Mommy Makeover: Stories

I'm 40 years old, 5'1", 121 lbs with four beautiful children. I've wanted a lift and tummy tuck since my last pregnancy several years ago and finally, with the support of my husband, have the courage to go through with it.
I'm hopeful for a great outcome but I'm being realistic...I tend to expect the worst so I can be excited if it's great. I'm hoping that when all is said and done, I can look down while sitting and not see a huge mass of wrinkled skin lol.
I'm pretty excited but nervous too. It was a pretty quick decision to get the surgery and ended up deciding to do hip lipo along with the tummy tuck and silicone gel implants. I struggled with the decision to get implants but didn't want to go through all of that and be disappointed they were not full enough.

From what I can tell, silicone has some a long way, but you never know. I decided on silicone over saline because the saline don't feel as natural and with thin skin can ripple, plus they are more likely to leak. Obviously everyone needs to decide what's the best choice from them, do your research. They both have pros and cons. I'm not looking to have big breasts, just more full. I'm a 34B and going for a C cup and I'm getting 255cc implants.

So, this last week I've followed the doctors directions about stopping certain meds, herbs, etc. I started taking a daily vitamin, stool softeners, arnica 30c and bought bromelain today. I also, (after a failed attempt of getting a one piece brief/girdle at the local mall), purchased a medical compression garment online and it will arrive tomorrow. I've read a lot of opinions on these and my surgeon said not to spend a lot of money on one, I suppose since it's for a short time. But, I'm going for some sort of comfort if that's even possible. I know they will switch me to stage 2 garments fairly quickly. I've also stocked my cabinet with various other items found on the list in the forums. So the day after tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow I pick up my pain meds (norco), muscle relaxers, and antibiotics. I was also concerned about nausea so the dr. prescribed an emend, which will cost me around $70 for one! I'll take it in the morning right before the surgery.

I told my children, including my youngest in elementary school, (other 3 have graduated h.s.) and they are all very supportive. I asked if they had a belly like that would they do it, they said yes lol. When I told my youngest I was getting extra skin removed she said, "so....you don't "have" to have the surgery". She was making sure it wasn't required due to illness and it made her feel better.
My mom is concerned of course, but she doesn't do well with surgery, etc. herself, so she's worried.
So, one more day to get everything wrapped up and ready. I printed a list of foods that promote healing and will do some shopping too. I will eat light tomorrow and try to remain calm... :o)

Tomorrow's the big day. I tried to eat light and finish up getting things done. I received my other garment, but the zipper on the side was uncomfortable, digging in to my side, so I guess I'm stuck with my original which is more comfortable. Since I've been taking the bromelain I've been feeling nauseous and getting headaches. I'll see how I feel the next few days.
I'll watch Modern Family and get a good nights sleep, hopefully.
I'm feeling pretty excited at this point. :)

yesterday we arrived at the office and checked in for surgery. my husband wasn't allowed to come back with me, so we said our goodbyes. they got me in my robe and took vitals and ran an ekg since i have a heart murmur. i got there at 9:30 and went in for surgery at 12. i woke up the first time and needed meds and muscle relaxer and fell back asleep. i woke up again at 5:30 to my husband to take me home. the car ride was fine, just 10 min away. the emend def helped my nausea which is what i was dreading the most. got home, used the restroom and got into bed. THE WORST PART EVER IS GETTING IN AND OUT OF BED! plus i have a bad back and have to lay on my back and so it feels like someone ran over me. anyway, i hear some people rent recliners...good idea! my husband's been great, writing down pill sched. and emptying drains. rearranging me in bed to find what's comfortable is beyond annoying and i feel bad for my husband. he's been making sure i drink gatorade and broth. i'm feeling a tiny bit better today than yesterday, aside from the back pain. when i wake up i'm wide awake, not tired at all. i don't feel like i've really slept a lot. all in all, so far so good. i have a good tolerance for pain, so that hasn't bothered me too much, pain pills are a must. i read a few stories here on real self of women who try not to take narcotics, which i understand why. but, man i there is no way i could go without them. they don't make me feel weird or nauseous, i eat a cracker before or after i take it. i feel some burning and occasional shooting pains but not too bad. i feel really tight and swollen. yesterday was worse, like a ballon ready to pop. waiting to pee is not a good idea either (painful), but i dread getting up and down, so i try to time with my pain meds and walking. my husband goes out of town mon-wed night, so hopefully i'll be okay by sunday. my older daughters will be around on monday to help if needed.
feeling pretty good at the moment. :)

