Stretchmark Watch.

I have been on stretchmark watch from the time my belly started growing. Apparently stretchmarks are inevitable if your mom had them when she was pregnant...something about it being in your genes. Well, my momma has them. Boy, does she. Ha ha. Sorry mama :P So although I have been bracing myself for the day I'll see those scraggly lines on my belly, I have to admit, actually seeing them appearing before my eyes would be a major upset. Especially since my tummy area was sort of my pride and joy pre-pregnancy, because it was quite flat...before I ate anything. And only in the morning when I woke up. And when it's not the time of the month. Oh, and after a good poop. Anyway, I'm definitely not expecting a flat tummy after the baby (who am I? Gisele Bundchen!?) but to have it laden with stretchmarks would be like the start to the end of my 'youth'. Ok lah, to put it simply, come on, who likes stretch marks right?? Those suckers are almost impossible to get rid of once you get them!

So last week, as I looked into the mirror for my daily stretchmark watch, I saw It. Them. Lines. On the lower left of my belly. I screamed. Yasir came running. Or maybe I ran to him...can't really remember, it all happened so fast. But I demanded Yasir inspect them up close. So he did. If we had a magnifying glass, I would've totally told him to use it. Then after seconds of inspecting my belly, he looked up and looked at me with an expression which said 'awwwwww honeyyyy'. And I remember muttering something along the lines of "It's not laaa. No lahh. They're not laaaa!!" over and over again. As if I continued muttering those words, by some miracle they would go away. After half an hour of being in denial, and Yasir wiping away my tears (I was hormonal, can you really blame me?) and telling me I was still beautiful, I accepted the fact that my stomach was no longer stretchmark-free. I told myself I'd live. So what if it signaled the end of my youth. My stretchmarks tell a story. The 'I'm-a-mama' story. I had a baby with this body. My husband still thinks I'm sexy, stretchmarks or not. And that's all that matters.

Funny thing is, when I woke up the next day, the stretchmarks had vanished! Turns out they could've just been the scraggly marks I got from the material on our sofa, from lounging around. But at least the false alarm has in a way prepared me mentally for what might come. I've heard stories where the preggo stays stretchmark-free right up till the 8th month, and suddenly out of nowhere the suckers pop up. Oh well. In the meantime, I'll continue to apply my Pureen lotion or Bio-Oil. One can hope! And if I still get stretch marks, I'll be okay. If I don't, then GREAT! I'm good, stretchmarks or not. Broken skin and lines may signal the end of my 'youth'...but in the end, I know that every single line on my belly was definitely worth getting :)