Postpartum Tummy Wrapping...
Deborah two weeks old
I've received several emails and comments from you all asking how I got back in shape so quickly after giving birth, so I wanted to pass along what I have done (which isn't much!).
This birth and recovery has been the easiest yet, and I attribute my easier birth to the herbs I took during my pregnancy. I also tried something new after having Deborah and wrapped my tummy.
The tradition of postpartum belly wrapping is quite common in other countries, but very foreign here in America. People have looked at me funny when I've told them what I did, but I'm getting used to the strange looks over things I do in life. : )
I've read that it is actually considered cruel to a new mother not to wrap their belly after having a baby. Once you deliver a baby you have organs that are loose and needing to get back in place. Not to mention all the extra skin you have in your tummy. The concept behind tummy wrapping is that it helps shrink your flabby skin, as well as put your organs back in their proper place faster. I was skeptical that it would really work, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
When you start researching wraps it can get overwhelming. A typical postpartum wrap runs $60-$100 and up. Yikes! That was over my price range, and I was reading so many mixed reviews of the expensive wraps that I didn't want to waste my money on something that I might not like.
I finally ended up reading enough good reviews about the Underworks Post Delivery Girdle Belt that I decided to try it out.
Deborah was born in the evening, and my midwife asked that I wait until morning to put the wrap on. A lot of ladies put it on during the first hour after giving birth, but I did wait until the next morning. I wore it faithfully for two weeks after giving birth. I wore it most nights to bed, though I gave myself a break a few nights.
I can't say it was so comfortable that I couldn't even tell it was on. I did have to adjust it, it would ride up from being in bed the first week, so when I got out of bed I would have to pull it down. I did get a chance to try on the popular Belly Bandit postpartum wrap. While it was a littler softer, and made out of more comfortable fabric I don't think I would spend the extra money on it.
After having Deborah I've read really good reviews about a 9" three panel binder and wish I would have gotten that one. As I lost more weight it was harder to adjust the binder exactly how tight I needed it, but with the three panel binder it would have made it much simpler.
Just because I love you all so much, I'm going to share pictures I had my sister take that are of my tummy one week postpartum. Yes, I'm actually doing this. Yikes!
Side view of my tummy wrapped in the Underworks Girdle Belt:
*Gulp* Side view of my tummy without the binder on:
I'm sure you can tell a big difference in the pictures! For the first time ever, within two weeks after giving birth, I only have five pounds left to lose of my baby weight.
After two weeks of wearing the postpartum girdle I then started wearing a shape wear garment similar to this one.
I'm now seven weeks postpartum. I still have flabby skin and weight I would love to lose but I just now feel ready to start exercising. I'm hoping with the weather warming up soon that we will start taking more walks and getting outside.
I'd love to hear if anyone else has done postpartum tummy wrapping, and what your experience was. If you have never tried it, I'd highly recommend it!
Labels: Fashion, Motherhood, Pregnancy
posted by Caroline @ The Modest Mom @ 2:00 AM
42 Comments
42 Comments:
I'm in China and I've seen these in the stores and just decided it was just another one of those "weird" (from my American point of view) things women here do after giving birth. But I do know that most women, who are generally a size 0-4 before pregnancy, are back to their prepregnancy weight within a month or so.
When my son was born three years ago, my Chinese mother in law insisted I observe the "forbidden month" where women must stay in bed, eat special foods like black chickens (really, the meat is almost black), not do any housework (reading or be on the internet, etc...), shower or touch anything cold. It was a very long month and my sweet husband agreed I could shower and go online after the first week, provided I did it when his parents weren't around. Amazingly I was below my prepregnancy weight within 5 weeks.
Now, I'm expecting baby #2 in May and just might consider the tummy wrapping. Thanks for the information on it!
Ya know, after my 3rd was born I wondered about this. I started wearing control top pantyhose and spandex girdles just so I could fit in my pre pregnancy clothes faster. I noticed my tummy was better afterwards. However, I decided not to constrict my abs thinking that it would keep my muscles weak. I do believe I will wrap after this baby is born!!
