How is your stomach looking?

How is your stomach looking? 20 months later, mine is still a WRECK.... don't know if it's just me or if I can do ANYTHING short of a tummy tuck to make it look better...

Basically, my tummy sticks out and folds OVER the C-section scar. That's my biggest issue with it... bulge/flap hanging over the scar. Yuck. Then there is the fact it still looks like elephant skin. And my belly button is still SO stretched out... in a star shape. I know that will never recover. But can I get rid of the flap and the elephant skin without surgery?

I know it's not just being overweight- which I am. I am only 5 lbs heavier than my heaviest before I got pregnant, and my stomach never looked anything like this- it didn't even bulge out let alone have this flap hanging down.


Until I got preg. with the boys I always had a relatively flat tummy even at my heaviest (about 10 lbs overweight according to BMI scale). I gained 80 lbs with the pregnancy- a lot was water due to pre-eclampsia (was 50 lbs lighter 1 week after boys were born... still need 25 lbs to go back to pre-pregnancy weight, but only about 15 lbs overweight maximum BMI). I was older when I- had the kids at 35.

Anyone else have similiar tummy issues after twins and a c-section? Anyone else have success getting their tummy back to normal?

Just wondering. Even if my tummy will always look awful, it's worth it for my two beautiful kids!

 

Mine still looks terrible. I'm weigh less than I have in ten years and am pretty thin, and my stomach has a pouch and the skin is wrinkly and loose. The only time it looked good was when I was pregnant with my singleton!! I do lots of ab and core work, and it's still there. I just got some photos back from our beach trip and from the side, I look a few months pregnant - ugh! I was 38 when I got pregnant with the twins, and I also wonder if my skin might have shrunk back better if I was in my 20s. I'm terrified of even the thought of a tummy tuck, but want my flat stomach back badly. I've been thinking about posting a topic and asking moms who have had a tummy tuck if it was worth it. My girls are so so worth it though!

 

same here, 4 kids later and my tummy isnt flat at all i still look few mos pg from the side-sigh=i supose you can do the best you can with diet/excercise/weight training but sometimes that's just not enough if i had the $$ and luxury of taking it easy for months while i healed from a TT i would do it! I saw the before/after of some mom's and damn so good! not sure i would give up my sweets thou might defeat the purpose

 

I actually had a consult for a tummy tuck yesterday. I gained 65lbs with my twin pregnancy and am still hanging out around 10lbs over my pre-preg weight, but I'm 20lbs overweight on a BMI chart. I have the same hanging fat/skin over my c-section scar, it's called an apron or pannus. He told me I was a good candidate for a full tummy tuck but to wait until I got to my goal weight and was 100% sure we were done having kids. Plus, there is the issue of recovery, he told me I wouldn't be able to lift anything for a month (I'm a SAHM with 25lb kids, that would be a problem).

My plan is to loose the weight and potty train my boys early (fingers crossed) and try to do it next spring. Until then, uck, I'm stuck with this gross belly.

 

My kids are 30 months old and my stomach still looks awful
In addition to the pregnancy and c-section, I had my appendix and gallbladder taken out. I feel like my stomach is a road map!
I've been working out pretty steadily and I've seen my stomach go down but I still have the twin skin and weirdness above the scar. If I had the money and could take the recovery time, I would get a tummy tuck but that's not in the cards right now.

 

I still have a tummy 20 months on, and I only put on 35 pounds with my twins. Mine is improving as I lose weight and I'm trying to keep up work on tightening my stomach muscles. And I need to improve my posture as well - certainly when I stand up straighter everything seems to distribute a bit better.

But I also take on board my sister's mantra (she had 3 kids) of "Embrace the pooch!"

 

I always had a pretty flat stomach before the twins. UGH! Even after my first (singleton) pregnancy, I was pretty flat afterwards. My twins are only 13 months old. I just started to work out and focus a lot on my stomach. I hope it firms up a little.

UGH, I'm not going to get my hopes up. But as others said, it was so worth it! I guess my only goal is to now at least lose the 15 pounds that I still have after the twins. I would like to wear my old jeans someday. I REALLY don't want to have to buy new clothes, ugh! Hopefully losing these extra pounds will make the difference.

I know my body will never be the same as it was. Oh well!!

 

My girls are 15 months and I am pregnant again so I am terrified how much worse my stomach is gonna look after two pregnancies and two c-sections. Luckily I only gained 35 pounds with the twins and so far only 5 pounds with this singleton (I am 23 weeks). I just know that it is gonna look so much worse, and I also know there is not gonna be anything to do about it all.....except the tummy tuck. I have a freind from highschool who had triplets and then a tummy tuck and she looks fantastic in a bikini. Maybe one day...when we recover from paying for these three girls I can afford to get the tummy fixed.

