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.

Newborn twin essentials: the first 6 weeks

I remember scouring the internet and blogs when I first found out I was having twins... there were so many recommendations, and I already knew some things that I probably would end up getting more of but I wanted to know what did I REALLY NEED those crucial first 6, sleep deprived weeks with twins??

So here, you go, in no particular order, what I consider to be my twin essentials for the first 6 weeks.
1. Video Monitor
2. Swaddlers, muslin blankets, onesies
3. Bouncers, Rock n Play, baby carriers
4. noise machines and pacifiers
5. ubbi diaper pail
6. stroller-baby jogger city select

honorable mention: twin nursing pillow and baby mittens

1. Video Monitor: I thought I would be just fine with the audio monitor that we have, but honestly with the noisy little bugger I have in Lan, who never stops making noise even in his sleep, it is sooo nice to have a video monitor so that I can watch the boys with the volume turned down (so I can actually get some stuff done and know they are ok). Also a huge reason behind this purchase is because Keely let me borrow hers for a few weeks just to try it out...and being able to carry around that video monitor and keep an eye on the boys while playing outside in the yard with the big kids was worth every penny.

2. My babies sleep in onesies with swaddlers from day one... I hate dealing with blankets at night so this is perfect in my book. Muslin blankets are perfect for everything especially when you're a baking hot furnace like I am with two mini furnaces attached to you for much of those first 6 weeks. Spit up rag, swaddle blanket, nursing cover, changing table, those blankets are about as all purpose as it gets IMO.

3. AKA places to put the babies so you don't have to be carrying them with your arms every minute of the day. My boys are pretty needy and while I did have lots of help and extra hands the first 6 weeks, being able to put them in bouncers (on the main floor) and their Rock n Plays (upstairs in their bedroom, because heaven knows my refluxing boys will not be sleeping in their cribs for awhile) and occasionally when they HAVE to be held, some sort of baby carrier is ideal for being able to still get stuff done. I love my babies. LOVE them. But I am holding them a pretty big chunk of the day while nursing anyway, and also they are my #3 and #4 and won't remember a lot at this age, and the older siblings DO notice when I spend less time with them so I try to save the loves and cuddles for nursing, early mornings and late nights when the big kids are still sleeping. And the bonus of us having these places to put the boys somewhere on both levels of the house means that we don't have to cart them up and down the stairs all day, depending on where I am.

(Notice the cat stealing the crib space...)

4. I remember reading Babywise before I had little d and I swore up and down I would NEVER use a sleep prop with my babies... ha! Pacifiers saved me for a year with little a and I can manage to get both boys to take a pacifier as of right now (Lan takes it hesitantly of course, but he does prefer the bouncer and Rock N Play that vibrates, so that's his calming mechanism) and the noise machine is something that I got from Aunt Michelle as a portable device and we ended up also buying one that plugs into the wall of their room so that they can have it continuously all night long (I know, probably a total thing I will regret when they cannot fall asleep with out white noise but also... TWIN MOM SURVIVAL right here).

5. Ubbi. Stainless steel diaper pail, tell me HOW has no one thought of that before?? It only holds enough diapers for two to three nights (we keep it upstairs) but it keeps me from gathering a mountain of diapers of having to run downstairs to throw them in the kitchen trash every diaper change (which, trust me, there's a LOT of). We had it in my bedroom the first month and I never smelled it when I used it, except for when I opened the compartment to put diapers in. No lingering smells, but that is for the little diapers, we shall see how they tolerate the bigger ones when we get to that point. Little a only goes #2 once a day thank goodness so we toss that right into the outside trash, but we do put her other diapers in there and they smell terrible usually but I don't smell them while they are in the diaper pail. Definitely the only pail worth ever buying.

6. I am obsessed with my stroller. OB. SESSED. It took me awhile to get the hang of opening it and setting it up, but once I got it, I used it as much as humanly possible! I love the car seat adapters and how easy everything was to put together, as well as the rollerboard that little a loves to use when she comes with us.

