Diastasis Recti: Tupler Technique

So, it was a big bummer that Baby G split my transverse muscle.  After my first son was born, I was back in a bikini in six weeks, which I was pretty sure was because I was awesome.   After my second son was born, six weeks after the birth I was routinely being asked if I was pregnant.  Three months after the fact, I was routinely asked if I was pregnant.  It was beyond what I could handle.  Now, I realize that this is a first world problem.  I have two healthy children, and we are all safe and sound and well fed and I am obsessing about washboard abs and the perfect belly button.  My vanity is not lost on me.

Anyway, I spent the first few months after my pregnancy, just cranking my abs with post partum workouts.  I ordered a Tracy Anderson workout, which I did without fail every night to no avail.  In fact, I sort of thought my stomach looked worse.  So, I consulted a trainer who told me that all the pilates and ab work I had done post partum had totally made the situation worse.  She was right and it was a big bummer.  Why doesn't anyone tell you about diastasis recti immediately after giving birth.  Why does western medicine encourage us down these disterous roads?  Once diagnosed, I got sort of obsessed and began hours of research on diastasis recti.
I had a four finger (at least) seperation initially.  You check yourself by laying on your back, bending your knees with feet on the floor, and lifting your head and shoulders off the floor.  Then you see how many fingers you can get in between the gap right above your belly button.

SO, when you have abdominal wall separation, as in a diastasis recti, crunches and such wrench the separation further apart, allowing your organs and such to move through the gap and increase the chances of the 16 year old lifeguard at the pool asking you if you are pregnant.  Womp Womp.

The trainer at the YMCA taught me a good bit about it, but I obsessed over it and ended up enrolling in Julie Tupler's online course, wearing a splint, reading a textbook and watching videos.  There is a very good chance that I am going to go to New York later in the year and take her seminar personally.

The key to closing your diastasis recti is doing transverse pulses, some 500 or 1000 a day.  This is when you hold your belly button all the way in and pulse in and out while pulling your ribs together.  It takes about two minutes per set of 100.  It isn't that bad, you can do it in the car while you are driving.  You also try to wear a splint for at least 18 weeks.  I saw a dramatic difference in three weeks and even more in 6 weeks.

Now, however, I seem to have plateaued.  My stomach is flat, but my belly button is funny.  This is why I need to talk to Julie Tupler at Maternal Fitness.  She is the guru, and I want her opinion about my belly button.