Six Weeks Old!
November 14th, 2012 by ariana
Jeff’s sketch pretty much sums it up. I guess Jasper was particularly whiny that day.. Willow has these buggy eyes and makes the CRAZIEST faces (seriously, I can’t get a good picture of her because of those faces!) and Sasha is insatiable.
Actually, since that sketch both twins have been insatiable which I’m chalking up to the six week growth spurt. Because I’m breastfeeding and NOT tandem (more on that later) that means I’m basically feeding or soothing babies 24/7 and also explains why I haven’t had a chance to write anything in.. well, six weeks!
I have SO many posts to write, including: the Huggies wipes induced nasty diaper rash, breastfeeding twins challenges, the items I can’t live without, thoughts on being a second time parent, and some recent Jasperisms. My hope is that by jotting down the titles here it will hold me accountable to find the time to write them..
There is soooo little time in the day between feedings. And if I need to do ONE thing that day even as simple as taking a shower, or giving the babies a bath it seems to take up all the “free time” I have and my productivity for anything but baby care is basically zero – which unfortunately includes blogging.
But I did want to pop in and acknowledge (if not write about) the fact that the girls turned 6 weeks on Monday, which also marks the halfway point of my maternity leave before they go to full time daycare. Holy CRAP it goes fast the second time.
As far as me and my recovery, I’m feeling 100% recovered from my c-section, but NOT from the pregnancy…
I gained 50 lbs and have lost 30. Unfortunately though I lost that 30 lbs about 4 weeks ago and haven’t budged since! Even more concerning though is that I have a SEVERE diastasis recti, (abdominal muscle separation) which does not seem to be getting better and means that I still have a huge bump. I still look about 5 months pregnant and I HATE it.
I’ve searched the internet in vain for information that this is normal after twins and that it will get better, but all I find are annoying posts about people who are back at their pre-pregnancy weight the day after giving birth (Ok, I’m exaggerating, but not by much!) and none who have such a severe separation (it’s the size of my fist at least.)
I have my post partum follow up next Tuesday and will obviously get some advice from my OB, but in the meantime I ordered the Tuppler technique DVD and ab splint (I’ve been wearing the Belly Bandit splint but not as religiously as I should be, and I should have started WAY earlier) and will start a regiment to try to repair the separation naturally. Otherwise I’m afraid surgery is the only answer.
I just want to feel/look even slightly like my old self sometime in the not-too distant future. Or barring that, at least feel like I’m progressing – even if slowly – in that direction. The alternative is too depressing to contemplate.
OK, hopefully I’ll be back soon with some more uplifting posts!
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A friend of mine had diastasis recti after giving birth to her twins. She made this video, maybe it can help you:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LWqg2GQvZU
Yvonne: I was wearing the belly bandit.. if you saw without it you’d know what I’m talking about :)
Maggie: Yes, I singlehandedly ate all the little M&M packs. UGH!
JB: I’m not AS concerned about the weight (though maybe I should be!) as the ab separation..it’s just so extreme. I’d really have to post a pic to give the full breadth of the issue, but it’s so bad I have no desire to put it out there!
Samm: sad that Tuppler didn’t work. Damn. Well I hope mine is also improving. we will see! Mesh sounds so yuck and scary.. but not as awful as living with a gigantic belly I guess :(
I also got diastasis recti after Mia (my first). It didn’t get any worse after my second child. However, sadly it never goes back to normal. I tried Tuppler and the splint too. It only helped with posture and sucking it in. My dr said the only way to fix it is surgery, which involves putting in some kind of a net to hold in the gut where the muscles have separated.
Some good news though is that it will probably still get much better. I was about 14 months post pregnancy when it stopped improving.
:(
I hate it too and will probably have surgery when the kids are older.
That picture is very funny. I too recall the frustration of not being able to get anything done with one new baby, let alone two….even the most basic things (showering!) turned into an undertaking and once it did get to finally happen seemed like a guilty pleasure to prolong and savor as long as I could. I recall feeling resentful of the claims on my time and my presence–not overwhelmingly resentful, but enough to make me later feel sort of sad that I was not able to just sort of relax into it all at the time. Hopefully you’ll be better about it than me….brand new baby time scoots along pretty fast in the grand scheme of things, and those adorable little ones won’t mind if you’re a little smelly every now and again or if you haven’t posted on the ol’ blog in a while.
Also–you’ll lose that weight. But please, give it time and eat and drink well while you are recovering from pregnancy, labor and surgery. It JUST happened.
Don’t you just love unsolicited advice? XO
jbhat
I love the drawing by Jeff. It cracks me up! Probably not so funny in real life, so hugs there! And I agree with the above posters, cut yourself some slack…easier said than done, I know. Also, I have to say, if I was dealing with the stress of newborn twins and a preschooler and no power, I would probably stress eat myself into oblivion, so extra extra slack especially during Halloween!
You looked amazing on Sunday!!! I was unaware of your tummy troubles.
After Serena my body bounced back very quickly. After Zack I had abdominal muscle separation for a LONG time. Not enough to warrant surgery, but enough that I noticed. It took a year or so to get back to normal. The area around my belly button was numb for even longer than that!!!!
Remember, you are 6 WEEKS POSTPARTUM!!!!! MOTHER OF 3 CHILDREN!!!! You need to put less pressure on yourself!!!
<3
Yvonne
I too had the bulging tummy with my first ( single pregnancy) and I went to PT for this ( no joke, got an RX from my OB) it helped a ton. I then moved on to pilates to hold everything in place. Hope this helps the last thing you want to think about is another surgery.
I can’t believe they are six weeks old already! My friend had diastasis recti and ended up having to have surgery to fix it. Free tummy tuck from her insurance. Hopefully you will be able to repair it on your own.
wow you lost already 30 pounds. That’s awesome Ariana. When I was pregnant with Kacper 3 years ago I gained about 40 pounds and it took me a year to loose all that weight. The most difficult were the last 10 pounds, which took forever to loose. Now being 34 weeks pregnant I have already gained close to 40 pounds and I know it will be difficult to loose it. So good luck to you and give yourself some time.