When I was younger and I would see my mom’s stretch marks, I used to pray that I would never get them.

Well my sister and I had our first babies around the same time and she had none on her stomach…me….I THOUGHT I had none. That was until I delivered and my bump started to deflate. I realized with horror that it covered my entire abdomen from the rib cage all the way down. What did I do wrong? Did I scratch too much, did I not put on enough lotion?

After two babies I have realized, you can’t escape them just like you can’t escape having brown eyes, blonde hair, or being 5’2″. My point is that if you’re gonna get them, you’re gonna get them. I do believe that there are things that you can do to lessen the severity such as moisturizing and not scratching. The drier your skin is, the more likely it is to tear. The more moist it is, the more likely it is to stretch. So maybe if I moisturized more and scratched less, then my stretch marks wouldn’t be as bad. Either way, they are here to stay and my life is not any less enjoyable because of it.

I went through a period where I hated for my husband to see them. I was embarrassed and felt like they were ugly. I hear women say all the time “they are beautiful reminders of carrying a child” I didn’t believe them and those words went right out the other ear. I have a lot of other things that remind me of having a child. Like the mysterious dry snot that is always on my right shoulder. They, like stretch marks, never disappear!

Yes, I was angry but like I said, I’ve come to accept them. I am happy with who I am and I always tell moms that are nervous about getting stretch marks, “Don’t let your skin get too dry and don’t tear at it. Instead focus on being healthy and looking great in your clothes again after baby.”

My husband truly loves me and never seems to see my stretch marks. In fact, sometimes I flash them at him like “LOOK ISN’T THIS DISGUSTING!!??” He always responds with, “Don’t you remember how big JD was?” So I guess it’s a reminder to my husband. My kids love to see them and my 7 year old always says “Mom, that was from me right because I was so big?” He’s proud of them! The one thing I am reminded of when I see them is that I AM HUMAN. My kids remind me that I am MOM. And I’m happy because I can fit my size 5 jeans (sometimes 3 when I lay down and then squat to stretch them out).

Stretch Marks still SUCK….but it doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful! Don’t believe me? Check out this amazing website :