Moms To Be Of Twins Wanna Know: Body After Babies. Can It Recover?

 

Moms To Be Of Twins Wanna Know: Body After Babies. Can It Recover?

 6-5-2012

My twinkies are 27 months & 3 days old.

 

 

1st of all let me just say as worried as you may be about your body while you are pregnant with twins, you will care so much less when you have two healthy babies in your arms and realize how insane it was that your body carried out such an amazing task. Does that mean you’ll never care again? No. It just means that it will seem a bit less trivial to you after this miracle takes place.

 

Does it mean you shouldn’t do all you can to help yourself along in the process of pregnancy and during your recovery? Absolutely not. I’m one who thinks you have to be happy in your own skin. And I think nothing is more incredible, nor more beautiful than confidence! I’d take that over most any other trait. To feel beautiful is much better than to be beautiful and not see it within yourself.

 

THE MOST IMPORTANT thing a mother of twins needs to realize is that recovery isn’t overnight. You know how they say you are pregnant for 9 months, give yourself 9 months to get yourself back to, or at least really close to your old self again? Well, with double the babies, you have to give yourself at least double the time. It’s only fair right?

 

While it’s true that some bounce back faster than others my philosophy has always been this…don’t expect anything and if it happens it’s a great surprise, and if it doesn’t it saves you from disappointment. In saying this, I mean think realistically, but don’t freak out every day over it. You don’t have complete control over this situation, you just need to ride it out as best you can. Be real!

 

Don’t expect to get back into your skinny jeans a month after having twins, BUT don’t expect that you never will be in them again. Yes, it does happen for some straight away it seems, so if it does happen for you, you can feel thankful. If not, know you will get there. Baby steps!

 

With twins here are a woman’s main concerns about her body:

 

1) Stretchmarks

 

2) Loose skin or as it’s called ‘twin skin.’

(Not really fair to say because some moms of singletons get it to.)

 

3) Excess weight postpartum

 

4) A Mummy Tummy

(A pregnant looking pouch.)

 

 

About….

 

Stretchmarks

(Weight gain mentioned to.)

I fully expected them. I never doubted with two in tow I would get them, despite staying stretchmark-free the past 3 other times. I did all I could, but kept my mind realistic since 11 pounds of baby is much more to carry than 7.

 

I:

 

a) Quit bar soap and used a moisturizing body wash.

 

b) Lathered myself in Palmer’s Belly Butter and later on also their soothing oil as well.

 

c) Hydrated my body as well as I possibly could, inside. Lots of water, although I hate it.

 

d) Kept up some form of activity. Do what you can for as long as you can in a twin pregnancy. It doesn’t have to be a lot, and you may not be able to do a lot. (Walk, and oh that 10 Minute Pilates Prenatal Solutions is a GREAT DVD! Cheap to!)

 

 This is what I used during my pregnancy 

 

e) Tried to avoid huge, sudden weight gain, though I did gain fast in the 1st trimester without even trying. It leveled out. (Some are early gainers, some late, some consistent. This varies from woman to woman, and even pregnancy to pregnancy.)

 

f) I did allow myself to indulge in some of my cravings, but didn’t take in any huge amount of junk food on a regular, daily basis. I gained more with my first than with my twins, though I gained a healthy amount with my girls. You will loose weight quite quickly after twins. Two babies, placentas, blood volume increase, extra water retention, etc. That may surprise you in a good way.

 

 

To minimize unecessary weight gain 

 

a) Drink low fat or fat free milk.

 

b) Light juices only

 

c) Cut out soda and other high-cal sugary beverages.

 

d) Drink lots of water

 

e) If you must have ice cream (and I did), try out Breyer’s light ice cream. It tastes almost as good..seriously.

 

f) Maintain a healthy amount of activity for YOUR situation.

You may be on bed rest at some point and unable to exercise, or you may be limited. Check with your doctor about what you can or can not do.

 

g) Never diet or skip meals.

You do need more calories per day with twins just make those healthier calories instead of mostly junk calories and you will do just fine.

 

h) You may just get stretchmarks regardless, and that is OK. They will fade from red to white over time.

They will shrink down to very fine, thin lines, that as you lose weight you will hardly see. Plus, there is hope for these with OTC remedies such as Strivectin, and also lasers for severe cases. Advances in technology now gives you much to hope for if you simply can not accept these marks.

 

 

Loose skin and mummy tummy

 

You grew faster and larger, especially towards the end, so if you made it to term or close to it, you got to expect that there will be some loose skin to deal with. There are varying degrees. Some say it’s part genetic, but my skin elsewhere hasn’t held up so well in that arena lately, so I seriously wonder. (Nothing to do with my stomach.)

 

My mother got stretchmarks herself without twins, so I guess some things we will never have proof of, HOWEVER, skin at first will be a bit wrinkly most likely. Don’t get down about it. EXPECT IT! It’s not going to be perfectly elastic right off the bat, just like every mom who births a baby feels a jiggly belly right after the birth of a child. You don’t come perfectly together 10 minutes postpartum with tight abs and flawlessly toned skin. No one does.

 

a) I PROMISE the skin will improve over the months and years ahead.

 Give yourself a year, even two years, to get it back to normal. If not completely, for the most or better part. It’s a slower process than slimming down the tummy, but you can still have a flat belly and slightly looser skin than you remember, and it look completely normal. Mine is finally back to where I remember, though I didn’t used to pay so much attention to my belly skin before. TIME is key here.

 

b) Do continue to moisturize the skin postpartum.

I did this the entire first year and even into the second. I love the belly butter. It feels so good on, and it smells simply divine.

 

c) Close a diastasis

You may very well have a separation of the abdominals if you birthed multiples. Check to see if you have one HERE. Closing any gap there will put muscular support back behind the loose skin helping to support it once again. Belly binding and certain exercises also found HERE will help you on your way.

 

d) Bind the mummy tummy, whether loose skin or not.

Had I never heard about binding, I think things would have turned out quite differently for me. It’s never too late to bind, but if you want a jump start and know about it prior, grab one before your twins are born or slightly thereafter. If it’s been years and you still find you can’t rid yourself of the pouch, you can still wear a binder and get the same results. The one that got me back to where I once was is HERE. I consider it my personal miracle. I can’t say enough terrific things about the Squeem brand.

 

 

So in all of this let me say it IS possible to get your body back to where it once was, or very close to it, even with twins in tow. In some cases a tummy tuck might be a necessary procedure for those still immensely unhappy with their after-babies appearance. Believe me I’m all for it. You have got to feel happy within.

 

I fully expected to need a tummy tuck myself and feel blessed because I simply couldn’t afford it at that time, but would have ended up with one at some point. Things seemed so bleak from all I was reading. (Don’t do it!) I say before you jump..first always do what you can without going drastic. Don’t ever think about surgery for at least 24 months postpartum. If you have confidence on your side, don’t even go there at all! (I lack in this arena, but admire it greatly.)

 

Your body worked really hard and did such an impossible task baking than birthing two beautiful human beings. You have to give it time to mend properly. I hope this helps answer this reader’s question, and maybe some others along the way.

 

‘A beautiful body, is the body of a mother.’ – Mama P.

 

 

Enjoy your babies! They grow up so so fast!