How did this happen?

In my research and help from:  I have realized that I was predisposed to this all along:

-          I’ve always been very flexible

-          I’ve practiced yoga most of my life: loving doing backbends, cobras and wheels.

-          I have had asthma with frequent bronchitis and pneumonia

-          I have always worked on my “core” – situps, pilates, lifting free weights etc.  and I always focused my rectus abdominis (6 pack) wrong muscle!

-          I have, although not the skinnest person in the world, always had “six pack abs”

-          I moved and lifted heavy, heavy boxes during my pregnancy

-          I did crunches during my pregnancy

-          I have always “jack-knifed” out of bed until my pregnancy belly would not let me

-          I did deep water workout (aquasize) with cruches and twists throughout my pregnancy

-          I had an emergency c-section

Pretty much everything that leads to diatasis recti, I did or have.  To be honest I don’t know if I can heal this – but I’m going to try!

Hello

I started this blog to help work though my feelings about my diastasis recti: to help me cope with the failures, setbacks and challenges with healing my core.  I have made it public incase, like me, there are other women out there trying to find out information about this condition, get motivation to heal and see a realistic review of the techniques available to heal ones core. 

About me: I’m on maternity leave from my wonderful job as a registered nurse with cancer patients (mostly hematological oncology) .  I have an amazing husband who is finishing his masters degree in ecology and a beautiful 5 month old son who is absolutely amazing.

I also have a 8 finger (3.5 inch) separation between my recti abdominals at the top(by my ribs) the middle (my belly button) and I have a 5 finger (2.5 inch) at my lower abdomen.  For information on how to check for diastasis and what exactly it is please go to : www.maternalfitness.com or www.thetummyteam.com 

My diastasis causes me to have daily lower back pain and sciatica which is quite extreme.  Essentially without a core I have nothing to help me lift, sit up, lay down, pick up something off of the floor and balance myself so the other muscles in my body try to make up for it.  The daistasis is so wide that I feel my stomach pulse and stool move through my intestines.  For the first few months post partum, before I realized what this was, I though I was having phantom “baby kicks”.

Currently I am 5;4” 145 pounds (still some baby weight to loose) and my belly at the belly button measures 39inches.  Before pregnancy I was 29”. 

This all seems so drastic and un-healable.  I feel panicked sometimes when I think that I have so much healing to go – how will it all happen?  Some days I resign myself that I will have a tummy tuck and just have it sewed together after I have my last kid.  This is the thing: I want more children.  If I get pregnant with my current condition I most likely will be on bedrest for severe backpain.  There is no way my stomach will be able to “hold in” a baby in its current condition.  I NEED TO FIX THIS.  I cannot wait for surgery I need this to be better soon.