I’ve been sent countless messages asking how I did not get terrible stretch marks. Not going to lie, this is something I have been avoiding writing about because it is such a sensitive subject (which I completely understand why). I’m about to share my raw opinion on this topic and my mentality during my twin pregnancy.
I went into my pregnancy from the very beginning knowing the chance of my stomach getting wrecked (skin wise) was very likely. When I found out there were twins in there – at 17 weeks- I legit thought my skin was screwed, to put it nicely. In all seriousness, I did not have a ton of hope for a positive outcome BUT here’s how I looked at it. I knew I would regret not doing everything in my power to prevent stretch marks. I also knew that if I did everything to prevent them, yet still got them, I would at least have the peace of mind knowing I tried. Would I be self-conscious? Of course. However, I wouldn’t have to deal with the thought of “what if I had tried?” I could at least look at myself in the mirror and say “You tried your damn hardest”.
Here is what I did every single day:
  •  I drank water like a mad woman.
  • I made sure I did not gain weight all at once. Of course, you need to gain weight for your pregnancy and for baby but it’s important to gain weight -gradually- Gradual weight gain reduces the chance of stretch marks over rapid weight gain.
  • I never had the mentality “I’m pregnant with twins, therefore, homegirl is eating for THREE!!!” I truly did not. My caloric intake obviously increased drastically but I did not overdo it. I had cheat meals maybe ten times in that 38-week pregnancy. Some people probably thought I should have had “more fun eating” while pregnant. Let me tell ya, I’m so glad I did not get caught up in that because it made my recovery ten times easier! I chose healthy food over “having fun” so I could have a more enjoyable postpartum fitness journey. I’m LOVING my mom body!
  • I rubbed lotion on my belly at least twice a day! Sometimes MORE!
  • I worked out until the day before I delivered my babies. I swam laps every single day of summer and this drastically helped me to gain weight at gradual healthy pace.
Am I lucky?
Another comment/question I get a lot and it doesn’t offend me because I truly do not know. I think my physical postpartum outcome was a mixture of luck and prevention. I took every single piece of advice I got extremely seriously. I was consistent…consistent to the point that I couldn’t go to bed without rubbing lotion all over my stomach. It became a nightly routine that I NEEDED to fall asleep. I drank water like crazy even though I had two little bodies putting pressure on my bladder. Not fun! I stayed consistent even when my very own doctor said it was highly unlikely I could prevent stretch marks being pregnant with two babies.
Why do I feel like this is a super sensitive subject and it’s hard to open up about?
I know there may be a mom reading this that did everything right yet still did not get the outcome she wanted. It makes my heart ache even to type this out because I know how hard it is to lead a healthy pregnancy when you want to eat everything in sight –Ohhhh– and don’t get me started on those crazy pregnancy hormones! The only thing I can say is you are a bad ass and an amazing mom for leading a healthy pregnancy for your baby. You are an inspiration and I’m sorry the outcome was not what you envisioned it to be.
I decided to share my strategy towards preventing stretch marks because it’s a whole big life lesson in itself.
You can do every single little thing perfectly and still not get an outcome you want. However, there is also a chance you do it all right and get the outcome you WANT. I will always try regardless of if the odds are against me and I hope you do too. Whoever that is reading this, I genuinely hope you always try even if failure could potentially be the outcome. There is always a chance for that happy ending you want. If any of you have gone through a similar experience, I would love for you to share in the comment section below! Is there something you put you’re all into but it still went wrong? Or did it go extremely well?! Share your life lesson goodness with the rest of us!