Mommy Makeover: Stories

I am 32 years old; soon to be 33 in a couple weeks :(. I have 2 boys ages 14 and 4. I had my first at 18 years old and didn't know any better when I heard the expression "eating for 2" lol. I started off at 140 and by delivery I was 220 with crazy strech marks all over my belly. After having him, I yo-yo'd with my weight unitl I got it under control after find out I had hypothyroidism when he was 4 years old. I got back to 140 and maintained it. My second pregnancy I knew better and gained 27 pounds which I quickly lost afterwards and then some. I did not get any stretch marks this time but the damage was already done from my first. My boobs deflated big time after having my second though. I didn't even breast feed! Due to poor milk supply I was unable to. So this is my journey to a better me. I feel guilty as most moms do of spending so much money on myself. I feel I deserve it though and feel it will do wonders for my self esteem and self consiousness.

I am 5'4" and 135 pounds as of right now. I plan to be between 127-130 before the surgery date in August. Who knows though. My body seems to reject less than 132. I am very active at work as an EMT and work out at least 4x a week with lots of toning exercises at home in addition to. I started researching tummy tucks after a visit with my gynocologist for a regular exam. She was doing the normal pushing on my stomach that they do and said "you have rock hard abs. you must do a ton of sit ups" I replied with "yes but you could never tell". She said "and you won't be able to because that's mostly skin". I left the office feeling great! Almost singing on the way to my car "uh huh..I have rock hard abs" but on the way home, it quickly turned into...WTH...I will never see my efforts and I will have this mushy stomach that I am obsessed with covering up for life!! I never thought I would go under the knife. Until now. I'm anxious to get this over with! Tired of sitting on the couch with a pillow covering my belly!

I have a surgery date of August 13th. I will be getting saline implants under the muscle and a lift in addition to. Right now I am a sad, deflated barely C. I am going for a full C, small D. And of course, the tummy tuck where my PS stated that I will have a cute belly button (what's that? lol) I haven't had one of those since I was 17! He also said that most of my strech marks will be gone. Halleluyah!!! He also affirmed what my gynocologist said; that my belly is indeed mostly skin. :D

My husband is very supportive. He doesn't think I need anything done but he knows how down I am about my appearance. He will be taking the first week off of work to be at my beckon call and help out with our youngest. The week after, he will be in daycare. His last week until starting pre-k August 27th. I hope I am ok to drive then! I will be 2 weeks PO and will have to drop him off at 7:05am and pick him up at 10:30. I am nervous about that and about getting back to work. I have a physical job which is 12 hour shifts and I'm not sure when I will be able to go back. At least I have the freedom of scheduling how many days I want to work.

This site has been so very helpful! I will continue to update as the surgery gets closer and after the surgery as well. :)

It's getting more real now. I just received some of my post op things from FedEx today. A toilet seat riser, MOM, stool softeners, and compression stockings to wear on my legs to prevent clots. I'm still waiting for my wedge pillow to come in. I have a recliner and hubby is going to lower our king bed to the floor so I can easily get in and out of it. It's up real high on a poster bed frame now. There is no way I'd be able to climb in it after surgery. I like the option of either sleeping in the recliner or in my bed with the wedge pillow and a bunch of pillows on my sides to prop my arms up on and so don't roll onto my side when I'm asleep. All I need to get now is protein shakes, gatorade and scar strips. I can wait a little on the scar strips since you can't start wearing them until you're healed anyway. I'm working lots of overtime right and have been for the last couple months to be able to afford all this! It was important that we pay cash for the surgery as we are trying to be debt free. I'm lucky enough that my income isn't required to pay the bills so all of my pay has been going into a seperate account during this time. I'm feeling pretty worn down, even have a sore throat at the moment but I have to suck it up just for a few more weeks! I'm worried about how my 4 year old son will react to mommy being laid up and crazy looking for a few days. He'll be worried. He's a sweet, compassionate little guy. VERY much a boy though and it makes me nervous how rough he can be and how I'll handle that afterwards. He's so used to running to me and giving me big bear hugs right around where my scar will be. He also sleeps with me half way through the night. Starts off in his own bed and makes his way to mine. In the morning he likes to hop over me and sometimes I get a knee in the crotch or lower belly! Hoping he will understand and not forget. That would hurt!!! Well, that's all for now! Happy healing everyone!!! :)

