“YAY!!! My Surgery is March 2! - Albuquerque, NM”

As the mother of five I have my fair share of stretch marks and saggy skin. I also have an abdominal wall seperation that needs to be repaired. So when my GP said that I could wait for a little over a year to get my seperation fixed or I could see a dr in town to see if it could be done sooner, I jumped at the opportunity. I have wanted a tummy tuck for some time and have always wanted larger breasts since my natural breasts do not fit my body frame. After exhaustive research I made preparations to see two of the most experienced plastic surgeons in the area. I chose my surgeon and Have my pre op this Friday ( 2/18/2011) with my surgery scheduled for March 2, 2011. I am so excited and so nervous! Only one thing really bothers me though... why does it feel like I am nesting?

Updated on 19 Feb 2011:
I had my pre op appointment yesterday, Friday Feb 18. I have to admit we went over lots of information! Maryanne, the nurse, was awesome! She answered all my questions as well as my husband's. She also took my before pics, oh my goodness they were horrible! I cannot wait until I have after pictures. I am still nervous about the recovery. I have a wonderful support system and will never be alone for the first two weeks. However I am afraid of the pain, because I do not know what to expect. I typically handle pain relatively well so if it is not too bad then I will be ok. Wow it is set and paid for, still hard to believe. Well here is hoping the next week and a half goes fast.

Updated on 22 Feb 2011:
I picked up my perscriptions today, the standard antibiotic, valium and percocet. I am still upset that our best laid plans were ruined. My husband is active duty military and put in to take leave from march 2 to March 11 to take care of me. It was approved and all was set, until yesterday. They have a yearly inspection and it was moved up to the week of March 7, so now my husband will only be home from the 2nd to the 6th. I guess I will have to make due. My girlfriend that lives down the street is going to be on call so I will have someone close. Luckily it is only for a few hours each day that I will be alone. Still makes me a little mad though. Hopefully the next couple of days fly by.

Updated on 24 Feb 2011:
It is Thursday and I cannot wait for the next couple of days to pass. I have been trying to keep busy and my kids are definitely helping with that endeavor. This morning I found out that my 4 year old took every piece of clothes she owns out of her drawers and put them in the dirty clothes basket because they did not smell like fabric softener anymore. This would not be that bad except the 16 yr. old came right behind her and piled on his wet towels. Looks like today is going to be a laundry day! lol. I am getting more and more impatient. I am ready for this to be over so I can start enjoying the new me. I have already started looking for new clothes. I am worried about finding reasonably proceed clothes that are modest and will fit my frame. i think it is going to be an interesting shopping trip!
My PS doctor's office called me today to see if I had the ultrasound and MRI from my hernia/separation. Of course being a military hospital I could not get it for months. Which in and of itself is insane. My PS doctor said he was not too worried that anything he needed to find out he could the day of surgery when they open me up.

Here are the before measurements:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 165
Waist 35"
Hips: 44"
Ribcage: 36"
Breast: 42"
Bra size : 40 B

Updated on 25 Feb 2011:
Today is turning out to be a trying day for me. My best friend moved away today. Her husband got stationed in another state. It is really sad but I am dealing. My sons first lacrosse game is today. I hope he does well. I can only hope that the next four days go by fast. Still excited but a little nervous. Hopefully I won't be too nervous over the weekend.

Updated on 26 Feb 2011:
Went shopping todsy and got a few new things to help prepare for the new me. There were tons of really cute clothes but I could not get any because I have no idea what size I will be after the surgery is over and the swelling goes down. Of all the questions I should have asked my surgeon, how much smaller I would be never came up! Go figure!

Only a few more days, please let the days go by fast....

Updated on 27 Feb 2011:
I finally did it, I took my before pics. eww... just eww. I am so ready to put these behind me and have a new body! I must warn you they are pretty bad. (I am still too shy to post pics of the girls lol) For those of you curious the indentation on my side is where the hernia is located that has to be repaired. Ok here goes, please don't sue for any broken monitors! lol

Updated on 28 Feb 2011:
Well it is official, the dr's office just called and confirmed my surgery for day after tomorrow. Brenda, the office manager, reminded me to take my antibiotic and not to eat or drink anything after midnight tomorrow night. Man I can not believe it is almost here!

