I was watching this show the other day on TLC - I can’t even remember what it’s called now, but it’s about a couple who had a set of twins, followed by a set of sextuplets. As hard as things can be in the Casa de Chaos with our two sets of twins, I still can’t even IMAGINE having six little ones to feed/diaper/love on all at one time. It’s hard to even wrap my mind around! I loved watching it, though, because the mom was sort of a drill sergeant and I loved seeing the strict routines she had in place for the kids. I especially loved her commitment to having them eat healthy meals, too. She was saying at one point, when the little ones were all toddlers, that the younger kids had never had any sort of fast food! I certainly can’t say that. And, actually, I’m not a bit concerned about the amount of fast food my kids eat, because it sure isn’t much! We had cheeseburger Happy Meals from Mickey D’s yesterday after the zoo, and they were way more interested in the Capri Suns and the Shrek toys than anything else. I would like for ALL of us to eat healthier, on a regular basis, though.
One of the things about the show that I was grossly fascinated by - and could completely relate to - was the mom’s jiggly, crazy stomach. She was thin, like a size 8 maybe, but her stomach was SO stretched out by carrying a veritable litter of children, she and her husband were laughing about her having “a butt in the front” - and that’s precisely what it looked like! There was so much sag, it looked like a pair of butt cheeks. And I can relate! Although my stomach isn’t quite that bad, it’s definitely not an area I appreciate at all. I’ve always been heavy, but very hourglass shaped, and before I had kids, I could wear a bikini top and jean shorts still, because I carried all my weight in my butt and legs, not my middle. Not so much now!!
On a followup show about this family, the mom got a tummy tuck, courtesy of a generous and kind plastic surgeon, whose wife had seen the program and wanted to give this mom back a piece of her former life - namely, her flat little tummy! Her recovery looked long and painful, but the results were just phenomenal. I always think this is something only the rich and famous do - it never seems to be marketed toward middle class mommies anywhere! I guess that’s because the procedure is costly and usually not covered by insurance. Still, I hear more and more about it. I read a little blurb in Parents awhile back too, about a mother of twins who had it done. Her before and after pictures, too, were just amazing. Maybe in a few years it’ll be like getting a pedicure inside of a Wal-Mart - quick and easy and cheap. Ha! Probably not.
Laura, also known as LaLaGirl, is the mother of a teenager and two young sets of twins. She's happily married to an enginerd named Paul, loves living in Colorado, and writes almost daily about married life, raising multiples, and parenting a child with autism. In addition to playing Barbies and pretending to eat plastic food all day, Laura spends most of her time folding clean laundry, obsessing about the amount of sugar her kids eat, and vacuuming up Polly Pocket accessories. She's obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba, red wine, and Family Guy. She also regularly contributes to How Do You Do It? and authors the following blogs:


Pam
June 5th, 2007 at 8:25 am
I love that show too. I can’t remember what it’s called - Something + 8. I dream of a tummy tuck. I think about it all the time. But there’s no way I can afford it — too bad!!
Colleen
June 5th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Jon and Kate + 8!
I saw that tummy episode. I couldn’t stop staring. Amazing how with her clothes on and her slenderizer thing, you couldn’t tell! I can’t stand to watch how she treats her husband in some of the episodes though, she seems like a bitch to him. I’m sure she’s not, but they edit it so she is ALWAYS harping on the poor guy about something.
Melanie
June 5th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Makes me thankful I come from a long line of family with very elastic skin.
lisalisa
June 5th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
SHUT UP! She got a free tummy tuck? OMG, I have only had one kid at a time, but is it sad to say that I am super jealous?
Kerry Ann
August 27th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Read the whole post and got to the last couple of sentences adn almost fell out in the floor. Comparing a Tummy Tuck to a Pedicure in Wally-Mart. That is funny stuff although if they could get the license i am sure they would try it.