Stretch Marks

Stretchmarks are the worst during pregnancy😔. Many women feel very insecure about their bodies during this time and these marks only make it worse. I always tried to view them positively as stripes of love, that my body was growing a human within and that these were the most beautiful marks no matter how bad or gross they looked. Luckily for me, I only gained a couple on my hips and a few on my chest area. To me, they were pretty grotesque as though my veins were popping out. Fortunately, I used coco butter almost every night to try to prevent accumulating more and it seemed to work for me. Although, I still have marks today, I will always view them as stripes of love because from gaining them, I also gained the cutest little two year old. So ladies, if u feel awkward or embarrassed that you have a lot of stretch marks, don’t be. You are going through the most amazing thing a woman’s body can do and these marks are just part of that journey. In the end, when you hold that little child, you won’t even remember that you had those marks.

Here are some tips to help prevent stretch marks
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-prevent-stretch-marks#hydration

-E
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Having the fear of gaining stretchmarks is normal. But being completely honest with yourself and knowing that your body is going through so many changes helps to understand the nature of them. I stand with E on the factor that once that beautiful life comes out of you, and you have those marks, you should look at them with pride.

Nearing the end of my pregnancy I'm getting nervous about stretchmarks. I've been using a moisturizer on my belly and boobs since around 15 weeks pregnant or so. The one thing about doing that, is I include my boyfriend with this.

"Daddy Tummy Time?" He asks me with a grin on his face as we lay in bed. Of course I say "Sure". It's something that he loves doing, and knows that it's his special time with our soon to be daughter. Sometimes he lays there for 10mins just telling her about his day and how excited he is to meet her.

If any mommies to be are wanting to find a way to try and prevent stretch marks I do recommend using some kind of moisturizer and sharing the moment with your partner. It's a good way to make them feel like they're apart of the experience.

-X
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Going from a heavier child who would eat three ding dongs in a sitting to a healthy adult who calorie counted and worked out twice a day, six days a week, I am very used to seeing stretchmarks around my arms and hips. Even before pregnancy, they were hard to look at. As soon as I started showing, I noticed a few small marks across the lower abdomen. Honestly, I was absolutely horrified and they got worse and worse. I now have them all the way across and I barely even see them anymore because when I look at my protruding belly, all I can see is my son. It makes it so much easier to accept the fact that I have them. I asked Justin about them one day seeing what he would have to say about my new edition to my body and he said I was more beautiful than he could imagine. I rolled my eyes at first, thinking that he just said what I wanted to hear but then I really thought about it. They showed that I am a strong, brave, and blessed woman who was given the opportunity to bring another life into this world. They will remind me for years to come that I made the most perfect son I could as I watch him on his first day of school, go on his first date, get married, and become a father of his own beautiful kids and to me, those marks are nothing to be looked at negatively because they show the miracle that I have received.

-D

The Dirty During Pregnancy 😝

This post will contain the conversion about sex and may offend some people. So if that conversion is a touchy subject with you, please be aware. We do have other blog postings if you'd like to read something else. We will not allow anyone judging or calling us out for the acts we choose to do with our partners. Again, we are a safe environment. 

Doing the dirty, getting down to business,  hanky panky, making love, sex. All different terms that mean the same thing. But when you become pregnant, none of us are the same. When it comes to finding out you're pregnant, it changes. Some women find they become turned off when becoming pregnant, other's sex drive goes threw the roof.

For me, it stayed relatively the same. Before becoming pregnant, I loved when me and my boyfriend would have sex. It was such a physical bond we shared and I loved it! Sometimes it felt so good that we became one person. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I knew that it wasn't just sex, it was love. 

When we first found out I was pregnant, my boyfriend wouldn't touch me in a any sexual way for a bit. He was afraid he would hurt the baby. To this day that still makes me laugh. Makes you wonder if men really understand how the women's body works, most of the time they don't (he thought we only use toilet paper when we poop. Thought we just shook our bodies to dry ourselves).

Once a far amount of time passed by we started having sex again. Over time it started to slow down. Either due to me not being in the mood or wanting to throw up while giving him oral. Had nothing to do with him, just didn't eat before. Which may sound weird, but if I don't eat for awhile I become nauseous. Sometimes when we're making out about to get down to business, I jump up and say "I have to eat!"

Being 31 weeks pregnant, my belly is starting to get in the way. Sometimes we can only do a few positions which truthfully, makes me sad. I loved being able to find new ways to enjoy sex. Now its either me on top or laying down on my side. What fun is that! 