I love this post. I have looked into these things my past two pregnancies but couldn't decide if they were legit or not. I will so be doing this next time around! Charlotte, your comment was very helpful too!
I also live in a country where it's standard. I've wrapped myself (or been wrapped by my midwife) after all my babies, and my tummy has certainly never looked as good as yours that fast! Wow!
Wish I had heard about this earlier! ;) I had baby #5 this past July.
I am curious though... Does anyone know how well this would work for a mom with prolapse issues?
Blessed Mama, I'm not sure if prolapse is the same as this, but you might want to read Raising Arrows posts on Diastasis Recti. They can be found here: http://www.raisingarrows.net/diastasis-recti-from-a-moms-perspective/
Wish I would have done this earlier. My third baby is 6 mo. old (have had three babies in three years) and my tummy still looks like I'm 20 some weeks pregnant. Soooo depressing and I have no clothes that fit. I'm 3 pant sizes and 20 lbs. from my pre baby size and I can't seem to do anything about it. Wish I would have tried this.
I wrapped after my second and wish I had known after my first. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 2 weeks after c-section #2. I am not a small person by any stretch of the imagination. Is everything perfect down there? nope, but I do believe that it was tremendously helpful and will certainly be doing it again!!
I've had 2 c-sections. I didn't wrap my belly with my first but I did wrap with my second. Not only was my recovery SOOOO much easier the second time around, but my body fell back into shape quite quickly. With baby number 3 on the way, I'm excited to use the wrap again. =)
I had a "sort of wrap" with my last baby...my 6th. I used this thing they use in the hospital to keep the monitors in place while I was in labor. I kept it on after I had the baby because it felt so good to have my stomach tight...like it was really holding everything in the right place! The nurses kept saying, "Oh, you can take that off now." And I kept refusing because it felt so good. I'm going to have my 7th baby next week and will definitely do the same thing!
Regardless of the outcome I think it must be a good idea to use a wrap just to feel better. I am not familiar with the tradition of wraping at all but I remember the feeling of first getting up and walking to the bathroom after both of my births and how my tummy would sag and it felt like my stomach was sagging inside too. Not a good feeling. After my second birth I wore my Bellyband and it felt so much better.
I don't suppose this would help if my sixth 'baby' is almost 10 years old? ;-)
But I will be passing it along to my young mama friends!
With both my pregnancies I was back in my jeans within a week. I truly attribute this to the fact that I exercised throughout the entire pregnancy (I ran 5 miles in the morning, had my firstborn that night, then ran a 10k on my 2nd's due date, had him 3 days later) and ate healthily. I say that not to brag, but just to say exercise works! I'm so glad I didn't listen to all the people who told me to stop running. As long as you listen to your body, you're fine! You're doing great, and keep up the good work. :-)
Very interesting!! It makes complete sense to me. I will definately be doing this when my 3rd is born in June... and not just for reasons of vanity (although that doesn't hurt either hehe)!!
Thanks for sharing; I've never heard of doing this! If the Lord blesses us with #7, I will definitely try it!!
I also do tummy wrapping. I, unfortunately, have to have c sections. I don't think I would recover as fast. I get a hospital wrap as soon as they finish stitching me up. It makes it much easier to get up and moving. Once my tummy has shrunk a little, I use the bamboo Belly Bandit because it is very soft and naturally antimicrobial. I wore it for several months after my first baby as those muscles healed and strengthened. I also think the prenatal exercises and herbs are really helping my recovery this time. I am four days postpartum and already feeling as good as I did weeks after my first c section.
I did this with my last baby (number5) It felt good to be held in and I really think it helped my belly go down quicker. I don't know if it necessarily made me lose weight but I definitely think it helped tighten things up. Like you, I started wearing it in the hospital the morning after I delivered and wore it almost 24 hours a day for a couple of weeks. I will definitely use a wrap after my next baby.
