Calling all moms, especially MoM's!

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Replies

  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    I didn't have multiples. My kids are 18 months apart; they are almost 4 and 2.5.

    Some of the pictures are kind of dark. The now is actually from February.
    wvepgh.jpg

    These two are from 6/13/2012. Front and close up of abs.
    2cs9yfb.png
    1sy03m.jpg

    I still have stretch marks, but they don't show up well in pictures.
  • Lkoblara
    Lkoblara Posts: 137 Member
    I had a band placed surgically a type of surgically placed cerclage - abdominal cerclage) to keep the babies in at 11 weeks. It was the exact same as a c-section incision (they used the same incision at my delivery). It's permanent so now I have to deliver via c-section no matter what....at least I can keep the babies in though! That's a little OT :)

    I wonder if that is making it even worse....I did have diastasis too, but I think it's better now....It's hard for me to tell when doing the check, but it seems my muscles have closed up to where they should be!


    I wonder why a c-section causes a pooch?!? I got pretty big, but maybe the c-section is the culprit?? I've just never had this issue before and I have this spot of loose skin. After seeing some tummy tuck incisions, it scares me....but I would probably get one at some point if I can't get rid of this skin! I don't want to live the rest of my life with it....the stretch marks are OK....I can live with those!

    This was hours before my water broke, twinkles were 4 lbs and 8 oz and 5 lbs 2 oz :)

    IMG_0276.jpg


    I didn't have a c section, still have the pooch. Its a pretty common thing. Think of how much your belly stretched, I'm surprised mine isn't hanging to my knees, lol.
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    I have not had twins nor C-section BUT, I have 6 kids. The first four were within 5.5 years. Then baby 5 came 6 years later and baby 6 came 3 years after that. I did not get any stretch marks until the 4th child. Then got more with babies 5 and 6. My last four babies were over 9 pounds, so I got HUGE!! 50-60 pounds per pregnancy.

    Also, baby 6 was born when I was 39...so I have age working against me too. You younger girls could have better results just because your skin is young.

    I was very upset at the site of my tummy after the 6th child. More stretch marks (mostly on one side) and lots of loose skin.

    Joined gym January 2011. I started to lose weight and look better, but just looking good for having 6 kids.

    Around Feb of this year I was SICK of my tummy and wanted it to look better. And it does now, not pre-baby perfect, but it is looking better.

    I want to add, that your babies are just 15 weeks, even though I breastfed all of my babies, I never felt that I had my prebaby body until that 6month marker. Like I was always within 10 pounds...but at 6 months that last 10 just went away (except for baby 6, I had to work to get that off). So, your body might be holding on to some fat just because you are nursing two and the rest might just drop off in a couple of more months.

    OK, back to the skin. This is what I have learned. This is not a formula that is 100%, BUT I feel it has helped.

    1. A friend told me that body builders get their body fat pretty low and that is how their skin shrinks up. Now, I did not believe it...but I have to say, I can tell a huge difference. My bf for a 42 year old woman is 18%. I am not a fan of BF testing because as we age it goes up even if your body has not changed. So, just for this purpose since you girls are younger, if I was 32 my bf would be 17%, and if I was 22 it would be 16%. So, you are going to have to get your body fat into that Athlete range, which is below 20%

    2. Dry Brush: A female competitor told me about dry brushing. Google it. But, it makes the skin regenerate. I do this all over my body, but really focus on my tummy and butt. Your skin is the largest organ on our body, so it made sense to take care of it.

    3. Coconut oil. I eat a table spoon of virgin coconut oil each day. Google it as well, again the female competitor told me about this as well. I buy the cheaper coconut oil and rub it all over my body. So, I buy the virgin coconut oil online and eat it and buy the cheaper stuff at the grocery stuff and rub it on my skin.

    4. Work on your core. I do planks and ab vacuums (Youtube ab vacuums) Now, I can not do it as good as the people on Youtube, but I can do it a lot better than I could in Feb of this year. Working your transverse abs will pull in your abs. I do not do any crunches. I teach Zumba and we put our hips A LOT, but I do planks and vacuums and I can tell that has pulled my muscles in.

