Stretch marks...... not surfe if this should be on this forum

[mummyfirsttime]

This may seem really silly however it is how I feel and wondering if anyone else feels the same and if it passes.

I have always been very self-conscious about my body for approx 10 years of my childhood/teenage years I has extremely bad eczema mostly on my legs now into my mid 20's I have this under control. However I am starting to get stretch marks on my tummy and inside of both my thighs I am 26 weeks pregnant and can only imagine that this will get worse as the weeks go by. I am so happy about my pregnancy as is my partner however I can?t get over how ugly I will be after. In my eyes I cannot be attractive to my BF with stretch marks all over and I know that love is not about how a person looks but a sexual attraction/relationship is important to me. BF assures me he thinks im beautiful and will no matter what but seriously what else I he meant to say ' yes I think you will look disgusting!'

I cannot wait for our first baby to come along but I am scared that I let my insecurities affect my relationship with BF or he ends up not finding me attractive anymore and looks elsewhere. We have had had no problem in the past with infidelity so have nothing to base this on im just very scared that I push us apart.

Is this just me am I really being that inconsiderate to all the other people who are not as lucky a me to be healthy etc...

Sorry for being so long winded just can?t speak with friends about this and feel all I do is give BF a hard time when I 'question' him about it.

xx

bump

It's not really about your stretch marks then is it?

Remind yourself frequently that he loves you, is not looking for anyone else and does not mind if you have stretch marks!

Your stretch marks will fade within a year anyway so no need to fret - but they come with the territory for most if us I'm afraid.

Chin up sweetie, it sounds like you have a lovely man to start your lovely family with.

Agree, your stretch marks will fade (when I'm not pg they just look like where I have slept on a crumpled sheet, and only really visible if you're looking for them) but it is easy to feel self conscious. You will both be too busy once baby gets here to really notice anyway!

That said, I was watching Gok a while ago and they spoke to women with stretch marks who felt the same as you, and some who were able to appreciate them - one woman said they were her 'baby lines' which reminded her of how much she loved her children every time she saw them - so maybe a positive?

I met my husband with stretch marks all over my belly. They can be part of life for a lot of women and I don't really think its that much of an issue for men. Men aren't as shallow as we can make them out to be and I'm sure your bf loves you for you not whether you have a few lines on your belly or not. I think the looking at them as a positive is a good idea. And at this stage you don't know if they are going to stay. Are you using some kind of oil or lotion daily? That's supposed to help some women.

As PP said, stretch marks fade but having a baby changes your body in many ways. An important thing is being able to love yourself and your body, accept the changes because you cannot stop them unfortunately. If you can do that than everyone else will love you too.

I think also it is quite normal to be anxious about things during pregnancy, try not to worry too much.