I didn’t think there was any more “give” left. There was no place to put the chewed-up food so it sat there in my throat for hours after eating; the belly skin was tearing along the underside and itched; the baby’s little feet got stuck under my ribs and some kicks brought tears to my eyes. Maybe the little thing was getting back at me for what I had done when I was 3 months along. My body was really too fresh, young, and small to accommodate this pregnancy, but yet it kept on. Linda P. told me about Mother’s Friend. It was this magic liquid that could prevent stretch marks from forming if you used it faithfully. Linda said that once you got stretch marks, they never went away. Then you would be haunted with the telltale signs of your pregnancy for the rest of your life. I kept a steady supply handy and spread it on faithfully every night after I marked off my calendar and before I crawled into bed. It was the consistency of olive oil and smelled like pine and lanolin.
