The other night my curious boys were comparing their belly buttons--much to my relief because it could have been other comparisons. For some reason, it struck them as hilarious that one had a belly button that stuck out and another that stuck in. As I began to explain about innies and outies, I showed them my own stomach. One of my sons immediately began to point and laugh. “Look at Mom’s stomach! It’s old and wrinkled!”
Ouch! That hurts the self-esteem.
That night was not the first time that I ever wondered if I could ever get rid of my stretch marks. Of course I don’t like them but I don’t waste a lot of time thinking about them either. After having three babies that were more than eight pounds each, it only makes sense that skin that is stretched over and over will never be the same.
When I was pregnant with my first son, I religiously slathered the expensive anti-stretch mark cream on daily as my belly grew. I am not sure if it was the cream, my youth, my first baby or just luck that I didn’t notice stretch marks after that pregnancy. It was into my second pregnancy that I noticed the flesh colored, shiny lines appearing. I didn’t understand. I had the same dedication in applying the cream with the second pregnancy but this time it didn’t seem to be working. Now that’s discouraging, I remember thinking. I guess I will file it on the shelf with the breast enhancement cream and the vanishing veins lotion.
By my third son, I had given up. I still applied lotion on my growing belly but more for comfort to ease the itching as the skin stretched to its limit. So is there really a way to be rid of stretch marks without surgery? Even with weight loss, isn’t there extra skin left over? I see plenty of photos of celebrity Moms with rock hard abs and smooth tanned skin. Do they know the secret or are they unwilling to give his or her name?
I think that if I gave up sleep, I could workout six hours a day to obtain a perfect body physique. But even then, I think I would still have my Mom scars. Is that really such a bad thing?
Edited by Alison Stanton