Updated Belly Bandit/Mother Tucker review-3 months postpartum with twins (3rd pregnancy)

My initial Belly Bandit/Mother Tucker review after little A is by far my most popular (and most criticized! aka "can you please show us someone who is more real and not so fit?" lol) post, so I figured I would only be doing it justice to give a second review, probably more fair than the first because, well, I was not as fit before during or after, and this third round of postpartum has seriously kicked my trash. Even being back at the gym and nursing two babies, I have not lost a single pound since my initial weight drop at like 2 weeks postpartum, and still hover at 15-20 pounds over prebaby weight.

I hesitate to post this, because it's less of an inspiring weight loss story and more of a "I still struggle but at least here's where I am at". Until my babies start sleeping longer than 3 hour stretches at night, weight loss is a bit of a wash for me... as in, it doesn't happen. I went to the gym 6 days a week after little d, usually 4-5 days a week after little A, and now I am lucky to get 3-4 days a week because do you know how hard it is to get 4 kids under the age of 5 (including two infants) ready to leave the house and go to the gym?! It's get your clean clothes on-spitup city-diaper change madness-try to get everyone to eat so they won't be hungry for one solid hour-crazy! But that's real life, so here you go.

Ok, where to begin. I got this timehop the other day, so I decided to add in what I am currently working with to the lineup.

I got pregnant with little d in fall 2009, gave birth in summer of 2010 (and gained just shy of 50 pounds which was HUGE for 5'1" me, in the process of being pregnant with ONE baby!), and while I only had a cheap $20 wrap/girdle I got off Amazon, as can happen in most first pregnancies (with youth and metabolism on your side), I got down to my prebaby weight (by working out about 6 days a week and eating relatively healthily) just after 6 months postpartum, started marathon training 18 months postpartum, and by 2 years post partum, had just done Bob Harper's skinny rules for a few weeks and my result was the far left:

Yup, I still can't believe I looked like that either. But it took two years of a lot of hard hours at the gym and some clean eating for awhile to get cut like that, and the day I happened to take that picture also happened to be the day I found out I was pregnant with #2... the middle pictures are 40 weeks pregnant with and 3 months postpartum with little A. I only gained about 35-ish pounds, worked out crazy hard through the entire pregnancy and was back at the gym 11 days postpartum. I was crazy but made up for lack of sleep (my pitfall in weightloss) by some super crazy workouts and nursing around the clock for 7 months. I felt good and I know I looked really good, especially because the extra skin was tucked in with my mother tucker. The far right is me 3 months post partum with twins, same mother tucker. COMPLETELY different pregnancy and recovery than the second time around.

To give you a better before and after, the left is me at one year postpartum with little A, in the first weeks of being pregnant with the twinners, the right being a full 38 weeks with the boys. My body had a full two years to heal up the first time, and the second time around only had one. Although I initially lost weight faster after my second pregnancy, I still hovered a good 5 pounds over my prebaby weight the day I found out I was pregnant... which turned out to be a HUGE blessing since I was SO sick in my first trimester with the twinners that I ended up losing a good chunk of weight in those first few months (not that I didn't make up for it in the second half of my pregnancy, haha!).

I gained a full, hefty 53 pounds with the twinners, which made for over 14 pounds of baby and 30ish pounds of everything else. My body is still holding onto 15 pounds of that "everything else".

6 weeks postpartum with the twins on the top, 3 months postpartum on the bottom.

Biggest difference between these two pictures is that at 6 weeks, while I was eating really clean for a few weeks (fussy baby=experimenting with what makes him that way=eliminating foods from my diet) I had not worked out in months. MONTHS! I stopped going to the gym with a full month left in my pregnancy, and did not go back to the gym until the boys were 6 weeks old. Longest amount of time I have ever been away from the gym and I didn't miss it one bit! More on 6 weeks postpartum with the twinners (when I briefly used the Belly Bandit) here.

6 weeks postpartum vs 3 months with twins.

My belly is less swollen and when I lie down it sinks down (instead of, you know, sticking out) but the other day I caught a glimpse at it in the mirror (and because I still have breastfeeding boobs, I rarely see this phemonenon):

It's like an accordion. OR a stretched out balloon. Either way, it makes me look CRAZY 4 months pregnant like all the time when I am sitting especially, which is where my mother tucker comes in. I have worn it on and off (more so when the weather is not blazing hot!) the last three months, and to be honest, I was completely done wearing it the last time around at 3 months. This time, I will be making it worth every last penny, out of necessity because I LOVE that it keeps all this extra skin tucked in (which will only get worse with the more weight I lose, hence why the weight on the scale is not something I am worrying too much about right now), and I will be sure to post how it all looks when I finally get down to my prebaby weight, which will hopefully be around the 6 month mark, in time for my 30th birthday.

