturally over time anyway). Learn to love them, because they're sticking with you!

I am literally cover in stretch marks. I got them all over my thieghs and hips when I was about 7. I got them all over my breast as they grew when I was about 10.

I was expecting to get them when I was pregnant- and I did. I was 16 and gained less than 20 pounds. I got over a hundred (at least!) stretch marks all over my stomach, breasts, and way way low (mons area). I got thick one inch thick and very long water melon stripes on my tummy- I even got one halfway through my belly button. : I then got stretch marks in stretch marks. Sigh. Horrid horrid things.

They do fade any look like indented silvery lines in my skin. They are wrinkly and crazy. I did not however get any new ones with my second or so far with my third pregnancy. The babes are just "reusing" the ones that are there.

Its a genetic thing.

I'm still waiting for them to show up. I have no hope that I'm going to make it out of pregnancy with no new marks, it's just a matter of when they appear. I got a lot of marks during puberty, they've since faded and aren't very noticeable. I'm really not looking forward to looking like a tiger with pink stripes

I have a *ton* of stretchmarks on my belly--and, really, it doesn't bother me that much. I didn't get any until I was about 37 weeks or so with my first, but then I got quite a few. With my second, I got even more. I don't think I have any new ones from this pregnancy yet, but, really, I haven't paid much attention (and I'm not sure I would notice if I *did* get new ones at this point).

I think I do relatively well at staying hydrated--I could probably do better. I have a serious aversion to lotions and creams (I don't like the greasy feeling--in fact, I think putting sunscreen on my kids might be my least favorite thing in the entire world...I'm shuddering just thinking about it), so I've never been into doing anything like that. It drives my mom NUTS. During my first two pregnancies (especially my first), she was constantly buying me another lotion or cream or "butter" to rub on my belly, and I repeatedly told her that I would absolutely not put that on my skin, so to please stop. (She's given up, but occasionally gifts me with some sort of magical "stretch mark erasing" cream or lotion, which goes into the same drawer with all the things that would have, according to her, prevented the stretch marks in the first place. She totally might be right, but if stretch marks are the price I have to pay for not putting that greasy stuff on myself, I'll take them.