Thursday, May 7, 2009

Stretch mark war and belly progress

I have wanted to see my own progress through this pregnancy and after searching through old posts decided to share what I found. 
Here is my belly progress to date.
A few weeks pregnant.


2 1/2 months pregnant.

Four months pregnant.


Four and a half months pregnant.


26-27 weeks. 


28 weeks.

six and a half months pregnant.


Seven months pregnant.

33 weeks. Seven and a half months.

33 weeks pregnant. (click on his glasses to see)



8 months pregnant.


36 weeks. Only a few to go.
If you go back and look at the first photo and then come back to this one you will see that I have gained a lot.
You have all been so kind in saying that I am all belly and thank you. It makes me feel so good. However when I look in the mirror I just don't see myself.
 It is weird. Like my face is pregnant too or something.

And now what I am doing about stretch marks this time around. 
With Kaitlyn I was lucky and didn't have a single mark. Within a few weeks of giving birth to her you would never have known I had had a baby. 
And then Ethan came along.
I used drugstore creams and wasn't too impressed. My skin felt like it was being ripped apart. Maybe this was partially due to the fact that I had just had a baby and three months later was pregnant again. Maybe my skin never healed and my body was depleted of vitamins.

Whatever it was I ended up with stretch marks and wrinkles. My stomach looked like an elephants butt.
Then I came across a set of creams by Arbonne.


I started using them a few months after having Ethan and a miracle happened.

And it did keep getting better. My stomach went back to looking like normal. It was amazing.
This time around I searched for a cream I could use throughout the pregnancy as well.
Organic and smooth. No itchy skin, no stretch marks. I can still see the scars left from carrying Ethan but they are like shadows.
Oh and it doesn't make veins disappear. You can see the spidery blue veins above but thank goodness that is not stretch marks!
I hope to use both sets of creams after giving birth. I'll let you know how it works out. 
Hopefully not elephant butt this time!

And that is the story of my belly so far. 
I have felt huge throughout this whole pregnancy and compared to Kaitlyn and Ethan's pregnancies I am huge.
19 lbs gained with Kaitlyn. 24 with Ethan.....and so far with this one 38 lbs. I am guessing that this is why I hurt so bad this time around.
I cannot figure out why I have gained so much more. I don't eat any differently and I am more active. Oh well, I'll have my work cut out for me after Jr #3 makes his appearance.
Enough obsessing already! I know!

Back to normal posting soon  :-D

16 comments:

Gayle said...

I love your pregnancy posts! The skin on my stomach has never been the same since my third child. Maybe I'll look for those creams. Then again, maybe I'm too old to bother!

Unknown said...

well you are all belly and you are BEAUTIFUL.

I need that belly cream, my tummy looks horrible!

I gained 20 with my daughter and 50!!!! with my son...and now, I am at my pre-high school weight, my tummy needs all the extra help.

Brooke said...

Don't you specifically hate your belly button right after giving birth. I do. It's a big enough cavern to hide the baby in : ) You must be breeding a football player this time around.

Mary said...

I understand about looking in the mirror and thinking your face looks pregnant, too! I don't hink anybody else notices it, though. We just tend to be critical of ourselves and we're looking for things like that. I feel the same way when I'm pregnant, too. I think I must retain water at the end and it makes my face swell up a little because after I have the baby it looks better, so maybe that's what's happening to you, too. You look great,though, I think pregnant bellys are so cute and you make me want to be pregnant again!

bethany actually said...

Hate to tell you, but I think the gaining-more-weight and feeling-tireder parts of this pregnancy are probably related to being older! Our bodies just don't bounce back as quickly as we age. Wait till your knees start hurting and you feel like an old granny! ;-)

But all that said, you definitely look good for being 36 weeks pregnant! I'm sure you don't feel like your old self, but that's because you're not--you have an almost fully-cooked baby in there, woohoo!

BeachMama said...

Great series! And well 38lbs is still all baby to me :)

Kiki said...

Oh my Gosh that is a beautiful belly! I have three children. I gained 45 with the first-boy, 35 with the second-boy, and 30 with the third-girl. But I lost it all plus some with the first. Lost it all with the second, and 8 months post pardum I still have 10 pounds to loose. I think it might be age? Boys vs. girls? You'll be fine! You'll see. Are you planning on nursing?

Kori said...

Oh my god, I swear on all I hold holy my ovaries are freaking screaming right now. No more overnights with Steve for awhile, I assure you! gorgeous.

Hannah said...

You totally ARE all belly! You look amazing, Anna. I gained over 50lb with Ethan, not quite so much with Tyler. But I have AWFUL stretch marks, and LOTS of them. I tried a very expensive cream and it did nothing. Apparently it's genetic so I blame my mother, LOL! It used to really bug me but now I don't care. I'm not a bikini girl (never have been) and the only person who sees my stretch marks is Rob, and he thinks I should be proud of my scars, my "war wounds". I'm so glad you found that awesome cream! I can't even see any stretch marks on your tummy at all - lucky you!

Unknown said...

Wow, that stretch mark stuff did work great! I love seeing all your pictures as you've progressed. I need to take more belly picks myself...

Pretty Things said...

I love baby bellies. And that shot of you in the sunglasses is terrific -- very clever!

kari and kijsa said...

Happy Mother's Day blessings,
kari & kijsa

Anonymous said...

Anna,

Could you tell me where you got the belly butter? I think Sara would like some.

Love aunty Kathy

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Pregnancy photos are always so amazing to me... I mean, there's a CHILD inside your stomach. A HUMAN BEING. WILD!

Loukia said...

Wow, you are a super gorgeous pregnant woman! You look great!

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