Avoiding stretch marks during the nine month stretch

This is a very unusual post for me but it was actually requested. I'm not a medical professional and this is just observational and opinion based. It also might just be luck. I'm writing this at 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant... assuming I'm not going to have free time much longer. I've been dealing with prodromal labor for about 4 days now. Ouch...

 The pain of childbirth was not my biggest fear during pregnancy (in fact- far from it) it was getting stretch marks. I know it sounds incredibly shallow and petty but it is true.

Here I am at 40 weeks and 2 days. Help!

I've always been passionate about skincare. But pregnancy took it up a notch, and it was the first time I ever splurged on really good products. No one warned me how much skin care and vitamins would add up during pregnancy but it was worth it to me to keep my confidence up and keep me feeling good. Gaining 30lbs was actually a very emotional process for me as I've struggled with eating disorders most of my life. Proper nutrition is the basis of the entire regimen I'm about to pass on to you, and it should be your number one priority during pregnancy not the number on the scale. In fact, I stopped weighing myself and obsessing around four months. It wasn't a healthy attitude and I caught myself eating less than I should.

Firstly, I'm genetically prone to stretch marks. They also run in my family from pregnancy.  Puberty hit me like a ton of bricks and I got them on my inner thighs, hips, and rear. Luckily, those were the only casualties. However, at the time I would starve myself for days to keep a certain number on the scale. I also was unaware of the importance of good hydration at that point in my life. It actually landed me in the hospital with kidney stones at only 19. Hydration is even more important during pregnancy. If you're like me you'll be drinking like a fish constantly anyway while pregnant. Seriously, I have had a drink in my hands for 9 months. I make a point to drink 10-12 large glasses of water throughout the day in addition to 2-3 large glasses of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea (more on that later). In addition to that I also drink 2 large glasses of raw goat's milk daily. I was advised against this by my midwife but I trust my milk handling procedures. Raw milk is probably the most beneficial probiotic out there which is imperative during pregnancy. Some grocery stores have goat's milk for sale and I cannot recommend it enough for overall health. It's also much more gentle on your stomach. Goat's milk and grapefruit were the only things that got me through 10 weeks of hyperemesis gravidarum or severe morning sickness. 

About 30% of my pregnancy skincare routine involves food. I ate tons of fermented foods, raw dairy, processed dairy, fresh vegetables from our garden, fatty fish, but lean red meat (such as venison). I'll be honest- I'm not perfect and I indulged pretty frequently throughout my pregnancy too. Don't feel bad for eating ice cream once a week!

In addition I also took the vitamins pictured here without a prenatal. Prenatals made me incredibly ill. I could not keep them down for longer than 15 minutes even after 14 weeks. Instead I opted for a raw, healthy diet.  Not all of these vitamins should be taken daily and some should not be taken until the 3rd trimester at all. Like I stated before, I chose to get my prenatal nutrition from maintaining a mostly raw, high fat, low processed ingredient, balanced diet instead of a pill. I know this is not a popular stance and I got a lot of sideways looks when I told people I wasn't taking my prenatal.

Reminder: Talk to your doctor or midwife before you start any new supplements. 

Vitamin E- I started taking it at 28 weeks. It's super food for you hair and nails. However can lead to heart problems in a developing baby in the first trimester. High doses can also make you quite sick after some time. I took this dosage twice a week. 

Probiotic- I probably could have skipped this because of my raw dairy intake. However, bathroom issues are very prevalent in pregnant women. I did not want to risk it. I was also advised by my midwife to take it 30 days before my Strep-B test to prevent a positive result. Guess what? I was negative. I'll never know if this helped but better safe than sorry. Phillip's Colon Health is another brand I can stand behind too.

Iron- Anemia is another ailment many pregnant women suffer from. Too many go undiagnosed from it to. With low iron you're not producing the correct amount of red blood cells for you or your baby. It can also make you feel like you're sedated 24/7. I wasn't anemic until 36 weeks when I had a preeclampsia scare. Turns out my body was just working way too hard with nothing to go on. Low iron can also lead to postpartum bleeding, and needing a blood transfusion. When taking it make sure you've eaten something first. 

Evening Primrose Oil- The jury is out on this one still. It's supposed to help reduce tearing during labor, and also supposed to prepare the cervix for delivery. I haven't experienced either yet so I can't say. But at 36 weeks I was already 2 cm dilated and partially effaced. This is another one that is not recommended before 34-36 weeks. It can be taken orally or vaginally.

Fish Oil- Great for everything. I only take it twice a week. 

Super B Complex with Vitamin C and Folic Acid- I mostly took this during the 1st and 2nd trimester. Especially when I was feeling very run down and exhausted. Vitamin C in high doses is not recommended during pregnancy and can even cause spontaneous loss of pregnancy. High doses of Folic Acid has also been linked to increased instances of autism in several studies. I took this one in moderation- definately not more than once or twice a week. It kept my energy up and I didn't get sick (aside from morning sickness) my entire pregnancy. 

Great Lakes Geletin Collagen Hydroysate Beef, Kosher- This one sounds totally off in left field but trust me this is a pregnancy miracle product! Not only is gelatin highly recommended in pregnancy but it's also something most American's have little to none of in our diets. It builds connective tissue, contains tons of protein, prevents skin breakage (stretch marks and scarring) it also boosts your metabolism and works wonders for joints! I followed Ina May Gaskin's advice and did 200-300 squats a day throughout my pregnancy and I never experience any back, hip, or joint paint. I am certain it had a lot to do with this one product. Downside............ the back says it is flavorless and that is a god damn lie! I mixed it with my Red Raspberry Leaf Tea and choked it down.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea- Third Trimester Tea was formulated as a tonic to nurture all those mama parts heading into the home stretch (pardon the pun)! A safe, delicious blend of vitamin and mineral packed herbs historically used for labor preparation and as a uterine toner, including Red Raspberry Leaf (an all-around great pregnancy herb), iron-rich Stinging Nettle, calming Chamomile and Rosehips (both full of vitamins and bioflavonoids), and calcium filled Oat Straw. Also strengthens the uterus and is supposed to speed up labor. It is also disgusting.... unless you like tea that tastes like dried grass you just mowed.

