Belly support wraps for use in post pregnancy and post birth are becoming more popular (and we mean the supportive recovery wraps NOT the so called “weight loss” body wraps that claim you lose fat and we do not believe in).
So at Lose Baby Weight, we thought we would ask owner of Vespa & The Ladybird (Kim Vespa) – who make and sell belly wraps for some information on them – and she kindly wrote this piece for us which I hope the mums on the Lose Baby Weight plans find informative and useful
Belly Wraps Post Pregnancy – by Kim Vespa
“I wore my belly wrap after the birth of my first son, I wore it religiously, conducting a little experiment of my own, because initially I was a bit dubious… “How can a wearing piece of material actually have any benefits!!”, I thought to myself. But a strange and miraculous thing happen… while using my wrap my tummy started to shrink – A LOT!! I had put on around 23kgs during my pregnancy.
And considering I was only 60 odd kgs to begin with, this was a lot of weight. It was a long hot summer during my pregnancy and I slowly day by day just got bigger and bigger and bigger. My husband and I attended a very close friends wedding the week before I was due and looking at the reaction from people and at the photos that were taken, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I did in fact resemble Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In those last days of my pregnancy (I ended up being induced 11 days after my due date – yes sisters, at 42 weeks, three days shy of the Black Saturday fires!!) I remember walking past the mirror in our house and catching my reflection in the glass of a shop front as I walked and waiting for this baby of mine to arrive and would think “Who is this person looking back at me, she is NOTHING of who I remember myself to be!!” YIKES, I was starting to get a little conscious, how was I going to shift this weight?
So with my Belly Wrap packed in my hospital bag amongst all the other gorgeous new things that you spoil yourself with when going into hospital, I took it out day 1 post delivery and put it on…. I looked at my hubby and said “I’m going to give this a shot!”.
Loads of friends and family came to visit our new adoringly gorgeous full haired baby boy in the hospital and at home in the following days and weeks, and I started to hear the same recurring comment, “OMG, look at you, look how much weight you have lost – and LOOK HOW FLAT YOUR TUMMY IS!!!”. I would smile and say thank you, secretly knowing that I had a little helping hand.
Wearing my belly wrap made me feel taut (because anyone who has had a baby will know how their belly feels in the following weeks afterbirth – think the VERY opposite of taut!). It also made me feel snug, it gave me a great posture and it gave my confidence to get up and about and take my baby for walks or to do housework around the house without the feeling of my bits jiggling everywhere. It also vastly improved the 3 finger wide abdominal separation that I now had. And on top of all of that, within a few weeks, my tummy looked COMPLETELT FLAT! Quite frankly, I was sold!!!
Now I do my very best to spread the word of the gospel… the miracle that is Belly Binding. And my audience is everywhere – I am a thirty-something woman living the suburban dream with girlfriends, colleagues, play groups, little league, childcare and parks full of women who are reproducing en mass and who love being educated. Because let’s face it, after your baby comes, everything is about them (bless their little cotton socks…) or about all those things that women love to talk about… are you breastfeeding, or not?; are you following a routine, or not?; is your baby sleeping through the night yet?; blah blah blah…. But who is asking you about YOU? How are your “bits”?; have you managed to find time in the day to shower?; how are you feeling about your body right now?; is your lower back very sore? (by the way, a lavender wheat bag really does the trick with that!).
So for all of you out there who aren’t too sure, let’s actually address what a Belly Wrap does shall we?
In the first six weeks following the birth of a baby, whether the birth is natural or by caesarean, a woman’s body goes through a significant recovery and healing process. A Belly Wrap is a garment that you wear directly on your body; low down around your pelvic midriff area and ideally you would start wearing your wrap as soon as your baby is born (day 1/day 2 post birth) and ideally wear it all the time (only taking it off to shower or to sleep).
A Belly Wrap effectively helps shrink and reposition your uterus after birth, as well as to reduce any bloating in your abdominal area caused by water retention. Belly Wraps are also used to provide additional support to your abdominal area (especially after a Caesarean) and core muscles to help improve posture and reduce strain in your lower back and to help heal any abdominal muscle separation. From a pure atheistic point of view, a Belly Wrap will give you an instant flat silhouette which is always a bonus too – no inappropriate comments like “when is your baby due??”.
The concept makes sense and the philosophy is simple… think about multiple pregnancies over multiple years, your body knows what to do and it does its best – but so many women are left well after their children rearing years have long gone with a front “pouch” that no amount of exercise or weight loss can ever shift, so using a belly wrap is an aid to help your body get back to how it was before and perhaps ever better!
So borrowing the words from good ol’ Molly Meldrum “do yourself a favour” and buy this one essential item for yourself – you will thank yourself in the years to come – I PROMISE!!
If you want to find out more about Post Pregnancy Recovery Belly Wraps – then visit: www.vespaandtheladybird.com.au, I love belly wraps so much that I now run a company that makes them!
And don’t forget to check out the Lose Baby Weight current promotions and discounts page to see what specials we have on this week on our Healthy Mummy product range
