Before Dr Tham left, he told me very seriously, "Lily, there are 3 signs that will tell you that you are going into labour.

After I did my research, I chose Clarins' Tonic Body Treatment Oil from the fab reviews that you can find on Sephora's website and many other places. This is the description on Sephora:

What it is:
A luxurious body treatment that contains 100% pure plant extracts, which promote skin firmness and suppleness.

What it does:
This body treatment improves skin elasticity to prevent the appearance of stretch marks and to maintain skin firmness. The lightweight, silky texture absorbs quickly to deeply nourish and tone skin. It's ideal for expectant mothers and young women going through puberty.

And so, starting from around week 10, Lenard has been religiously preventing any potential stretchmarks for me by applying the oil on my tummy and chest (Yes, I went up a cup size. One perk of pregnancy hahaha) every night. It smells pretty nice, and did not make me feel uncomfortable. One reason I rarely use moisturiser is that it makes me feel I am coated and warm, probably psychologically. In fact, even Dr. Tham was telling me that my belly is looking good. We were generous in lathering the oil and with Baby Paul being slightly smaller than average babies his age, I was pretty hopeful that I had gone past the stage of worrying for stretchmarks. 

All was good until... 3 weeks ago! I found my first stretchmark above my belly button! I was in disbelief and trauma at first but it does not end there. Over the past 3 weeks, as Baby Paul went through his growth spurt, (This little fella went from being smaller to being on par suddenly. We were expecting him to be about 2.8kg when he is due but he hit 2.95kg last week. Remember, we still have 12 more days to go.) a few more marks developed. Noooooo....

However, as I processed what was happening, a few things came to my mind. First, Baby Paul is definitely growing well and that is really what I am happy about, more than anything else. Also, as my very wise friend, Amber Siyu Rambu Tan, puts it, "Stretchmarks are like battle scars of life." I have to agree and see the marks from a new perspective. Plus, it is also amazing how a verse from one of my favourite books in the bible, Proverbs 31, has been popping up in my mind:

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Indeed, even without stretch marks, wrinkles and saggy skin are the inevitable as we age naturally. Yes, I will still want to delay and prevent them by putting in the effort to eat well, exercise and be a little bit more hardworking with some sort of beauty routine (I can do more than putting on moisturiser on my face in the morning, I know I should at least use sunscreen but...) but I think these battle scars of life should be something that I should not only accept but embrace as well. Beauty is indeed fleeting and not eternal. As we gain years of wisdom and experience different things in life, there really is no reason not to feel proud of them.

With these 3 reasons, stretch marks really aren't so bad after all. 

To be fair, I think the Clarins tonic body oil did a pretty good job still and if it has worked for so any ladies, I am sure it has done its part in helping me prevent even more stretch marks. I have used about 3 bottles of the oil and I am starting on my 4th. I am still going to continue to use the oil and will do so even after Baby Paul is born to condition the loosened skin. Fingers crossed, the stretch marks will fade a little (:

Lastly, I asked Len whether he will still love me and my stretch marks (I mean, we are about 9.5 months married now and boom, his bride with a smooth albeit flabby tummy has transformed ahhaha.), he told me he will and I know he means it (:  

Next post shall be on my attempt to exercise during this pregnancy :D Hang in there, Baby Paul!