So I went for my patient teaching the other day and paid for my surgery. I have all my supplies already and my perscriptions. I've already started taking Bromelin and Arnica. I rearranged my bedroom some to make things easier and more comfortable post-op. All I can do now is just wait for the big day. I've been so anxious that I've been having to take a night time sleep aid or else I will have a restless sleep or be up in the middle of the night for a few hours. I'm so scared of not waking up. I keep thinking I will be one of the few out of thousands that die on the table. This is tough. My little boy is such a mama's boy. I don't know what he'd do without me. My husband had tears in his eyes when I talked to him about the "what ifs". He said he didn't want me talking like that. I'm sure everyone goes through this though. The whole cold feet thing. I'll update after the surgery. Hope everyone is well! :)

So I made kind of a last minute decision to just go with masteopexy (breast lift). No implants. I'm ccontent with my current size of 36C. I just want them perky and the nipples raised. I'm more at ease now about my decision. I wasn't keen on foreign matters in my body in the first place. Reading about people getting them removed prompted me to make the final decision. My PS office was totally cool with it when I called them and I will be getting 1,300 back since I already paid. Very happy overall right now. At this time next Monday, I will be on the operating table!!! YIKES!!!

Monday is the day. 7:30 am. Not nervous right now. If I think about it too much I get a little anxious though. Tomorrow I will be cleaning and finishing up laundry. I plan to take it easy. I'm a little dehydrated so I'm trying to lay low and rehydrate and get plenty of rest. I'll update after the surgery. If not that day, within a few days depending on how I am feeling. Wish me luck! :)

Yesterday was much of a blur. I don't even remember leaving the PS office! I slept all day only to get up to pee. My boobs don't hurt at all. My stomach however is very sore and tender. Not too bad overall. I am taking my pain meds and muscle relaxers. Hubby has been great reminding me to take them. He also helps measure my drains. My boobs are high and firm from what I can see and feel. I did go with implants. Just a lift. I'm happy with that decision though. And hubby just wants me happy. :)

1st post op appointment tomorrow morning. Excited to sneek a peek. I can see my va-jay-jay though and am very happy with how small my mons looks and lifted! I'll post more pics when I'm getting around better. Happy healing everyone!!!

Day 3 PO. Had to be up at 7am to go to my first PO appointment. Went well. Got to see everything. Pleased so far. Have some swelling going on. Have not had much of an appetite. Been drinking protein shakes, eating protein bars and fruit. Today is much better so far. I think it helped getting out of the house. Trying to wean off the percocet. Down to 1 every 4 hrs. On the couch which feels good. Probably take a nap after my next percocet. Happy healing everyone! :)

Day 4 PO. Felt pretty good this morning so I took a shallow bath. Got to wash my hair. Felt so good to wash up. Added a new pic from this morning. My legs and upper half are puffy but it's not horrible. Bath wore me out this morning so I'm going to go take a nap. Hope everyone is doing well!

