Smoosh It, Baby

I've been following Brooke Burke on Twitter. I remember her from "Wild On" on E! more than from "Dancing with the Stars." I've always liked her because, duh, she has dark hair and brown eyes and she's pretty and famous. One day we can talk about all the dark haired, dark eyed, pretty, famous women around and I bet I will know every one you can think of because as I was growing up there were so few of them, I kept track. But as I flip my dark hair and blink my dark eyes, I digress.

Burke is now CEO of a site geared toward mothers called ModernMom. There are recipes, articles and other mommy-centered ephemera, but it is also home to Burke's blog and links in to her product site. On it, she sells a Tauts Belly Wrap.

(Stay with me)

It's basically a compression garment worn around the waist to help the stomach and uterine muscles contract. I would have pooh-poohed the idea entirely (and did so when it was first recommended to me), but after some consideration...I reconsidered.

After the birth of my first daughter, Emma, I went to a mom and baby exercise class sponsored by a hospital in my neighborhood. In addition to helping us perform exercises with our infants in tow, the physical therapist who taught it also checked us every week to see if the muscles in our stomachs had fused back together. Certain breathing techniques and exercises were directed at fusing these stomach muscles, but sometimes they don't grow back together, causing "diastasis recti." In my case, the physical therapist suggested I get a support band to wear for a couple of weeks to coax the muscles back together.

I resisted. I mean, if I hadn't gone to the class, how would I even know I had this "recti" thing, anyway? I was sure there were women all over the world with their rectis diastasis-ing and weren't worse off for it at all. I asked a few of my girlfriends about it - they hadn't heard of it, either. But after a couple more weeks I couldn't bear to hear her ask me about it anymore and I broke down to buy the $25 band. At the end of the class my muscles had come together somewhat, but not entirely, and I figured that since I'd always been active before my daughter (jazz, ballet, ballroom dancing; recreational sports, yoga) , I would continue to be, allowing my body to grow stronger and I'd never have to worry about my stomach muscles. Although I continued to be physically active, my core was never as strong as it had been and my endurance wasn't as consistent. I didn't worry about it much until baby #2.

My body bounced back much quicker with my second daughter, Phoebe. I was chasing after a seven-year-old, moving back into our home from a sabbatical year in another state and nurturing this new little being. My husband started a new job while I adjusted to being an at-home mom. The transitions were difficult physically and emotionally for everyone in my family, so that probably allowed me less time to reflect on my own health. As we evened out, I went back to yoga and running, but I admit that I did from time to time, check to see if my stomach muscles fused back together.

As of today, 22 months after giving birth, they have not fused. I decided to give the compression wrap another try. I couldn't bring myself to buy the Taut wrap Burke is selling, but I did get something similar to the one I wore previously. Burke suggests that Tauts be worn for 40 days and 40 nights, claiming she's done this as well. A tough task, but by the looks of her body, I'd believe any regimen she's following.

Today is my first day with the compression band. Other than some itching, it's been pretty comfortable. I have no idea if my band is as "taut" as the Taut, or will even yield results. But I'm hoping to restore some core strength and maybe lose an inch or two while I'm at it. I'll keep you posted about my progress, for better or worse.