Skincare products you're going to need:

Prepare your credit cards ladies, it's going to be an expensive 9 months! I shop almost exclusively off of Amazon.com because I hate going to stores. One of the biggest perks is the reviews. At 10 weeks my jeans were already so tight I couldn't button them so I knew it was time to start a skincare routine for my belly. I tried 10 different products so you don't have to!

The only two products you're going to need are The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter and Palmer's Body Oil. Strangely enough neither says anything about preventing stretch marks. At around 32 weeks I tried to cheap out and bought Body Merry's Orange Vanilla stretch mark cream and noticed one tiny little line appear on my hips days later. It was enough of a scare that I went to Ulta the next day and bought more of my coconut butter. You can also buy massive 13.5 oz pots of it on Amazon for only $30 (which will last you about a month and a half.) I apply the butter every morning very liberally, then top with a thin coat of the oil. I do this again whenever I get out of the shower and again before I hop into bed at night. If you're feeling extra paranoid cut open a couple of vitamin E capsules and rub them into your skin.

Take care of yourselves during your pregnancy and pamper yourself as much as possible. Feeling good about the way you look (even when you're at the highest weight you've ever been, have bags under your eyes, and pee more often than an old woman) is the glow everyone talks about. Love yourself, be kind to your body, and nurture your growing little one with everything he or she needs for the best possible start in life. Worry about the weight later.





Good luck and God Speed!

Pro tip: Whatever you do just don't scratch your tummy while pregnant! It leads to breakage and skin damage. I know, I know,  it's hard to resist. I had a few nights where I wanted to claw my skin off but instead watched reruns of 2 Broke Girls at 3am as a distraction. It will pay off in the end.

Homesteading while expecting and Zucchini Sheet Cake

This year has been a year of many triumphs for our family and small farm. Our homestead has produced tremendous growth this spring, and as you can see from the picture below my waistline has as well.

28 weeks and 1 day along already. Time is flying!

Brock Steven Paschall is expected somewhere between the 5th and 15th of September! This is probably the single most monumental achievement of my life. Why, you may ask yourselves... Well, because for the last six years I've been told I would never get pregnant. Never. It was devastating news to me and a huge shot to my self confidence. But the hardest part was when I had to tell my boyfriend, now husband, that if he wanted to have children he would have to leave me. I felt like such a failure as a woman and I knew I had to tell him before we took the next step. By the grace of God I am one of the lucky ones who found herself a true soulmate, life partner, and a truly good man. Kent held my hands and said "There's other options. We can figure this out." A little over a year afterwards we were married. Three years after that we're expecting a healthy, beautiful, strong baby boy!

I'm a very active woman. I don't mean in the traditional sense of going to the gym and attending Pilates every Thursday in my Fabletics gear (Although pregnancy yoga has made me super flexible and I definitely recommend it to anyone preparing for natural childbirth). I work hard. I work tough. I work outside. Which is substantially more difficult when you're experiencing things like morning sickness and carrying around 16 extra pounds in the middle. But not impossible!

 On that note- I experienced the kind of morning sickness that most women only talk about in horror stories. From week five through week fourteen all I did was throw up... 24 hours a day... all day and night.... every single day. I had to go to the doctor every three days to get an IV because I was so dehydrated and weak. The only food that didn't make me sick instantly was grapefruit. So, all I ate for two and a half months was grapefruit. I am genuinely shocked no one has died from it. It was hell. Even more hellish was planting, pruning, and my other homesteading activities through it all. But it gave me a new respect for my own strength and determination. And somehow I did get everything planted in time for a massive late freeze that killed it all. So not only did I do it once, but then I had to repeat the whole thing several weeks later. 

Just a typical day's harvest

We planted an assortment of lettuce, onions, cabbages, green beans, snow peas, bell peppers, jalapenos, sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, melons, and strawberries. We also added several new peach trees to the farm bringing us to a dozen. Even though the weather has been uncooperative this spring with flooding, late freezes, and humidity reserved for the Gulf- we've produced about 4x as much as last spring by June. For anyone looking for a hearty, prolific, and good size tomato in central Texas I'd recommend Romas. I've gathered 30lbs of tomatoes in the last month alone. It has enabled me to can 10 jars of whole peeled tomatoes and 6 jars of salsa which adds up to approximately $25 saved at the grocery store. My Better Boy tomatoes are still green but that has allowed me to enjoy several batches of fried green tomatoes this spring, so no complaints. The only real disappointment his year has been our Peach trees. Last year we ended up with a bumper crop and this year has been the exact opposite. Too much rainfall and a few late freezes led to us losing most of our flowers and their subsequent fruit. Better luck next year hopefully.



And fyi. It's probably going to be a short growing season for me. My back hurts and the heat is getting to be too much for me even in early June. Sorry plant babies... You're on your own come July!



To keep myself occupied (and use up the copious amount of zucchini we have) I now give you my personal favorite (to date) zucchini sheet cake recipe:


Ingredients:
3 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups shredded zucchini

Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
¼ cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x13" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease. Beat eggs, vegetable oil, butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix well. Fold in zucchini and stir until completely mixed in. Pour batter into prepared 9x13" pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. While the cake cools, mix together frosting ingredients and spread over the top of the cake. If desired, sprinkle the top of the cake with cinnamon and sugar.