Post Partum Recovery

[Deleted]

No advice @feegan as I'm going through the same stuff but I'm definitely not happy about how low my belly hangs now and how mushy and deflated it is!

[blueberries8]

I didn't have a c-section but I definitely had the feeling that my insides were totally unsupported and about to fall out of me. I went into my twin pregnancy already with a diastasis and an umbilical hernia. Unfortunately it got much worse. I am about 3 months out now. I definitely feel like my body has reached more of an equilibrium now but my diastasis is quite severe and my belly is still really droopy (some of it is loose skin) even though overall I am fairly thin. I recently started the MuTu system for diastasis repair so I am hopeful that will help somewhat (mutusystem.com). You could also try a support binder like the belly bandit to help with the unsupported feeling. I am totally with you and a lot of improvement will come just with time by doing nothing.

[beachy]

The only one I can answer for now is the swelling at the incision site, and that took a really long time to completely go away. Between scar tissue and what not I think I had a swollen bump on one side until almost a year later. It wasn't noticeable to anyone but me though.

[Deleted]

Jun 30, 2015 23:06:35 GMT -5 @feegan said:

@sassycassieb this feeling took me by complete surprise, I've never heard anyone mention this!

It's definitely unexpected. I sleep on my side and the first night home I went to lay down on my side in bed and it felt like all my skin and insides were falling over onto the bed. I have to sleep with my belly propped up on a small pillow to be comfortable. So weird!

[anakah]

A belly binder would help with the 'deflated, saggy' feeling. I didn't have one with my twins but I got one for my singleton later and it made a world of a difference. I wish I knew about it for the twins.

The swelling around my incision went down after about a month. It was still red and obvious (to me) for a good 6 months afterwards though.

No experience with diastasis recti but my stomach did eventually look 'normal' again. Maybe 3-6 months?

[chiwifey]

I was going to ask if this is something a belly binder could help with. I had totally forgotten about those and think I will order one and have it ready for after the twins arrive.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, deary!

[FCtwinmom]

Definitely +1 for the belly binder! As for incision swelling I think it took a good month before it really went down and probably two for the redness to calm. I am 8 months out now and I am finally starting to feel like my stomach is getting closer to normal. I still have a little pooch and some loose skin, but I think some of that is because they had to make incisions going both ways (horizontal and vertical- although the vertical one was only internal). This has just made recovery for my abs tough. I have been doing some of the diastasis recti repairing exercises that I have found on the internet and they seem to have helped quite a bit.

[carrotcake]

I was really bloated for about a week and couldn't stand anything near my incision. The trapped gas pain was awful but I was in so much pain otherwise it was just another thing. I had a really rough recovery.

I'm 2yrs out now and I still have saggy skin and a c/s shelf. I came out of my singleton pregnancy still able to wear a bikini but the twins wrecked me. The stretch marks have faded but it's just not pretty. And I'm the thinnest I've been in my adult life.

I did PT for pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic lower back pain last summer and it helped a bunch. I incorporate core work into my interval workouts and that helps, too.