Updated on 1 Mar 2011:
Tomorrow is the big day, and I am so excited. I am worried that I have forgotten something in my preparation. I know I have the major things covered, like childcare, prescriptions, clothes, food, etc. Unfortunately with so many people in my house it is I possible to keep it "just home from surgery" clean. So I will be hitting the cleaning like a ton of bricks. I will have to also get the rest of ,y coursework for my sociology class turned in. Doubt I will pass if I wait to do it until I am on pain meds. Might sound more like a testimony on wood stock than sociology.lol I wonder how the march 1 ladies are doing. Hopefully everything went well for them. There are so many things going through my head. I just hope this day passes quickly. Thank you to all the ladies who have offered their support in this. I hope to update again before surgery but wanted to put that out there in case.

Updated on 4 Mar 2011:
Well I made it through the surgery and had my post op yesterday. Everything seems to be coming along well. Today is the first day I am actually coherent enough to type. Definitely wanted to stay well medicated. Lol. I can get up and down and go to the bathroom by myself now so it is a little easier. Since I did not have any drains I am moving around quite a bit. Hopefully everything will heal up quickly.

Updated on 7 Mar 2011:
Today is my first day alone with the four year old, my husband got called back to work. So I managed to get the girls dressed for school and we walked my 7 year old to class. Once home we had a relatively normal day, with a snack and nap. I am holding up but not sure how anymore coughing fits I can stand. It hurts so bad I want to take a percocet but can't with no one else being here. Hopefully they will let my hubby come home early so I don't have to walk to get my daughter fro school. Wish me luck. All I keep thinking is "at least I do not have to deal with drains"

Updated on 8 Mar 2011:
well it is day 2 of being on my own and today is a lot better than yesterday. I am goingin to the dr today so they can check me out. I can almost stand up straight so I think I am doing good. We will see what they say .

Updated on 14 Mar 2011:
Haven't updated in awhile. Been terribly busy. The first four days my husband was home so I spent the majority of the time either walking or sleeping in a drug induced coma. day five my husband had to go back to work, eaving me to get a 7 year old ready for school, dress myself and the three year old and walik to and from the school. then I had to care for the 4 year old all day by myself. although his job said they would let him come home early they decided to make him stay late every day and even work part of the weekend. ugghh i am tired and bitchy because it is almost that time of the month. I go get the remainder of my sterile strips off wednesday. thank goodness. I did not have drains so at least I did not have to deal with those and I have been walking upright straight since almost the fourth day home. this has just been a long hard emotional week for me. I am hoping to take after pics soon but right now I have the post tummy tuck blues too bad to even try.

Updated on 21 Mar 2011:
It is almost week three and things are getting better. I am in pain right now because I started what must be the worst period of my life. I never had cramping before but this is my first cycle after my surgery so maybe when they fixed my muscles it affected my period?!? Other than that I cannot complain, I am standing up straight and my breast Implants have dropped quite a bit. Now if the swelling would go down I would be better off. I am hoping to get my after pics done soon since I have had my tapes removed and have started healing.

Updated on 28 Mar 2011:
Just thought I would update my stats. Here are the after measurements at 3 weeks 6 days:
Height: 5'9"
Waist 34"
Hips: 43"
Ribcage: 34"
Breast: 44"
Bra size : 38 E

I had actually gained weight before the surgery and weighed in at 175 the day of surgery. After a week of recovery I weighed 183. Today I weighed 176 so I am on my way to losing all that I gained. Which is strange because my measurements have gone down. :/

Updated on 26 Apr 2011:
Been awhile since I have been on. I have been doing good, still not after pictures, been too busy. I have been working out slowly. The dr said at my 6 week checkup that everything was great and to work my abs everyday. I have been trying to do sit ups and crunches. I can now do 20 situps. I have bought new bras and found out I am a 38 G. So it has been hard to find bras that fit. I still have not found a sports bra that both fits and holds these bad boys down. lol. All in all, besides being overwhelmed with school, sewing my daughters' spring wardobes and getting my son ready for prom I am doing great. Hope all of you are doing well too. Sorry I have not been on in awhile!