It's been one week ago since today that I had a breast lift and tummy tuck. Not taking pain killers anymore. Not in any pain really. Some discomfort here and there but definitely tolerable. Hoping to get this drain taken out at tomorrows post op appointment. We shall see. Overall very happy with results. Haven't had any major swelling. Have been really good with not eating much sodium. Of course there is still some minor swelling going on. Everything is only going to look better from here on out so I am super happy about that! Hope everyone is doing well! :)

Went to my post op appointment today and got my drain removed! Woo hoo!!! It did not hurt at all coming out like some people mention. It did feel kinda weird though. Felt weird to drive again but since I had some free time afterwards I went bra shopping. Even though I didn't get implants, bras look so much better on and fit so much better. I appear bigger but I am still the same size which I am very happy about. When I got home I think I might have overdone it by vaccuming and washing the floors. My upper back just had enough and I could feel that I was starting to swell a little bit. Anyways, my PS says everything looks great and I can start using scar treatment now. I ordered silion shapes online and I am waiting for them to come in. They have fantastic reviews and they actually use them at Shrinners Burn hospital in Boston. When I get them in and start using them, I will let ya'll know how I feel about them. I forgot to ask my PS about exercise. I'm assuming walking is cool. I want to start using free weights on my arms again. They feel like they have lost muscle mass. That and my ass feels a little jiggly. I haven't weighed myself but I think I've actually lost weight. My appetite has been down so I only eat when I'm hungry. I've avoided salt at all costs. It's ok because I have a sweet tooth anyway. I've been eating special k protein meal replacement bars. Very yummy and keep you full for a long time! Fruit, especially pineapple. Special k cereal with blueberries. And last night I made whole wheat pumpkin pancakes with flax and ground up almonds. They were soooo good!! My little guy has been great. He misses sleeping with me but he's excited about be able to do so next week. Hubby is amazing. Doing extra chores around the house, taking care of the little one, and making sure I don't need anything. I'm a lucky girl for sure. Well that's all for now. Hope everyone is well! :)

So today I had to wake up early at 6am to take my 4 year old to his first day of prek. My husband and I took him together. I could have slept in but I wanted to be there for it. I'm glad I did. My husband and I then went out for a nice breakfast together before having to pick the little man back up at 10am. He had an awesome first day and is really excited about his new school!

I'm feeling good. I actually feel like I have more energy than I did before. Weird I know. It will probably be short lived. lol. I did some light exercises yesterday. Legs and arms. Don't know if I should be but I feel ready. Pain is minimal if any. If anything, I would say I'm just a little sore. I've been getting in and out of bed with ease. I feel myself using my upper abs to get up but it doesn't hurt. My only problem right now is sleeping on my back. I'm sick of it! I found myself rolling to my side last night. Hurt a little but not enough to keep me from sleeping! :)

I'm anxiously awaiting for my scar treatment shapes to come in the mail. I'm healing nicely and PS says I can start putting them on. Well that's all for now. As always, I hope everyone is doing well!

Still feeling really good. Think I may try a slow paced walk on my treadmill today. Thought I would be dealing with some swelling yesterday and this morning due to going out for breakfast yesterday and the sodium content in the food but was pleasantly surprised when I didn't swell. So... I'll say it again...if you have not been taking arnica and bromelin and are dealing with swelling.. GO GET SOME!! I started taking both about a week before surgery and know that it has done wonders for healing and swelling!! I added a couple pics from when I woke up this morning. I have scar strips on. Can't take them off as they should stay on for 23hrs of the day. I'm so glad I did this. I wish I had done it sooner!! Thrilled with definition coming back and know it will only get better. I let my husband feel my boobs yesterday and he's been practically chasing me around the house ever since. lol. Though I didnt have implants, they are so nice and firm and perky!! I hope everyone is as happy as I am with results in their recovery process. Have a wonderful day everyone!! :)

So I changed my "worth it" to "not sure". Things were going good. Too good. I am having more pain then I did 5 days PO. At my last PO appointment everything was great and my PS said that I could start scar treatment. I started using silicon sheets. A week after using them I broke out it what looks like a chemical burn and my incision was hurting. So I stopped using the sheets and after day 2 of not using them it already looks a lot better but I am still having incision pain on both ends of TT and under my breasts where I had the lift. On top of it all, I now have a seroma that I need to go get drained today. It's quite uncomfortable. The fluid is making it tighter. I'm hoping it's not a recurrent one/ persistant one. I really don't feel like going in every day or every few days to get it drained. I'm a little down right now. Wondering if I should have ever done this. Anyone else having incision pain?

