Mums Running Club

Gross question regarding wobbly tummy,

I had my appendix out about 17 years ago and the wound got infected after as well and was left with a horrible scar which is kind of pulled in.  Now that i've had Isla my tummy is still (10 months on!) abit wobbly and saggy and the bit where my appendix scar is, is kind of overhanging almost (yeuch, sorry guys, i know its first thing on a monday).  Anyone any ideas of how to help my stomach, at 10 months after birth is it not going to get any better, would exercises help do you think, did all the post natal ones and have been doing core exercises (maybe not often enough though).

 My hubby is not bad now, to begin with he used to get her up on a weekend and let me have a lie in but then i would get up and she would still be in her sleepsuit and not had breakfast, but now he's got the hint and gets her dressed and fed.  Also he's been good anytime she's had a major puke all over me and her (usually due to taking too much milk too quick), he takes all the pukey clothes rinses them and puts them in the wash while i get us cleaned up and Isla back on the boob or back to bed.

Isla getting better all the time with her solids, she demolished a whole 1/4 slice of toast and no choking/puking, i suppose you just have to persevere.  She was fine at nursery last tuesday and wednesday, obviously not happy when i left, but calmed down soon after and seemed to be quite happy.

Mrs O - I had similar stomach issues after my 2nd child - having had 2 c/sections I had a prominent tummy overhang. I started exercising / eating sensibly in earnest when he was around 20 months (having never done regular exercise in my adult life before), and started with a combination of yoga classes and gym work - I soon took up running and never looked back! I think both running and yoga made a real difference with my stomach - it looked better than it had done in years (literally about 10!), and I lost nearly 2 stone into the bargain.  So I would say that it's not too late at all at 10 months post-birth - it won't be overnight, but now you've started back running regularly you'll see a difference, and maybe doing some gentle core work regularly like yoga or pilates to work on those bits ( I always find going to a class better than trying to do it at home).  Also if you have weight to lose, once that starts to drop off it will help too.  Now at 4 weeks post the birth of my 3rd child, I need to convince myself to start practising what I've just preached! 

Thanks sarabob, you have given me some hope, my belly is definetly wobbly due to fat i would say rather than saggy skin.  Now that i'm back at work part-time i will get into healthier eating patterns and my hip seems to be ok over the past 2 weeks since i started running again so hopefully that will help.  Will also get back into the yoga and core exercises, i was doing them regularly but when i first had a sore hip i kept doing them and my hip didn't seem to get better even though i'd stopped runnning, so stopped all exercise until my hip was better (apart from stretches and walking).  Even after two weeks of running and a week back at work eating a bit healthier think i have dropped a pound or two.  Am still about 10lbs heavier than pre-pregnancy and even then i was always about half a stone overweight.  Am looking forward to getting back into running and trying a 10k befroe then end of the year and see if i can still run it in about 55 mins.

How is baby no.3 getting on ? you must be a pro by now  Did you have a boy or girl ?  I really must read through all the earlier posts and see who's who and who's had boys, girls, etc etc

mrs o - no.3 is a boy ( I have a girl and 2 boys now) - not sure you ever feel like it's easy, but it's certainly much more relaxed being a parent by the time you get to no.3! 

Yes to lots of stretch marks - they certainly got less noticeable but never totally disappear.  Doesn't bother me much now, though - especially as I don't tend to show too much flesh on the beach / at the pool nowadays!

I am still half stone heavier than I was before, and this is all around my tummy. Not sure how it will go now, as running 50-60 mpw, going to pilates and am not prepared to diet, so looks like the belly is staying. I am on the light side anyway like Minks, so everyone says I look fab considering I had twins 10 months ago, but I guess I know I was trimmer before! Maybe with time it will slowly disappear, there is a six pack under there somewhere.

So I have no suggestions mrs o, as been trying myself. Certainly won't be wearing a crop top to race in like I used to, fully vested tummy armour now!!

Was very lucky I got no stretch marks. Which does amaze me given how enormous I was.

Minks I used Heinz Oaty porridge for my boys to start with, and have now progressed them onto weetabix or Tesco Instant porridge which are both much cheaper. Sometimes they have toast and jam, but that is very messy!

Well Ted went to school for the first time today...  He looked in fright at the mass of children that tried to chat to him but he survived!  It was really strange to be there with Ted, our secretary took full charge and kept him quiet for over an hour!  Wish I had the ability to do that!  Everyone was very complimentary, did have to whip off one of the pregnant teachers when he decided to do an enormous poo though!  Did contemplate handing him over to her for a bit of practice!!!

