Diastasis Recti: AKA Mom Belly (AKA rude)
OK so I am blessed with diastasis recti and when I say blessed I am just trying to be nice to the Good Lord above because clearly he missed the memo that I was 'supposed' to have washboard abs my entire life with little to no effort.
For those who may not know what diastasis recti is, my interweb BFF WebMd describes it as follows:
In other words, DR is bullshit. We women go through enough during pregnancy only to have a damn ever-lasting pooch just to remind us of the little gremlins that were feeding for nine months. As if my tiger stripes weren't enough. I personally carried both my kids very forward - I had a huge belly with both. With my son, I was just huge overall but with my daughter I gained FAR less weight and had just as big a belly - she was a bigger baby but still...
Some women carry more internally and don't have such big bellies which is fantastic as your abdominal muscles are under less stress. My separation is pretty severe - you can stick about three to four fingers horizontally between my separation (thanks kids). I also think I may have a hernia but whatever.
One thing I did and you can do to help heal DR is to wear a belly wrap or postpartum band as much as possible immediately after birth (so long as your doctor clears you) and for at least 8 weeks after. There are also a bunch of exercises that you can do in order to correct the condition - good news, crunches are a big fat no! Please see is link to my Pinterest Postpartum Board where I have a bunch of stuff pinned on the topic.
So I am sort of on the fence of maybe sharing my DR journey with you all. I am comfortable in my own skin but I don't know that I could show you my belly without cringing inside - the thought scares me! But I have taken pics so maybe after I am done I will do a before-and-after shot??
Anyways, ladies you are not alone - pooches UNITE!
For those who may not know what diastasis recti is, my interweb BFF WebMd describes it as follows:
“Diastasis recti” means your belly sticks out because the space between your left and right belly muscles has widened. You might call it a “pooch.”
It's very common among pregnant women. About two-thirds of pregnant women have it... Having more than one child makes this condition more likely, especially if they’re close in age. You’re also more likely to get it if you’re over 35 when pregnant, or if you’re having a heavy baby or twins, triplets, or more.
In other words, DR is bullshit. We women go through enough during pregnancy only to have a damn ever-lasting pooch just to remind us of the little gremlins that were feeding for nine months. As if my tiger stripes weren't enough. I personally carried both my kids very forward - I had a huge belly with both. With my son, I was just huge overall but with my daughter I gained FAR less weight and had just as big a belly - she was a bigger baby but still...
Some women carry more internally and don't have such big bellies which is fantastic as your abdominal muscles are under less stress. My separation is pretty severe - you can stick about three to four fingers horizontally between my separation (thanks kids). I also think I may have a hernia but whatever.
One thing I did and you can do to help heal DR is to wear a belly wrap or postpartum band as much as possible immediately after birth (so long as your doctor clears you) and for at least 8 weeks after. There are also a bunch of exercises that you can do in order to correct the condition - good news, crunches are a big fat no! Please see is link to my Pinterest Postpartum Board where I have a bunch of stuff pinned on the topic.
So I am sort of on the fence of maybe sharing my DR journey with you all. I am comfortable in my own skin but I don't know that I could show you my belly without cringing inside - the thought scares me! But I have taken pics so maybe after I am done I will do a before-and-after shot??
Anyways, ladies you are not alone - pooches UNITE!
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