a.m.: today has been rough, getting in and out of bed is a nightmare. i STRONGLY suggest anyone getting a tummy tuck get a RECLINER! i am going to start sleeping in our club chair in the living room. i am having bad swelling and pain in my lower back. so i'm icing it other than that, i'm doing good. took a laxative this morning and i'm on my second cup of coffee, so hopefully by the end of the day i can start eating more solid foods.
about 1/2 hour before pain meds are due, the pain kicks in, but it's just uncomfortable. i took a short walk out back in the sunshine, felt great!
p.m.: had a short nap, finally was able to have solids after the laxative kicked in. that was awesome. i'm still having swelling and pain in my back, but a little less. i stopped the gatorade and switched to electrolyte tablets for my water which has less sodium. i'm still taking the arnica and bromelain. i walk around everytime i get up to help with the swelling and circulation too. i had called the dr. earlier in the day about the back pain and swelling and he said can be normal as long as no infection, with symptoms being fever and chills, which i don't have. i hope i didn't mess anything up getting in out of bed, it felt like my stomach was tearing in half.
tomorrow's another day, i'm sure it will be even better. :)

p.m. today was good. i slept well in the chair, much easier to get in and out of a club chair. i have the table pulled up and my feet on top with pillows under my knees. i had sushi last night for dinner, yum. i have a great appetite and energy. took a walk outside and sat in the sunshine today. my lower back is still swollen and painful, that's the worst of it, so i keep icing it and walking. the garment is pretty annoying.
i fear getting the cold my husband has....he's coughing and sneezing like crazy. i've been walking around the house spraying lysol and wiping down door handles with clorox wipes lol. he leaves at 5:30 in the morning so i'll be on my own for the most part for the next 3 days, with a little help from my teen daughters.
i'm pretty happy how things have gone with recovery so far. hopefully it stays that way. :)

had my post op today and everything looks good. he had to do a vertical incision up to just under my belly button to remove scar tissue from belly button piercing, hopefully it heals thin and flat. drains will stay in another week, even with low drainage along with the bodyshaper i'm wearing. i can shower tomorrow. i still feel great, will start vitamin e too and soon will get the scar gel they recommended. weird the main complaint i have aren't incisions, but my low back pain. i got a look at my breasts in a mirror, wow. pretty happy so far. didn't get a look at my stomach except from looking down and looks swollen still. the scar looks low, but i'll get a better look tomorrow when i shower and maybe i can post some pics too.

i'm on day six po feeling a little better each day. i didn't post yesterday. i took it easy, felt more pain probably overdid it the day before with my dr apt etc. so i just did minimal yesterday. my drain sites have been really bothering me, burning. i added more gauze to pad a little better. i was getting shooting pains in one of my breasts, maybe the nerves healing. i do have feeling in that nipple and not the other yet. my knees are now hurting a lot because of the way i have to walk, so between the knee and back pain, that's worse than the incisions. lol my stomach muscles feel so much better today than yesterday. i slept in my bed last night instead of the chair and it went okay, just hurts my tailbone, since i can't lay all the way down or i won't be able to get up on my own lol. i was finally able to get in and out by myself without pain. i will attempt a shower today. :) i've been trying to slowly taper off the pain meds, adding a 1/2 longer each dose to see how i feel. all in all doing pretty good! happy so far. i showed my before/after pics to my 18 year old daughters yesterday, they were surprised. i don't show them my body, and i hid it well under clothes i suppose. they didn't realize it was that bad. one said it's amazing what a push up bra does for you. lol

Two days ago i finally got to take a shower. After removing the garment I got a look in the mirror for the first time of the entire mommy makeover. My husband happened to call at that time and I was so emotionally happy at what I saw that I started crying. My husband thought we lost connection and hung up. Lol. I called him back and explained I couldn't really talk. He was so happy for me.
I actually shaved my legs in the tub sitting before showering since my back hurts do much. I put a new garment on after showering and it was so tight. I think my other had stretched. Anyway. I tried to take it easy the rest of the day but my stomach became hard and extended. I still have the drains and they aren't draining much at all. I spoke with the drs office and they said to come in there may be fluid collecting. When I was checked they said nothing alarming but come back tomorrow so ps can check everything. So that's where I am now. I feel a little better today. Yesterday I tried to lay on my back at slight angle and knees elevated to see of that would help if it was just swelling. Hopefully they don't need to open me up or aspirate the fluid!