SB - I've messed up on the running!!!  Managed to read the table the wrong way round and did a week three run in the first week!  As I managed it fairly well I've decided to stick to doing my own thing gently.  Unfortunately I got too enthusiastic last week so I'm having to slow down a lot this week and swim instead.  Doh!  Have to say I felt five times a week was too much.  Think as long as you're doing sensible combinations of gentle increases of walk to jog to run then you should be ok, it's a good guide though.  My GP told me to slow down if I had any tenderness and rest for a week or so if I did.  I've had tenderness (my own fault, I decided to run the whole thing instead of a run/walk combo) so this week is slow down.  Think she gave good advice though on that score.

 Have to say my hubby is very good.  He sleeps through night feeds, but then again he is at work all day, but when he is at home really helps out with Ted.  When he comes home from work if I'm looking whacked he takes him straight off me, potters out for a walk if he's noisy and then baths him ready for bed.  Think if he could do the night time feed as well he would!

Ted is doing really well with the sleeping bag.  He's sleeping longer and longer in the night so fingers crossed....

Sleeping.  We use sleeping bags too now.  I have a sheet bag that I got from Jojo Maman which has been great during the summer and muggy nights.  I always go in to put a blanket over him before I go to sleep.  The other night he started shuffling around when I was there so I sat down on a chair so not to disturb him.  It was fascinating just watching him scratching his ankles (ankle against ankle) rolling over, reaching up and grabbing the cot bar, rolling over, scratching his ear.... He was so active during that couple of minutes or so I was with him.

 Blanket will end up anywhere by morning - certainly not where I put it!

 MM What in the world did you use to not get stretch marks?  You are quite petite really (I think from previous posts) and twins........  Well done!

Nothing plodding along! Well I used to put moisturiser on the bump every day, but no particular brand. I am surprised myself as I was enormous. My tummy muscles didn't split either, which the physio was very surprised at, so I was able to start tummy exercises straight away. I think that was 4 years of pilates though.

I am pretty small, not as tiny as Minks but a 6-8, 5'3. Just a nice wobble round my belly now that is very persistent!

Just fell over on my run, nice cut hands, must concentrate when I'm out as twisted my ankle last week too!

I have to say since I began running consistently again I feel as though everything has toned up a lot more and I wouldn't be surprised if I've dropped a little weight.  I have absolutely no stretch marks either - like MM I moisturised my bump daily but didn't use any particular brand of cream.  I quite liked Clinique Body Butter but I often used other things too.  I have no idea if the moisturising made any difference or not - I did read somewhere that it's just down to your skin type and how 'stretchy' it is as to whether you get stretch marks or not.  My waist/tummy is still slightly bigger than pre-pregnancy but all in all I look pretty good considering I had a baby 6 months ago.  My tummy muscles did separate so I had to delay tummy exercises - also because I had a C-section I wasn't supposed to do any for a few weeks anyway.  I can fit into all my size 6 clothes and those that were tight a couple of months ago now fit properly again.  Am only 5'1" though so any excess weight would really show.

Am pleased with the progress I've made running.  Using a Hal Higdon schedule that's basically a complete beginner's training programme leading to a marathon (over 30 weeks).  The first few weeks are REALLY easy - runs of only 1.5-2 miles - but I followed it exactly and my fitness has come back really well, and I've had no recurrence of my back strain.

Was quite concerned about Kit yesterday.  He did 7 very runny, pooey nappies which is not normal for him at all.  He usually does 1-2 a day now he's on solids and the consistency and colour vary depending on what he's eaten.  These nappies were greenish-grey, didn't smell too good and looked a bit mucus-y.  Either something he's eaten doesn't agree with him (suspecting butternut squash at the moment as the nappy thing started Sunday afternoon and he first had butternut squash Sunday morning, then again yesterday morning), or he's got a bug or possibly he's teething.  He cut his first two teeth with no problem at all so have no previous symptoms to compare with.  He seems OK in himself - was very grizzly late afternoon yesterday, but he hadn't had much in the way of daytime sleep - so will see how he goes today.  Been giving him water as afraid of dehydration, but obviously don't want to give too much.  Has only done 2 poos so far today and I've only given him baby rice to try to settle his tummy - fingers crossed it won't be anything nasty.

Minks - James has loads of nappies when teething (his first two came without any symptoms).  Also although many medics dismiss the colds when teething this can also be a symptom.   Fingers crossed he is fine now.

James has a stinking cold today.  Thankfully it is runny, not a blocked nose.  Lots of crying though as mean Mummy keeps up with the tissue attacks.  Poor wee man is zonked as well, sneezing and rubbing his eyes.  I don't think we will bother with out swimming today. 

Minks, the top teeth are horrific for teething symptoms, so could be that. Or he may just have a tummy bug. Colds do also seem to sometimes cause upset tummy as the bug can get into the gut, hence the mucus.

