Cocoa Butter and Body Changes

Once I found out I was pregnant I immediately started using cocoa butter all over my body. It is supposed to help with stretch marks. Apparently cocoa butter reduces and prevents stretch marks and with my small frame Lord knows I need all the help I can get. I know that it is impossible to have a baby and not get any stretch marks; however, I do want to minimize the stretch marks as best I can. I put the cocoa butter on my chest, stomach, sides, extra on my hips and my backside. It has made getting ready in the morning take a little bit longer, but I figure it is worth the extra 5 minutes of prep time. At night, I usually use body butter all over to keep my skin moisturized. I imagine that the bigger I get the more times a day I will be doing my lotion routine.

This is what Chad, the jokester, had to say, “You should put some of that cocoa butter on your mouth. You talk so much your lips might get stretch marks.” Ha…Ha…Ha…very funny. Chad should get the award for comedian of the year, right?

I really hope that the cocoa butter does its intended job because I have already started to notice a few body changes taking place. For starters, I have noticed that I am starting to get swollen in a few places. My chest has definitely plumped up. It is actually a really nice side effect of being pregnant. My boobs have never been firmer or perkier. I am sure once the baby is born they will sag down to my knees, but for now I am loving them!

Also, my belly is starting to get slightly swollen. Tracking my belly growth has been a little difficult for me. I have always been small framed and thin, however, I have always-always had a poochy belly. It has always stuck out a little bit and been slightly disproportionate to the rest of my frame. So I really can’t tell if it is baby poochy or just my regular poochy-ness. The only real difference I can tell is that my belly is not as soft and rolly. My stomach is starting to firm, but is still round and sticks out a little. I figure at almost 14 weeks it is definitely starting to get about that time when I will start to really show. My weekly newsletter, that tells me everything that is happening week to week, said I should be in pregnancy clothes by now. I’m not yet. With the exception of a few pants needing the addition of the belly belt I am still in regular clothes. I am sure it won’t last much longer though. Truth be told I am looking forward to a big pregnant belly—just not too big!

One reason I am convinced I will be in maternity clothes in the next few weeks is because I am 100% sure my hips grew a few inches overnight! Here’s the deal. I went to bed in my regular night-time clothes, no problem, no worries. I woke up this morning to make Chad breakfast and my hips were burning—like they were on fire. I pulled down my sweat pants and my underwear was literally dug into my skin really deep. I took them off and my skin was super bright red and had horrible indentations where the underwear band had been. So either my underwear shrunk overnight or I grew overnight. I am thinking it might be the latter. Luckily, I recently went to Victoria’s Secret and bought 7 new pair of underwear all a size bigger than I normally wear. Looks like I will be using those for at least the next 6 months or maybe the rest of forever.

Okay, this next body change is actually pretty funny. I have always had peach fuzz on my belly. Although Chad says, “you can’t call it peach fuzz if it’s brown.” Again, what a jokester. Well, I have brown hair, so naturally my peach fuzz is brown. I have noticed these past few weeks that my “peach fuzz” has upgraded from peach fuzz to full-blown body hair. I look like a gorilla! I don’t know if it is hormones or not, but the hair on my belly is darker, longer and there seems to be a lot more of it. Ugh…I hate it. I want a pretty pregnant belly. I don’t want to look like Thomas Beattie.

Oh well, I am sure these body changes are nothing compared to what is in store for me over the next six months. It’s gonna be a wild ride and I am loving it so far!