Helping is Healing

I had to take Chase to get his 4 year old shots yesterday. Oye. I am now convinced it is harder to take a 4 year old because they can say things to break your heart. Plus, I can’t stick a boob in his face and make it all better anymore.  I told Chase that he was a brave boy while he was crying but he disagreed and said, "no, I am not a brave boy."  So, after going through a few breathing exercises so he could actually talk, I made him say out loud that he, in fact, WAS a brave boy. When we were walking out I told him that when I was pregnant with both him and his brother I cried because I was so scared to have surgery.  Chase replied with a surprised, “you did?!”  I said, “yes, I did.”  I told him that I was still brave even though I cried. And I was so happy I got the surgery because now I have you and De an. Being brave means doing something you might be scared to do, so crying is sometimes part of the process.  Then I got to thinking….....

I decided to write this blog for my own sanity! Every day I end up ignoring my kids to write long post to a stranger on either the Diastasis Recti support group, CrossFit mom group, or Mom2Mom group. I just want to be the person that I needed years ago so badly, so please help me share my message! Here is my stomach. Severe Diastasis Recti. It looked similar to this after my first pregnancy, but it definitely protrudes much more after my second. The creation of my stomach in its current state is multi-faceted. Small torso, big baby (both boys almost 9 pounds) Genetic factors: I got the short end of the stick how my fascia responded to these stressors. Making my already bad situation worse during my first “fit pregnancy” by doing exercises to increase intraabdominal pressure Returning to CrossFit and the physical demands of motherhood with no guidance Thinking I was healed more than I actually was after my first round of ...

Plastic surgery, take 2! I was way more calm than the first time around but still totally nervous.  After getting checked in and chatting with the receptionist about the terrible potholes, the first person I saw (after the nurse) was a medical student since the University of Michigan is a teaching hospital. Side note: my mom, husband, cousins, and I all graduated from UM. Go Blue!  Anyway, I could tell he was nervous and I was thinking to myself...oh MAN…..he got stuck with MY stomach. For the life of him he couldn’t find my rectus muscles. He tried really hard, poor guy. In any case, I hope he learned a lot from my situation. After waiting a long time in a really cold room, the med student came back in with the doctor.  The doctor starts off the same way as the first one did...sooo we want to get this stomach looking better? However, this time when I explained to him about my athletic goals and CrossFit, his eyes lit up. He definitely knew ...

Normally on Tuesdays I go to my parents. I drop off Dean, take Chase to swim, come back to their house, and then go to CrossFit. My dad had a little tummy bug so we didn’t go over there today, which meant I brought Dean with me to swim class. I figured it would be good because starting next week, he is going to be taking class with me while Chase takes his class. I was bummed I couldn’t workout today but other than that it was a normal day. Every single day I repeat my gratitudes to myself that I have a supportive husband and a healthy family, even when I am the moodiest and crabbiest I can be. “Health is Wealth” - The Sisu Way - and that phrase is so dang true. However, this does not mean the overwhelming feeling we get as moms is something we should not acknowledge, discuss, or put out there on social media. We can keep it in perspective, of course, but we still need to talk about it. I think this is a big reason why women hide and feel ashamed of Postpartum Depression...