Tag Archives: Stretch Marks in Pregnancy

Aug 21 2014

Bepanthen Stretch Mark Cream Review

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Bepanthen-Logo

We’re all familiar with Bepanthen as sore bum and nappy rash experts. Now they have an entirely different offering, a stretch mark cream for use both before and after pregnancy. Okay, I can’t comment on their preventative powers, but I can tell you if they’ve reduced the look of my stretch marks after 4 weeks use.

Bepanthen Stretch Marks

What is it?

Bepanthen Stretch Mark Cream is developed with the latest scientific knowledge and the needs of mums-to-be in mind. Unlike other stretch mark creams, Bepanthen comprises a unique formula which works to strengthen and support the skin before the first signs of stretch marks appear - thus reducing the risk of occurrence.

Contains:

  • Extract of Centella Asiatica which encourages the production of collagen
  • Provitamin B5 and glycerine which are proven to nourish the skin to improve elasticity
  • Pure Olive Oil and skin lipids to moisturiser and act as a barrier to external influences
  • Hypoallergenic and free from colours and preservatives

The lowdown before the cream…

Two babies have taken their toll. Okay, the stretchmarks aren’t disastrous (and they certainly don’t make my Craig think twice) but they might signal the end of my bikini-clad days.

Stretch Marks

Initial thoughts…

Before trialling this, I’ve been a big fan of Bio-Oil. It does the job, sinks in easily and eases my conscience that I’m at least trying to cover up the road-map my babies have left. I wouldn’t go so far as to pretend it works, who knows if it prevents marks you haven’t got yet, and they’re all still very much there (if a little lighter).

I have to admit that the pursuit of a scar-free tummy doesn’t consume me. I think my Craig is sensible enough to realise that the odd scar I’m sporting is because I’ve given him the best gifts on earth, more so, it could be a damn sight worse! I would like to look like Kelly Brook, but life just gets in the way.

So I used it on the odd few marks that my babies have left; twice a day (as recommended) on my tummy, my breasts and my thighs.

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And?….

Oh dear. I soooo wanted to bring you a success story!

I’m not suggesting this cream has zero benefit.I actually like the smell (although have read online that some find it unpleasant), and it does offer fabulous hydration throughout the day. It has an almost silky texture and rubs in incredibly easily.

Within minutes it dries to a matt finish and leaves the skin feeling tighter and firmer. I haven’t had any new stretchmarks since using it which could indicate it’s doing its thing, or just that I’ve finally reached the pinnacle of physical fitness and have stopped growing (that’s a joke if ever there was one!).

I also really like the bottle design which features “bag in a bottle” technology. The action of pumping squeezes the bag inside the hard exterior case so you can access every last drop of cream. Well done Bepanthen - more companies should embrace this technology so we’re not so wasteful and get the most out of our purchases. I won’t bore you with all the lengths I’ve gone to to get the last bits of foundation out of my bottles.

Bottle

Usually £24.99, it’s now reduced to £16.66 at Boots. If we compare this to other well regarded stretch mark lotions and potions, you can see that stretch marks are big business and Bepanthen’s offering is competitively priced :

Bio Oil (200ml) RRP £19.99

Clarins Stretch Mark Control (200mls) RRP £37.00

Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter (125mls) RRP £23.50

Various Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Remedies RRP from £3.00 -£9.00

Weleda Pregnancy Oil (100mls) RRP £15.00

TEN Stretch Mark Prevention & Reduction Cream (200ml) RRP £35.00

In fairness I’d buy the product again if I were to go on and procreate some more, but for now I’ll be sticking to Bio-Oil in a fairly half-arsed attempt to fade out my current tiger stripes. That said, it’s certainly been well received by others and was recommended by a massive 96% of mums-to-be during a product trial on Netmums.

To find out more about the entire range of Bepanthen products, head on over to Bepanthen.co.uk.

Feb 26 2014

32 Weeks Pregnant!

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… And it’s taking forever! Given I’ve had a severe case of insomnia over the last few weeks, the days seem to be taking twice as long. I’m not sure why I can’t sleep but I can guess at anxiety - I know I’ve been over-the-top upset about name choices. Stupid I know. I can just see us repeating the same mistake we made with Dexter and bickering at the registry office! It’s so much responsibility picking a name for someone to live with for the rest of their lives; something cool, something unique. something that can be shortened. something that sounds great on a CV, something an Olympian might be called…

Then there’s the usual niggling feeling that something might be wrong with her. Of course we’ll love her whatever the future holds, but every mother wants a healthy baby. I get incredibly panicky about all the times I’ve forgotten to take a vitamin tablet, or had a half a lager with my dinner. Then there’s the times I haven’t eaten my broccoli as I’d run out of gravy… it’s all very ridiculous.

