Loose Skin and Lower Belly Pooch From Pregnancy

Getting Rid of My Mummy Tummy

I have had three pregnancies prior to this one and only in my last pregnancy was I able to figure out why my tummy wasn't toning up and how to not only get rid of most of my stretch marks but how to prevent new ones from forming.

 

After I had my first baby, I dropped the weight fairly quickly, but I still had a pooch protruding out when I would go to sit up or whenever I did abdominal exercises.  At my 6 week postpartum checkup, they checked for a "muscle gap" but they said with time, it should go away on its own.  6 months after my son was born I was pregnant with my second.  I still had that pooch, but I decided I couldn't do anything about it since I was already pregnant and about to get big again.  When I mentioned it at my first prenatal appointment, they just chalked it up to having my babies close together.

 

She was born, but now I was still faced with a loose belly and that muscle separation that never did get better with time, no matter how much I worked out. I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight but my stomach would never tone up. 

 

Thankfully, a friend of mine became pregnant with twins, and I became obsessed with twin pregnancies: chances of conceiving twins, how much weight to gain with twins, twin pregnancy belly photos, postpartum twin belly photos...etc. Then I came across Twinpossible.  I finally learned that this abdominal gap that I had has a name: Diastasis Recti. I was floored. Not only did I learn that I could heal the gap myself, but that I most likely made it worse by doing exercises that my body wasn't ready for. I had lost the weight, but my skin wasn't tightening because I had no muscle behind it to support it.  Also, I wasn't really taking care of my skin properly.

 

On the web site, she shows safe exercises you can do during pregnancy as well as exercises you can do after pregnancy to close the gap. I did as much of the diastasis recti exercises as I could before my belly started growing, then I used my 10 Minute Solutions Prenatal Pilates dvd for the rest of my pregnancy. My belly stayed smaller this time around compared to my second pregnancy.

 

After I had my youngest son, I bought these Fabulously Fit Moms workout dvds. I started with some gentle postpartum exercises, and diastasis recti exercises, and once my abdominal gap was less than 2 finger widths, then I started using the dvds. 

I also bought the Squeem belly binder from the Twinpossible web site, and got really fast results once I was able to wear it.  It took 4 days for my belly to shrink down enough to get it to close. Since I was already pregnant when I bought it, I had to guess on the size.

 

I had used a Motherhood Maternity abdominal support band after my first baby.  It was hot and itchy, and since it was made of elastic and Velcro, I had a hard time adjusting it to be tight enough to do its job.  It was also too bulky to wear under clothing without everybody knowing I was wearing it. Once I had lost the baby weight, my muscles weren't completely healed, but I had to stop wearing it because I ran out of Velcro to close it.  I got rid of it before I had my daughter.  I didn't wear a belly binder after my second pregnancy and I regret it now because my tummy never went down without binding it. I exercised religiously, but never looked any better because I was working out wrong and not training my muscles to go back where they're supposed to be.

3 months postpartum, with no belly binding.

I wore my Squeem belly binder every day for 3 months, and only took it off to shower and sleep.  It held my stomach muscles in place when I worked out, and after I got used to it, I hardly even noticed wearing it. Every day, I would continue using my Palmers' products, sugar scrub and Olay age defying body wash.  I think the tummy butter and the skin tightening butter really made all the difference.  Here are some postpartum photos while belly binding and doing the diastasis recti exercises:

 

I'm sorry these aren't the greatest photos. I took them for personal use as encouragement if I thought I wasn't making any progress, but clearly from the photos the things that I did worked.  I still had a little bit of loose skin when I got pregnant this time around, but I suspect that would have gone away with a little more time.  I came across these web sites that have more info in diastasis recti one of which has some great exercises for preventing one or keeping yours from getting worse:

www.befitmom.com/diastastis-recti.html

www.thisreadingmom.com/?p=66
 

I will try out these new exercises during this pregnancy and see if it makes an even bigger difference.  I was able to close my diastasis recti before getting pregnant again, and I feel that my pelvic floor has regained a lot of its strength, so I would like to do all I can to make sure I don't reverse my hard work too much.  Hopefully all of this nausea and dizziness subsides soon so I can get back on a good fitness plan.

I am not a doctor or a personal trainer so my results may not be the same for everyone.  Before beginning any fitness program you should always talk to your doctor and make sure the exercises are safe for you.