    I know that everyone's skin is different, but these might be some things that can help it look better.

    8 months pregnant with baby 6
    8MonthsSide-1-1.jpg

    One year later. I still look pregnant! I never looked like this one year after a baby.
    Summer2010-3-2.jpg

    December 2011. I do not look awful but you can still see that pooch and loose skin in my belly.
    Dec2011Before.jpg

    14 pounds of weight loss and doing everything that I mentioned above. Again, the tummy skin is not perfect, but it has improved a whole lot.
    AfterJune2012.jpg

    Your belly looks AWESOME. I would be totally happy with that tummy :):) I will google what you said, thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to type all that out. Hopefully it will help me as well as others :)
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    I just took a peek at your pictures and, if that last picture is recent, you already look AMAZING! You just had TWINS, don't be so hard on yourself(I know it's easier said than done)!

    Thank you! Those are my last month of progress, first picture was 5 weeks ago on Saturday. I am making improvement.....but the sag is there....more obvious from the front!!

    Everyone looks great!!!
  • Raidergurl1787
    Raidergurl1787 Posts: 1 Member
    Think you should try some rumba classes, they focus a lot on core, and if find a great instructor she can help you out with getting that tummy back. My son is 1 year and 3 mo. old, and he left me lots of flab, I got the "pouch" my fiancee calls it. But I noticed with the core work outs she has oven me, its been getting a lot better. But she has told me it takes time. (By the way: My instructor Kiki has a twin boys, and 2 daughters and she is amazingly hot... couldn't place her beyond 25 when I met her and she's actually in late 40s.) So I know it can work, so I honestly say try it out, or other work out sessions that help you work that core.
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    Thanks for all the encouragement!!

    *bump* in case anyone has anything to add!!
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    Here is my belly this morning, 16 weeks PP on Tuesday. See the wrinkle/saggy at the bottom?

    photo-8.jpg
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    Girl, you look great for 15 weeks postpartum. You just have to give the sagginess some time. Your skin should tighten up over time.
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    Girl, you look great for 15 weeks postpartum. You just have to give the sagginess some time. Your skin should tighten up over time.

    Thank you!!
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    Here is my belly this morning, 16 weeks PP on Tuesday. See the wrinkle/saggy at the bottom?

    photo-8.jpg

    I wish I looked like that 11 years post partum....but alas I still have a ways to go...
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    Here is my belly this morning, 16 weeks PP on Tuesday. See the wrinkle/saggy at the bottom?

    photo-8.jpg

    I wish I looked like that 11 years post partum....but alas I still have a ways to go...

    Thank you <3 I am really motivated this time...I'm not sure why. I've always cut myself a lot of slack after my babies!
  • mollyW2012
    mollyW2012 Posts: 94 Member
    I have not had twins nor C-section BUT, I have 6 kids. The first four were within 5.5 years. Then baby 5 came 6 years later and baby 6 came 3 years after that. I did not get any stretch marks until the 4th child. Then got more with babies 5 and 6. My last four babies were over 9 pounds, so I got HUGE!! 50-60 pounds per pregnancy.

    Also, baby 6 was born when I was 39...so I have age working against me too. You younger girls could have better results just because your skin is young.

    I was very upset at the site of my tummy after the 6th child. More stretch marks (mostly on one side) and lots of loose skin.

    Joined gym January 2011. I started to lose weight and look better, but just looking good for having 6 kids.

    Around Feb of this year I was SICK of my tummy and wanted it to look better. And it does now, not pre-baby perfect, but it is looking better.

    I want to add, that your babies are just 15 weeks, even though I breastfed all of my babies, I never felt that I had my prebaby body until that 6month marker. Like I was always within 10 pounds...but at 6 months that last 10 just went away (except for baby 6, I had to work to get that off). So, your body might be holding on to some fat just because you are nursing two and the rest might just drop off in a couple of more months.

    OK, back to the skin. This is what I have learned. This is not a formula that is 100%, BUT I feel it has helped.