I am supremely grateful for three healthy pregnancies which have resulted in 4 healthy babies, and that I can still wear a couple pairs of stretchy prebaby pants that button up (even if I still have a bit of muffin top spillage). But truth be told, my confidence in myself and my midesction would not be half as good as it is without my mother tucker. It really does make a world of a difference NOT in weight loss but in doing exactly as it claims to do "tucking" everything in.

So while my recovery may take longer than the last time around, at least I can feel confident in continuing to wear non-pregnancy clothes... even if I still occasionally get asked if I am pregnant by total strangers ;/ My body has been through a LOT in the last 5 years, so I am trying to be realistic in that it has only had 3 months to recover, and that eventually my body won't be quite so...stretchy, haha! I guess that's where being "all belly" while pregnant has its disadvantages.

Having made it through now two pregnancies with the Belly Bandit and Mother Tuckers (I have two), I definitely recommend both but highly recommend (if you can only pick one) the Mother Tucker to get the most bang for your buck, since you will probably be wearing it longer than the max 6 weeks recommended for the BB.

Indisputable fact #4 about having 4 kids under 5

Anytime I go anywhere with all four kids, regardless of if I have another adult assisting me... I have to budget an extra 30 minutes into my travel time. 15 minutes to load the car and make sure we didn't forget anything, 15 minutes to unload the stroller, car seats and all four kids. Technically I can get it down to under 10 minutes each way BUT that is on the blessed chance that there are no tantrums, slow-poking, fighting, etc...so I ALWAYS budget an extra 5 in there.

To give you an idea, let's say I want to go to the gym for a 9:45 class...it takes 15 minutes of driving, 15 to unload and 15 to load the car (working backwards) so we have to start the process at 9, and if the class runs one hour, it means we are gone from 9-11:30 in the morning when I want to go to the gym. I won't even begin to imagine how much more time it would take if I attempted the evening and had to deal with traffic on top of all that!

Gone in the past are the lovely days of carting my two kids in the morning to the gym, a play date and then a quick grocery run all before lunchtime. We literally have only enough time to do one thing in the morning and one in the afternoon to get it in before lunch and dinner, respectively. So (spoiler alert) my mornings are usually occupied with going to the gym (unless we get a late start, since if we are not headed out the door before 9 we usually can't go to the gym and make it back before lunch/meltdowns), leaving after naps for playtime with friends. Which only seems fair for half the time we go out to be something I enjoy doing vs the other half for the kids.

Anyways. Everything takes longer with four kids. But I'm certain that watching a four ring circus is far more entertaining than a two ring one, so you're welcome ;)

Happy fourth from our four!

Moments with my littles I never want to forget

Both kids fight each morning and mealtime over who gets which baby (current favorite is Lo because he "talks" so much to the kids) but at least we have two so each big kid gets a baby to sit with and "be in charge of".

Right after lunch and before the dreaded naptime (that little a tends to run away from and fight me with in the beginning), little d gathered some grapes and headed out the back door with a "don't worry mama, I'm just making raisins for sister to have after her nap!"

Gosh I wish she'd keep those cute pigtails in!!

During quiet time he offered to watch the boys while I showered... I came back to "hiiiii sweet boys! Iiiiiits okayyyyy brothers heeeeeeere!" While rocking them gently in their sleep n plays, As he tried to calm one of them down and get the pacifier back in his mouth.

A few days ago after a particularly long scream-y altercation I only heard in the house because I was nursing the boys, I approached the two big kids, ready to scold them... Little d started immediately apologizing, "I'm sorry I made her scream mom but I just wanted to keep my little sister safe!" (She was trying to get outside by herself and he was blocking the door).

Both kids have been getting into trouble a lot lately... Mostly due to fighting. But they've both been really good about saying sorry and I love you when they do stuff wrong so it's crazy hard to stay mad at them.

I'm so so very lucky to have the two of them. And the boys are extremely lucky to have two incredibly loving and sweet big siblings.

Not to mention they have each other. Instant best friends for life!! I call this the "watching out for baby brother" look:

I have so many good memories building in the walls of my home over the past past two and a half months...only a fraction of which i manage to share on this blog. I've had a scary small amount of sleep since April (usually bordering 5 hours a night when I'm lucky) but I've been incredibly blessed to only really feel the sleep deprivation every once in awhile. And I can only hope that until I can function properly with a full 8 hours of sleep a night, that I will be able to continue to document as much as I can here so that I can always remember these early crazy years as a young family of six.

Executive decisions.

When was the last time I took a nap during the day? Most days I haven't felt the need to, but other days like today it seems the last two weeks of Naplessness comes barreling at me all at once.

Sometimes you are faced with mounds of laundry that needs to be sorted and folded, a house that should probably get cleaned before visitors come for dinner, and you should probably go to the grocery store because you are out of every food staple.

