Bringing That Pre-Baby Body Back: One Mama’s Account of How Restoring Mums Treatments Worked for Her

One of our contributors tried Restoring Mum’s specially designed slimum treatments. So what did she think? Read on!

After labouring for hours, your baby’s first cry is like music to your ears. The day has come, your little miracle has finally arrived! The first few days are overwhelming in every sense – but so full of adrenaline and joy you don’t remember how you ever lived your life before your babe. Then the euphoric blur finally dissipate and you settle into your new normal.

My new normal in the last few weeks had been heightened by the fact that this pregnancy was my second one, my parents had flown in to stay with us and I also opted to hire a confinement nanny. In addition to my hubby, toddler, new baby and helper, this added up to a LOT of extra bodies in the house! It was quite overwhelming! Not only was I trying to balance time between my toddler and my newborn, I was eager to shed the post pregnancy weight and feel more like myself. To be honest, what I needed most was a bit of time each day for myself to keep sane.

Enter, Restoring Mums – a wonderful service, like the name suggests, offers relaxing massages and traditional abdominal binding to help restore the mama back to full recovery and assist in getting the pre-baby body back all in the comfort of your own home. The founder, Karen Loke is a mama herself and through her own pregnancies and much research and training, she is brining her expertise in Malaysian Jamu massages and abdominal binding to us lucky mamas in Hong Kong.

I had the chance to try out two of their signature treatments: “slimum Tummy” and “slimum Body”. Prior to the treatments, Karen came to my home for a consultation that consisted of her checking my pregnancy history, skin type, overall health and examining my postpartum belly. It was also important for her to know what type of delivery I had because it would determine what treatment I received. This was a helpful assessment for her to take back to the massage therapist so that she could target certain areas more.

All I had to do before the massage sessions was prepare a few towels on my bed and ensure there was a plug outlet for the therapist. The therapist drew the blinds, laid the towels out and had a heated pad for my back. She turned on some lovely spa music and viola – it was as if I was taken away to my favourite spa on some resort but I was actually in the comfort of my own home. It would take literally minutes before I was in deep sleep from the sheer bliss of it all!

The slimum Tummy and Body treatment started with a fragrant tummy mask which was followed by a deep tissue massage accented with a lovely pure ginger oil that helped with releasing extra “air” (aka gas – and yes, real ladies toot!) and bloating in the tummy. She then began the massage around my tummy area, also focusing on my lower back and legs to help with water retention.

When the massage was complete, I felt like a million bucks. However, the next part of the treatment was the actual binding part which, in my opinion, made me feel like a less glamorous Victorian dame. I was woken from my blissful slumber and was asked to stand firmly. Here’s an insider tip ladies, hang onto something because when the binding begins it’s no joke!

The therapist began wrapping the cloth just under my chest and tightening as she pulled and wrapped all the way down to my behind. After that wrap was applied, a thick corset was applied on top and just like the aforementioned Victorian dame, I was laced in extremely tightly. As uncomfortable as it was at the beginning, there was something strangely therapeutic about it too. I was recommended to wear the wrap for at least for a minimum of 8 hours. Needless to say, I was waddling and hopping around like a mummy (pun intended!). The wrap made sitting and bending down a little uncomfortable but it was after all beneficial for the beginning process of slimming down again. In fact, the longer you wear the wrap, the better your results and that for me was motivation enough!

Every evening as I took off the wrap, I was shocked to see such a difference from what my tummy looked like before and after. Sure, a lot of had to do with gravity and the fact that I was bound for 8 hours, but after the 5 day sessions, there was a noticeable and permanent change. Not only did this help me feel more like myself, it was incredible motivation to get me back in shape which also did wonders for me emotionally too.
Disclaimer though, this treatment is not a quick fix to get your pre-baby figure, but a good stepping stone and first step to help you back on the right track. The main purposes are healing and restoration with the benefit of helping mamas get back to their original figures. I was so impressed with the results after a short week, I signed up for another week of “slimum Body” to keep the progress going.

I would definitely recommend this service if you’re a first time or fourth time mama. The whole process is relaxing both for the mind and body – something that is needed especially during the early days after birth.

For more information check out their website at:

www.restoringmums.com