*I thought newborn mittens were a total scam till I had Lan!! Dude manages to scratch himself even after I just clipped and filed his nails what?! They are brilliant and I am so glad Keely passed along an extra set to me because I never would have thought to buy them. And they stay on much better than socks. The twin nursing pillow I ended up using was essential the first month when they took foreverrrrrrr to nurse. Now that the boys are a little quicker to nurse I still occasionally use it but I do enjoy nursing them one on one a little better right now.

Birth day eve

This morning could not have started off more perfect. Both big kids came into our bed and snuggled with us (which never ever happens!!) instead of begging us to turn on a show or attempting to steal away our phones. The boys woke up and started moving around as soon as they heard their siblings voices and it about made me cry. If I could bottle up and capture any one moment in time as a family of four, that was it. We eventually made our way downstairs and shared the most delicious homemade waffles and best green smoothie I've made in a long time.

There was a small stretch of time (45 minutes) with a whole lot of "I don't want to change my clothes/go to church/do anything" crying but eventually we made it outside and the weather was just perfect.

For the last week "hoe-you" (hold you) has been her mantra with me... And I have not minded too much. I've loved the extra snuggles and hugs and love from both of my littles as I know they are able to sense that the end of this family of four business is near. Little a was especially clingy today and I tried to savor every moment of my baby for the precious few hours left that she is still my baby. I am so grateful for her sweet spirit.

After church we put sister down for her nap and little d and I were able to play some donkey kong and read some avengers books, two things he loves doing, before we settled in for our last long Sunday afternoon nap together in who knows how long. I will miss those terribly but I am so grateful he was still at an age to tolerate them those months that I needed them most.

This evening my parents and siblings (minus Anna) came over for dessert and some playing outside in the rain and more video games with uncle dk.

Thankfully everyone was really respectful in my wish to not make tonight all about the babies and to instead focus on the present and just having a fun night together.

I'm going to miss being around these sweet faces all day long the next few days, but I keep reminding myself that this one on one bonding time with the boys in the hospital will be the only chance I get to do that with them for a long time, and As much as I missed little d, I did love the unique opportunity i got to spend getting to know little a. This three day stretch will be the longest I have ever been away from her, and I definitely struggle with that but I hope that she will just enjoy her time with her dad and brother this week and not miss me too much.

Every night since I put the two big littles in the same room together I have gone in before I go to bed to check in on them and re tuck them in if necessary. Every night since I finished the twins room, I have followed that visit with usually a quick glance around the babies room, since we usually keep the door closed to keep Kevin from sleeping in the cribs... For being almost 7 he sure does have an affinity for sleeping in anything Baby related (swings, bouncers, cribs, changing tables, strollers, you name it). Anyway, tonight I definitely ran the gamut of 500 emotions, good and bad and everything in between.

But I'm ready. More ready than I could ever be. I feel strengthened by the prayers and loveof so many, and I cannot wait to finally meet these two little miracles, who are currently as restless as I am on the eve of their birth.

3 days left (!!!!)

I literally had someone ask me earlier this week if I was going to be sad not to be pregnant anymore. After I laughed for quite awhile and told her NO she said, well I'm sure once they are out you are going to be wishing you could go back to being pregnant with them.

Um... are we even friends?! Do you not even know me?!

Don't get me wrong, I am so blessed to be able to get pregnant and carry babies to term but only because I keep my eye on the prize, and that's the end result of a baby OUTSIDE of my body. I am happy to be pregnant when I am pregnant but once the babies are out there is not a single thing that I miss, even with the demanding sleepless nights... something about not having my stomach sitting on my thighs has made me never regret wanting (desperately a lot of times!) for pregnancy to be over with. And with two days left I am relieved to be nearly there.

We have a busy day tomorrow and a super low key day on Sunday and then... it's finally here. It only feels surreal because there is a chord that hits you in the third trimester where you just accept (a total lie) that you will probably be pregnant foreverrrrr.