We sometimes go a week or so without having sex. And because I still have a normal sex drive, I have to deal with my want to orgasm myself. Sometimes more than once. That was also my sex drive before I got pregnant. But I sometimes I just want a quick release.

I'm glad that me and my boyfriend still have sex, but truthfully, I can't wait till my daughter is born so I can have normal sex again.

Do you find yourself sometimes masturbating more than having intercourse with your partner?

-X
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During my pregnancy I had high sexually, but also some lows. The main thing that I didn't like was the emotional hormones I dealt with all the time. I know they say that's just part of pregnancy but come on, you're messing with my head. Most days I had a normal sex drive and would be all for it, but normally wouldn't do anything cause I was either too tired or my boyfriend was working late.

Occasionally, I would have that mood where you are saying "Give It To Me!! Give it to Me NOW!!" I was like a sex freak of sorts, always wanting it and if I didn't get it I felt like it was the end of the world. I know you may be saying "come on, that's super weird", but hormones are no joke and sometimes they turn you into something you would never expect. Then there were other times I felt gross, would say "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Pregnancy hormones will take you for a wild ride, and every day will be different, filled with highs and lows.

When we did do it, occasionally it would hurt, so we would have to change position we did it in. Luckily, my boyfriend was very understanding and would listen to my responses, even ask if what he was doing was okay. He also would start slow rather than just shove it in quickly. I love him so much for respecting my body, but at the same time giving me satisfaction.

Most nights the only thing that would work due to the growing belly in the way was spooning. I mean I loved that cause my partner would be able to feel up the body while also embracing the bump. Some nights if I was feeling alright, I would manage to get on my hands and knees and be able to use a pillow below to support the belly and take it from behind. He loved when I was on top, but I noticed I would get tired quicker, so didn't do it that way often.

Every women is different, so the best advice I can give you ladies is listen to your body and if it doesn't feel comfortable, change it up until you find something that works for you.

What works for you ladies? Do you have a high or low sex drive since you've been pregnant?

-E
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Being in my first week of my second trimester, I don't have a lot of back and forth experience being high then low per say but we have run into the issue of not being in the mood. I personally haven't been in the mood since I got pregnant but I do try for my fiance. He has never put the pressure on me to do anything but he is so supportive and I know deep down he wants it but never asks. When we did, it was hard to find a position that was comfortable. The only one that seemed to be okay was missionary with a pillow under my back to get an angle that rub on parts that were seemingly sore. I'm telling ya though. Once we found that right angle, it felt amazing. Some of the best sex I've ever had. We have only done it a handful of times since mainly because I am just exhausted by the time he gets off of work at the end of the day.

The further along I am getting, I feel my sex drive going up slowly but surely so I am hoping that here in the near future, I can get back to where I was before so I will keep everyone updated further along!

-D
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Here is another mom to be talking about this topic. Though she isn't one of our blogging moms, we figured this was very good information. Give this video a watch. Her name is Shavannah from a group called Baby on Board

Emily’s Birth Story

This blog may contain some graphic content and may be offensive to some readers. If you are not comfortable with reading about a child's birth, please move onto one of our other blogs. We will not allow any negative comments on this blog  and please ask that you keep in mind that this was a very personal story that one of our bloggers is sharing. Thank You

Well, it was the night of Jan 4, 2016. I was very restless that night and knew something wasn't right. I leaned over and woke up my boyfriend and told him that I had to go in just to be safe. I had been having Braxton Hicks the past three weeks on and off, so I could tell if they may be them, but this felt totally different. It had always been my plan to have a home birth, so I could be in the safety of my own home and surrounded by the ones I loved. Frantically, we got ready but what came next was a huge shock and definitely not expected.

My water broke and drenched my clothes and seeped across the floor. It looked as though I peed my pants and quite honestly, made me embarrassed to have done it right in front of my boyfriend. I immediately told my boyfriend to call my mom and the midwife as I knew this is it, my little man is coming whether I like it or not. Contractions began about every 20 minutes after my water had broke and they were getting pretty intense. I had never felt anything like this. It felt as if my stomach was being ripped piece by piece. I knew I wasn't going to handle it well and I was on the floor curling up in pain as it hurt so bad even though I knew it was just the beginning.

