Am I the only one?

I’m really sorry you’re struggling with this OP. For what it’s worth they do fade over time but I do think it would be worth trying to reframe it for the sake of your own body image- they are not a bad thing and nothing to be ashamed of!

I have a beautiful nearly 1 year old daughter, my body was her first home, she literally grew inside me for 9 months, I had no stretch marks throughout my whole pregnancy until the last week when they appeared in full force. They are my baby’s stamp on my body I suppose & are a reminder of what an amazing thing I did there. They have definitely faded with time but also I don’t really care, they are just a part of my body the same way me knees or my elbows are, they are such a natural and normal thing, especially after having a baby, the amount your body has to stretch!

I’m now pregnant with my second baby and I’m sure they’ll come back again this time, and that’s okay!

I have them on knees, thighs and bum from puberty, and stomach and boobs from pregnancy. The stomach and boob ones have really settled down to match the others now LO is 2.
Yours will almost certainly look much much better with time too. However they will never go away completely so if you can mentality reframe how you think about them, I really would.try. They show what you're body did, growing a baby, which is an amazing thing.

I have twins and weirdly I don’t seem to have any stretch marks. I’ve noticed my slim DD aged 15 has some on her hips/bottom so it really is just luck of the draw!

What I do have instead are ugly, twisted varicose veins that are clearly visible if I wear shorts or a knee-length summer dress. I’d gladly swap them for stretch marks on my tummy that no one will see when I’m out in public!

I mean this with absolute love, but I think you’re focussing on the wrong thing here. Sure, get some bio oil/cocoa butter/any other recommended treatment - but I think your goal should be learning to love and accept your body for the beautiful, incredible thing that it is.

Apologies if I’ve missed this - but have you seen your friend’s bodies naked in real life? Because photographers can very easily airbrush out stretch marks and other imperfections….

Stretch marks are not ugly and yours don’t even sound that bad! Not being able to look in the mirror suggests some really deep-seated issues around self-esteem. I’m sorry you’re feeling so awful. I wish I could make you feel better, or help you to see that pale silvery stretch marks don’t stop your body being gorgeous.

Maybe imagine a friend saying all of this to you. Or maybe a daughter when she’s grown-up. Would you think their body was ugly? Or would you tell them that they’re gorgeous and stretch marks make zero difference? Show yourself the same love and kindness ❤️💐

@SansaStark90 “Photo dump of bumps completely perfect” - have you come across airbrushing? No matter what they claim, the vast majority have stretch marks.

Retired midwife here. In my experience, the vast majority of women have stretchmarks. It was rarer to care for a woman without any (some just had a few - breasts, abdo or thighs). Saying that, I don't have any but appreciate that is not the norm.

I never knew bump photos were a thing ... no-one I know has had them. That sounds weird to me, and is definitely part of the problem here OP. Who knows makeup and editing has been done with those photos.

I'm 3 months pp and have them on left boob (only lefty) and around bellybutton. I'm proud of them though. A forever reminder of where my beautiful baby came from (who's keeping me up at 5:30am reading MN).

I have stretch marks and I am proud of them, because I gave birth to the most incredible human being

Most people I know had stretch marks pre baby and then had even more added to their collection during pregnancy.
There’s a book by an author called Kate Claxton called my Mum’s a tiger. It’s a children’s book but is written so beautifully and teaches children about the importance of body positivity and it actually made me feel like I was normal too.

https://amzn.eu/d/j0TMpGK

I have them, they look the same as you describe. I’ve got two DCs and got loads more the second time. I don’t have the kind of friends who do bump pictures though so not really given the stretch marks that much thought really.

@DinoGD

life is too short to hate the bodies we're in!

Love this!

Same here! I'm about 3 1/2 months pp and I've still got them covering my entire lower stomach (so from belly button down!). I won't lie, I was gutted when I got them during pregnancy - they only appeared the last 2/3 weeks as well so I thought I had escaped the pesky things!

But as others say, they're already a little less raw compared to a few months ago and as more time goes on, I'm less bothered by them. I don't hide in front of the mirror either, I've started to admire them weirdly! As my baby gets bigger and is no longer a baby, I'll always have this strange reminder about what an incredible thing my body has done.

It does suck to see online these "perfect" bumps or flat stomachs 2 days after giving birth - I'm more worried about the stomach size rather than what's on it at the moment haha!! But remember, social media is a constant lie, and your friend doesn't sound much of a friend! Take it all with a pinch of salt - life is too short to hate the bodies we're in!

I used this cream after my second baby which helped me. https://www.naydaya.com/products/c-section-recovery-stretch-marks

I had a VD but had a few stretch marks after my second pregnancy that aren’t noticeable now. 1.5yr pp.

oh yeah for sure! I've felt all the negatives and the feeling alone, the comparing to others, stood in front of the mirror with tears in my eyes, all that business. 4 months pp was when i finally think i started to feel somewhat normal again. pp is a long emotional rollercoaster that no one really warned me about. But it gets better and your mind gets clearer.

8 months pp here & covered from belly button to mid thigh. They're getting lighter, but it's obvious they're never going away. As time has gone on I've become less bothered by them.

Everyone has know has them, even my teenage sons, in fact they're a badge of honour to them as it proves how fast their muscles have developed (or something!).

I'd worry less about your stretch marks, which, after all, are proof of what your amazing body did - grow another beautiful human being, and more about what shit friends you appear to have.

Yeah I have them pretty much from the top to the bottom. They start way anice my belly button. And were deep and indented. They take much longer than 4 months to fade.

The child is now 21. They bothered me at first and now I don’t even think about them at all. They don’t bother me in the slightest. But they did at first. They are just part of me. Like the scar on my shin. Now they are very pale not as indented and they are just there. They aren’t disgusting. My stomach isn’t disgusting. It’s just my stomach.

Your friends sound like they are lacking in empathy. Who says things like that?

They fade so much! A combination of bio-oil and Palmers coconut butter lotion really improved my skin condition.

Mine went from looking very "angry" and red, all over my tummy to not being silvery and you can only see them in the right light.

But they don't bother me, they are just like freckles. Some people have them, some don't. It doesn't make us gross or disgusting.

And don't forget people use photoshop and body makeup, if you are referencing online photos.

Again, your friends sound very, very, very unusual of they have made it to adulthood and through pregnancy without any. I would be so skeptical of that.

I have loads. They definitely fade a whole lot with time

stretch marks are completely normal!

i haven’t had a baby, but i have a lot of them on my hips from puberty.

every woman in my family who has given birth have stretch marks on their stomach. some have them on their legs and arms too.

i think stretch marks from pregnancy are beautiful!!