--BUT THEN--

the stars align and both babies nap at the same time (that never happens!!!) AND its while the big littles are napping/in quiet time, so you realize you have to make the call....

Nap time for mommy it is. (And together we all slept two hours!!! Except little d. But he managed to atay in quiet time in my room playing Legos for the whole time without our complaint! Even if he did get bored and write all the words he can read in his dad's priesthood manual....)

Four is hard

My in laws left this morning after blessing weekend... It was so nice of them to come out (they drove in from Boston!) for just a few days, almost as crazy as Anna coming/driving in from champaign for 20 hours. We had an abundance of extra helping hands this weekend. Makes us all feel so loved!

I've had this FHE lesson saved on Pinterest for YEARS... After much door slamming and not so nice words coming from my once darling sweet son (remember when the worst of my concerns were his throwing balls at people?!), it had to be done.

We shall see if it works... I don't really know where to go from here if it doesn't. I've tried killing with kindness, threatening, bribes and incentives ($) but his behavior the last two weeks has just been off the wall and inexcusable. Which you wouldn't guess by looking at this picture haha... Last week of "school" (safety city) and then we are officially into summer.... Heaven help us!

I felt like I was running around all day... To the gym, lunching the big littles, dropping off and picking up for safety city, napping little a, all while my mom cared for the boys. They napped mostly through dinner and FHE and I realized that I am pretty good at managing two littles. Three even, on occasion. But getting the hang of four is a seeming insurmountable task... Probably would have been easier if I had learned to deal with 3 first but that's the way it goes. I will be needing help for quite a long time I can already tell. 

Each child is so challenging in some way and wonderfully easy in some way. Little d is super independent and can do so much for himself and his siblings, little a is wonderful at entertaining herself for quite awhile, Lan is a quick and predictable eater who is happy with a full belly and clean diaper, Lo is just easygoing in general.

On the flip side, little d is always bored and wanting attention/something new to do (and someone to come up with ideas of stuff for him to do), little a cannot be trusted (she learned how to open Chapstick, gum containers and nail polish in the last week!), Lan has his moments of freak out (usually right before I give him his medication), and Lo has got to be the slowest, laziest, messiest nurser on the planet.

So when the stars align, all the littles' good personality traits stand out, and as they say, when it rains it pours (and the big littles don't stop coming out of their bedroom for 90 minutes post bedtime).

4 kids is tricky. And i truly wonder if I will ever get the hang of it.

In other news, 7 weeks today!!!! Love my little chunky monkey and string bean!

Being a mom of so many young littles is terribly exhausting at times....

...to be honest, most of the time.

But it is also super crazy rewarding and I wouldn't change it for anything. Although having my parents 20 minutes away certainly helps!

Indisputable fact #3 about having 4 kids under 5

You are not going to get any sleep. At least not for any decent stretches of time that parents who only have one baby or two kids will even be able to fathom.

There I said it.

And the worst part is? Anyone and everyone is going to ask you about it. And one of these days, "fine" is going to turn into a brutally honest answer nobody wants to hear.

It is the number one most asked question, "how are you sleeping?" Or "how are the babies sleeping?" And while I know it comes from a good place, people are just concerned about me, and I do appreciate that concern...

I really truly do not want to talk about it. I remember with my first two the amount of sleep they were getting it how they were getting it was a topic I was happy to talk about for hours. This time around?

Not so much. It's a sensitive subject and almighty I just focus on surviving and during the day I try to block out what happened the night before. Because even if one kid sleeps decently, chances are the other one didnt. And when they both do, chances are that teething, growth spurts and just random babyness will cause them to not sleep well consistently for awhile. Just a fact I accepted the day I found out I was having twins.... Because my babies are historically never good sleepers. Sad but true.

And naturally once they start sleeping well then I'll have to be potty training sister, who if she is anything like her brother will refuse to wear pull-ups at night and then there goes the next year of my life cleaning potty training messes at night.

So if you want to do me a favor (aka if you care about me and my sanity at all), please stop asking me about anything related to sleep. For at least the next two years. Find something else to talk to me about. And I promise not to look at you like I want to punch you in the face even if I've only had a measly 3 hours of sleep broken up over the course of 7 hours.

It was only by the grace of God that I survived today.

I wish I were kidding.

Literally, every. single. time. Drew goes out of town the whole house goes total anarchy on me. The boys have caught onto that faster than I care to admit, and even with my mother in law Darsi here, it was just. The. Worst.

This morning started off (I won't even bother telling you what time, because it will only depress you) with me feeling super bloated and crampy (?? no idea why but it made me furious) and the boys delving into hours upon hours of crying combined with a feeding frenzy. Both boys were extremely unhappy all day today and I could not for the life of me figure out why. I only got a five minute shower in because my mother in law took the big kids outside and the babies were in their sleepers crying (#sorrynotsorry) and only managed to read my scriptures in the five minutes both boys were nursing and content.