My mom arrived about an hour after we called her and immediate came to my aid to help me over to the bed. About 30 min after she arrived, the midwife arrived. She immediately told me to strip off my bottoms so she could check my progress. When she inserted her fingers, it caught me so off guard because they were like icicles. She said I was at 3 cm but that I still had a while to go. She also mentioned I should try and walk around the house to see if that would get the show on the road. It was a struggle to walk around as the pain was so intense and my lower half was already hurting so bad. Every 20 steps I would have to stop and hunch over or lean on my boyfriend cause of the intensity of the pain. I could see that he was super worried and didn't like seeing me like this. He did try to lighten the mood by playing with my chest area. All I could say was "really" in a painful but more irritated manner. I continued to walk around for about an hour hoping that it would do something for my progression.  My midwife checked me again and I was at 6 so dilated, which was definitely some progress.

I asked her if I could try to soak in the tub. I had read that the water takes some of the pressure away and helps a little with the pain. She did recommend that I don't deliver in the tub and that the water can only do so much and there was a possibility that some complications could arise. I definitely did not want that. She then stated that I get back on the bed or at least out of the pool when it was time. I did end up getting in the water and wow, it felt amazing, almost as if I was pain and stress free. But as we know, that can only last so long. After about an hour and a half in the water the midwife decided that she should check me again. I was at 9 cm this time, so it was almost show time. She decided that it would be best to get out and head to the bed for the final stages before having to push. It was a struggle to get out of the water cause my legs felt week, but with the help of my boyfriend I was able to get it up slowly. I made my way to the bed just as another contraction hit which almost caused me to crash to the floor.

About 45 minutes of contractions later, I was so over this and was saying to myself to "get this baby out of me". The midwife decided that she would check me and this time she gave me some relieving news, but also dreaded at the same. I was 10 cm, but that meant TIME to PUSH. Definitely wasn’t looking forward to that as I was already in immense pain and discomfort. I had read that being on your hands and knees was supposed to help with the pressure, so I decided to try that position. Of course my boyfriend was being stupid again, we wanted to film and photograph the labor and birth, but I didn’t expect for him to be all in up my private area. Also sticking the camera in my face to get my facial expressions during the whole thing. I think I even yelled at him “stop that crap and get over here now!” I wanted to hold his hand and maybe even break it, I wouldn’t do that 😂. I began to bear down as hard as a I could. I felt like I was taking a massive poop 💩 . I could feel the area stretch as I pushed with everything I got. Contraction after contraction, I would push. In between, I would be having my mom with a wet rag to cool me down and also chew on some ice. After about 45 min of being on my hands and knees, my legs felt like they were dead so I decided I wanted to do the standard on the back with the legs spread. I got in position with my boyfriend holding one leg and the other being held by my mom. My boyfriend had given the camera to one of the midwife's assistants and had asked her to film the delivery. Man, I hated having a camera all up in my private areas, just felt awkward. Thinking that I was gonna be watching this back in a few months kind of creeped me out. 

I continued to push while on my back and all was going well, the midwife said that’s it keep going 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and breathe. After about 2 and a half hours of pushing, the midwife yelped “ I can see the head!” She asked if I wanted to reach down and feel my sons head as I replied with "sure why not" and reached down between my legs. When I felt the head, it was all gooey and slimy, but an amazing feeling to finally feel what had been in there for 9 months. She told me that my son was beginning to crown and now I would need to push harder then ever when I felt the next urge to push. All of this sudden a burning sensation came over my whooha area and it felt like someone was holding a lighter down there and burning me. I had read that thing was the ring of fire and happened when the baby was crowning due to the stretching  to allow baby’s head to pass through.

She told me that squatting might help with the gravity and allow him to pass through easier. One of her assistants went and grabbed a pad to put on the floor and she had me get in a semi squad position of sorts, down but being held up by my boyfriend with his hands under my armpits. By now, I was in the full nude with everyone having their eyes on me. I felt kind of ashamed to be nude in front of all these people, but once that burning sensation took over again I felt like “screw it”. I began to bear down with all I had and the midwife had her hands down holding the head while I pushed. After a few minutes of pushing, she told me to stop and just breathe. She grabbed a hold of his head and shoulder to help guide him out. Not gonna lie it hurt like hell, but after a few more light pushes I heard a cry. My son was here. I looked down and could see him covered in blood and fluids. The midwife cleaned him up and suctioned his mouth and nose. All of this sudden, he let out this loud cry and began to flail his arms and legs. I pretty much broke down in tears at that moment. Was it cause of all the pain I had endured and just happy it was over or was it that I realized I just became a mom and had a created a baby inside me. 

She handed me my son and immediately, I looked into those current eyes and his little hand gripped mine. I bawled, we're all crying at the amazing moment.

