Stretchmark Care
You would not believe how many people personally reach out to me to ask what I did to prevent stretch marks. So I figured I would let everyone know my little daily ritual! I am so thankful I did my routine every day during my pregnancy because days like today I can just take my shirt of during a hike + feel 100%comfortable in my skin. It is the best feeling. I must say, I was too worried about getting stretch marks and scars. I hear that people say its genetics. And because both my mom and sister had stretch marks, I was worried that with mine, there was going to be twice as many since I was having twins! Fortunately, that was not the case with me.
From the very beginning of my pregnancy I was conscious about my weight gain. Many people have the misconception that you need to stuff your face + every pound you gain is going straight to your baby. FALSE PEOPLE. When you are pregnant, you are only suppose to eat about 300 more calories a day. Yes. Even with twins too. So the main reason I did not receive stretch marks is because I had controlled weight gain. I gained weight slowly and steadily, instead of just shoving my face the entire time. I do admit that once on bed rest, I was eating whatever + whenever I wanted because during those last few weeks you are suppose to be gaining .5-1 pound per week to beef up those little babes. My overall pregnancy weight gain was 40 pounds, which I lost in about 5 weeks after delivery (yay for prenatal fitness!!) I am so thankful that my body bounced back + looks better than ever (because who doesn’t love big hips???) all because I was fit + controlled my weight gain.
Aside from eating correctly, I also took AMAZING care of my skin. I really don’t even take that great of my face lol. Like sometimes I will workout in the morning and not wash my face until the night time… I suck I know. But when I was pregnant I was taking great care of belly! I did tons of research on what to do to prevent those dreaded stretch marks. I found that most people said the Palmer’s coco butter did not help them. So I did more researched and found many people recommending coconut oil and bio oil. Coconut oil can be bought ANYWHERE. I used a bunch of different kinds, but the easiest was just from Walmart. Bio oil is more pricey, but I definitely think it is what worked the best. I got it from Ulta. (click the pics below to show you exactly which I used) And let me tell you, I made it a point to use both at least twice a day. I would wake up in the morning, and put bio oil on my belly. All over. Even my butt + boobs too. If I wasn’t going to class or work, I would also put a big scoop of extra virgin coconut oil on my belly. During my lunch break or about midday, I would usually put the Palmers coco butter on. I mostly did this just to hydrate my stomach since it was soooo itchy from being stretched every direction. I also liked the smell! Then again at night, I would do another layer of bio oil followed by the coconut oil. I do have to say that you should sleep in a shirt that you don’t mind getting greasy. It never stained my clothes, but I didn’t want it getting all over my sheets.
I loved my pregnant belly so much. It was a literal beach ball! But I have to admit I love my non-pregnant belly much more because I can actually shave my legs + tie my shoes. I also don’t want woman to feel ashamed about their stretchmarks! They are beautiful reminders of what our bodies of capable are. I am just acknowledging that it is the 21st century where girls are always conscious of their body + appearance. We will do crazy things just to feel confident in our skin. And nurturing + taking care of my body during pregnancy is what made me happy + confident. I know not everyone feels the same, and that is okay! Do whatever makes you able to embrace your body + make pregnancy easier on yourself.
