“Ako na mismo ang magsasabi sa’yo, maganda ka.” (Let me be the one to tell you, you’re beautiful)
This was my reply to a mummy-friend who was worried about how her husband would think of her with all the dark lines on her tummy.
No man, in his right mind, would ever think of his wife unattractive just because there are now stretchmarks on a previously flawless belly.
I had been advocating on helping out mums ever since the third trimester of my pregnancy, and I read about ugly moments all the time. Mums want to know how to prevent the lines from coming. They want to know if it can be removed and what products they can use to do so. They want to know if not scratching when it itches like crazy will help.
Just like other mums, I tried. My husband bought Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lotion when I was four months pregnant. I never scratched my tummy. Five, six, seven months went by and nothing. I thought I was spared, but on the eighth month, voila! They came ever so slowly, one by one, until they were higher than my bellybutton. They were dark, dark red lines screaming on my skin. I even have them on my right breast!
But I loved them.
I wore my pre-pregnancy shirts at home, so my tummy was out, most of the time. Whenever I get visitors, and they keep asking why they’re so dark, and my girl friends seem to be on the verge of considering staying childless.
But I loved them.
I conceived Khale on the 26th of September 2014, and he grew and grew and the lines appeared.
And he grew some more inside until he was eight pounds. He came out via caesarean section on the 7th of July 2015. The vertical cut across my tummy became another permanent line.
But I love them.
See, whenever I see those dark lines on my belly, I think about how Khale used to be there. It was his first home, and the reason why I had those lines was because I nourished a life inside of me that needed an embrace and the warmth that only my belly can provide.
I am happy because it meant he grew.
This post is for the women who have these marks, whether they are dark red or have turned light already. Remember that for nine months, behind them was life; and that life is now or will soon be a baby that you hold in your arms and in your heart. Remember that you’re a mother and you will always be beautiful.
Khale is turning seven months, soon. Sometimes, I lie down on the mat with him sitting beside me, pulling my shirt up to feed. He would look at my tummy, and I tell him, “This used to be your home”.
And he would smile at me, and place his head on my tummy.
And I loved that.
This was my reply to a mummy-friend who was worried about how her husband would think of her with all the dark lines on her tummy.
No man, in his right mind, would ever think of his wife unattractive just because there are now stretchmarks on a previously flawless belly.
I had been advocating on helping out mums ever since the third trimester of my pregnancy, and I read about ugly moments all the time. Mums want to know how to prevent the lines from coming. They want to know if it can be removed and what products they can use to do so. They want to know if not scratching when it itches like crazy will help.
Just like other mums, I tried. My husband bought Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lotion when I was four months pregnant. I never scratched my tummy. Five, six, seven months went by and nothing. I thought I was spared, but on the eighth month, voila! They came ever so slowly, one by one, until they were higher than my bellybutton. They were dark, dark red lines screaming on my skin. I even have them on my right breast!
But I loved them.
I wore my pre-pregnancy shirts at home, so my tummy was out, most of the time. Whenever I get visitors, and they keep asking why they’re so dark, and my girl friends seem to be on the verge of considering staying childless.
But I loved them.
I conceived Khale on the 26th of September 2014, and he grew and grew and the lines appeared.
And he grew some more inside until he was eight pounds. He came out via caesarean section on the 7th of July 2015. The vertical cut across my tummy became another permanent line.
But I love them.
See, whenever I see those dark lines on my belly, I think about how Khale used to be there. It was his first home, and the reason why I had those lines was because I nourished a life inside of me that needed an embrace and the warmth that only my belly can provide.
I am happy because it meant he grew.
This post is for the women who have these marks, whether they are dark red or have turned light already. Remember that for nine months, behind them was life; and that life is now or will soon be a baby that you hold in your arms and in your heart. Remember that you’re a mother and you will always be beautiful.
Khale is turning seven months, soon. Sometimes, I lie down on the mat with him sitting beside me, pulling my shirt up to feed. He would look at my tummy, and I tell him, “This used to be your home”.
And he would smile at me, and place his head on my tummy.
And I loved that.
