Healing My Postpartum Diastasis Recti

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In the next few weeks, I will be discussing something that makes me extremely self-conscious. It’s a vulnerable topic for me because it puts a spotlight on an area of my body that has changed tremendously.

Having Diastasis Recti has been a very emotional experience. I’m typically a very confident person, but dealing with diastasis recti has lowered the self-esteem of my body image significantly.

What is Diastasis Recti?

Diastasis means separation and Recti are the outermost part of the abdomen muscles. Essentially, the abdominal muscles are separated, causing the muscles to be stretched out. This results in having a belly pooch and looking pregnant.

My Story

Listen y’all, I had 3 babies in 3.5 years! My first was born in early 2014 and my last was born in late 2017. Needless to say, pregnancy took its toll on this mama’s body. As of this week, I am 6 months postpartum and I still look about 4 to 6 months pregnant.

I was diagnosed with Diastasis Recti after my second baby. I pushed so hard for 5 long hours and it resulted in a severe abdominal separation that left my organs exposed. When I got pregnant with my third surprise baby, the separation was evident and my belly got so big!

Related: How I Birthed My Last – A Gentle Cesarean Story

According to The Tummy Team, Diastasis Recti is very common, rarely diagnosed, and can present multiple symptoms. Having Diastasis Recti has resulted in many symptoms for me, including lower back pain, a very sensitive to touch abdomen, feeling bloated all the time and when I lay down you can see my organs moving (gross!).

I was given a referral to a physical therapist after my second baby. After 12 weeks of therapy, and no results, the physical therapist said I would need a tummy tuck to fix the problem. Now that I’m done having children, the Lord knows I don’t have time for that!

I struggled with the idea that I would have to live with Diastasis Recti for the rest of my life. I understood that my body bore three children rather rapidly and I know that there is beauty in pregnancy. But, I just didn’t want to accept that surgery was my only option and I knew there had to be a better way.

Related: 5 Reasons Why Pregnancy Is Beautiful

Enter The Tummy Team

After my last pregnancy, I was determined to find a solution for my Diastasis Recti that A) wouldn’t require surgery and B) I could do from home. I searched the internet tirelessly and stumbled upon The Tummy Team. After spending hours on their website reading and researching, I felt confident that their method could potentially help me.

The Tummy Team has a comprehensive 8-week online program called Core Foundations. According to their website, the Core Foundations course: “builds the foundational strength of your internal corset muscles and gradually integrates that essential strength into your everyday life.”

The program includes:

1. Over 5 hours of video education.
2. Step-by-step instructions for each week.
3. Core exercises, alignment retraining, and everyday strategies for rebuilding functional core strength.
4. Downloadable handouts for stretches and exercises.
5. Access to a private client-only Facebook forum for personal support.

After some prayer, I reached out to The Tummy Team and they graciously gave me access to their Core Foundations course in exchange for my honest opinion. They also sent me a 4-panel abdominal splint to use during the program.

My Expectations:

I am really looking forward to getting started and rehabilitating my core. It’s not about vanity, it’s also about getting my health back and being physically strong. I want to be able to play with my kids without having back pain or guarding my tummy when we’re playing to make sure they don’t accidentally hit it. I want to be intimate with my husband without back pain and discomfort in my abdomen.

I’m not quite confident enough to share photos of what my tummy looks like just yet. Perhaps on my next update, I will, but I’m not there yet. I will, however, show you photos of what the abdomen splint looks like on me.

I have to tell you, this splint is the most comfortable splint I’ve ever tried. I’ve tried several different splints from the hospital and physical therapist and I always felt so restricted and uncomfortable. This splint is so comfortable and flexible. There are times where I don’t remember it’s even on.

Here is what the splint looks like on. It is recommended that you wear the splint over a shirt to reduce washes which will prolong the life of the splint. You can still see my pooch, but it’s not as bulgy.

Here is what the splint looks like with a shirt over it. My abdomen definitely feels secure, my back feels supported and I like how it tightens things up.

I will be updating my progress every two weeks while I’m doing The Tummy Team program. Even though I am just getting started I am very optimistic about it!

If you’re struggling with Diastasis Recti and are looking for a solution, I highly suggest looking into The Tummy Team! To motivate you to start restoring your core, The Tummy Team is offering 15% off of their Online Core Training Programs to my readers! All you need to do is enter promo code mominthegolane at check out for your discount!

Until next time, friends!

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