Main thing I can tell you ladies is listen to your bodies during labor. The female body was made and designed to carry and birth children. You can never really prepare yourself for what expect because you never be know.

Below is a useful link if your considering an a home birth

http://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/home-birth/

Thanks so much for reading my story 💋 Please let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below or you can send an email to soontobemommies2018@gmail.com

Random Touching of Belly

I think this is one of the weirdest things, but sometimes can be the cutest at the same time. When I was pregnant I remember going out for dinner or anywhere and wondering if people were looking at me. I remember a few times at a mall ladies would ask if they could touch my belly and if the baby was kicking. I thought this was weird sometimes that random strangers were wanting to touch my belly and occasionally parents asked if their kids could touch it. I do remember one specific time that I was in the food court and a group of, I believe they were high school boys behind me in line were whistling and said “Dang momma I wanna feel up that belly!” Gross!!! I mean come on guys get a life. That’s inappropriate and frankly super weird and awkward. I think the only time I actually enjoyed anyone touching my belly was either my boyfriend, or when we were volunteering at a retirement home with church. All the ladies there were talking about how adorable I looked and was glowing. I think I was about 5 months if I remember during this time and they all wanted to feel the baby kick. It was adorable. They all had smiles and giggles that day. If I could put a smile on their face, it was worth the awkwardness.

How many of you ladies have had this happen? Though it may be weird and awkward, sometimes it could make someone’s day and put a smile on their face!!💕 just be careful who you let touch it🤗

-E
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Compared to my fellow mommies, I haven't had much problem with people touching my baby bump. No weird encounters with a stranger, thank goodness. The only thing I've had an issue with is my own mother. Once I started to show she was all over my belly when talking to people. Sometimes people I didn't even know. She would say things along the line of "Yep, this is my grand-baby" or "see how big she is?". Sometimes she would even lift up my shirt (thank goodness I had an undershirt on most of the time). I love my mother, and tell her many times that its weird, but I guess she's excited. This will be her first grandchild. I've never had people come up to me and ask "can I touch your belly?", it's always been me asking if they want to feel or want them to poke it because she's pushing her body against my belly.

There's no way I've been the only one that's been able to avoid this awkwardness. Let us know if I'm not alone 

-X
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At only fourteen weeks pregnant, you would think that I wouldn't have a lot of run-ins with this already but you would be surprised. According to my OB, I look like I am more like 17-20 weeks so I have a nice bump going. That being said, I have had family, friends, and even a couple strangers try to touch me. When I started showing, right away my mom would put her hand on my belly which, for someone who isn't the touchy type, it made me feel really awkward. Personally, it might have something to do with the underlying self-esteem issues I have had since I was a kid but that just makes it more rude to be touching me.
The weirdest encounter I have had so far was in a Walmart produce section. This older lady (possibly a little older than my parents) came up to me and asked how far along I was. My first thought was, how rude, asking a woman how far along she was not knowing if she was even pregnant to begin with. I told her anyway, trying not to come off rude myself, and she smiled and said that her daughter-in-law was a few weeks ahead of me. I told her congratulations and tried to go back to picking out a few tomatoes for that night's dinner and all of a sudden, I feel something slide across my stomach. The lady was touching MY bump! I really hate to be confrontational toward anyone but after catching me off guard, I jumped back and yelled, "Do you mind?" She felt really bad after my reaction and partially so did I but I was really upset. She stammered, "I-I'm sorry... My daughter-in-law doesn't live around here and it's my first grandchild so I am missing out on all of these precious moments" which made me feel even worse about how I reacted. I apologized and pretended to understand. As much as I hated it, I let her touch my bump again and answered her questions about how I felt and if I knew the gender yet. After talking for a few minutes more, we parted our own ways but I knew that I made her day.

I guess sometimes we have to choose our own battles....

-D

Cravings

Cravings.... OMG those cravings that every pregnant woman gets. For me, it's a blessing and a curse and here's why.

Before I got pregnant, I was a pretty healthy twenty one year old who loved to work out and "try" to eat as healthy as I can. I actually prided myself in the way that I looked and was almost to having a six-pack. The first craving I had was something as little as a Snickers bar. Not too bad, right? Wrong! That small Snickers bar craving grew into the almighty monster craving of a plain double cheeseburger from McDonald's. But not just from any McDonald's. The McDonald's that I used to go to from my childhood over an hour away all because of a rather insignificant memory of when I had a cheeseburger from there that had just the right amount of grease on it about a decade ago. I had just started my shift at the daycare I was working at at the time so I went a full eight hours with this craving. When 3:00 pm finally came around, it was the only thing I could think of. So what did I do? I drove a whole hour to get a plain double cheeseburger and still to this day don't regret it one bit. I live five minutes from a McDonald's but my craving didn't care. It wanted what it wanted and wasn't going away until it was satisfied.

