#17. The Abs Omnibus

Contemplating your navel, as they say, is self absorbed and boring.

Except if you are a new mother. The navel, postpartum, is almost an entirely new body part. It looks different, it might be bruised and its definitely reshaped.  As for the landscape that surrounds it, well, many adjectives come to mind but boring is not one of those words.

For the first three weeks after the baby was born I would look at my belly – when I could bear to look at it – in absolute horror. The strech marks glowing an angry purple or mauvey-pink, the skin, bunched up like a balloon that’s been blown up and deflated again and again. I can’t even think of those days. I mean, my mid-section is still a horror story, but the shock of it has faded.

So, this vacation omnibus features all the posts pointing to articles about the abdominal area.

You might feel that sit ups should be commenced as quickly as possible after birth. Due to what I call abdominal amnesia, the likelihood of you being able to do sit-ups safely is highly unlikely.  Instead, you have to start with some very gentle awakening exercises. Then, you can move onto some slightly less gentle postpartum pilates and finally, get back into a routine that includes some weight training.