 

My babies are 21 months old and after all this time, I can finally say I have given up hope of having a nice looking flat stomach again. I gained 28 pounds with my babies, weighed 50 pounds less than my top pregnancy weight one month after they were born, and still weigh less than my pre-pregnancy weight and still don't have anything near a flat stomach. I have horrible stretch marks which still haven't disappeared, a droopy belly button with a pouch above it, and a small pouch above my c-section scar. The ONLY thing that makes my stomach go a bit flat and look kind of nice is wearing a spanx type thing, but I don't like to wear that too often. I have resorted to wearing a rash guard and bikini bottoms instead of a bikini and can't see the day that I will ever show my belly in a two piece. If I were able to have a tummy tuck I would go for it, but the thought of an unnecessary surgery doesn't sit well with me since I had so many complications from my c-section. At least my husband still thinks I look good... that's all that matters to me. I don't think size makes a difference, being heavier may even help the situation in my opinion, since a bit of extra fat fills out the pouch a bit better. When I was at my lightest the pouch was bigger, now that I've gained a bit of weight back, there seems to be less extra skin.

 

It doesn't necessarily help if you are in your 20s! I was 21 when the girls were born 12 months ago and my tummy is still yuck. I do have the skin over my c-section scar and tons of lose skin. I want to have 1-2 more kids, but I am already saving for my tummy tuck. No joke. I gained 35lbs with my twins and was in a healthy weight range when I got pregnant and am 8lbs under my prepregnancy weight now. Oh the price we pay for our beautiful children

 

Yes, my stomach looks like crap!

The most demoralizing thing is that I've seen my old granny (86 years old) with less wrinkles on her belly than me....and she had 10 kids.

 

I have a permanent outie and when bend over I have old lady skin. I am back to pre prego weight (less than 100lbs and 5'5) I have no hope of pre preggo tummy. Oh well ardon:

 

If the skin is that stretched, it won't go back. Sorry to be so blunt. You may be able to repair the muscles through exercise, but the skin is there to stay. Just be careful with whatever exercise you do, as some abdominal exercises can worsen the muscle separation.

 

Well, everyone, thank you so very much for your responses. I am sorry many others are having similiar tummy issues ... but it is good to know I'm not alone.

As I don't think I/we can afford a tummy tuck (ever).... support undergarments I think it is :| I will continue with abdominal exercises, but at least I know not to get my hopes up... lol

Still... definitely worth it for our beautiful children.

 

No, blunt is good. I wish more people were blunt.

Question- this thread is the 1st I've heard about 'muscle separation' - what exactly is it (and how do I know if that's what's going on)? And what kind of excercises worsen it?

 

I think I have that...one way I could tell is when i sit up it gets pointy in the middle (sorry can't describe it good) It just does not lay flat the middle pokes out. My girls at work said that is what it is. My friend had a hernia after twins so I was worried that was it...but just a slight separation.

 

I was 36 when I had my twins and had a nice flat stomach when I got pregnant. I gained 54 lbs with them. I was back in my old pants by 8 weeks pp but am still over my pre-pregnancy weight. Not sure how that happened. I have a little pooch as well but it doesn't hang over my c-section scar. I doubt it will ever be flat again. Sadly. And we definitely won't be able to afford a tummy tuck. We went to the beach a few weeks ago and I saw women in bikinis who had poochies and I don't think they even had kids. But I doubt I will ever be comfortable wearing one either.

As far as the abodominal separation, I think if you lay down on your back and then lift your head & shoulders off the ground and feel in the middle of your abs, if there is a large gap then you probably have it.

 

Here's some basic info on the muscle separation. Many, many mothers of multiples have this. If you google the medical term diastasis recti, you'll get some you tube videos that show how to check for it. Because the abdominal muscles are stretched, separated and weak, your back has to compensate. This can lead to terrible back pain and strain. Have you seen a woman in her 60s or 70s who looks 5-6 months pregnant? My doctor told me that's the long-term result of muscle separation in a woman who's been pregnant multiple times. Frankly, the muscle repair should be considered a medical need by insurance companies but is instead considered cosmetic.

Here's basic information on exercises.

 

For you ladies considering a tummy tuck and have the funding to do so... I would look into a lazer treatment called Thermage... It sort of melts the collagen and rebuilds it... Since that is what actually tears... It shows dramatic results... I don't know if it would fix twin skin completely but it's def worth looking into...

http://www.thermage.com/photoGalleryPatients.cfm

Check out the tummy pictures... some have awesome results... it's worth a consult... I'd jump on it in a heartbeat if I had the $$ cause I'm terrified of surgery. I FREAKED out before the c-section... so much that the anesthesiologist told me in my face "maam, you need to CALM DOWN" Without blinking I was like "YOU CALM DOWN! YOU'RE NOT THE ONE GETTING CUT OPEN!" LMAO... I feel embarrassed now looking back, but... Anyway... look at the before and after, it's fun to see if nothing else.