Hubby and I are still in the planning/"practicing" phase for baby #2. I had to have an emergency c-section with baby #1 (now 4 yrs old), and will likely have a c-section with my next pregnancy. What have you heard (if anything) about wrapping after c-section? I have heard mixed reviews.
Oh, and I forgot to say that I LOVE the photo at the beginning of this post.
I have never heard of this tradition, but am immensely interested to do more research.
We were forced to have a C-section with our first, I was miserable and utterly unable to move for nearly a week after the surgery. Finally getting tired of needing my husband to lift me out of bed whenever I needed to move, I folded a throw blanket up like a really wide belt , wrapped it as tight as I could around my abdomen, secured it with the tie from my house coat, and instantly I could live again.
It wasn't perfect but I no longer felt like my guts were going to come out through the stitches. We were blessed to VBAC our second. Recovery was so much better that I didn't feel the need for drastic measures, but did wear a girdle for the first few days just for comforts sake.
I am amazed , though I probably shouldn't be, that there are garments specifically designed for this postpartum task.
I shared this on my Facebook, as I'm a little out of this season of my life. I wish I had done this though. My back was always so sore until the stomach muscles tightened again. It should help that too!
www.cariboogals.blogspot.com
Very interesting! I have had 10+ pregnancies and wish I had heard of this Much Sooner!
Well, it didn't work for me. I wrapped for number 2. But I gained 80 lbs with that one, 50 with the first (found out near the end that I had raging undiagnosed gestational diabetes). Baby was 12 lbs and stuck, it was a real messy situation, but luckily, no c section needed. However, I was HUGE, we thought I was having twins. Anyhoo, I binded my tummy immediately and for weeks... it made me feel great, made me feel supported, but I'm 7 months post partum and still look huge. Hormonal issues, my body hangs on to the weight even though I'm exclusively BFing. I'm still 28 lbs over my pre pregnancy weight. And I only have a 2 finger diastasis, nothing to cause a bulge. It's mostly fat, i think.
Do you think this will help if I start wrapping 6 wks postpartum?
I didn't use a wrap after my children...but I did use a "tummy shaper" I purchased at Wal-Mart. I actually received negative looks and comments if I mentioned what I was doing. It helped me a great deal!
I was able to better tone my stomach after child bearing and it helped me to return to my pre-maternity tops/blouses sooner. I didn't have a large maternity wardrobe, so getting back into my other clothes was important for me, after months of wearing the same few outfits.
I am originally from Ukraine and when I was having my 1st baby I kept hearing from the older women to make sure to use a postpartum wrap after having the baby. It is very common for us from the European countries. I have worn a postpartum wrap for the 1st two weeks all the time...and most of the time after that for the first month. Everyone would always ask me how I lost weight so fast.
I highly recommend postpartum wrapping from personal experience. I used a postpartum wrap with all four of my kids 24/7 for the first two weeks (except when showering:))after that I switched to a body shaping shorts http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/naomi-nicole-shapewear-firm-control-high-waist-thigh-slimmer-7059?ID=597262&CategoryID=55806&LinkType=#fn=BRAND%3DNaomi & Nicole%26sp%3D1%26spc%3D21%26ruleId%3D22%26slotId%3D18 . People still ask me how I lose weight so fast after having a baby. I am originally from Ukraine and it is a very common practice among our culture to do postpartum wraps.
When I had my first my mom went right to the store to get me a postpartum girdle. She got mine at target. Told me to wear it every day. And I did and no one could tell I had one and I saw my body get back to normal quick!! like less than two weeks for sure. I did some nights but it wasn't too comfortable but I would still use it cause I liked best feeling my body tight than all floppy :)
I have also heard mixed reviews about after a C-Section. I think I would do it though, because I've heard so many good stories of ladies who had c-sections and say it helped them manage the pain better.
