Need Suggestions - Gunnison,CO

Hi A.,

Stretch marks are a tearing of the skin and can be improved on by improving the elasticity of the skin. However, it won't happen overnight . I use a heart supplement, believe it or not, that is primarily grape skin and grape seed extract (two nutrients that are usually called beauty nutrients). The supplement is meant to do a lot of things including the restoration of the elasticity of the arterial system. What I've seen is that it has restored the elasticity of my skin as well. In that process my stretch marks have faded. An absorbable multivitamin will also help. The nutrients that you had pre-pregnancy need to be replenished. If you want to go that route I can give you some information on mine.

The "girls" need some weight training. I go to the YMCA and do "BodyPump." It does wonders. Again, a multivitamin will help because anything that works needs it's fuel. Muscles crave their nutrition.

You've got good advice on #3......time will straighten it out.

Hope this helped!

M.

In addressing just #3, my son wet his bed until he was 9, my sister until she was 12. It is just going to take some time. My daughter is 4 and she is potty trained during the day but wears "night time underpants" when she gets ready for bed.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

In honor of such, I'm going to go all "Bombeck" here.....

Stretchmarks.....I just try to consider them "Future Pregnancy Repellent"...Seriously, if you look up Thriftyfun.com and search for "homemade skin oil", I've posted my recipe for natural skin oil that does seem to help. I think my problem is that I didn't bother to do anything about them until I'd had three or four kids, or as I like to think of it--"The Point of No Return"...

So....the girls are less than perky after nursing...? Well, I have a slogan for you. Once upon a time I was lamenting to a friend that there seemed to be no cream, no bra, no excersize that would put my "working girls" back to their former state after nursing five babies

. She said, "Well, they're TIRED. They're RESTING!"

I'm thinking of having it tattooed across my chest as an explanation, whaddaya think?

I can't help you with the bedwetting. After five pregnancies, I'm lucky to make it to the bathroom myself.....

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I never got stretch marks but I do not think that there is anything that helps. Nursing does take the groceries out of the grocery sacks. They will never be the same again. They should firm back up somewhat after a month or so. Usually night time dryness is something that varies from child to child. The less stress the child feels the more success is possible.

When our kids were in that transition time, we would take them to the bathroom every night before going to bed ourselves, about 2 hours after they'd fallen asleep. Once they got used to the process, they'd hardly wake up. We'd just set them on the potty, and their bodies knew what to do. We'd help wipe if needed, pull back up the p.j.'s, carry them back to bed and tuck them in. Eventually, they could make it through the night, or (in the case of our daughter), get up on her own to use the bathroom. We leave a nightlight on just in case.

Wetting at night is not uncommon at this age. My son didn't outgrow it until he was 7. It's most often just a developmental thing. My son was a deep sleeper and his body hadn't developed enough to sent the signal to his brain in time to wake him up. He was still running for the bathroom during the day, so I knew that he didn't know he needed to go until the last minute and that's not long enough for him to wake up. They really just have to outgrow it. If you can, get a couple of the fabric chux pads that they use at hospitals. The ones that are cotton on one side and a slick, waterproof fabric on the other that they use for moving patients around on the bed. My son slept on these to save his mattress and bedding from repeat soakings. I had about four of them, so I'd just toss it in the wash every morning and pull out a new one for that night. This really cut back on the laundry factor so I was able to basically ignore it. Whatever you do, do NOT make her feel ashamed of it. If she had any control over it, she wouldn't be doing it. Be understanding and patient. She will grow out of it. BTW, up to 15% of kids are still wetting the bed frequently by age 6.

About your other questions, sorry, can't help ya, but I look forward to reading the rest of your responses....I could use some help in those areas too! :)

Hi A.. I have a friend who is trying a more natural approach to the bed wetting. She gives her daughter a small handful of raisins and two walnuts. She says that her daughter hasn't stopped nighttime wetting yet but in the two weeks she has done this she has seen a decrease in output. She told me she read that it could take at least a month to start to see some results.. I hope this helps.

1. A toning body lotion can help soften, smoothe, and moisturize the skin, which can reduce stretch marks. I really like Mary Kay's Timewise Body.

2. Gravity has taken it's toll. The toning lotion may help some. But really, the best thing to get the "girls" back into "shape" is a great pushup bra :D

3. It sounds like her body just isn't quite there yet for nighttime staying dry. Some kids have nighttime "issues" until they're 7 or 8. Of my three kids, the first two were dry at night soon after daytime accident-free. But the third still occaisionally wets the bed (he's almost 7). Just invest in a plastic mattress protector to put under the sheets and maybe some disposable night underwear made for slightly older kids. Then don't make an issue of it (the more it's an issue, the hearder it is to overcome)

#1: I've heard Strivectin (sp?) cream can help stretch marks. It was made especially for stretch marks and now people use it as an antiaging. I've never used it, so I can't really vouch for it, but some of my girl friends have. You can get it at Sephora.

2. push ups can help. Try doing a few of them throughout the day, like at diaper changes.

3. I'm glad you asked this question. My daughter is 4 and I was wondering if we should work on the nighttime potty training. We haven't yet. I think I'll wait awhile longer based on some of the responses.
R.

As for your body, moisturize and exercise, but many changes, like stretch marks and sagging girls, are not going to change.
As for night wetness, this is just a matter of growth. You can not force it. Children begin to be able to hold their urine over night at different ages, usually between the ages of 2-7. Just keep using pull ups or under jams until she wakes up several nights (like a month) straight dry.

Strech marks are forever..... :(
God's special gift to remind us of the amazing thing we did!

The girls will be out of shape forever unless you get a boob job! I plan on that in the next few years :) for now they just look oh so sad....

My kids are still too small for night time potty training, so I will look forward to others ideas!

Good luck!

3. A suggestion-- before you go to bed, get her up and take her to the bathroom. Don't bother with waking her fully or talking much. Just say, "Let's go to the bathroom." Pick her up if necessary and put her on the toilet. Hopefully you will soon be pleasantly surprised to find her getting up on her own in the night to use the toilet.

I don't know about #1 and #2,

but for your 3rd question: Night-time "dryness" is not even attained until 7 years old... and this is completely NORMAL per Pediatricians. It has nothing to do with how long a kid has been potty-trained... because night-time bladder control is totally BIOLOGICAL based... and about the maturity of the bladder etc. It is NOT the same as daytime peeing.
Limiting liquids and/or other methods like waking them up at night to go will not work. MANY kids this age, still wear night time diapers. My daughter did too. My friends kids did and do too. Even my Daughter's Teachers said the same thing. Normal.
My Daughter is 7 now... and once in a blue moon, she will have a pee accident. No biggie.... and because I use waterproof bed-pads directly under her, and so clean-up and laundry is not a hassle.

Remember, day and nighttime pottying are 2 completely different things.