Hi everybody! First of all, I just want to say I LOVE the Beauty Brains! I found ya'll just before I had my little boy in December. I was searching for information about Arbonne. (My sister-in-law sells the stuff and said it was "What God made for ME!") I guess everyone can tell I'm from the south, right in the middle of the bible belt! Anyway, I recieved all the Arbonne Baby line as a shower gift and I used every bit of it. It was good, but for the price I was having to pay to continue, my little boy now uses Aveeno. And can you believe it, it's just as good.
So, anyway....I wanted to start another disscussion on Post-Pregnancy Beauty. If you have had a baby, you know what I'm talking about!! My fisrt problem is......
1. During my pregnacy, I started getting a dark brown spot on my left cheek (face not booty...thats another problem!!) Does anyone have any recomendations for lighting this?? Or will it go away with time?? And remember, I have a newborn at home (this means I don't have lots of time or extra money!!)
2. What can I do about these strech marks?? They are everywhere....in places I didn't even know I had while I was pregnant!! AAUUUGGHHH!! Do creams really work of am I going to have to go to a professional? I stopped by a "spa" the other day and they told me I could have my strech marks removed as long as they were still pinkish/purple?? Is this true??
3. My hair is falling out!! Is this normal? I use Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner and I've never had this problem before. What's up??
4. And finally, does anyone have any suggestions to help me get "back in the swing of things"? I really do want to...."you know", but I can't seem to get over the fact that my body is just not the same. Will it ever get better??
Any suggestioins or advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
I thought of a #5
5. How can I get more SLEEP????!!!!???? Talk about looking and feeling like HELL!! Getting 4 hours of sleep an hour at a time will do it!!!
And #6. Has anyone ever taken any kind of supplement to produce more breast milk??
1. I can't help you here. Would it be perverse of me to admit that I'm kind of happy to read about a problem I DIDN'T have after two pregnancies?
2. Sometimes stretch marks fade to silvery streaks but they never go away. Sometimes they remain pinkish/purple. I assume what she was trying to say is that lasers will fade them if they don't fade on their own but you're still stuck with the silvery streaks. As if that's not depressing enough, you can get stretch marks on top of stretch marks if you get pregnant again; there's not a lotion or creme in the world that will prevent them or remove them. Give them time to fade on their own. Laser treatments are painful and expensive.
3. Yes, it's normal. You probably noticed that your hair seemed thicker during your pregnancy. It probably seemed to grow faster too. That's because you weren't "shedding" at the rate you normally do. But all that hair you didn't shed during your pregnancy is coming out now, probably by the handful and it's a little scary. Don't worry, you're just going back to your pre-pregnancy hair.
4. It will get better but it probably won't ever be the same. You probably won't be able to go back to your pre-pregnancy workout routine but with a little creativity, you can come up with a new one that will help you look and feel better. For me, it was walking. Neither of my kids ever really napped. But they were happy in a stroller so every day I'd go for a long vigorous walk with them. They enjoyed it (sometimes they even slept!) and I walked off my pregnancy weight, which was no small accomplishment since I gained 65 lbs both times. I realize that you probably don't have a lot of time to devote to exercise since you'd probably rather sleep when you've got a free minute and you're probably averaging about two (very short) showers a week but if you can somehow combine some sort of exercise with baby-oriented activities, you'll still feel better.
5. I can't help you here either. The good thing about babies that don't nap is that they sleep well at night. It meant going to bed at 8 pm, which was when they went down for the night but I was able to get 8 hours sleep after the first few weeks. I wasn't able to shower and I looked awful because I barely had enough time to brush my teeth and go to the bathroom but at least I wasn't tired. Keep in mind that it's not a forever thing. As they get bigger, they sleep longer. Really.
6. I had chronic problems producing enough milk to the point of having to augment with formula or risk starving my babies. I had a good friend who was a Le Leche League leader who knew all the tricks and even she couldn't help. But here's the good news -- one of the tricks is to drink beer. (I swear I am not making that up.) If you're having problems producing enough milk, get in touch with your local Le Leche League. They know all the tricks and can direct you to professional help (yes, such a thing exists) if necessary.
