"It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again"

Do you remember this line from Silence of the Lambs??  This quote pops in to my head quite often now that I am constantly rubbing lotion on my belly.  Now I've read over and over and over again that nothing can stop stretch marks (at least proven scientifically and being a scientist this means something), but boy is there a lot of varying opinions out there.  I've read everything from using pure olive oil, vitamin E caplets, aloe vera, etc... Now I'm a firm believer that genetics pretty much trumps all of the lotion claims.  If your mom or sister have them there is a really good chance you will get them too or vice versa.  I do think that drinking lots of water, gaining weight at a steady pace and using lotions helps, especially after birth when your body goes back to normal (ok I say normal loosely) and those stretch marks start to heal.  It is because of this I will continue to grease myself up with copious amounts of oils and lotions and hope it is making some sort of impact.

I have seen this quote pretty much on every pregnancy website... "Think of stretch marks as pregnancy service stripes" Joyce Armor .. well I'm no soldier, but if and when I get stretch marks I guess I'll wear them proudly!