Yes, you may be glowing. Yes, you may be noticing stretch marks rearing their ugly head. How to look, and most importantly feel beautiful throughout your pregnant months.

I have seen it all. I was on a very popular women's website doing research for this article, and one of the icons to click on was "stretch mark photos". I became curious - I've seen my mother's battle wounds many times, but now my morbid inquisitive mind wanted to click on that page and find out just how bad it could possibly get. Wow. I wanted to have kids until I saw these photos. I saw bellies, boobs and butts that were stretched tighter than a drum, with squiggly lines radiating outward, in scar tissue starbursts, in every color of the rainbow. I now see why my mother would stand in the mirror, depressed and pinching her sagging skin, and say to me (without much feeling), "Oh!..oh, honey... you were worth it."

Contemplating all the changes that are happening to your body while pregnant can be totally overwhelming, both the good and the bad. My research found that there are some pretty obvious ways to alleviate (somewhat) a lot of the scary things, and some terrific ways to make yourself feel wonderful when you wake up one morning and discover one (very scary thing). The important thing is to remember that your body's busy creating a life - so what's a little extra skin?

The Scary Things

Melanotropin. During pregnancy larger quantities of pigmentation are secreted into the skin, also called chloasma. You will see the effects of high levels of Melanotropin across the nose, cheeks, and forehead. You may find that sunlight aggravates it. The amazing part? It goes away completely after birth.

Red Palms! Red Palms! You'll be caught red-handed if you're one of the majority of women who develop palmar erythema, or the reddening of the palms and hands. Luckily, this, too goes away after birth.

Stretch Marks. Okay, these may not go away after birth. Tight and inflexible skin needing to stretch to make room for weight and baby will produce scar tissue to make up the difference, producing those squiggly lines across breasts, butts, thighs, abdomens, and arms. Unfortunately, stretch marks are genetic, but fortunately, over half to almost all pregnant women get them. Although there is no "miracle cure" lotion that gets rid of them, doctors say that hydrating the skin with tons of water (drink it, not pour it over your body) will make skin more elastic. And, of course, a healthy diet and prenatal exercise will keep you from gaining too much weight too soon, which causes skin to stretch. After birth, doctors recommend rubbing the stretch marks with Vitamin E oil, which will tone them down in color although it won't erase them completely.

Zits. Many women complain of their skin making a great switch when they become pregnant, due to careening hormone levels. Women whose skin was perfect before pregnancy find their faces are oily and more prone to breakouts; women who've been using Oxy for years suddenly look like Isabella Rossalini. Since it's your hormones, there's not a lot you can do but keep plenty of water in you and stay away from foods you know cause you to break out.

Spider Veins. A burst of extra estrogen in your system may cause tiny, bluish star-shaped veins to appear over your chest, face, neck, arms and legs. They may even raise up off your skin. The good news is: most spider veins will fade after birth.

Preggers Beauty Bonuses!

So that's the worst of it. Now on to greener pastures, relaxing baths (or showers if you can't get down that far), and other beauty regimens to make you feel like a very large and bloated queen of the world.

• Eat, Drink, Sleep. I know, I know, you've heard it so many times you want to puke, but it's still true: every part of your body, your mind, and your state of mind is more beautiful when you eat right, get enough sleep, and drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day. It will help your stretch marks, your puffy eyes, your bloated ankles, and give you more energy to smile and turn on "that glow" when you want to.
• Cool Off. Feeling at any moment you're going to spontaneously combust into flames? Put your moisturizer, body lotion, and under eye gel in the fridge before you go to bed. In the morning, the coolness will energize you, and it just plain feels good.
• Nothing Dramatic. Your hormones are raging, you're feeling like a walking motor home, and your body's doing some new weird thing every day. Sound like a perfect time for a complete beauty overhaul, doesn't it? Stop. Before you go for the buzz-cut, the platinum blonde 'do, or the teal mascara, remember - you may not want to do anything else dramatic to your body at this time of rapid and extreme change. If you're feeling blue about your body image, try doing something different with the hair you already have, or add one more shade of muted taupe to your lipstick drawer. Same idea, not quite so extreme.
• Relaxing Shower/Bath Even if you're at the point where getting into the bathtub is comical, you can still perform the same ritual standing in the shower. You know what to do (you read women's magazines): Get your Sarah MacLaughlin CD, a couple of smelly candles, some yummy shower or bath gel, and spend a few minutes letting the water run over you, thinking of nothing, dreaming of everything, relaxing your evening away.