Needless to say, the feeding/pooping/crying frenzy didn't stop until 11, when I was finally able to get them both downstairs with me, and I didn't get "breakfast" eaten till noon. Not my favorite way to start the day and it completely threw me off for the whole day.

I am so grateful for the family and friends helping me out today (as I am every day). And sometimes visiting with people I love can be the best kind of help imaginable. I kept my head above water and while I am not happy with the way today went, it is what it is. I didn't get to spend any quality time with little d and I feel like every interaction with him was negative and him being super snarky with me. I spent way more time than I would have liked trying to chill out crazy babies and that made me extremely grumpy.

Thank goodness for little a being completely sweet and oblivious to everything and all I have to do is read her the same book fifty times in a row and she is happy as a clam. My little breath of fresh air. Also having Darsi offer to go out and buy me Graeter's strawberry chocolate chip ice cream at the end of the day for watching the Bachelorette was pretty awesome.

Phew. A long day. Here's to getting out of my bedroom before midday and eating breakfast before lunchtime tomorrow.

One of the first things that I saw in my email today made me laugh because it was a comment from facebook in response to yesterday's blog post where I felt ready to tackle the world with my four kids, about how awesome it was that I had a good handle on things. HA! Today felt like anything but. But that is the way this parenting so many littles thing works... some days you are on top of the world, and then you get a day like today and it is a big fat dose of humble pie. That is real life and that is certainly my life right now, a total out of control roller coaster.

Deep breath.

Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow the boys are one month old!! Eek. And I have our first monthly photo shoot to look forward to... should be interesting!

(A rare and brief moment of calm today with me and baby Lo)

Indisputable facts #1 and #2 about having 4 kids under 5

1. You can pretty much assume someone is always going to be crying, whining, complaining or otherwise going to be upset. The sooner you accept that (and can learn to stay sane through the crying), the happier you'll be. Thankfully we were blessed with two wonderfully complainy big littles so we are no stranger to tears around here. Haha but in all seriousness having the experience of two older kids who cried quite a bit and were never awesome sleepers till after they got all their teeth in means we have a decent amount of experience in this realm. While I can't always keep my cool, raising the big littles has definitely been good prep work for the twinners. And my eyes have really been opened as to why we got the two for one deal... Our decision to have another child has always been dependent on the behavior of our youngest child, and while our sweet little #4 Lo could nearly be classified as "easygoing" (about 80% of the time at least), our #3 Lan is quite another story and let's just say there would be no #4 is he didn't come along with his brother, which would have been quite sad indeed, since he is definitely a much needed source of calm sweetness in our crazy family.

2. You will be changing a rediculous amount of diapers. I'll be honest, between diaper changes and nursing, that's how i spend like 80% of my waking hours. And surprisingly enough, I'm ok with that. Mostly because thinking about dealing with two sets of diaper changes AND a potty training toddler makes my stomach churn.... I'll take the security of diapers over accidents any day of the week!

Happy weekending!

First day rocking it (mostly) solo as a mom of 4

Four kids under 5 years of age.

I still can't believe that's what I have.

Between my mom and Drew and Cassie, I've had help every morning (and occasionally all day) since having the twins. Today was a good trial run, Drew was working outside the home for most of the day, and while we still lack a family car (patience patience), I had some friends take little d to prek and other than that we chilled at home.

I made sure to hop in the shower after the 6am round of feedings/changing diapers so I would actually get a shower in, dressed myself and all four kids and made it downstairs for breakfast (where I was the only one who was hungry... The kids ate their waffles around 10) by 8am.

Spent the day outside, inside, just hanging out, playing with friends, watching tangled etc.

Little miss sassy pants gave me the idea to bust out the pool for the season and it was beyond worth it just to see those cute chunky baby thighs.

Amazing how the most simple ($8 total) things cause the most enjoyment in little kids.

While the boys did a lot of this

And I actually attempted to get the twins in bed before myself, but after the big littles even though they went to bed so late. Bless Keely for giving me her baby monitor for a few months. It has amazing range and two cameras (the other is in the playroom,

Which has proved to be pretty hysterical!) and I don't know how I would keep sane without it. It is SO much easier to allow the boys to sleep in the house while we play outside instead of having to tote them around with me.

So the first of many days as a mother of four young kids... It was difficult at times, but expectedly so. I love the opportunity to mother them and while I am still healing it felt nice to deal with tantrums and having to say "no" and maneuvering around the rounds of crying (from all parties of course)... It just felt so, well, normal. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have help because it allows me more one on one time with certain kids but there's something about knowing you are capable of taking care of all your kids on your own that really gives a lovely boost to my self esteem. I already knew how much I loved each member of my family, and now I love them even more as we work into becoming a family unit.