Tummy Tuck to Repair Diastasis Recti

I’ve thought long and hard about how I wanted to broach the subject of getting a mommy makeover and nothing has come up as golden. I don’t know if there is a perfect way to announce it and not worry about what people will think, but I am just going to bite the bullet. On Tuesday I go in for a Mommy Makeover with Dr. Wayne Yamahata. My primary reason for such an elaborate surgery is to get a tummy tuck to repair Diastasis Recti. Allow me to explain…

My birth numbers and pregnancy count is a little confusing and it’s funny to explain to new doctors because they don’t add up. I’ve been pregnant 4 times. I’ve had three c-sections and one vaginal birth. I have 4 living children. However, I also have twins so how does that make sense? Many of you may not know that I also had an emergency c-section at 30 weeks pregnant, to my 3 child and first daughter, Gianna. She only lived a few days, but she is and forever will be mine. You can read all about my infant loss story if you’d like. For now, I’m going to talk about my body and what these pregnancies did to it.

Aside from carrying five babies, I also had nearly 14 lbs of babies at one time. If you’re not a mom of multiples it might be difficult to understand but not only did my stomach get quite large, the skin felt very stretched. My skin would hurt! After I gave birth to my baby boys, I worked hard and lost the weight, but that excess skin never went away. I call my mom pooch “twin skin” because it’s more than just a mom pooch.

Years later I realized carrying my twins didn’t just leave me with extra skin – it damaged my abdominal muscles. I’d wondered why my stomach seemed mishapen and protruded years after giving birth. Sure my weight has fluctuated over the years, but with as thin as I am now, the bulge is still there – above and below my belly button. I truly don’t like what I see when I look down. Last year I learned it’s not just fat or excess skin, but something called diastasis recti. Many women experience diastasis recti from their pregnancies, but those abdominal muscles frequently go back together in the months following their delivery. For moms of large babies or multiples, this doesn’t always happen. The pressure and damage done from carrying 14 lbs of baby was just too great.

To further explain, diastasis recti happens when the rectus abdominis muscles in your abdomen separate during pregnancy, leaving a gap that allows your belly to pooch out. This gap can get quite large and can happen vertically as well as horizontally. Some may think one needs to do a lot of abdominal workouts to fix the problem, but that can only cause more damage. For me, repair is the only way to fix this separation. Diastasis recti isn’t just an appearance thing either, as it can cause a lot of low back pain, which explains a lot! I’ve always had more unexplained low back pain than made sense.

After much research, I decided to go in for a consultation with Dr. Yamahata. I know people who have used him for their Mommy Makeover, and he has outstanding reviews. After meeting with him I knew I was in excellent hands. He has such a calming and confident demeanor. Dr. Yamahata confirmed what I already knew, that I do in fact have diastasis recti as well as excess skin from all the baby weight and weight loss I’ve experienced over the years. He assured me he could repair the diastasis recti through a tummy tuck.

In addition to removing excess fat and skin that my body is still holding onto, Dr. Yamahata will be able to stitch my abdominal muscles back together. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sound painful, but after the recovery I’m confident it will be worth it. He’ll then pull the skin nice and tight and stitch me back together. 

After meeting with Dr. Yamahata and feeling so good about my visit with him, I decided I’d go ahead and go for the whole mommy makeover. Sure I have plenty of flaws and things I don’t love about my body, but I am going to just fix what got worn or damaged from having all my babies, whom I love and adore. While he’s working on me, Dr. Yamahata will also lift my breasts back to their glory days, and even them out (dream come true). I’ve always had one side that was almost a full cup size different than the other and bra shopping has always been such a pain. I breastfed all my babies and it’s left my boobs saggy and lacking fullness. I also don’t have much feeling left in them so I’m excited to see what can be restored. 

I’m nervous, but excited for what’s to come and hope I can get support from all of you. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. One thing I can say for sure – I’m doing all of this for me! I’m not getting rid of my mom pooch or changing my boobs for anyone else. Follow me on Instagram if you want more updates as I go throughout this process!