Postpartum Girdle // Bellefit review

So if you follow me on Instagram, you know I have been wearing the bellefit corset since giving birth to my son. Let me first start by saying that I was given this corset in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Now that being said- let me start by giving a little background...

I had my daughter in 2014 and I had used the belly bandit bamboo wrap to try to take a handle on my postpartum belly. I wore it day and night and still after 8 weeks, my belly looked like this.

8 weeks Postpartum with my daughter

During my pregnancy with Gavin, I knew I wanted something else to help with my postpartum belly. A girlfriend asked if I knew about Bellefit and I hadn't heard of them- so I started following them on Instagram. I was extremely interested in them since this girdle seemed more intense than the belly bandit. 

Initial thoughts: Upon my initial contact with the company- they have amazing customer service. I always love when a company has great customer service- it makes a huge difference to me. (shoutout to Myriam!) I was amazed with how fast my girdle came, and how well the product was made. I got the girdle when I was still pregnant, and I tried it on with my pregnant belly. I got the XL (according to my rep, this was the size girdle I needed. They have a size chart on their website  in case you don't know what size you need. 

Can you see it through your clothes: I tend to think I have a bigger rear end, so I could tell it was on thru my jeans and leggings because the corset was a little tight on my cheeks (if you will). I used the extender in my crotch area to try to fix this, and it seems like it did. This didn't really bother me too much since I tend to wear tunic tops and long sweaters. My girlfriends all said they couldn't see it, so there's that. 

Does it make you sweaty? Well, I had my son in September, and I live in california- so it's super hot. The corset is made of thick material, and I was sweaty, but I can't say that this was the corsets fault. My hormones are super out of whack so they could be to blame. I only wore the corset at night a few times.

How did it make you feel? I can honestly say that when I'm wearing my corset I feel incredibly supported. I remember with my daughter I had to have a pillow on my lap for when I coughed or laughed. When I am not wearing the corset, I feel a little tender, and like my incision area is really irritated. When I have my girdle on, I do not feel this way. I feel like my posture is better, and for lack of better words, like my stomach isn't going to fall out. 

When are you going to stop wearing it? I honestly don't know. I plan on wearing it until I can start working out and get cleared by my doctor. My doctor actually told me to keep wearing it after my initial check up. 

How does it fit? So I'm not sure if my story is typical, but I started out with an XL. I wore it for two days, and I was already on the tightest clasps after one day. I ordered a large, and I have been wearing it for almost 30 days. It was snug at first, but now I have been on the tightest clasp on my L for about 25 days. I actually just ordered a medium. I also used the extender pieces to help the corset fit more comfortably. 

Did it work? I can say without a doubt, This girdle has helped tremendously. I not only feel super confident, I feel like my recovery time has cut down so much. I am 5 weeks postpartum and I feel better than I did after 8 weeks with my daughter. I felt like previously I had to work out like crazy to get my stomach back to where it was pre-pregnancy, and with this girdle, I almost feel like my postpartum stomach looks better than my pre-pregnancy stomach looked! minus a few stretchmarks...

Plus, here's some benefits of a postpartum girdle:

Faster bounceback rate

Tummy support

Flattens your tummy & hips

Prevents enlargement of fat cells

Straightens your spine

Heals Diastasis Recti

Helps compress your uterus to not only return the uterus to its original size, but to help swelling go down and extra fluid come out.

Is it worth it? yes. 100% yes. The price of the bellefit is a little high, but if I had known how well it worked before I purchased, I definitely would have ordered without hesitation. Plus with the coupon codes they offer, it brings the price down to be comparable to other belly wraps.

if you are interested in the bellefit corset, click HERE you can use code WTG720 and get 20$ off your order!

here are my results..

 

39 weeks 5 days pregnant

2 days postpartum - in hospital

 Morning of my c-section and after wearing bellefit corset for 30 days.

Thanks for reading! 

xoxo

B

WEEK 3 // postpartum update // Mommy must haves

Sooo far so good! Gavin is fitting in just great with our little family. I'm pretty sure we're gonna keep him...

Current weight: not counting...I remember my highest weight at one of my last doctors appointments at 210. I did weigh myself recently and saw I was at 190... but that was last week sometime, so I guess to date, I'm down about 20lbs.

