Closing the GAP
After reading
this post who knew how this would turn out.
But then, in this post, I was proving to redeem myself in closing my diastasis to a 2 or 3 , then keeping it at bay during pregnancy, story
here and showing less in my third pregnancy than my first!
Soooo... here is the REST of the story:
Day 1: about 30 minutes atfter giving birth to Kinley, my doula
and I watched as my abdomen deflated and indented in above the uterus but we could see the lower abdomen stayed solid. I started splinting my abdominal muscles later that day with an old stretched out splint. It didn't give much support, but I felt something was better than nothing as my abdominals were in an unsupported stretched out state.
Day 2: 24 hours after giving birth, I was doing the Tupler Contractions exercises and felt I was actually getting good abdominal activation. The muscle memory was doing its thing and finally was all the way connecting.
I read in one of my pieces o midwife literature about how lying on your stomach can help your uterus contract. I didn't need someone to tell me twice. I took a couple of naps that day on my belly and it felt so indulging and amazing, a treat after being VERY pregnant the last few months.
Note: All diastasis measurements were taken as fingerwidths wide. Connective tissue condition is sometimes noted - deep being the worst - which means you can feel abdominal organs, tissue, pulsing ect
Day 4: I took measurements at home:
Diastasis: Waist measurements
- Top: 5 (fingerwidths wide)
- Middle: 7 33 inches around waist at the belly button
- Bottom: 5
Day 8
- Top: 2 shallow 30 (just under the ribs)
- Middle: 6 med/shallow 31.25
- Bottom: 5 shallow 34
 |
| 2 weeks post baby #3 2-5-4 |
Day 13
- Top: 2 shallow 30 (just under the ribs)
- Middle: 5 med/shallow 31.25
- Bottom: 4 shallow 33.5
Day 18
- Top: 2 very shallow 29 (just under the ribs)
- Middle: 5 med/shallow 29.25
- Bottom: 4 shallow 32
Da y23
- Top: 2 very shallow 28.5 (just under the ribs)
- Middle: 4.5 med/shallow 29.25
- Bottom: very shallow 31.5
Week 5 - day 35
- Top: 2 very shallow 28
- Middle: 4.5 med/shallow 28.5
- Bottom: very shallow 31.5
Week 12
- Top: closed 27.5 (just under the ribs)
- Middle: 2 shallow 27.5
- Bottom: 1 shallow 30
Week 16
- Top: closed 27 (just under the ribs)
- Mid: width of belly button shallow 26.5
- Bottom: .75 supershallow 30
Through this process I didn't really lose weight. Initially I did, by giving birth and then losing extra water weight ect. But then I just stayed right in the same poundage for those 4 months. I was just expecting those extra 8 pounds to just come off with nursing and eating well.
Well, I had to cut out snacking at night and sweet things ( I was only eating slightly sweetened with honey ect anyway, but it too had to go) it was not fun. I slowly lost those pounds, but I still have to be careful about what I eat, but it is good to feel comfortable in your old clothes again.
So... In conclusion, I started my pregnancy with a diastasis width of 5 (due to doing push-ups and planks with relaxin in my body). Three weeks later, I decreased it to a 2. At the end of my pregnancy I was about a 7, but not more than medium or shallow depth.
I did 10 sets of 100 seated Tupler contractions a day(many of those double-splinted), did not jack-knife in/out of bed, wore a therapuetic Tupler abdominal splint. As a result this pregnancy, I was smaller around the middle than my last pregnancy, and I was able to close my diastasias sooner and Reclaim my abdominals!
LOVE the results this technique will give you if you commit to the program. I DON't find it fair that my husband did NO abwork during this time :) That's okay, I am just glad that there is something I can do to to regain my core strength and shape post baby (s).
But guess what! You DON'T have to have just had a baby to lose that tummy. In fact it probably is easier to close when relaxin is not in your body. So barely post baby, or 40 years post baby, get started today!
Get the video, take a class, fit this technique into your life-style, GET RESULTS!
Signing off - to go spy on my baby while she sleeps soundly - LOve that!