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Of course One Born Every Minute also started again this week and I defy any pregnant woman not to watch it. Although I tell myself it’s all good research, it does scare me to death. One of this week’s couples (Michelle and Micheal) had me inches from the television screen sobbing as he missed his daughter’s birth. As Craig plans on working until the last-minute and is often 100 miles from home, it’s got me worrying that I won’t have a familiar face in the room either. Given he’s also teasing me about going to his school reunion the week I’m due, I have this fear he’ll be staggering through the hospital stinking of beer and insulting all the midwives! If it’s going to happen to anyone, it’ll happen to us.

Physically, my sciatica has been a little better this week, but I’m still on the loo every 5 minutes. My boobs have also ramped up their milk-making endeavours with the occasional leak (I told you pregnancy was ugly). My stretch marks are also getting more and more pronounced and I’ve grown a double chin overnight. I wouldn’t mind any of these transformations, but walking around The Baby Show this week and seeing so many beautiful women who have kept up the spray tans, freshly-styled hair and full face of slap, I’m feeling like the frumpiest mum-to-be in the world. I’ve made a mental note to at least waddle to the beautician for a wax before the big day. Let’s face it, what we don’t see on One Born Every Minute is the midwives giggling about the lady gardens they’ve encountered that day in the staff room!

Apparently, baby is around 4lbs and 18 inches at this point, and it’s still slightly too early to rush down to Holland and Barrett for raspberry tea. She’s cramming in all the study time she can to perfect those survival skills she’ll need to thrive outside the womb — from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. She also looks less opaque now and her skin colour is beginning to look more like her mum and dads (and less like Casper) - great stuff.

Just hurry Mini Madam. Mummy has had enough. I’d much rather be up at 3am nursing you, than watching television for the hard of hearing. Oh and if you can pick a side and stick to it at night it would be really helpful.

 

Feb 19 2014

31 Weeks Pregnant

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… And I’ve had enough. In fact, I’m counting down the days until I can serve Mini Madam with an eviction notice without being seen to be willing on prematurity. The thought of another 9 weeks (2+ months!) of swollen hips, uncontrollable moodiness, and cries of “Ooompf” when I accidentally stomach crunch my little girl, seems like nothing short of punishment.

There's a House Inside my Mummy

It’s taking sooo long, even Dexter needed reminding.

Now all my final appointments are booked, there’s nothing to do but wait. In a few short weeks, we’ll discover how this birth plan is going to play out and whether April will see #Labour tweets and unsightly pictures of me flailing around on a birthing ball from inside the Royal Berks Hospital.

My once pert little bump is now a sagging lump like an old sofa cushion riding low on my pelvis, and I’m now kicking myself that I didn’t undergo hypnotherapy to kick my cherry bakewell habit in the first trimester. This has bought on a relatively new phenomena for me - stretchmarks. In fact my belly now looks like the glaze on a loaf of tiger bread. No amount of smothering myself in Bio Oil seems to shift them and I’m slowly facing up to the fact that my bikini days are now definitely over.

SPD and sciatica continue to plague me at each at every waking moment. I’m getting by on around 4 hours sleep at night and as many naps as Dexter will allow. I’m definitely struggling to switch off as the pressure to get our 52 name shortlist down to 10 heats up. This insomnia is real problem and I’m positively hideous to be around. I’ve caught Craig camping out in the kitchen a few times and his eyes will widen in fear if I go within 3 metres of him.

When I’m not being as evil and cynical as Katie Hopkins, I’m usually crying at something ridiculous on the television. Coverage of the floods on the news, the sheer offensiveness of Mister Maker’s theme tune, or the GB curling team at the Sochi Winter Olympics… yes curling. What has my life come to?

31 weeks

Preparations for baby’s arrival are still woefully underfunded. With not one but two insurance claims put in this week (one a result of a nasty car accident) we’re berating ourselves for not having attacked the January sales with more ferocity. She now has a bath, and all the furniture she needs, and I’m delighted that she’ll be spending her first few month in an NCT bedside crib courtesy of Bednest, but she’s looking set to be a right exhibitionist as we haven’t bought her a single sleepsuit or babygrow. My breastfeeding ambitions better go to plan too as there are no bottles in the kitchen cupboard either > This is all a little woe-is-me isn’t it? We’re not as poor as I make out, but it certainly feels like it sometimes.

I was very close to reneging on the No Pink rule this week too. Having had my head turned by a seriously cute Laura Ashley print, I very nearly abandoned the grey and yellow nursery theme in favour of chintzy flowers. Thankfully Craig caught me just as the mouse cursor hovered over the checkout button and he gave me a stern talking to. I can now safely say I’m back on track and thinking rationally again.

So that’s it. This is the person I am at 31 weeks pregnant. Please tell me it gets quicker from here on in - Please, please, please.

 

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