See how he goes. J suffers from lots of tummy bugs and colds, so we have these a lot, especially when his top teeth came through. H has had dreadful runny nose teething but nappies are fine, very different babes. Go to docs if you are at all worried.

Lucky you getting your figure back Minks, I am resigned to having a bigger tummy now. I am pretty much back into my old clothes, but feel conscious of my tummy so guess avoid some of my old clothes, an excuse for shopping!

Right time to get the boys dressed, always fun ;o)!

Ooh I'm so envious of those of you without stretch marks...  The main part of my body is fine, it's my boobs that have really been hit.  Hoping that when everything deflates they won't be too bad...  I'm just being really conscious at the moment of trying to eat regularly.  I'm not purposely skipping meals but sometimes I realise it's three o'clock and I've not had lunch after a very small brekkie.  don't want to mess up my metabolism and not shift this weight!

I'm in a bit of dilema.  I've been introduced to another mum who lives nearby by the midwives who has a baby ten days younger than Ted.  I obviously don't know her very well yet but we do get on very well.  Yesterday when we met up she was complaining that she's only getting two hours sleep a day and that is usually in 30 - 60 minute stints.  It turns out that they don't encourage the baby to sleep in the cot but to go to sleep on them.  She is now 'sleeping' on the sofa with the baby on her chest, unable to sleep herself as she's frightened of him falling off.  Apparently when they've tried to make him go to sleep in his cot he's cried a lot and then not slept.  She semi asked me for advice yesterday but didn't quite know where to go with it.  We did take the approach of sitting with Ted by the side of his cot to encourage him to settle in order to develop a routine of settling down in his cot and he's now fine.  Do I suggest that she has to be a bit more brutal or remain non-commital???  My worry is that when her baby is six months old she could still be doing this and make herself ill.  Any ideas would be welcomed!!! 

Janie, that's a tricky one.  You could try the anecdotal approach, perhaps casually saying what you did with Ted?  If she's actually asking you for advice then I would probably be a bit more blunt, but without coming across as patronising or the fountain of all knowledge, of course!  They might need to do what you did, sitting beside the cot until he settles.  I did a couple of days of 'crying down' to get Kit to settle in his cot and get himself off to sleep - it was our fault he hadn't been able to do so as we tended to rush in at the first murmur and give him his dummy.  I didn't do the really brutal approach, I just allowed him to cry for no more than two minutes before going in, and reassuring him with voice only and a pat if he was really upset.  The gave him another two minutes etc.  If he hadn't settled after 10 minutes I would pick him up as I didn't want him to get completely beside himself.  It only took a couple of goes and he now loves his cot and seems to actually enjoy being in it.  We go in in the morning and he's happily playing with his cuddly toys and babbling to himself.

MM and Plod, thanks for the thoughts re. nappies and teething.  Kit seems to be perfectly OK - he was fine in himself even when he filled 7 nappies in one day - and yesterday did 3 much more normal-looking nappies.  I gave him only baby rice yesterday - the evening portion mixed with a bit of pear puree - to try to settle his tummy and hopefully it's worked.  No need for a trip to the doctor for the moment, I don't think.

Today tried some porridge this morning but he wasn't interested; had just had 8oz of milk so was probably too full.  Will give him a bit less milk tomorrow before the cereal.  He's also had sweet potato and carrot this morning, and only one nappy so far - bit brownish-grey but probably the pear coming through!  Have made a job lot of sweet potato puree this morning.  He loves it but it's the one I least like making as have to push through a sieve rather than put in the blender!

MM, my tummy isn't as flat as it was but it's OK.  Sometimes when I wear a fitted T-shirt I feel I have to hold it in a bit but in general it looks fine.  I'm just pleased I can get back into my old clothes as for a while I wondered whether I ever would again.  I packed away my very small jeans so not sure if I could get into those now, but gone off them anyway!  The worst bit was that my belly button looked really wide, but it seems to have got a bit smaller again now.  I still have the remains of my linea nigra even after all this time - wish it would just disappear!

Am going back to my pilates classes in October instead of just doing a DVD so hopefully that will help, the running certainly isn't shifting it even the 16 mile runs, but then on high mileage I do eat a lot more, so that won't be helping much. Need to cut down on the amount of cheese and diary I eat I think, a habit I got into when pregnant as seemed to crave it.

10 mile run tonight, but again am so hungry when I get in from these runs, well once recovered, can't retsrict my food. Maybe over the next 6 months it will just shift.

Annoyingly I have twins who for the first time are in different size clothes, means their cupboard is so full. H is only 18lbs and in 6-9 still, which at nearly 11 months is pretty small. J is nearly 20lb and entering 9-12 month clothes. Nightmare. Means poor H gets all J's hand me downs too! I know he won't notice, but doesn't seem fair!