yesterday went well, the dr said everything looks fine. even though i'm only getting about 15cc from my drains daily, he's keeping them in for now, next about in a couple days. he wants to avoid the seroma. my incisions look like they are healing well. my stomach looks high in the middle to me, not sure if that's normal or not. it's still numb/tingly for the most part. my back is not really swollen anymore, just a little on my sides and stomach and breasts (or as i call them frankenboobies lol) . my back still hurts when standing 5 minutes or longer. i already have a bad back and bad knees, so bending my knees and back isn't helping. i've gone to straightening my legs, leaning at the waist with a straight back and that helps both. i'm still sleeping in my bed with one or two small wedges and pillows. it hurts my tailbone a bit, but i take a pain pill and muscle relaxer at bedtime and that helps for awhile. i'm pretty much at 2 pain pills a day and 1 or 2 muscle relaxers. the pain is pretty minimal except when i try to get up and strain a muscle. out of all three procedures, i'd say the lipo is the worst of it, probably causing the swelling and lower back pain too. i really need to get some pics up, maybe in the next couple of days.
one thing i would recommend, eat SMALL meals. even if you don't think you are full. you will feel a lot better. anytime i eat a meal and i eat the same amount i would have before surgery, i feel so bloated and sore afterwards.
i have only taken vitamins while pregnant and so i'm taking more pills than i've taken in my life. lol here's what i'm currently taking daily:
daily vitamin
vitamin A
vitamin C
bromelain
arnica
stool softener
i think i may add zinc
procedures i had done:
breast lift and 250cc silicone medium round profile implants (B cup before surgery)
full tummy tuck
lipo on my sides
honestly it feels like a had surgery a month ago, but it's only been 10 days.
i can't wait till my next apt, hopefully he'll remove drains and i'll be able to drive, etc. it's definitely tough relying on everyone to do things for you.
my husband goes out of town for 3 days a week but luckily i have two older daughters at home that help when they around. :) my husband is great while home helping me. love my family. :)

i drove myself to my post op apt today. PO 12 days. they took out my drains. wow did that feel weird have something move around your stomach like that. he said everything looks good. two spots plus the drain sites that still need to heal. everywhere else i will start applying the biocorneum to areas that have healed.
i can stand up straight and sleep how i want. i can wear the same one piece garment or a medical bra and compression bottoms.
i feel really good, i think my back will feel better since i don't have to bend anymore.
he said no massaging yet. i go back in 3 weeks. he has me taking vitamin E to help prevent scar tissue to build on implants. every surgeon is different have different opinions on this from what i've read.
i had some concerns about my vertical scar to my belly button, he said will flatten out. hope so! i don't think i will pierce my belly button again. the scar tissue from the piercing is why he had to go up. :( oh well. better than what i had before!
hopefully i sleep better than last night since i can sleep however i want. :)

okay, so i didn't sleep so good last night and couldn't sleep on my side, so i ended up on my back...again. :( oh well, in time. my breasts and side hurt to much.
today was great. it's amazing how much better you feel when the drains are out! i accomplished a lot today. barely any back pain. i did apply the biocroneum for scars today twice.
i feel some weird kind of like burning on my skin all over my chest and stomach when i touch it. not sure what that is. i used to get shooting pains in my left breast last week, nerves i suppose and i have feeling in that breast. i never got those in my right breast and don't have much feeling there yet.
i still hunch a little, but do more so after sitting for awhile.
i made dinner by myself for everyone tonight for the first time and felt pretty good. :) tomorrow will be 2 weeks.

wow, it's been a week since i updated, oops. lol
i'm doing well, a little better each day. i have to say getting the drains out makes a huge difference, but i'm glad he keeps them in longer so i don't have leaking/bleeding wounds and less risk of a sernoma.
i developed a bruise that is a little hard under it on my right lower breast. i went in to have the dr check it and he said it was fine. but i still worry. i've had zero bruising even with the lipo so it's weird to have a bruise. i'm assuming the bromelain and arnica that has helped with the bruising and swelling.
my incisions are healing nicely and i'm applying the biocornium 2x day for the scar. i have one spot at the bottom of my vertical scar that is taking forever to heal.
sometimes i think the 255cc is too small, other times i don't. lol time will tell when they drop. i'm petite and didn't want giant boobs anyway.
by the evening i'm tired with the activity i do, either going to the store, running errands, etc. i don't really feel exhausted though. i started taking b12 too along with the vitamin e. my PS still doesn't have me massaging, but wanted me to take vitamin e to help prevent capsular contracture. and from what i hear the massage is not a day at the spa, lol. i think he waits till healed, then instructs massage, every surgeon is different. i'm wearing spanx bottoms and a medical bra sometimes and the one piece sometimes.
i sleep better than before. i still don't feel comfortable on my side, so i start on my back propped with pillows, then when my tailbone starts to hurt i tilt a bit.
i walk with a little hunch still, mostly after i was sitting for awhile and i still do a little shuffle because my muscles are tight at my hips. i look like an old lady lol.
i haven't gone back to work (i work from home and sell online), i think i'll wait a few more weeks. :)
i tried on a two piece earlier and got a little excited. even with the stretch marks i still have on my stomach, i think i will still attempt to wear one. for $16,000 i suppose i should? lol
i thought i would pierce my belly button again, but the more i think about it i will probably skip it. i think i have resentment because that's why i have a vertical scar up to my bb. lol had a i known that could be an issue, i would have tried to fix the scar tissue, maybe steroid injections into the scar tissue prior to try to soften before doing the surgery. idk
i can't believe i still don't have pics up yet.
i seriously can't wait to start exercising my rear end. lol