 

Until next time,

Trad Cat Mama



Pregnant again...

Dealing with Pregnancy Number 4

So here we go again, we've got three little ones 3 and younger with another pregnancy underway.  We're getting used to the snarky comments from family and strangers alike.  We even made our own slideshow to the song made famous by Chad and Andrea. I e-mailed the slideshow to a few friends of mine who have large families of their own, put it on Facebook and sent it to my dad's sister who thinks she knows everything about everything and likes to tell everybody else how to do things.

My husband even said that a few customers have been telling him that he needs to watch more TV (as if we need that darn thing on more than we do.)  I told him to freak them out even more and to tell them that we don't believe in television.  We even finally sprang for the minivan! A Honda Odyssey Touring. It's only a few years old, in very good condition, but I love our new van.

 

Enough about that, symptom-wise, things are way more intense than any of my previous three pregnancies.  I am nauseous most of the day and something I could keep down without dry heaving one day, I can't even stand the sight of the next day.  Changing diapers and making bottles for our youngest has been a nightmare, dealing with the smells.  My husband has been really understanding, but I can tell he misses my cooking.

 

 

I look like I did at 18 weeks preggo with my second baby, and I'm only 8 weeks right now.  I feel exhausted from sun up to sundown.  Coffee doesn't even help with the fatigue, but I still have a small cup every day because it keeps the headaches and nausea at bay.  Many people have said I could be showing sooner because I've had three previous pregnancies, however, for my third pregnancy, I looked even smaller than with my second and I never started showing before 12 weeks with my first three.  I can't shake the feeling that I could be carrying twins, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

We had an early ultrasound at 5 weeks for dating, but all they did was measure the sac and check to see which ovary I ovulated from.  It was still very early to see one baby much less two. Anyhow, at least I have my three little ones to keep me occupied throughout the day and keep my mind from overthinking this pregnancy.  If it is two, we should find out sometime before I'm due hopefully!

Until Next Time,
Trad Cat Mama



Toddler preschool

Homeschooling 3 under 4

We're excited for our oldest son to be starting preschool already since we never knew how far he would come.  Since his near drowning back in September of 2013, it's been a long road of hospital stays and multiple therapies, including PT, OT, Speech, Vision (for the CVI he developed from the brain injury), and this past year we added music therapy to the list.  Now that he has graduated from his early intervention program, we're looking forward to preschool. 

The local school for the blind and visually impaired has a great preschool program that we were eager to start him in right after his birthday.  However, after a serious case of RSV sent him to the hospital right before his birthday, we decided homebound preschool was the answer for us.  Still, the work is minimal and I have full confidence he would be able to handle a longer school day.  The school year ends next week so I've been scouring Pinterest and the internet for therapy ideas and preschool curriculums.  We also have a daughter turning 2 this summer, and another son who will be turning 1 right after.  So I wanted to find a curriculum that would be adaptable for all three children.

I finally found Pamm's preschool which has a great preschool curriculum, as well as a young toddler curriculum that I can follow.  I think she even has activities you can do with younger babies as well.  It is a Bible based curriculum, but very basic so with a few simple additions, could be made into a good Catholic curriculum.  She has ideas for felt board cutouts, which I may adapt to use on a light board or use high contrast colors for my oldest son's visual impairment. 

I like the books, A is For Altar, B is For Bible by: Judith Lang Main, Twenty-Six Letters to Heaven: A Catholic Preschool Curriculum by: Sarah V. Park, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by: Siegfried Engelmann, and Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler by: Kathy Pierce.  I will be using these to supplement the curriculum on Pamm's House, as well as to work on literacy with my 2 year old.  I've found all of these books on Amazon. My son's curriculum will be adapted to focus more on his therapies, as well as regaining verbal skills.  I will also be teaching them all Braille instead of the sign language that Pamm's House focuses on.

I'd like to keep the cost down as far as buying materials and books, so once I have our preschool set up, I will make a post detailing what I've spent as well as organization ideas I've come up with.  Since I'm brand new at this, I would love some feedback from any seasoned homeschoolers about what ways you have developed your curriculum, homeschooling special needs children, and any organizational tips and words of inspiration you may have.  I will make a separate post featuring my favorite ideas of yours.

 

Until next time,

Trad Cat Mama