Diet and health:  I'm not really sticking to a diet since i'm stillllllll pumping (more on that later). I FEEL like Im mostly eating lactation cookies, oatmeal and drinking tea. I know I need to start drinking more water...

How I'm feeling: Physically- I feel great I really do feel like I'm ready to start walking, working out and getting back into my routine. RELAX. I'm not going to- I know I had major surgery and need to recover. I just FEEL good. I can honestly say that one of the main reasons why I feel so great is because of the bellefit girdle I've been wearing. I really do feel like it's cutting my recovery time in half. I'll be doing a 30 day review on this soon! (stay tuned). Emotionally- I feel fine- I dont think i'm getting any of the post baby blues. I definitely do not feel like my hormones are back to normal- I mean can we talk about the late night sweatsesh that happens?! (eww)

Breastfeeding/pumping update: After week two-I had all but given up. I was taking all the teas and all the cookies, and all the pills. Nothing seemed to help- just like my first pregnancy, so instead of trying to make my body produce more, I told myself to stop- my husband is super supportive, so he was also on board. After Gavin's appointment, his doctor (who i absolutely love) talked to me like one of my best girlfriends and simply said "just keep going- a little longer." So, here i am heading in to Gavins 4th week of life- still pumping, not getting much, but at least he's getting something.

How's Baby G:  He's one amazing little baby! last appointment he clocked the scales at 10 lbs 1 oz. Baby boys are much bigger eaters I hear, and this little man is seriously living up to it. I swear i feed him 4 oz, and then 20 minutes later, he'll want another 2 oz. I'm actually kind of thankful my nipples are being saved by my pump. He's starting to coo and smile, and focus on my face....I can see him changing already and my heart breaks a little.

How T's handling the new baby: Man! This little girl loves her baby brother. "Can I hold him?" " I wanna give him a kiss, an eskimo kiss and a hug." always in that order...kiss on the forehead, rubs her little nose back and forth on his head, then she lowers her head onto his belly ever so gently. I have caught her singing "you are my sunshine" to him, which makes me tear up...damn hormones.

Favorite postpartum items:  Okay, so some of these items are repeats of what I posted the first time around, but I've also added some new ones that I used during and after Gavin's birth.

I'm going to start with the ones I used during pregnancy. I was so afraid of getting more stretch marks. I only got a few with my daughter, and I was determined to reduce the new ones with my son. After reading a ton of reviews, I found Burt's Bees 100% Natural Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil. I used this after every shower, and sometimes just before bed if I hadn't showered in the evening. I also started taking Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides . I heard that collagen helps with skin elasticity, so i started to take it as a preventative measure to reduce the chance of stretch marks. I can honestly say my skin, hair and nails look great- and not to mention- I can happily say I did NOT get any new stretch marks! (i'm happy dancing).

Now- since I decided not to breastfeed, and exclusively pump, I want to recommend this pump. I got the Hygeia EnJoye Breast Pump from my insurance, and I love it. It can go cordless, which is great when you are trying to pump, tend to your toddler, and sooth your newborn. It seems like everything always hits the fan the second I turn on this thing! the other thing I love about it is you can adjust the speed and the strength of the suction, so when my nipples were super tender- this option was my favorite. start out sloooooooow, then build up once the pain went away. After pumping, I would use the bamboobies Washable Reusable Nursing Pads. I loved these at first, but then I started to loathe these because i felt like i was constantly washing them, but only because I had to drench my breasts in nipple cream. I have since then switched to Lansinoh Stay Dry Disposable Nursing Pads. 

For my C-section recovery- If you follow me on instagram, you know already that i'm in love with my Bellefit corset. I wear it almost daily, and I really do think it has cut my recovery time. I do not remember feeling this good, or having my postpartum belly go down this fast. I feel almost incomplete without it. I know it's helping because when I'm not wearing it, I do feel random pains that I don't feel when I do wear my corset. When I am not wearing the bellefit corset, I wear my Rosie Pope Women's Nursing Tummy Control Cami. This cami holds me in, not as tight as the corset, but it does help with support. I wear it when I'm sleeping mostly, and bonus- it's nursing friendly!

If you are interested in the corset and have questions- please feel free to email me! 

you can use code WTG720 and get 20$ off your order!

below are my results from the first two weeks of wearing it.

