I’ve wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, so when I finally got pregnant at 37 years old, I was over the moon. I was also anxious, though. At first the number one fear on my list was the dreaded stretch marks. When my pregnancy test came back positive, I told my husband, texted my mom, then went on Amazon to buy lotion to prevent stretch marks. I have worked hard my whole life to have a sexy, athletic body, and I was worried about losing it.

Pregnancy was hard for me. I was nauseous the entire time, and wasn’t gaining much weight, but not many people find pregnancy easy, so I pushed through- I kept working full time, exercised regularly, and ate what I could.

5 months pregnant

As the pregnancy progressed, I started getting very, very sick. My heart rate was dropping to around 37 bpm at night and I was becoming too exhausted to function. Then at 30 weeks, I went into labor- I had preeclampsia. My son was born severely underweight and had to spend 2 months in the NICU. We both almost died during the birth.

It turns out, I was starving during the pregnancy, but was too bloated to notice that I was losing a significant amount of muscle mass. I definitely didn’t have stretch marks, but I wish I did. I felt guilty for worrying about them, for pushing through and continuing to work, and for exercising.

What’s so bad about stretch marks anyway? They are marks of something so amazing and beautiful. They are the mark of a warrior.

What makes a good body?? Nothing could be better than a body capable of creating new life. Why did I buy into cultures view that what gives a woman value is her sexual appeal? Why did I objectify myself? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Count your blessings if you have stretch marks; they are beautiful!!

*My son came home December 23rd, and is thriving now. ♥️🙏🏻♥️