So one thing that bears mentioning on here is that my best friend is getting married! She is a beautiful person, both inside and out, and she is going to be the most beautiful bride. Her wedding is April 6th, and I'm so honored that she asked me to be part of it! It's going to be a wonderful day and a great celebration.
For those of you keeping track at home, that's exactly one month and 5 days after my Annabelle is due.
The bridesmaid dress is a formal gown with a full skirt and high waist, which I think will be very forgiving. However, of course, I will be pulling out all the stops to make myself as small as possible within the timeframe I have, which brings me to the topic of belly binding.
If you're curious as to what this is, it's basically a girdle, and the thought is that you wear it night and day for several weeks after delivery to speed the process of tucking your baby belly back in place. It's not a weight loss solution of course--just a little something to encourage your abs to return to their former spaces from being stretched. The best known brand in the US is called the Belly Bandit, and you can even find it at BRU or Buy Buy Baby. I do believe that the Kardashians are the ones who made it famous, so do with that what you will.
I would love to hear if you have any experience with this! I know it's common for C-section patients to come home with a belly binder to help support their mid-section post-surgery, and the little research I did said that in Eastern cultures, they've been doing this for years.
Anyway, I'm no expert. I've just been doing a little research on the web and would love to hear what you think about it. Torturous? Common sense? I find it a bit fascinating and am curious to know if it works!
For those of you keeping track at home, that's exactly one month and 5 days after my Annabelle is due.
The bridesmaid dress is a formal gown with a full skirt and high waist, which I think will be very forgiving. However, of course, I will be pulling out all the stops to make myself as small as possible within the timeframe I have, which brings me to the topic of belly binding.
If you're curious as to what this is, it's basically a girdle, and the thought is that you wear it night and day for several weeks after delivery to speed the process of tucking your baby belly back in place. It's not a weight loss solution of course--just a little something to encourage your abs to return to their former spaces from being stretched. The best known brand in the US is called the Belly Bandit, and you can even find it at BRU or Buy Buy Baby. I do believe that the Kardashians are the ones who made it famous, so do with that what you will.
I would love to hear if you have any experience with this! I know it's common for C-section patients to come home with a belly binder to help support their mid-section post-surgery, and the little research I did said that in Eastern cultures, they've been doing this for years.
Anyway, I'm no expert. I've just been doing a little research on the web and would love to hear what you think about it. Torturous? Common sense? I find it a bit fascinating and am curious to know if it works!
I think I need this almost one year later! Ha! Good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known about it before Jack was born just to see if it works. Now, I'm praying it does! ;)
DeleteWas thinking about this, too! Hoping someone shares some good feedback via your blog! ;)
ReplyDeleteWe'll see!!!
DeleteThat sounds awesome. Do they make them for hips? =)
ReplyDeleteThey do! Supposedly if you are faithful to wear it during those first weeks, it will help push your hips back together.
Delete3 c-sections and never heard of it! wished I had!!
ReplyDeleteOh girl! I forgot you had 3 c's!
DeleteI haven't used the official ones, but I confess that I broke out the Spanx. I lost weight and inches pretty quickly, but I'm not sure that I can credit that to the Spanx. I'll probably do it again anyway, though. :)
ReplyDeleteDo what works for you! I am without a doubt planning on spanx for the wedding. Maybe two layers!
DeleteI got one for after Anna was born. I lasted maybe half of one day with it one. I was so uncomfortable and hot (remember I had Anna in July...in Florida). I also was just hanging around the house for 2 1/2 months, so I couldn't justify being uncomfortable just to hang out at home. If I had the motivation of a bridesmaid dress to get into I may have stuck with it! Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteThat dress is total motivation, girl! I think I'm going to do it - just trying to decide which brand/band to buy.
DeleteObviously I have not been through this myself but I have a friend who has had two babies and did the Belly Bandit immediately following. She swears by it. Now, she was about a size 2-4 BEFORE baby and never got terribly big besides baby. And with both of her kids (her second she delivered in late October and she was wearing her old clothes in 6 weeks!) she looked incredible almost immediately following. how much of that is natural/genetic and how much is attributed to the belly band...I have no clue. But you can bet your bottom dollar I'll give it a whirl! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try it and will have to report my results. Side note: I don't fall into your friend's body type category so we'll see how it goes!!! ;)
DeleteThe research is there Em, look into it. It's really only effective for the 6-8 weeks after birth, while certain hormones are still in your body that allow your joints and muscles to stretch (and then retract). And there is a certain amount of hrs/day it needs to be used to be effective. Many cultures do their own version. I had one after Dax but I think I bought a size too small. It was REALLY uncomfortable (I had to lay flat to get it to close) and I could only wear it for a few hours at a time before I had to take a break. Granted, while I had it on and was laying down, it did feel nice to have support on a part of the body that felt super stretched out! I'd say it's definitely worth a try, but make sure you get the right size! I think I would have stayed with it better if I had one size bigger than I originally thought!
ReplyDeleteYep, the best time to use it is while the hormones that are causing your hips to expand are still in your body, and the band helps them contract. Most of the info I've seen on the hip bands is that they are painful though, so I don't know if I'm going to spend the money on that one.
Deletethis was actually the belly bandit one. for the belly. they say that hormone can affect muscles as well i believe. i think sizing is key!
DeleteOK, I did some research on the Bellefit and based on the fact that two people who had the BB in this thread said they tossed it after a few wears, I think I may order it instead. Do you still have your BB?
DeleteI gave birth in October and bought a Bellefit corset to wear postpartum. I really do believe it works, and I was actually below my pre-pregnancy weight 4 weeks later. You have to wear it religiously, which was difficult since I was so hot all the time postpartum. I started wearing it 4 days after delivery. Their sizing chart is pretty accurate. I was tempted to order a larger size, but their instructions said not to. When mine came in the mail and I first saw it, I thought there was no way I would be able to get it on since it looked so tiny. At the beginning I had to lay down in order to get it on. However, it became easier and easier to put on as my midsection became more compact. I think the trick is to get the correct size (not too big) and to wear it as instructed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I've been trying to decide which brand I want to purchase so I will give that one a look. I'm glad to hear someone had some success!
DeleteYou are so brave! I pulled out of being a bridesmaid at my good friend's wedding since it was 3 weeks after my due date. It made me too nervous to stress about fitting into the dress. Plus it was out of town. Go you! Can't wait to hear how the BB or similar product works.
ReplyDeleteI ordered my dress in a very large size with high hopes (Lord, please?!?!?) that it will need to be taken in. That being said, desperate times call for desperate measures. :) I ordered the Bellefit belly binder this morning. I'll have to give a full update, but there probably will not be any before or after pics!
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