Bind up that belly!

I had no idea what post-partum belly binding was until a friend told me about it. I went online and did lots of research and found that many cultures have been doing this for centuries. I was in my last month of pregnancy and thought, why not try it? I bought the Belly Bandit. Now, I must admit I am a sucker for cute advertising. You make anything pink and I will buy it. (I am currently working on this compulsion) My dad use to say "Paint a rock pink and she'll buy it" He's right, unfortunately!  So I fell for the all the cuteness promises of the belly bandit. I brought it with me to the hospital and two days after giving birth, I tried it on. Initially, it wouldn't fit! I had also brought my belly support that I had bought at motherhood maternity. It wasn't intended for the use of belly binding but I was able to do so. I just wrapped around really tight around my stomach. I wore it 24/7 for 5 weeks. At 7 weeks post-partum I was down to pre-pregnancy weight. I switched out with the belly bandit ever so often. But because I am so short the belly bandit didn't quite fit me right. Two weeks after binding, my stomach looked great!! Almost back to "normal".

You could really use any type of material. It just needs to be really tight and worn all the time, except while showering. I later found out that motherhood maternity sells something for belly binding. It's about $25. That's almost $25 less than the Belly Bandit.

So, moral of the story... grab a t-shirt, grab a blanket, use a sling.... use whatever you have and bind up that belly!!