Soapbox: One other thing, something I get asked a lot since I am pretty open about the fact that I have contractions all the time after about 28/30 weeks, is "how do you know you're in labor?". Well, since I went in with little d a little too early (overeager to get him delivered I am sure), I can tell you with a blunt amount of honesty that at least for me, when I start to get into REAL labor... during the contractions I CANNOT MOVE. Most contractions are annoying, sometimes painful, and even occasionally consistent enough to make me wonder. But since my labors run forever, it is not till about halfway through (12 hours into my water breaking or starting to be consistent enough to track) that IT GETS REAL. Pain so bad I can't help but cry through each contraction... and sure maybe this time will be different if I do in fact go into labor on my own, but I doubt it.  So unless I am in crippling pain, I don't worry too much about it. Granted, I have friends that have gone into doctor's appointments not knowing they were in labor and already dilated to a 4, then shoot that baby out in a matter of 20 minutes after a few hours of hard labor, but I feel as though (through a rough estimate of my friends with babies) they are in the minority with that amount of quickness. People always told me I would know, and it is so true. Unless they get the epidural in super quick and early on, it is probably the worst pain you will ever experience in your life. And thankfully there are always (wonderful, blessed) breaks inbetween contractions where you can just stare at the clock and countdown till the next wave of contractions passes. Personal opinion.

And on another note, we were supposed to go to cosi today but little d requested a low key movie day instead.... I guess he got sick of all the errand running I've been trying to get done the last week.

Fine by me. Lego movie and nemo and coloring inside and playing outside.

I think they were ok with our only outing though, to coldstone since we had accumulated some coupons we only had to pay for one of our 4 ice creams. 

Anna sent me this timehop

And Sarah sent me this gem with the fake piggies.

Hair growth on that little stinker has been soooo slow... At this rate Maybe by the time she gets to kindergarden she will finally have a full head of hair!

Preparing for an apocalypse and the boys finally drop!

Apparently preparing for an impending apocalypse of sorts means dooms day prep of the cleaning and organizing variety around here. Also finally getting that backsplash put in behind the sink (a diy project one year in the making, Augh!) was extra motivation to keep the kitchen clean. What an eyesore I will be giddy to be rid of. Aside from needing more cereal (always a necessity), our pantry is fully stocked for the first time ever. It will go down a bit after I finish those freezer meals I've been procrastinating for weeks.

Re organizing the garage for summer in progress.

And then of course there's the boys.... They have officially dropped! I realized this morning when I was able to polish off ice cream in addition to my usual breakfast with NO heartburn that they had dropped... I don't remember ever feeling that way with the other two kids but I tell you, even with the added bladder pressure my ribs are relieved to catch a break and I don't miss heartburn at all!

(This was supposed to be post baby celebratory ice cream for drew and I but I just HAD to try it and make sure it would be worth celebrating with. It was diving to the last drop. Now I just need to get another one for next Monday!)

The biggest downside to the drop is driving... I can feel those weird indentations on the underside of my belly from the seatbelt and the belly sitting on my lap. Uncomfortable and itchy but for less than a week, I'll take it.

Now to finally indulge in some lunch and catch up on thank you notes while I still have the naptime/prek time to do it!

Update: three hours and 12 freezer meals later, I was done before midnight with whirlwind  crazy day. After prek we went to visit my grandma (and the kids behaved sooooo well!!), then to hang out with my mom and DK for dinner and a bit, then visit my dad who was working concessions at the track and field meet at my old stomping grounds.

He was so sweet to treat the littles to their own bags of candy and then a pretzel to share on the way out.

It was a pretty awesome day to be at "home", we watched a few track races, some tennis, softball (in the background), lacrosse was just finishing up, and then on our way out we caught a glimpse of the baseball game.

I am shocked the kids weren't more tired. I was pooped. I Am pooped out! Especially these old achy hips of mine. Oh I remember fondly the days of being on my feet and not having to worry about all the weight bearing down on my hips!

And tomorrow little d wants to go bowling... I'm going to need a nap tomorrow for sure. And possibly an early bedtime.

(The next day)... Thanks to Brooke for inspiring me (even though she has till July when her baby comes), we both agreed to making five crockpot meals (actually 10 but trading 5) and swapping them. That, combined with some meals my MIL made back in February and some planning on my part means my freezer is officially stocked!!! Hooray!