    1. A friend told me that body builders get their body fat pretty low and that is how their skin shrinks up. Now, I did not believe it...but I have to say, I can tell a huge difference. My bf for a 42 year old woman is 18%. I am not a fan of BF testing because as we age it goes up even if your body has not changed. So, just for this purpose since you girls are younger, if I was 32 my bf would be 17%, and if I was 22 it would be 16%. So, you are going to have to get your body fat into that Athlete range, which is below 20%

    2. Dry Brush: A female competitor told me about dry brushing. Google it. But, it makes the skin regenerate. I do this all over my body, but really focus on my tummy and butt. Your skin is the largest organ on our body, so it made sense to take care of it.

    3. Coconut oil. I eat a table spoon of virgin coconut oil each day. Google it as well, again the female competitor told me about this as well. I buy the cheaper coconut oil and rub it all over my body. So, I buy the virgin coconut oil online and eat it and buy the cheaper stuff at the grocery stuff and rub it on my skin.

    4. Work on your core. I do planks and ab vacuums (Youtube ab vacuums) Now, I can not do it as good as the people on Youtube, but I can do it a lot better than I could in Feb of this year. Working your transverse abs will pull in your abs. I do not do any crunches. I teach Zumba and we put our hips A LOT, but I do planks and vacuums and I can tell that has pulled my muscles in.

    I know that everyone's skin is different, but these might be some things that can help it look better.

    8 months pregnant with baby 6
    8MonthsSide-1-1.jpg

    One year later. I still look pregnant! I never looked like this one year after a baby.
    Summer2010-3-2.jpg

    December 2011. I do not look awful but you can still see that pooch and loose skin in my belly.
    Dec2011Before.jpg

    14 pounds of weight loss and doing everything that I mentioned above. Again, the tummy skin is not perfect, but it has improved a whole lot.
    AfterJune2012.jpg

    You look FANTASTIC MAMA!
  • Microfiber
    Microfiber Posts: 956 Member
    Will read later.
  • cwaters120
    cwaters120 Posts: 354 Member
    can I please say you all look great! My twins turn 18 YEARS OLD next week. I was on bedrest my whole pregnancy and for three months after. I can tell you I am only JUST losing the weight I gained with them to KEEP it off. I am hopeful that my belly will get better but I know the reality is I will never have "normal" skin again. I had them young, thankfully, so I can now try my hardest to get CLOSE to where most of you are....
  • carolynhart01
    carolynhart01 Posts: 73 Member
    My girls will be 2 in a few weeks. There was no way a camera was getting near that tire after I had them so no pics. sorry. However, the squish has faded. The scar on the other hand - I hate it and love it at the same time. Had some issues healing so it looks rough. I have been fighting the last 15-20 lbs on my own and just joined here on Monday. I still have a bit of that are you or aren't you pg look ugh!!! I will post after pics when I get there:smile: !!!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I was 60lbs overweight when I got pregnant, so I don't have any good tummy pictures. I gained about 70lbs during pregnancy and lost all my pregnancy weight by 6 months PP. I'm still working on my weight and my profile pic is where I'm at currently.
  • joybedford
    joybedford Posts: 1,680 Member
    Hi congratulations on your twins I have twins boy and girl they were born at 38 weeks and 5 days and weighed 7lb4 and 7lb they will be nine in June. It took me 6 years to even get round to losing weight as I was so busy as I am sure you can appreciate. Their big brother weighed 9lb7. I am almost at target weight but my abs are no where near what I would like to them to be. Their is muscle definition but also excess skin that I hate, I am just eating at a slight deficit and continung lifting and running with some jillian michaels DVDs thrown in. I am hopeful that one day I will be happy in a bikini but I will be 42 in June so time is not on my side. Good luck.
  • adenium11
    adenium11 Posts: 173 Member
    Mommy of twin 4 year olds here! I agree on the survival.. I ate to eat for those first years and no time for much else. I now am back to my pre prego weight.. but my stomach area is still large... I have shape on the sides but small tummy nope! I am hoping that I can pull it together, but it definitely isnt easy

    However, I have to friends with multiples both are thinner ladies and have flat enough tummys for bikinis with NO surgery! So there is hope!

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