4 weeks post op:
i can't believe it's been a month since my surgery. it's flying by. i'm doing good. no real big changes. i go in next week for my 4 1/2 week post op. haven't been in for 2 1/2 weeks.
the bruise is about gone on my breast but the hard large lump underneath is still there. neither breast really hurt at all, just if i lift them with my hand they are tender. not much swelling i don't think except in my right a bit. i had noticed that my armpit hair had moved to the side of my boobs lol. was a little worried it was permanent but as my breast are dropping it's going back.
my scars seem red to me. i put biocorneum 2x day still. i massage scars a little, only because i didn't get ok from dr. yet so i just do a little when i put on the serum. i still have swelling in my stomach and sides and a bit in my back. i have a feeling it will be awhile before that goes away. i have been drinking a huge pitcher of water each day and trying to eat really healthy, low sodium, and drinking zero alcohol. basically trying to take better care of myself. i luffa and moisturize every day now too, trying to get my skin healthy too. i still take my vitamins and am finishing the arnica and bromelain. my nails are growing like crazy, my skin is super soft, and my hair is shiny. :)
i get tired just a bit around dinner time, not sure if it's really because i'm tired or dreading cooking dinner lol. i can sleep on my side pretty comfortably now. my right side isn't as tight anymore and i pretty much feel good, only sore on my lipo sides sometimes.
whenever i get upset about my current wrinkly stomach when i bend, i pull up my before pics here on realself and it makes me feel better. i tell myself to be patient. be thankful the skin is gone and my stomach is flat, even with the vertical scar. i still worry about a lump in my breast and the saggy skin. i wonder daily if i will get a revision down the road. ugh. my husband will kill me. lol
i'm still glad i did it. :)

almost 8 weeks post op.
it's been almost 4 weeks since i updated. it has been tough for me. my saggy stomach and stretch marks in addition to a vertical scar i wasn't expecting has been emotionally draining. i had to get off real self because i kept comparing myself and was getting frustrated. we all heal differently and all have different results and i needed to accept mine. i know i'm not overweight, etc....so i shouldn't complain. but like everyone, i see my flaws.
my ps said i could do sit up at 6 weeks, but it was too sore. so i started yesterday. i also started light jogging and other exercise this week, so my hope is that this stomach will look better. i feel that if my ps went higher with my incision, i would not have stretch marks above my belly button with the sag and no vertical scar. but, it is what it is. as it is my scar goes up high on the sides, the middle scar is pretty low but can come up at least an inch or more and still be covered.
i hope this scar around my bb goes away.
i'm massaging the scar 2x a day and doing a couple breast squeezes 3x a day.
i developed a suture abscess where my small dog ear was last friday and he put me on antibiotics. he said if it didn't take care of it he would drain it. so that night i put on warm compresses and it drained on it's own....pretty gross. but wow did it feel better. it was so red and hard and painful. it's healing well.
all in all, still happy i did it. looking forward to working out and getting a better result! my clothes fit awesome! love that part of it! i can wear tight tanks and tees! love that i have boobs. they are healing well. one seems a little higher still, but not noticeable. they are perfectly sized for me, i'm glad i didn't go bigger as he suggested. a couple weeks ago, i thought i should have, but i've changed my mind. :)
i need a miracle stretch mark remover and i'll be really happy! lol
i'll try to post pics soon, not sure that i look different though.

i forgot a few things...i don't wear my garment much at all since this last week. i do have some swelling still, mostly in the evening or after exercise. he said any bra is fine, but i'll wait on the wired bras for another month.
i still only have sensation in one nipple. i'm still numb a lot of places. and i get muscle tightness/pain/spasms through my stomach, especially if walking/standing. he said that would last a long time.
the lipo has probably been the most painful in my sides.
the back is still swollen in the lower area, either that or it's fat. lol
my left side has extra skin over my incision, the right is tighter. don't like that.
the lump in my right breast has gotten softer and smaller, as my ps said it would. and he also said the little flap below my bb would flatten out and it has.
oh...and i asked how much was removed. 1 POUND!! WHAT?!?! that's it? ugh. i swear i was carried around 10 pounds! lol i almost think it's an error, even he looked twice at it when he said it.
anyway. i weighed 121 before. they removed 1 lb, added 1 lb of silicone implants. i weighed 123 after the surgery. i got down to 114 about 2 weeks ago...last time i weighed that i was in high school!
then stopped eating healthy and got back up to 118. so i'm back to eating healthy, 64 oz of water a day and no alcohol. would love to be in great shape for the summer! i'm doing a 3 day shakeology cleanse and starting fresh. :)