Stretching!

The stretch marks started a long time ago- I don't recall exactly, but I've had wagon-wheel spokes of purple on my chest for at least two months, I think. I guess it was about time- I've never had marks there before.

Roughly one month ago my belly-button bruising zone started getting a stretch mark that looks like a crazed scribble directly above my "button" itself. That has held steady since then, except for when I (painfully) accidentally whacked my belly on the kitchen table and the stretch mark itself bloomed up in a bright red set of minute bloody speckles for a week or so. Those went away as I suspected they would, and needless to say I am now more cautious with my personal space.

Most recently, a small scar from a mole removal on my left belly-side suddenly developed a stretch mark perpendicular to the scar itself, so now I have an "X marks the spot" style marking. I had a very funny disagreement with Matt about which was the stretch mark, and which was the scar, and considering I can hardly see that part of my body right now I almost let him convince me of the opposite orientation to reality. However, in the bright light of day and when I'm all relaxed, you can see that the incision scar and tiny stitching scars sit lengthwise, and the stretch mark is vertical.

So there we go. They are here, and they are bound to multiply. I'm not surprised; I've seen it as totally inevitable considering that I've had pale white stretching marks on my butt and knees ever since high school.

One funny thing is that no matter how many times I gently tell people that stretch marks are genetic and related to your skin proteins, almost everyone who seems my belly-button scribble mark insists on telling me about some cream that will prevent more. This is simply not true. Creams can make them less itchy, but nothing will prevent them except good genetic luck.