Hate my stretch marks 30 weeks pregnant

[MJW1999]

Hello idk how else to word this and I feel so silly but wanted advice. I’m 30 weeks pregnant today (with a very much wanted and tried for baby) but I can’t get past how much my body has changed I am really struggling with it. 😭I feel I almost focused so hard on having a pregnancy stick after so many losses that I didn’t think of how much my body would change.

I’ve always been tiny I’m 5,4 and was 6stone 4 the week I found out I was pregnant I am now 9stone. I used to have a six pack and was really toned without a single stretch mark and now I’m really big. I’ve got these stretch marks all over my bum and I really feel disgusting 🤮 Is there anything I can do to remove these? I literally hate them I cry every time I see them or if I feel them. It’s actually making me feel really down. I feel I’ve lost myself this pregnancy I don’t look like me anymore. 😪

I don’t know how my SO will ever find me attractive again. He likes skinny girls and I’ve noticed he’s looking up really skinny models on Instagram which let’s face it are only for one reason, our sex life had literally become a once a week thing where as before it was at least 5 times a week and I know it’s because he doesn’t fancy me anymore (he doesn’t seem interested even when we are having sex it’s like he’s having to focus on finishing and doesn’t actually want to do it)

Is there anything I can do to get my confidence back? I just feel rubbish

Is there anything I can do to remove these stretch marks or potentially reduce the chance of any more coming?

any underwear suggestions that can hide stretch marks that are on the inside of your bum (not hips) that don’t look like granny knickers

thank you 😊

I typed out a really long response then the page refreshed lol 😂 to Everyone asking about my weight.

Ive always been really skinny and underweight. Food was scarce during my childhood and ir was only when I moved into my dads home did I start to gain weight but this stopped suddenly and I stopped gaining weight I’ve tried shakes and upped my calories I genuinely eat more calories than a lot of people more than double my weight even pre pregnancy. I started exercising to boast my confidence as silly as it sounds my abs and having a bum gave me shape and I felt amazing. I lost 4 pounds when I got covid which is also when I conceived (the week I got covid I conceived the Tuesday and got the positive covid test the Friday) I was bed bound for 3 weeks I recovered from covid but was still breathless and couldn’t exercise I then had to remain not exercising once I got my positive pregnancy test as the pregnancy is high risk and start on progesterone sippositories. I’m now on blood thinning injections. Obviously being covered in brusies from these also probably doesn’t help my self esteem lol 😂 but I want to reassure everyone I was severely underweight but it wasn’t through restricted eating or anything like that I just really struggled to gain weight and it seems now I’ve piled it on it’s thrown me.

I can’t seem to find that online what is it called? Think it may help with my c section scar later on

Also you shouldn’t feel like your husbands cheating is on you or your stretch marks so please don’t blame yourself (sounds like you are but if I’m wrong then please tell me) 💖💖

Hi OP.

I'm sorry you feel this way.

Pregnancy is a huge life changing experience and so is having a baby. Your body will probably never go back to the way it was before and neither will you.

Stretch marks don't disappear - there is no magic cream or lotion that will make them go away - but they do fade. If yours are angry and purple right now then you can take heart from the fact that they will eventually fade to silver and they won't be so noticeable.

You can still make yourself feel better by taking care of yourself physically. Eat well, drink plenty of water, stay active, moisturise, get your hair done, put on some makeup, do whatever makes you feel good about yourself. It's important to do this once the baby arrives. Just because you're responsible for keeping a tiny human alive doesn't mean you have to lose yourself.

Our bodies all become less firm, less smooth, more wrinkled and more scarred as we get older. It is the price we pay for living. Your stretch marks will tell the story of how you brought your baby safely into the world.

PS - just read some of your updates.

Regarding your baby's weight and the feeding, try not to worry about this. My baby was unexpectedly tiny when he was born at almost 40 weeks, but he fed really well, gained loads of weight and is now on the 75th centile. If you want to breastfeed, I would recommend trying to actually breastfeed, rather than expressing. Exclusive pumping is incredibly hard work and less efficient than breastfeeding. Try expressing some colostrum and freezing it once you get to about 37 weeks or so. I did this and was able to supplement my baby with my own colostrum rather than formula, which I think helped him regain his birth weight more quickly.

I also had a C-section. Once I was about 3 months postpartum I used silicone strips on my scar for a while, but I wasn't very consistent with them. I don't know whether it helped at all, but 14 months later my scar is very small and unobtrusive and I don't really have an overhang even though I never quite got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and am now pregnant again.

Thank you for your kind words ❤️ I can’t breast feed directly as much as I’d love too I feel it would really affect my mental health (I can’t have anyone touch them after DV and R**e so As much as I’d love too id really worry about what would happen if I tried and would hate it to affect my bonding with my baby. The silicone strips sound amazing and I’ll look into them and it’s reassuring to know your son was born smaller but is doing so well now 💖