As I sat there in the parking lot, devouring this cheeseburger, I thought to myself, is this what my life has come to? Driving an hour to inhale fast food? I threw the evidence away and made the trek back home, a bit ashamed of myself, before my boyfriend got off of work. 

That was the beginning of the end for me. I finally confessed to Justin and all was well. At least until that night when I had a chocolate milk craving. I slowly began to realize that there is no way around my cravings, that's just who I am as a pregnant mom. Fortunately, my cravings have decreased a bit and nothing as major but I still have days where I just have to give in. And you know what? That's okay. I know my son is healthy even though I have cut my gym time in half and don't eat only organic meats and protein shakes. I heard the heartbeat and it is strong just like his momma. You can follow the mommy-to-be apps straight down to the very last detail but our mothers, and their mothers, didn't have an app to tell you what to eat, what to drink, how much exercise you should have, when you have had too much exercise, or whether it should use cloth or disposable diapers when the baby is born. We came out just fine and healthy enough to be where we are now about to have babies of our own.

We now make weekly trips to the grocery store to pick out food that might be a craving and Justin never complains about having to get out of bed to go make me bacon or when he comes back with a quart of ice cream that I don't want anymore.

I still have a lot of pregnancy left to go so wish me... and Justin, good luck!

-D
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My cravings during my pregnancy were a lot different than our other moms. It’s like they say, every woman is different. Let’s just say I probably craved some things that if you saw them today would make you throw up lol😆. One major thing I craved and now makes me nauseous just thinking about it was pickles with peanut butter. I know, gross right!?! Not sure what it was but I couldn’t get enough of it and could eat it 24/7. I think the biggest craving I had though was ice cream and strawberries. It seems like ice cream is a big craving during pregnancy for a lot of women. Must be the flavor and sugar in it though I know the favorite flavor can vary. For me, it was all about chocolate chip cookie dough with strawberries on the side and whip cream. Sounds good I know ❤️

-E
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We most definitely do have different cravings than other moms to be, and some times are waiting for the worst to come. For me, I was similar to D as in the factor of staying fit and eating right. I only had cravings in my first trimester, and that was cranberry juice. Could not get enough of it! My boyfriend and I would make weekly trips to Costco just to buy there larger jug of juice. We wouldn't buy just one, OH NO SIR'Y! We'd buy at least 7! I would drink through a whole 3L jug of it a day!

I'm not sure where that craving started. I've always been a fan of the classic Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail, but never imagined it would grow into a crazy obsession. If we ran out I'd call my boyfriend Dean at work begging him to bring some home with him. He of course had no choice but to get it if he didn't want to deal with me complaining that I was thristy, even though we had a variety of things in our fridge to quench my thirst.

Now being currently on my third trimester, my desire to ALWAYS have cranberry juice has died down. Now its just a want of any kind of food or drink. But of course, if we go out and there's a choice to get cranberry juice I jump to it. Having the satisfaction of the ice cold tart flavored drink touch my tongue is still one of the best things I've encountered.

-X

Welcome

*We own this photo and do not give permission to anyone who doesn't email us to use it*

Hello and welcome everyone. We are four moms just taking everyday as it comes either as soon to be mommies or already a mom. This blog will basically feature stories about our lives or topics that any moms want us to talk about. 

We are a safe place to share our feelings about certain topics. We are not doctors, not certified nannies, nor do we sometimes know what we're even doing. So do not take anything we say as if we are one of those. Sometimes mommies just need to sit down with a glass of wine, and vent out their feelings.

As I said before there are four of us. Each bit of our posts could be someone different throughout the post. We will go as E, D, K and X. Each with different stories of our own.

Hopefully you can relate to some of the topics we will be talking about or maybe just need a good laugh.

We also have a lovely and growing Instagram account so please give us a follow!

https://www.instagram.com/soontobemommies2018/

If you have any ideas as to what you'd like us to talk about feel free to comment below

We will be posting every Thursday. Also on Mondays we will feature a segment called “Mommy Mondays” in which we will feature the birth story of an individual in hopes of inspiring you ladies

Without further more, Welcome to our page