Thank you! A photographer friend took it of Deborah when she dropped a meal off for me. I love it also. :)
I really don't know, but it would be worth trying for a few weeks and see if it does anything.
I have had 5 C-sections. They gave me one of these at the hospital with most of my babies. It definetly helps things to stay in place.
Interesting. I can see how it would help you to feel better, as in the kinda hold you in typem of feeling. But I would wonder also, if it would actually hinder the muscles from being able to strengthen as they should. In a lot of other countries women are only having a couple pregnancies so would not be able to determine the outcome for your muscles from repeated use.
If the object is just to fit back into your clothes quickly and "look" slimmer I'm sure it works but still unsure if it is really good for you in prolonged wear. Also, it will vary greatly, as women here mentioned, depending on your body type and number of babies you've had. For my first 4 babies I was into pre-baby clothes and to pre-baby weight within a few months after that it started taking longer. just my thoughts
I actually feel like the more babies you have the better this would be to do. It's not just about getting back into my clothes, I think it really helps support my muscles and prepares me for my next pregnancy.
I have been wearing some shapewear since Friday. That was one week postpartum for me. My post delivery girdle belt just arrived today. This is my fifth pregnancy, so I felt that everything was just hanging loose. With just a few days of the shapewear, I can't believe the difference. I am going to wear the girdle now. I feel so much better with it on. Thank you so much for this post. I will surely be encouraging other friends to do the same. Kim Crawford
I started wrapping at about 4 days postpartum with the medela wrap(I bought it at babies r us) it was wonderful! It was not always comfy but I tried to wear it from sun up to sun down for six weeks. This was our first baby and it really did help my tummy get back to normal. I will do it again with our next child as well!
I will definitely be doing this next time! I have a 10 month old boy and I still have a few pounds I'd like to lose. I've been nervous about the state of my body next time, but now I'm actually excited!
I'm curious about the herbs you took during pregnancy. Care to share?
Kristen,
Here is a blog post I wrote sharing about the herbs I took: http://www.themodestmomblog.com/2012/01/using-herbs-for-healthier-pregnancy-and.html
I am pretty sure it does help. I am 14 weeks postpartum and about a week ago I felt the need to wrap my tummy again with the hospital wrap they gave me. I wore it for only two weeks after the birth. I put the wrap back on after noticing my side was aching when I laid on it at night. The very next night I noticed I felt better and could lay on that side. I can tell you I have been wearing it all day long since then and I feel so much better! This was my 11th baby so I know it does help.
I did tummy wrapping after both of my births. Highly recommend, but any abdominal binder will work.
I had healthy, "normal" pregnancies and ate extremely healthy/balanced diet and exercised, so I did not gain an excessive amount of weight. This combined with all-natural births, breast-feeding and the binder I was under my "pre-pregnancy" weight (which is the first weight they record at the OB when you are around 8weeks PREGNANT-don't know how that got termed pre-pregnancy...i digress.)
do a web search for "abdominal binder" you can get them for as little as $10.
I am looking at the same post-delivery girdle you posted about here... the reviews say that it runs big, and that many moms who normally wear a medium had to return theirs and order a small... I would normally wear a small - I'm very small stature and only 5' tall... so I'm wondering if even ordering a small would end up being to big for me... did you run into this problem?
Nice to see other mothers who have had good experiences with tummy wrapping. When my oldest was born 9 years ago (a 9 pound home birth baby!), I wore a wrap that I bought from Motherhood Maternity and it helped me a lot. My muscles and everything were so loose that first week, I almost couldn't catch my breath when standing. Having abdominal support and back support in a wrap really helped me there. I've worn some kind of post partum support wrap after each of my 4 pregnancies and have not had a problem with it weakening my ab muscles. (as someone else commenting was wondering). I did take a break every once in a while from wearing it just to see if it was creating any problems, but nope, it worked fine for me. Now, I am searching for a new wrap as I am expecting our 5th little baby in 2 months. I am amazed at all the options available now!
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