My second granddaughter is due very soon and certainly in the last few weeks my daughter is starting to look very ‘bumpy’! These last few weeks are often the slowest with the most back ache and the most fatigue but they also take it out on your skin the most too. Weight gain is natural in pregnancy and the skin can only be stretched so far. So in the immediate aftermath of the new arrival what can in fact be done for the stretch marks, the excess fat and the excess skin.
Well, once again the best answer is, of course, to not put too much weight on in the first place, but that isn’t often very easy to control. All babies take up a certain amount of volume and the fat deposited can be very hard to shift. In the first few weeks following the arrival you are more likely to be worried about lack of sleep than regaining your previous figure. However it is worth looking very closely at your diet and restarting at least a minimal exercise regime even if you are a little preoccupied. At this stage also the moisturisers and cocoa butter you were using before the delivery remain helpful.
Once the little gem has gained a few pounds and started to cause trouble around the house you may feel more able to begin to think about looking after yourself and the sooner the exercise returns to pre-pregnancy levels (or more!) the better.
Often mums find it fairly hard to return to their previous weight but even when this is attained the shape may not be exactly what it was. Unfortunately spot exercises do not work and you may need to resort to sterner measures. A simple low carb, low fat diet is essential. For many years I have been recommending a very basic, no bread, no rice, no potatoes, no pasta, no flour, no sugar regime and if this sounds too severe please remember that this allows plenty of vegetables, salads, and fruit along with good lean protein and nuts and berries. Another way to look at it is to go to any restaurant anywhere and order any meal, just leave the stodge on the plate.
So you have regained your previous weight, the shape is not too bad but the stretch marks are fairly severe. Well there are two bits of good news. Firstly these stretch marks will fade a little on their own over time but more recently we have developed two treatments which can be used separately or together to give a significant improvement. I am talking of course about Dermaroller and Fraxel.
Fraxel is laser resurfacing for the 21st century. It is the best, gentlest and safest resurfacing device available anywhere. It is the best compromise between cost and downtime and result. Not 100% perfect but certainly very close. It is a partial treatment using a laser beam to create millions of almost invisible holes in the skin which allow for a very fast recovery process.
Dermaroller provides a reasonable amount of improvement for roughly half of the cost. It involves a roller with hundreds of very fine needles which make tiny holes in the skin to stimulate skin. The downtime is very similar to Fraxel but it does probably hurt a little more.
More recently we have been combining these treatments together to create even more result and especially in the case of stretch marks these can be very helpful. Well worth considering. It is amazing what modern technology can now do.