Triplet Belly Update (Kathryn)

One of the most popular stories here at SOAM was Kathryn’s, in which she shared photos of her triplet belly at all stages. We have become friends on Facebook over the years and recently she posted this picture. With her permission I’m sharing it here along with some of the details she wrote about it. Love this, mama. Thank you for being a voice in our community. <3

Because I was laughing at my side abs, I thought I’d share. Most, if not all, of you have seen the last belly pic from 3 months after the babies. This is 8 1/2 years later! I’ll eventually get my muscles repaired and the extra skin taken off, but I’m pleased for now.

The diastasis did not fix itself, despite doing the proper exercises, the wraps, etc…, but it usually doesn’t cause me much pain. Just really makes me look a couple months pregnant and prevents me from doing things like planks or crunches (not that I would willingly anyway…) The excess skin also, obviously, did not shrink. That is more annoying, mainly because I can get it caught in a zipper if I’m not paying attention. It gets really itchy when I’m hot and I’ve gotten a minor yeast infection in that skin before, but it’s not as bad as some women’s and I don’t have reoccuring or chronic skin issues due to the excess. Getting it fixed is really purely a vanity thing for me. It won’t change my daily life if I never do. I just always wear long non-sheer tanks or shirts because I don’t like it to be seen.

When/if I ever get it repaired, I will likely do breast implants at the same time, again for vanity. I had really big boobs before my 5th and they’re really not big, at all, now. Totally normal, of course, and it won’t bother me if I never do it. But I figure if they’re going to be cutting, might as well, lol. Just because of the super high cost of a non-covered diastasis repair and tummy tuck (around $8000, last I checked), it will be a long time yet. Probably another 10 years or so.

Also, the muscle separation and excess skin have added several inches to my waistline. Not a big deal, of course, just goes along with it. I’m at my triplet pre-pregnancy weight, but wearing 2-4 sizes bigger only because of my waist.

Whenever people go “I can’t believe you ever carried triplets! You’re so tiny!”, I always want to lift up my shirt and show them my belly, lol