Stretch Marks are the New Sexy

So I was hanging out with one of my gorgeous cousins a few weeks back and we were having a good old chat about pregnancy problems, as she was getting ever so close to her due date.

She was telling me some of the most grotesque things I have ever heard in relation to tests and things you need to do when you are pregnant (I’ll leave those for another day) when all of a sudden she yelled ‘OMG YOU HAVE GOT TO GET CREAM FOR YOUR STRETCH MARKS!!” (It was hilarious because I wasn’t even pregnant at that point, but I appreciated her – very scary – pre-warning)

Stretch marks were not something I had really thought about before, but I knew it would be inevitable, and best to be prepared. My cousin recommended “Palmer’s Massage Cream for Stretch Marks” and said that had worked well for her (if you’re interested there’s a link at the bottom of the page).

I thought I would have heaps of time to research and be prepared, but low and behold a month later I saw a pink line on a stick and knew I was done for.

I remembered my cousin’s warning, and the weekend after seeing the little line on the stick I raced down to the shops and grabbed a bottle of Palmers. Then, like most first-time paranoid mums-to-be (if you’ve been one, I’m sure you know what I mean – you stress over everything from whether the cheese you’re eating is safe to whether there’s some crazy chemical in your cream that’s going to rob your baby of its ears and eyes).

I read the ingredients on the back of the bottle and decided I wanted something more “natural”. So there I was, frantically texting my friend who’s studying natural medicine to ask for her opinion. She suggested bio-oils, so I headed over to the chemist to see what I could find. Luckily, there was a lovely naturopath there that talked me through all the options from Vitamin E cream to Rosehip oil, and I made my decision.

Rosehip oil it was.

Now, I know I’m taking a bit of a gamble here. I have it on good authority from my cousin that she did not get stretch marks in the places where she religiously applied her palmers every day. What I don’t know, is whether or not the rosehip is going to work!

Since we’ve got 9 or so months to find out… until then, I’d love to know – did you use any creams to avoid stretch marks? Did they work? Do you know of any natural alternatives that give great results? Or are you some super lucky person who’s had 7 kids and no sign of a stretch mark what-so-ever?

Lastly, just for fun, who are you betting on in the stretch mark stakes? (My cuz with her palmers or me with my rosehip!?)

Let us know in the comments below!

Lastly, if you’re keen to check out any of these products, click here for the link to Palmers and here or here for two different Rosehip products I have tried so far.