Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to trial the Belly Bandit. Having used the Belly Bandit Upsie Belly during my recent pregnancy, I was already familiar with Belly Bandit’s range of products.

Over the past 19months I have given birth to two beautiful children. My body had not fully “bounced back” or completely recovered by the time I became pregnant with my second child. Over my second pregnancy I gained more weight, had a significant DRAM, and again suffered from sciatica and pelvic instability. My once flat stomach and toned body morphed into a “mum-bod” complete with ‘mummy tummy’ and stretch marks.

The Belly Bandit claims to be able to help accelerate healing, minimise stretchmarks, give support whilst breastfeeding, and to make you look slimmer instantly.

With a busy schedule, a young toddler to look after as well as a newborn, and a household to run, this was exactly what I was looking for in a postpartum belly band.

belly bandit

First Looks

The first thing that I noticed about the Belly Bandit was how soft the band felt. It is made of viscose from bamboo which is a highly breathable and soft material. The Belly Bandit is a single piece of elasticated material that is fastened by a large velcro tab at either end. There are no seams or joins in the material, so when wearing under loose clothing the band is barely noticable.

I chose the black coloured Belly Bandit so that it could be worn under my darker coloured Autumn and Winter clothes descretely.

Comfort

When I first wore the Belly Bandit, it wasn’t very comfortable. I felt like I wasn’t able to bend over or move very easily. After a while, the Belly Bandit creased along the back, and across the sides of the band. This moulded and contoured the flat/rectangular shape to better fit my body. It became significantly more comfortable, to the point where after a while I would even forget I was wearing it!

The Belly Bandit helped me to maintain good posture both whilst sitting and standing. This was especially beneficial for me, because as a breastfeeding mum I do a lot of sitting down to feed. My improved posture and minimal slouching helped to prevent neck and back aches.

The support that the Belly Bandit provided to my back, stomach, torso, and hips also meant that I was able to continue to lift my toddler, bend down, reach up, and complete my usual day to day jobs with minimal discomfort and pain. The extra support protected my core from further damage, and helped with beginning to close my DRAM.

Ease of Use

Initially it was a little difficult getting the hang of putting the band on. Lining the velcro up and getting the two sides to come together evenly without using a mirror was something that took a bit of practice to get used to.

One of my favourite things about the Belly Bandit is that after I put it on in the morning, I did not need to adjust the band or take it off again until the end of the day.

Fit

I am 158cm tall so I am shorter than the average woman. As a result I found that the Belly Bandit came up a little too high on my torso when wearing as directed. It took a bit of playing around for me to learn whereabouts on my body it was the most comfortable for me to wear the Belly Bandit. I found that pulling the Belly Bandit on tight and closing at the top first, then partway undoing the lower portion before refastening the band allowed me to customise the compression to give me the best fit.

As my stomach shrank, I was able to tighten the band up accordingly and not lose the supportive feeling that the Belly Bandit gave me.

Recommendation

The more that I wore the Belly Bandit, the easier it was to put on, the better it felt to wear, and the easier it was to move around in.

I found the Belly Bandit descrete enough to wear under loose clothing, and the viscose bamboo material to be soft, and breathable.

I like the support and comfort that the Belly Bandit provided to my body. I will continue to wear the Belly Bandit until my DRAM heals and I no longer feel that I need the additional support.

I would highly recommend the Belly Bandit to other women to wear postpartum as I have seen and felt positive physical changes to my body after wearing the Belly Bandit.

 

 

Watch the video to find out more