Keep in mind that when it comes to babies, everything is short-term. Just when you think, "I can't deal with it for another minute", things change and last week's insurmountable problem is replaced with a new insurmountable problem! You probably feel like you'll never have a minute to spend on yourself and that a leisurely shower is a thing of the past but that's not true. As your baby gets older, you'll find that the old tricks and routines don't work and you'll constantly be need to come up with new tricks. Just when you think you've got the hang of it, the baby will start crawling and you're back to square one. But it does get better. You figure things out as you go, just keep telling yourself, "this too shall pass."
Thanks Purple....some not so good news about those stretch marks...HA! I spelled it right this time, I'm SO tired!.....but I am glad to hear that I'm not going to be bald too!
And drinking beer! Who knew. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try it, but its FUNNY! HELL, it might help with his sleepy time as well! I think I may contact my local La Leche League. I've never even heard of that. Ah, google!
Welcome Corbianne,
#1) I didn't have this problem, but have read its from hormonal changes, and it will go away when hormones return to normal.
#2) Nothing will help except time to let them fade. Just try to keep from getting more by quick weight gains.
#3)I didn't have this problem either, or I was too tired to notice it. I have read other Pantene users complain of hair loss, so if it continues much longer, try switching to a different shampoo and conditioner.
#4) Don't worry about it for now, unless you have someone to help you out with the baby. As you found out, just getting a morning shower is hard enough. It will get better once the baby gets a little older.
#5) Unless you have a husband, boyfriend or family member who will take one of the night feedings, you won't get enough sleep. By the time my kids were 4 months old, I was a walking zombie. They would wake every 3-4 hours at night. It will get better, and when he does sleep longer than normal the first few times, you'll wake up terrified something happened to him.
#6) I have heard about drinking beer, and tried it. After a couple months, I gave up and went to a bottle.
Try to keep your spirits up. The first few months are the worst (until they get to be teens :( ) Just remember, life as you knew it is gone forever! Kids change your life drastically. You can no longer just go on the spur of the moment. It use to take me an hour to pack everything for the baby. It sure is nice when they get old enough to leave at home alone, but you have a long haul before you get there. When things are at their worst, just go look at him while he is sleeping. It will remind you it is all worth it.
Hi Corbianne!
Hang in there.
My idea for #2: Try Porcelena to fade the brown spot. It's ~ $6 a jar. It will last you at least three months and you can buy it at most drug stores. Its active ingredient is 2% hydroquinone. I don't know if that is a problem if you're breastfeeding or not; maybe look on the box first and then ask your doctor. Just make sure you use a sunscreen relegiously if you start using a skin lightener or you'll undo what you just accomplished through the use of products.
I am COVERED in stretch marks but, suprisingly, they don't bother me. Once they fade, they're not that noticeable. My gross stomach? That's noticeable but the stretch marks really aren't a big deal.
The first few months are really rough. You have no time and probably no money and you think it's going to be like that forever. But it really does get better.
I was talking to my boss a while ago about life with a newborn. We were joking about taking a shower and how you'd get everything ready beforehand so you could jump in the minute the baby went to sleep. But you still didn't really have enough time to shave so you divided it up over two showers. She would shave the left side one time and the right side the next. I would shave underarms and calves one time and thighs the next. Are we the only ones who did this? Just curious.
ok.. these kind of stuff? my mom never ever talked to me about!!! all she would say was that labor wasn't that painful, and you just have to breathe and what not..
but the hair loss and not wanting to "you know".. dude.. that sucks..
now i'm scared of ever having a baby....
but good luck!!!! our parents all raised us, and we turned out fine.. and so did they.. so, don't worry? be happy?
My sister started losing her hair after she had her baby a year ago. Now it is starting to grow back...it's really cute actually, she has these little tufts of hair along her scalp near her forehead. She has thick coarse hair. So don't worry about losing your hair it should come back!