As a homebirthing mama of 3, I am not the type to take “shortcuts”. I believe in the body’s natural ability to heal and feel passionately that when the body is given the appropriate natural support through food, herbs, and holistic healing modalities, it is able to heal from most things.
As a petite, 5′ tall woman, with a weight that ranges from 88 – 95 pounds, I delivered 3, 8 1/2 – 9 pound babies, in 3 1/2 years.
My stomach before kids
All 3 births were were tough, each in their respective ways, either due to malpositioning or other minor complications, leading to not the easiest, most smooth births. Let’s just say, I was not one of those angelic homebirthing mamas that have these orgasmic births, singing kumbaya. Not at all. Mine were all straight out of bloopers real of “Everything That Can Go Wrong in a Homebirth” and my home looked like a crime scene afterwards. Why did I choose to do it? Am I happy I did? I will share that in another post, but for now, let’s talk about my decision to get a tummy tuck.
So, let’s just say that after the 3 tough births, my stomach was shot to shit. Here’s why.
Extensive Stretching of My Core Muscles & Skin
During my 3 births, I stretched to abnormal proportions both due to the large size of my babies (in relation to my petite body/frame) and the fact that I suffered from polyhydramnios in my pregnancies, which essentially means I carried excess fluid, making me much larger than normal.
During my first birth. Check out the stretch marks on my skin!
Additionally, I busted my tailbone from a brutal fall 10 days before my 1st daughter, Dru’s, due date, thereby severely weakening and jacking up my pelvic floor, hence weakening my core, both of which are the prime muscles that a birthing mama needs to rely on during birth.
Dru’s birth also resulted in 7 hours of pushing, even further stretching, straining and distressing my pelvic floor and core only to then have to push out a large, acynclytic (baby’s head cocked to the side) positioned baby, making it a very difficult delivery. All of this, wreaked massive havock on my precious core and stomach.
Diastisis Recti
All of this stress on my core and pelvic floor, led to an extreme case of diastisis recti, a condition resulting in the separation (greater than 2.7 cm) of the rectus abdominal muscles. Due to the muscles being separated, thereby collapsing your linea alba, you not only have a pooch, from the stomach spilling forward given that there aren’t muscles to hold it in, but you also no longer have proper core strength.
You can see in this image how when your stomach muscles are together, you have a 6 pack or a strong core. When they are separated, you don’t have the muscles holding your belly in and your belly spills forward, thereby also weakening your core
Having not had time to fully heal from Dru’s birth and body trauma, 2 intense, large births followed, resulting in completely annihilating my core and stomach, leaving it shot.to.shit. By the end of the stretching and stress, my stomach muscles had taken such a beating that they were just totally beyond distended and split apart, giving me an awful beer belly and no core strength, no matter what.
Given my “I/My body can do anything” attitude, I was convinced I could correct and heal my diastisis recti and beer belly with physical therapy, exercise and nutrition. I had learned that the foundation to your core, is your pelvic floor, and without strengthening my pelvic floor, I would never have a strong core. I spent 16 months working with a physical therapist, certified diastisis recti trained pilates instructors, trainers, you name it, to try to strengthen my pelvic floor and core, in hopes that I could avoid surgery and regain my flat and functional tummy.
Guys, If either something is feeling “off” in your core and/or you have a beer belly/mommy pooch no matter what, get evaulated by a physical therapist. Have them check you for diastisis recti and/or hernias.
No dice. In Jan 2019, at 14 months postpartum, I was 88 pounds and cleared to advance my work outs, due to my diastisis being as closed as it would get from physical therapy, and I was still looking at wrinkly, beer belly and feeling unstable.
*The physical therapy was still a critical part of the recovery and pre-surgery process, as your pelvic floor is the foundation for your core, so it was essential that I heal and strengthen that regardless and prior to anything else.
“When you see a PT before tummy tuck, we make sure that the pelvic floor strength and symmetry of muscle recruitment is restored. We also treat diastasis by safely and systematically strengthening the Transversus Abdominus muscle” Amruta Inamdar,PT, DPT, Specializing in Women’s Health and Pelvic Floor Rehab
Side note and FYI, when you have diastitis recti, you are not able to do many exercises that require you to engage your core, such as sit ups, running, planks, and much more. It really limits your ability on what you can do for fitness and in life.
Check out the access, puckered & stretched skin and protruding belly
Check out how my stomach protrudes forward
This is to show that this has nothing to do with my having access weight on my body, but all due to the core being distended
Could it be just excess fat?
I went to an integrative doctor, still perplexed, and was told my belly was due to my low muscle mass and that I needed to gain more core strength to burn the fat on my body. I thought that could be true given that my flabby core was likely due to my inability to engage it through exercise properly after being pregnant for 3 years almost consecutively, so I enrolled myself in cross fit.
After a couple of months of doing cross fit (after having not done work outs like that in years), I really felt a significant difference in my muscle mass and strength, but my core was not feeling any different. In fact, I was starting to feel as though something was amiss. I felt as though something was missing in my core, something that I should be able to engage, that just wasn’t present.
*By the way, getting a tummy tuck is NOT weight loss surgery. It’s important that you are as close to your target weight as possible, as losing significant weight post tummy tuck will cause loose skin. While some doctors say they will do lipo on the area if there is excess fat to be removed, it’s not the objective of the surgery.
Getting Second Opinions
I went to get second opinions from plastic surgeons and learned that while I may have made significant strides in healing my foundation in PT, my stomach muscles were still so separated and stretched, that unless I got them surgically sewn together, I would never have full core functionality and always struggle with having a mommy pooch.
Getting a tummy tuck will solve all
I surrendered and decided that it was unsustainable, impractical and not wise to live the rest of my life without full core functionality, and decided getting an abdominoplasty would be a great decision.
I couldn’t imaging spending the rest of my life having to modify my activities to protect my weak core. This would only cause other issues for my back, legs and over all system. I wanted freedom to do run, do yoga, planks, play with my kids, do whatever I intuitively wanted to do, without any hinderance.
Also, as someone who is petite and always lives in clothes that either showed her middrift, sinched her waist or were fitted, I had been feeling like I lost my identity and style, but not being able to wear clothes that flattered me or represented my style. Despite having lost all the “baby weight”, I had to constantly worry about covering up my pooch and wear big, baggy, tent like dresses and tops that just never made me feel confident and great in my skin. I wanted to feel great in my skin, wear what I wanted to and feel a sense of freedom and joy for life, like I had before.
A tummy tuck would give me the flat stomach and strong core that I used to have!
Doing my Due Diligence
While interviewing plastic surgeons, I also interviewed other women who had the surgery to get the clarity I needed. The main question I asked was, ” Aside from aesthetic results, how was your core functionality and strength after your tummy tuck”. Literally, every single woman I spoke to, said they couldn’t be happier with the strength and functionality they now had after the procedure. They were now doing triathalons and all sorts of amazing exercise and fitness activities they couldn’t have ever done or felt equipped to do, before the surgery.
They all also raved about the fact that they have never had such a flat tummy and that it was the best gift they ever gave to themselves.
I found my plastic surgeon, Dr Joshua Greenwald, and booked away!
I am now 1 week post surgery and have learned SO much in the process.
Photo of me 1 week post surgery below!
Me 1 week post tummy tuck
In my next post, I’ll be sharing everything you need to know in preparing and healing for your tummy tuck!
Do you have any questions? Anything you’d like answered either here or in the next post? Please leave a question or comment below! This was such a long and stressful journey for me, that if there is anything I can do to make this process easier for you, it would be my honor! Please let me know!
xox
Misha
Love this Mish! Cant wait to hear the rest of your recovery story!