Bio Oil and Body Butter

When I first met our friends, Moira and Gunnar, Mo was about 6 months pregnant. Now she absolutly didn't look pregnant - in fact pretty much until the end, if you looked at her from behind, you would not know that she was carrying little Miss Molly. However, I won't spend too much time on this, because as we all know - the way other people see you doesn't really matter one bit when you are the one in the "trenches" and feel like you are the size of a house. Many a conversation has been had about this between one mommy to be and one very adorable mommy as of late!

Sorry - I digress - the point of this post - One of the tricks that Moira let me in on very early was the use of a product called Bio Oil along with applications of the Coco Body Butter from the Body Shop to help avoid STRETCH MARKS!

Once you get over the fact that you feel and sort of look like a greased butterball turkey - I am finding especially as of late - I am telling you, this stuff works!

I ran out of Bio Oil about a week ago - and in between my ever hectic schedule and my lack of desire to stop at Wal-Mart after a long day (yes my friends, this is where you can find this magical stuff) I pretty much relied on only the Body Butter to help avoid stretch marks this past week.

Last Tuesday - I woke up to find...A STRETCH MARK on my right side...I was pissed to say the least. I started scrubbing my belly every morning with a buff puff, especially in the "spot" but knew that nothing would really help until I went back to the Bio Oil.

So this weekend, I made it a point to run up to Wal-Mart and pick up a bottle of this cure all. And wouldn't you know it - it has been three days (Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning applications) and the stretch mark on my side is fading already.

Ok Ok...I know - stretch marks are genetic - as in, if your mom got them, odds are pretty good that you will get them too. And that after a certain point, I am not sure there is anything you can do. But I will share a few things with you.
- Moira has told me on several occasions that her mom has stretch marks with her, but Moira used Bio Oil and Body Butter religiously two - three times a day during her entire pregnancy with Molly...and she does not have visible stretch marks
- After straying for a week, and seeing the result - I will never go without this stuff again during this or any other subsequent pregnancy.
- It is not expensive - around $11 at Wally World for magic in a bottle - it can be found in the same aisle as the mederma and other scar/stretch mark products, but works so much better.
- Use the Coco Butter Body Butter from the Body Shop - not only does it smell wonderful, but it works really well!

another perk from this daily application is that it keeps your belly from itching as well - as you start to get into the later weeks of this adventure...you find that the skin on your belly, back and boobs really kicks in the itching overdrive - it is stretching every day so I guess I can understand why...but this stuff, applied twice a day, has totally helped to squash my itching.

My husband is not a fan of this routine...mostly because the Bio Oil has a little bit of smell - I don't mind it, but he is not a fan, and he doesn't like that it is greasy or slimy to the touch...but I remind him several times a day that this is a small price to pay to ensure that his wife is not totally grossed out by her body post baby (well from the stretch mark stand point at least)

To all my prego friends or those considering prego-ness again...and even those who may be looking for some help in fading existing stretch marks...try these two products!!!

I can't stress enough how happy I am that Moira shared this little piece of insider wisdom (thank you to our neighbors up north as she learned it from her friends in Canada) with me and now I can share it with you!