Helping is Healing

Whether you are navigating pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, hernia repair, or abdominoplasty finding the right providers in the medical system can be very overwhelming. Meeting with a doctor, physical therapist, specialist, or surgeon can feel intimidating. It is my hope that these tips help you prepare for your appointment so you can advocate for yourself and leave feeling empowered rather than blindsided or hopeless. 1) Find clarity before going in for a consultation/interview/appointment. What is your main concern/reason for seeking care? What are your goals? Write them down before you go! 2) Research what questions to ask and the details of the procedure before the appointment. There are many online professionals that provide enough free content to help you start your list. Take the time to do some digging around! 3) Bring the list of questions with you along with a pen or smartphone to take notes. YOU are interviewing THEM to see if it's a right fit, so ask them to cla

These are pictures of MY belly! 1) You might not be flat. This is the biggest surprise for many women, and there is a lot of confusion over if a repair has failed. While repairs can certainly fail, this concern can occur because of unrealistic expectations.  Here is what you can expect: Swelling can last over a year. Bloating will occur since you are a human that eats and drinks. We often forget that this happened before we had kids, and you can expect it to happen after surgery, too! It is also important to note that the area where you bloat the most may move to a different spot after surgery, often higher up on the belly. Our changing hormones, as we hit late 30s and beyond, can also impact how our bellies look in a number of ways. 2) You will not look “perfect.” Depending on how your surgery was done, you’ll probably have some stretch marks left; but they might be in a different spot. Your belly button will be drastically changed. Maybe the doctor had to make you a new one, alter

Pre - Tummy Tuck Tummy Tuck/Abdominoplasty is quite common. However, many women are either ashamed of this surgery or simply don’t talk about it. Additionally, it is rare for women to get physical therapy or individualized help pre or post surgery. All of these things contribute to the confusion surrounding this procedure, and I am on a mission to change that! 1) Work with a physical therapist that plans to progressively load your core. Over the years, new research, critical thinking, and open minds have led to many changes surrounding how to treat Diastasis Recti .  If you are considering an abdominoplasty/tummy tuck, first try an individualized rehab plan where you work on connecting back to core, managing pain, learning pressure management techniques, and gaining core strength. No matter what fitness level you are, what your goals are, or what body composition you have; you will benefit from this.  BONUS:  Many of these strategies may also help you recover from su

5 things that will ACTUALLY happen when doing a Diastasis Recti program.   We see Diastasis programs everywhere! 4, 6, or 12 weeks promises to “heal” your postpartum core can be found anywhere you look. However, if a program promises a flat stomach and/or uses safe/unsafe language surrounding core exercises, then it might be time to look into other options.  Given that you’ve found a quality program, here is what you can REALLY expect in 4 -12 weeks.  Your belly might not look much different.  The way your belly looks after having a baby is multi-faceted. How long postpartum, the way your diastasis presents, the amount of skin & fat, and many other factors contribute to this. It is impossible for any program, especially one that is not individualized to your specific needs, to “fix” all of these things. Do not buy any program with the hopes of changing the way you look. Buy a program to begin the journey of feeling stronger and more connected to your body postpartum. You might exp

Me looking back wondering where the hell I went.... Who am I?! A high school English teacher CrossFit athlete CrossFit coach P&PA coach Tutor Business owner SAHM Mother Wife Daughter Friend And I want to do all those things at 110%. Yeah, nope.  I feel like I don’t have a right to complain. I GET to have a part-time business & I GET to see my kids a lot. Not everyone has that choice.  Trust me when I say I am grateful: our health, my workouts, & my business. I realize every day how very, very lucky we are in this life. But I would be lying if I said it was easy all the time. I get jealous that my husband works so much. He loves working & I’m glad he is happy with where he is at and where he is going. But I am the one that needs to order school photos, pack lunches, take them to all of their activities, & get them ready for bed, manage school projects, and manage the mental load of much more. At this stage of my life, my

Last week my client was telling me the story of her back pain. The first doctor scared the shit out of her. After that, she told me about how she had to push hard to find a team of professionals to help her. She got rid of her pain and found out there was no reason to be scared and it was not as serious as she was first told.  (Also, if anyone is struggling with chronic pain you need to check out Amy Eicher )  The problem is many people get caught in this first step because they are experiencing pain and/or panic, which doesn’t make advocating easy.   So, I want to provide some insight that I hope can help.  The medical world is segmented. It is rare for medical professionals in different specialties to work together as a team. This doesn’t mean they aren’t good professionals; it is just a disjointed system. So, this means that YOU need to be the dot connector and advocate for yourself.  YOU have to create your team because no one else will.  Start by asking y