Will wearing supportive/control pants when running stop the wobbly belly skin sagging, especially where my horrible appendix scar is, or do you think it won't make any difference?

MM really impressed at your long runs, 16 miles, wow, although i remember from previous posts that you are a bit of a serious runner, i am just a bit of a plodder really, going to sign up for a wee local 10K for the end of october, i'm managing 30-35 mins no problem now and feel i could easily run for longer but not going to overdo it and get another sore hip or anything else.  Ran with some of the girls from work yesterday and kept up with one who runs at a good pace and left the slower ones behind, don't think my running pace has changed, feel like i'm running as fast as i was pre-pregnancy

I thougt I had avoided stretch marks but discovered some on the underside of my boobs and some tiny ones on my belly yesturday!  Was straight to boots for bio oil!! 

I think i would use the anecdotal approach Minks suggests Janie... its tricky as people have such different approaches its easy to inadvertantly offend people.... especially with hormones raging and lack of sleep!

We had a good night on sat and Granny coped fine (or at least told me she did!) but I have been absolutely exhausted since cos i cant catch up with the sleep i missed!  Unforunately it has coincided with the girls suddenly getting really grizzly in the evenings, not wanting to go down for the night, waking loads and wanting to eat all the time.... not sure if a reaction to thier jabs, growth spurt or just them (they are usually quite chilled though).  They seem better today so hoping its over... good timing as we are off to france for the weekend today.

gosh weaning sounds so complicated..... I thought getting the combo of bottle and boob was bad enough!

MM at least they wont have to share for a bit... unless you are organised enough for them to have seperate clothes, I just have a communal stock!

Thanks for the advice guys,  You're right with the anecdotal approach I think.  You're right Minks in that if she does ask for advice you can be a bit more blunt.  Have to say that I don't think she'd cope with a controlled crying ritual from what I've seen so I think the approach we tried could work for her.  If she asks for advice I think I might lend her my copy of the Baby Whisperer as that's where I got most of my ideas from and it I know other people who have found it works.

Enjoy your holiday Hetty, wish I could be so brave as to take Ted abroad, we're off to Center Parcs in October though so at least we're getting away.  Know what you mean about weaning....

MM I'm sure they won't mind sharing, as long as H gets some new things now and again that should keep him happy.  I always coped with the hand me downs!

Must go - feeding calls!

Well over the last few days I think I've just about caught up with all of you!  It sounds like (despite the various trials of motherhood) you are all doing great. Janie - hope you manage to help your new friend. It's always a bit tricky with this kind of thing. I've got a new friend with a toddler similar in age to mine + a little girl one week older than Scarlett, and I very sheepishly had to confess that Scarlett sleeps through now where as her little one does anything but. Luckily she's open to any help/info she can get, and is just pleased to have someone she can talk to.

We survived 10 days camping in France. The weather was so fantastic I can't believe our luck. It didn't rain until we got within half an hour of Dunkirk on Mon afternoon. The kids were an absolute dream - we managed the whole trip there and back with no potty type accidents from Joshua & even with stops to feed Scarlett the trips were not too much of an epic. The fresh air and sunshine wore both of them out as they both slept like logs all week. I even managed to read two books!!!!!  Did a bit of cycling with kids in the trailer, a bit of running along the river we were camped besides, bit of local site-seeing and then the rest of the time was spent with the kids around/in the pools & sandpit area. Site is one we've stayed at before and it is spot on for families. I did have to resort to the washing machine once as Scarletts bibs are not the nicest to have hanging around at the moment with weaning and handwashing is only so good!  Weaning worked OK as I used the ellas kitchen sachets and she loved them.  All sorts of strange combos but no nappy problems!!!

Back to a house with no bathroom which is not ideal at all, but hubbie is supposed to be fitting it this weekend.... just in time for the rugby world cup!  If it's not in then there will be hell as I've been living with hardly any facilities since June...

Running-wise, going well, did 7 with the club last night, with a slower group than normal and felt very fit and strong. Got my duathalon next w/e which I am a bit apprehensive about as I can't say i've 'trained' for it as such, am doing it more as a group event for a bit of a laugh (lets see what I say afterwards!!).

Body-wise, with the exception of a slightly squishy tummy still I'm fortunate to be back where I was post-pregnancy with Scarlett.  If I pull in tummy (like Minks) then all looks good and can just about get away with crop tops provided shorts don't cut acoss middle of squidgy bit!  People don't believe I've got a 6-month-old and a three year old (until they look at the shadows under my eyes!!). I was amazed to be fitting back in clothes I wore last summer as I was skinnier then than before I got pregnant with Joshua, but I think it's the manic days of running around after two of them that have done it!

Anyway, must dash as Scarlett is winging and toddler needs to be hauled out of bed...