Stretch Marks & Pregnancy Prep: 1st Time
Stretch Marks & Pregnancy Prep
***Disclaimer*** I was a paranoid first time mom. I have since calmed down. I am still somewhat high strung by nature (working on it!), but I am not nearly as crazy as I was before.
Once I learned we were pregnant, I wanted to make sure I had a healthy pregnancy and started to prep my environment to welcome baby into. The two books that helped me most with this preparation were “Nourishing Traditions of Baby and Child Care” and “Child Health Guide.” The nourishing traditions book helped me understand the importance of whole foods and good fats to aid in the developing fetus. One of the biggest nutrition changers I made, was implementing cod liver oil, I take Green Pastures Blue ice fermented cod liver oil. This is a super food high in vitamin A and D, which supports proper development of organs and bones and even helps with maintaining a full term pregnancy. The other book helped me scrutinize my environment to make sure it was as safe and chemical free as possible. For example; water filtration, cleaning supplies, air purifiers and even talked about mattress pad covers. It mentioned there are several countries who promote mattresses wrapping and as a result, their number of SIDS have dramatically decreased. I was not 100% sure I believed this, but hey, it couldn’t hurt. If a particular wrap MAY help reduce the chances of SIDS, I am game for trying it!
Another big area I wanted to research and prep, was the side effects of stretching my body! Call me vein, but I really did not want to get stretch marks. I had read several articles that said unfortunately, it is genetic and the creams do not absorb down to the layer were the stretch marks actually occur. Since my mother got some pretty gnarly stretch marks, I was determined to do everything I could to prevent them! I did find a helpful book by Peggy Emch, Primal Moms Look Good Naked. She talked about dry brushing, exercising, staying hydrated and certain foods that add collagen to the body. The regimen I developed may seem a bit neurotic, but you will soon learn that is just me!
Stretch Mark Prevention Routine
Morning: dry brush (tummy, sides, lower back, hips, thighs and breasts), then I rubbed Mambino Organics belly butter on (get some cheap under shirts to wear so you do not stain your clothes), I also added three tablespoons of gelatin powder to my morning teas/coffee (I like this one for hot liquids).
Evening: Dry brush again; apply liquid vitamin E, coconut oil and almond oil to all areas that stretch (tummy, sides, lower back, hips, thighs and breasts). Warning this stuff does seep through shirts, so I suggest getting several cheap undershirts.
In addition to my morning and evening routine, I also drank a lot of water during the day and tried to exercise at least 2-3 times a week. I really enjoyed pregnancy yoga and cardio barre classes.
All in all, I had a pretty standard pregnancy and it was not too complicated. In the first trimester I was pretty nauseous, but found that homemade bone broth, orange juice and teas helped. In the second trimester, the nausea subsided and I did develop some pretty uncomfortable back aches. I was able to remedy this by being adjusted by a chiropractor who was trained to work with pregnant women. The third trimester I felt big and heavy, which is to be expected. Even though I complained during my pregnancy about sore feet, an achy back and being tired, in hindsight I really loved sporting a belly. I had fun daydreaming about my baby to be and it was even fun to accessorize with!
Things I used and loved during my pregnancy:
Vitamins/Supplements:
Books:
Belly/body care:
