Erin, the mom.

My Story...So far

I am here, I am a mom. I am a lot of other things, the list is long, but for now, let's call me Erin, the mom. My life changed on October 20th, 2008. I became a mom. My birth was LONG...30 or more hours, but who's counting. The first birth is so confusing, you do all the reading, everyone tells you to have a plan, but be sure not to have expectations, and have a plan B. Well, what the...? I'm not a planner, I work well under pressure. But, like any new mother, I had expectations. I didn't want drugs, I wanted to be in the tub, I wanted it quiet, and on and on. LONG story short, 24 hours in and baby wasn't dropping into my "well toned" pelvic floor, so I wasn't dilating. My husband was taken into the hallway by my midwife and warned a C section might happen. Next, a very reluctant, tired, pissed mom gets the epidural. My pelvic floor relaxed and my water broke. But the baby still sat high and I was paralyzed so I couldn't "walk him down". So, I pushed, and pushed, and pushed for two hours. Baby came out, life forever changed, voila!

I will never forget my midwife saying..."well it looks like you have two giant man balls down here, you're really swollen" So my story is that all of my dancing and training, and my body type (I tend to build muscle like the hulk) made for a very tight pelvic floor. Cool, that's what you want right? Well, maybe that sounds good to your husband? But you have to be able to release a giant baby through that super tight area, so being released as well as toned is pretty important. Fast forward again, second pregnancy in 2011. I was a maniac, I was dancing a lot, I had a nearly 3 year old maniac child along side, I was running a business. The second labor was more of what I wanted the first time, aside from it not being quiet because I was screaming and swearing the entire time, and I'm not joking. If there were any expectant parents touring the hospital that day, I am SO SORRY. Baby was posterior this time, so she blew out my butt, yeah that's right, my ass hole took a beating. This labor was shorter, my pelvic floor was more relaxed, this time my midwife just kept saying, "you have plenty of room" . But my ass!! It felt like she came out of my butt ladies, and yes your butt is a huge part of your pelvic floor. Now, the recovery for this one was different. My son was home with me, he wanted to go to the park, I had absolutely no "me" time and definitely no down time. I had to get back to work, I had a business to run. So... I shipped him off to school, and I packed her up and off we went. Fast forward one more time! Baby in the carrier, stroller up the subway steps, mom is not doing any workouts at all! BOOM! My back blew out, I was trapped in a NYC subway station unable to walk due to a severe back spasm with a 2 month old baby in the stroller. I had people offering me help, including someone handing me sort of prescription drugs! My brother rescued me. My middle felt missing, except that it also felt really uncomfortable. I had a Diastasis Recti and my lack of self care made it worse. All of the forward pressure from baby in the front carrier, and pulling a heavy stroller up and down steps every day added to the load on my pelvic floor. I avoided exercise for years...that's right mamas, I was a COMPLETE FRAUD! I was the pilates instructor that NEVER worked out. I was afraid to do anything. And I was SO uncomfortable in my midsection. It's hard to explain, it's not exactly pain, it's just this overwhelming feeling of discomfort. And I just couldn't connect, I couldn't engage the way I used to and it was such a defeating feeling. After some research I learned about diastasis and things to do and not do, and out of fear, exhaustion, discomfort, frustration, and maybe a bit of self loathing I DID NOTHING. And then I tried the binding, and it felt comforting at first, and then it felt really uncomfortable and painful. But I was told it was the only way I would heal. So I kept wearing that damn splint, and I squeezed my middle with it, and I'm pretty sure I made some other pelvic floor issues (this is back to my ass ladies) a bit worse! AND THEN...."sounds of angels singing" ... I found MuTu System® Now, let me be real, I was still tired, I was still busy, I still had two crazy kids, and I was stressed, so I was not a perfect MuTu mama student from the get go. I started and I stopped and I started again. When I finally got to a place where I could see it through, I came out on the other side, and let me tell you... IT IS AMAZING over here! (disclaimer, I'm still not perfect, and I'm pretty happy with that) MuTu rocked my world, helped me understand my pelvic floor in a way that I did not understand before. I was connected like never before, dare I say, even better than before babies. It allowed me to be me, it allowed me to not feel that complete discomfort in my middle that plagued me for three or more years! I was saved. Yes that's right, MuTu saved me. Maybe that sounds silly, but listen, I use my body in a very demanding way every day, and I needed it to function again, and MuTu got me here! The thing that I think about most now is that what if I never found it, and that there are women, A LOT of women out there, walking around feeling like I felt, or worse, for years and years. And we all just deal. We all just go on. We all just run the damn ship. Well ladies, NO LONGER! I am here, MuTu is here. And I am now a certified MuTu Pro, trained to help you restore your function. I trained with Wendy Powell herself and I can now help spread her amazing work and empower other women and spread her message of positivity. And ladies, I want to help. I want to be there. I want YOU to get to the other side of whatever pelvic floor obstacle you are facing. MuTu is an amazing community of women, and we are all here to empower and help you! This is a bit of my story, maybe a long story that's really even longer, but I hope it helps you. I hope you know I am here and I will do whatever I can to get you to the other side. Peace and love and a happy pelvic floor to all of you! xo Erin