For Baby - I L.O.V.E. baby wearing- and if you can learn to use it- the Moby Wrap Baby Carrier  is my absolute favorite. I feel like he's secure, and both my kids loved being all snuggled so close to my chest.

At night and during naps I use the Fisher-Price Premium Auto Rock 'n Play Sleeper with Smart Connect and Hatch Baby Rest Night Light and Sound Machine. Both these items connect to your phone. I thought this was a little silly at first, but now I LOVE that I can turn on or off these items from bed, from the couch, from the kitchen. you could call it lazy- I call it genius.
The hatch is pretty amazing- it also can be used as an "okay to wake" for toddlers- I plan on getting one for T as well. It has different settings and noises. My favorite feature is a timer I can set. After feeding, I place Gavin in the rock and play, and then I set the light on the dimmest setting and the timer so he's not just staring into the dark while he tried to fall asleep. It also is dim enough to have on and not wake everyone up.

We also swaddle baby Gavin in the aden + anais Muslin Swaddle Plus blankets. I love these because they are light weight, and I also bundle them around him to feel like I have something substantial to grip on to. 

When Taylor was born I had a friend suggest Dr. browns bottles. I loved them at the time- but i think it was mostly because I didn't know any better. By the time Taylor was one, and almost done with bottles, I absolutely DESPISED Dr. browns bottles. so many pieces! We switched to the 

Comotomo Baby Bottle and I'll never look back. They are super easy to clean, and so far, are not causing any gassy side effects for our little guy!

Thanks for reading!!
xoxo
B

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The struggle is real // the quest for milk

ironic mugshot

8 AM - lactation tea, lactation plus pills, lactation cookie, oatmeal for breakfast

11 AM - More tea, another cookie, brewers yeast shake (barf)

1 PM - lunch, lactation plus pills, another tea, another cookie

4 PM - more tea

6 PM-dinner, lactation cookie, pineapple juice.

9 PM - Last tea, last set of lactation plus pills

3 AM - Lactation plus pills 

8 AM- REPEAT

I was looking back on blog posts that I had posted with my daughter recently, and noticed a trend. I have always wanted to breastfeed. I never had a birth plan, I never felt super strong about anything besides having healthy babies when it came to being pregnant or giving birth. The one thing I wanted was to breastfeed my kid for at least a year. 

My Daughter and I ran into issues with milk production the first week we brought her home. she was badly dehydrated and little to my knowledge, she was not getting much milk from me. I went to lactation consultants who all assured me that she was latching great, and I needed to supplement to make sure she was getting enough. Enter the nipple shield-syringe-tube trifecta. We fed like this for almost four and a half months. Four and a half months of hoping the suckling from my daughter thru all this artificial feeding would help my supply. Four and a half months of not being able to cuddle my baby after she fed because I had to pump whatever was left of my milk to fill the syringe for her next feeding. It was pure torture. Four months of torture- hoping that my supply would go up, to never get more than two ounces combined. When I decided to stop this madness, and give her only formula, I was content knowing I tried everything I could to give her what my body was meant to produce...but it just wasn't.

Present time, Three years later with the birth of Gavin, I told myself if I ran into the same issues, I would not do that again. My son was doing good in the hospital- eating like a champ. I was relieved that he was not losing weight like my daughter did, and I was hopeful my supply was up. In the hospital- I should mention, I was eating the cookies, drinking the tea, and drinking pineapple juice (apparently that helps too). Then my son started to get a little lazy, not latching right, causing me severe nipple pain, and just like his sister, he started to lose weight. The lactation consultant suggested again, the trifecta that I loathed so much. I instantly said no- I will bottle feed and exclusively pump and supplement his bottles with formula. This is when I noticed the same trend starting to repeat itself. I am not destined to pass the 2 oz mark. 

So with cracked nipples, and tears in my eyes- I continue to turn on my pump. As I pump, I contemplate how much longer I can do this for. Do I continue to stay hopeful that I will finally get past the 2oz mark? Or do I stop. I curl my feet in pain and think about ways to destroy my pump. There is a piece of me that keeps saying keep going and another piece (a very large piece...like a piece with knowledge of what four and half months of trying feels like) that tells me it's not going to get better and I'm doing all of this for the same result....less than 2 oz. 

So for now...I'm conflicted. I'll continue to loathe my pump, and continue to feel my heart break a little as we keep getting less than 2 oz.