Am I the only one?

[SansaStark90]

Am I the only one who is covered in stretch marks? I’m almost four months pp, and it’s really getting me down. Really down. All I saw during pregnancy was photos of unblemished bumps. Friends telling me they had none and they’d be gutted if they had them. I even went for them Microneedling the other week and the beautician said they weren’t that common and shed had hers removed when she had a tummy tuck. I feel like the only woman who is ravaged by them. I walk around feeling that under my clothes I look a monster.

I only got a couple of stretch marks, but they were very deep and dimpled. They took a couple of years but they did go.
It’s been four months, that is nothing. It takes time for your body to heal.

I have stretch marks from mid calves to my shoulders from my first pregnancy. That baby is now 22. Some of them are over an inch wide and still an angry purple/red colour. Never faded. Ive tried every lotion and oil over the years, none make a jot of difference. You need to learn to acept them or you are going to spend your life miserable. And its really not worth it over some marks there is nothing you can really do about and is down to biology. Just a small amount lower stomach, maybe surgically removable, but beyond that, nothing.

My eldest daughter is grown up now but I was 16 when I had her and my god I hated those stretch marks they were everywhere my arms, hips, waist I hated them! My nanna told me they would fade and I didn’t believe her however I’ve not thought about them for a long time and this thread has reminded me and I don’t have any visible stretch marks anymore. I promise you they will fade - I didn’t believe they would either x

I actually have none (other than the ones I got when my hips grew at 13).

I think they come when you lose the baby weight and I never have 😬 so my body is lumpy and bumpy in other ways...

(and yes, I agree with PPs that our bodies have done amazing things and we need to accept and love them, even the fat/stretch marked bits)

I've never had stretch marks but due to later weight gain and loss have a saggy tummy. I've learnt my tummy sagging is just part of life. Don't look at possibly airbrushed pictures of people online or on mags and compare yourself. Comparison is the thief of joy.

I felt the same as you did after I had DD. I was underweight before pregnancy and ended up with awful stretchmarks. It seemed other people hadn't got them. At the time celebrity magazines always seemed to show mothers who had just given birth with flawless stomachs, and some of my friends escaped them, and for a long time I felt ashamed, as though I had done something wrong.
Now, if you look at Instagram, even the fitness influencers have stretch marks, you are not alone.

My daughter has stretch marks around her chest. Years 5 and 6 she was quite fat...this is when they appeared. Since starting year 7 she has gone from size 14 to 8-10. She noticed her stretch marks and got upset. Like I tell my 19 year old 6ft 4 19st son who also has quite a few of them, they fade away over time and are hardly noticeable

I must add i don't have many stretch marks but I have a stupid shaped belly after a cesarean..I would much prefer the former! I have a "shelf" just above my scared which i absolutely hate. It was only a few weeks ago but I bet it lasts forever. I've resigned myself to spanx for the rest of my life..

I’ve had 3 babies, I’m covered in them, I don’t really care, my body has done amazing things.

Perhaps a bit of photoshop on the bump photos? Please try not to compare yourself, I know it's not easy. Def do try things such as bio oil theres no harm and they may work for you.

I got huge ones in the last weeks of pregnancy and now 19months pp they've faded tons.

There’s nothing, unfortunately, that can be done to prevent stretch marks. You either get them or you don’t. I had loads of stretch marks as a teenager which caused me a lot of distress, but for some reason I didn’t get any, not one, during pregnancy. Everyone I know got them, but more importantly, they talked about them. Which normalised them. When I was a teenager NOBODY was talking about stretch marks and I felt like the unluckiest person in the world. My youngest son has a small cluster of them on his back, but doesn’t seem too bothered because I told him they were normal and would fade.

I got so big with dd1 that I even have stretch marks on my knees!! They go above my belly button and while they’re faded now (dd1 is 20) they give my stomach the appearance of crape paper.

it used to bother me a lot. I’m kind of over it now as with some high waisted bikini bottoms they’re not really noticeable but it’s taken years to get to the point that I’m not embarrassed by them. I’ve also lost quite a bit of weight which means that despite being saggy my stomach is fairly flat and doesn’t look terrible.

Yours will fade in time and I’m sure that they’ll bother you less. It’s just one of the downside for some people when they have kids. I had dd1 really young so my whole adult life more or less I’ve been embarrassed of my stretch marks and it’s only the last few years I’ve felt ok about them.

You're friends aren't being honest everyone gets them to a lesser or greater extent my ds grew a foot in about 5 months and has purple stretch marks all over his back and arms (dr said its normal when they take huge growth spurts) I had loads with my dd yet no new ones with ds and after a few years they had become less visible and deep and now you can't see them unless you're really looking for them

I had very indented, long stretch marks too! I can’t remember when they started to fade/become less indented, but definitely by a year post-partum and now I’m ~6 years out, they’re almost invisible unless the light catches them (they look silvery). Please don’t let your shit friends make you feel less-than. Speak to your partner and hopefully he will reassure you ♥️

I also have stretch marks on my hips, tummy after childbirth and thighs.

doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Scars tell part of the story of our life.

however I did get braces as an adult. So I understand wanting to change things about your appearance.

Love this description, it’s so true! I’m more than 20 years pp and my stomach still looks like that!

My body has seen me through some tough times and health problems so now I just focus on what I can do physically rather than what I look like.

Friends telling me they had none and they’d be gutted if they had them.

You don't need procedures, you need nicer friends. Friends don't tell you they'd be gutted if they had a feature you have. Would you say that about big noses to a friend with a big nose? All the photos you see are fake and it sounds like your friends are fake too, sorry.

Oh OP I would give you a hug if I could.
When I had my first, nearly 30 years ago now, I ended up with angry deep stretch marks all over my belly and my bum of all places. I was so ashamed and used to cry about my body. I always have my tummy covered even now and it’s the one thing I would change if I could. But they do get better. Even the deep ones. The redness and swollen nastiness of them reduces.
It’s so hard to feel such deep dislike for a part of you and I send you all my empathy. I find it very hard to believe that none of your friends have any and that they would say the things like that makes them very unfriendly indeed. Frenemies!
It’s easier to say just love yourself than to do it, but I promise you it does get easier.

I have proper tiger stripes. I didn't notice them till after DS was born (he was a hefty baby). But they're the result of my body bringing new life into the world. I also have stretch marks on my hips and breasts from going through puberty. They're nothing to feel bad about.

I have them on hips and stomach. Indented which has improved over the years and faded so that they are not as noticeable.

Teen ds also has them on top of arms/ chest as does dh.
Anyone telling you they are unusual is lying.

Its been 20 years since my last baby.
Mine have faded alot i only had a few on my belly very low down.
Barley see them now.

I have proper tiger stripes! Most people I know have them but I was annoyed at first as my sister-in-law has none after 3 babies. To be honest I LOVE them. They remind me of what an incredible thing my body did growing my two babies. They stretch from about 5cm above my belly button to my groin. Do I think they’re “typically” beautiful, no I suppose not, I’ve not really thought about it, but I have two amazing little humans. I can’t hate marks that prove my motherhood.

I have them OP.

My DH has them and needless to say he’s never been pregnant.

They will fade over time.