And so fitting that it should happen on the day of our last doctors visit before delivery.

Now to figure out how to actually keep my house clean...

37 weeks pregnant with twins (officially considered "full term"!)

I've only been to Cedar Point maybe twice in my life and I will forever remember the first time I ever rode the millennium force... one of the fastest roller coasters in the history of ever. Or maybe just Cedar Point. Either way, I had only been to a few roller coasters, mostly wooden ones before that point, and nothing even close to as fast as this one professed to go. I went in high school with some friends for a birthday party and we were so lucky it was grey and nearly rainy the whole day because we were just about the only ones in the park, meaning we could go on the rides one right after the other, without hardly having to wait in line at all.

(Unrelated but adorable photo from today)
Coming up on the first big hill of Millennium Force, I remember thinking, this is going to be awesome. I can see everything from here, this is so exciting, OHMIGOSH this is really high, what was I thinking, its literally a STRAIGHT DOWN DROP, what if this coaster breaks (a few had been shut down that day due to "mechanical difficulties" from the rain and humidity), and then before I knew what was happening we were going like 80 miles an hour and I was screaming my head off, holding on for dear life because heaven forbid I fall out of that roller coaster! I survived, and filled with adrenaline, we rode that roller coaster I can't even tell you how many times, but it was a LOT.

Life lately feels a whole lot like that roller coaster ride. We've been on an uptick for a little while now: little a is finally sleeping in her own bed without getting out and throwing clothes everywhere, she is napping the way she should be (1.5-2.5 hours on average) and going down quickly and easily without crying (and without the aid of the bathroom fan or blacking out the windows), nighttime routine has been pretty smooth, she and little d continue to throw tantrums but they are usually predictable and manageable (ie; make sure they get enough sleep and have had enough to eat, then let them play outside with friends all day and they are happy 99.9% of the time), and the list continues. Life has been really really good, as I reflected after last night's birthday shenanigans with little a. Fortunately or unfortunately that uptick is about to end in approximately one week from tomorrow morning. These boys are going to be serious game-changers, but to what extent we have no idea. Our family will go from 4 to 6 and no longer be able to fit into one of our little cars, we will have two people in each bedroom of our home...we will have hit "maximum capacity" so to speak. But even while I worry about the sheer logistics of everything (because playing if/then scenarios is what I do for hours while everyone else is sleeping and I can't), I can't help but think how much better and more enjoyable our family has gotten with each child. I start off worrying about the balance that will be upset by the new arrivals, and have always been pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Watching little a shower her big brother all over the face with kisses while he lay next to his dad on the church pew this morning solidified to me that the end of this pregnancy was in fact going to be more sweet than bitter. Yes, I will lose all sense of control for an indefinite amount of time. But also I won't be pregnant anymore and can learn to enjoy life again and feel more like a "real" mother instead of one who is handicapped on the sidelines because she can't roll over to get out of bed to save her life.

(She loves snuggling against my big belly!)

One more monday, one more tuesday, one more wednesday, one more thursday, one more friday, one more saturday, and one final sunday as a family of four.

Then we plummet down as a family, at 80 miles per hour, hold on for dear life and hope that the adrenaline surge can carry us all till the next uphill, and that at the end of the first round of craziness (the first six weeks, in my opinion) we will still be excited to step off the roller coaster, take a deep breath, and run back in line for another round. Even though I like things just perfectly right now as they are, I know our family will feel more complete once these boys are here in our arms. I continue to be grateful (although sometimes begrudgingly so) that they are cooking and growing and doing as well as they have been doing, so that for the next week I can enjoy myself and my freedom for at least a little while longer, even if this roller coaster is feeling dangerously high. I will just continue to prepare myself and my family for what lies ahead and hopefully my planning will be good for something.

Oh my heavens I could seriously get used to seeing those chunky legs all day long! And that belly!!!

37 weeks! My brain can't believe I have made it this far, my aching hips. swollen cankles and my poor stretched out belly on the other hand...both are beyond ready to catch a much deserved break.