Lifting my Baby After Tummy Tuck and Plastic Surgery

Thank you for your question. You definitely want to follow your own
surgeon's post-op activity instructions. This is a general guide I give
to my patients as to the recovery after mommy makeoverWeek 1) Discomfort and tightness
level progressively decreases with each day. Swelling decreases a great
deal after one week. Week
2) Unlikely to need any narcotic support except maybe at night.
Swelling and tightness continues to improve compared to week 1Weeks
3-6) May need tylenol or ibuprofen for intermittent discomfort.
Swelling completely resolved. Tightness may continue as the implants
over an additional few months into their final position. Most people return to work in some capacity during this phase.As far as activity, here is a safe guide:1) No heavy lifting or strenuous activity for 6 weeks (a gallon of milk as a guide).2) Resume walking at a leisurely pace right after surgery (e.g. 2 mph)3) At 2 weeks, you can walk 2 miles at 2mph4) At 3 weeks, you can walk 3 miles at 3mph5) At 4 weeks, you can walk 4 miles at 4mph6) At 5 weeks, you can jog 5 miles at 5mph7)
At 6 weeks, you can resume all activities, but listen to your body and
use discomfort or tightness as a guide so you don't over do it. So
as far as the little ones, I would recommend having help for basic
needs like lifting into the car seat. You can cuddle with them while
you are sitting down, but you should avoid the tendency to multitask
with one child in your arms while you are busy doing other tasks.

Thank you for the question.As you know the tummy tuck operation is a major operation;  every patient experiences a different recovery course. This makes it difficult to discuss “general rules of thumb”.I would suggest planning for the worst-case scenario which will hopefully be about 4-6 weeks away from child care activities. Your  plastic surgeon will help guide you  with activity level depending on how your recovery proceeds.I hope this, and the attached link, helps.

Your doctor is right, you probably would not damage any of the operation by lifting a small child.  However, make certain you don't drop your child if you encounter pain as the abdominal muscles rebel at first.