Well I went to my PS with suspicion of a seroma and sure enough it was. He drained 44 cc's. Not too bad. Seemed like a good bit looking at the syringe but he says sometimes he gets 300 cc's out. Yikes! It does feel a lot better where it was. I was feeling a lot of pressure and could feel it sloshing around inside. He said with the amount that I had that It shouldn't come back. It wasn't painful. Just a little comfortable. The nurse had to push down on my belly and squeeze while he aspirated it. Let's hope I don't have to do that again. I'm sure at some point I'll switch back over to "worth it". But between wearing binders, girdles, being numb, worrying about the scars, seromas, swelling, pain...I'm sticking with "not sure" for now.

3 weeks PO today. Feeling ok. I can sleep on my side now which makes me happy. My incision is still hurting on my left side. My PS place the drain tube at the end of my incision on the side. When I had it removed, it had to close back up. I wish I would have known he was going to place it there. My fault for not asking I guess. The rest of it feels fine. I don't like not wearing my binder. I swell up quick and it feels weird. I also don't like how high my incision is on the right side. I can understand why he had to go up so high. If he were to go lower, he'd have nothing to grab onto. I don't have any fat there. The skin was tight already there. It's weird because there is plenty of fat every where else! lol. If it doesn't fade into a nice scar then I will get a tattoo over it. I have one on my lower back already. It can be tied into that I guess. Hoping I don't have to. My seroma came back but it's less than it was before. My body should reabsorb it. If it gets bigger, I will need to have it aspirated again. That should be the last time though. I would really like a fast forward button right now! This whole ordeal is teaching me to be a more patient person that's for sure! Thank you for all the kind words in my last post. My spirits are better but I'm still not ready to change my worth it rate. Still not sure. It leans more towards worth it though. Hope everyone is well. :)

Yesterday was one month PO breast lift and tummy tuck. I feel really good. I did some pretty heavy yard work this week but it felt so good to be active again! Swelling hasn't been to bad. A couple days may pass that I don't look in the mirror and when I finally do, I can see changes. More definition, etc. I went to a work training today and got some looks from the guys. It felt good. One of my good friends, male, said you can really tell..you look smokin'! It felt good to be around co workers. I've missed them! I go back in a couple weeks but just one day a week for now. I have a very physical job so I don't want to push it. I've posted a new pic. Didn't bother to block my face. whatever. lol Hope everyone is doing great!

So I'm 7 weeks PO as of yesterday. Feeling pretty good. Back in Zumba class. Just not full throttle and won't be able to instruct again anytime soon. Swelling has become an issue. Probably due to increased activity and I don't think the spanx tank is doing sh*% so I've been wearing my binder more. I go to my PS this afternoon for a normal PO heck up. I have afew concerns. I don't know if you can see in the pic but my left breast I believe has "leftover" areola coloring right under my "new" areola. I had just a lift and it appears that when he moved my nipples and sutured the skin back together, some skin that he pulled was that of my areola. I will definitley be addressing that today. Also...my scar is nice and low (not as low as I'd like) on my left side but my right side is way different and too high. You can see in my pic sort of where I have the scar strip in place. Also there is some minor "bunching" towards the ends of the incision. Pretty normal I hear and will flatten but I'll ask him about that. OH!! And my mons is huge and puffy!! Really do look like a freaking ken doll!!! Just can't wait for all swelling to subside, to be able to work my abs and to feel 100% normal again! What a journey this is. So many ups and downs it's crazy! Well I hope everyone is well! I'll update soon! :)

So went to my 7 week PO appointment today and talked to him about everything I mentioned in my last post. He is willing to drop my scar down on the right side in another 4 months or so. My areola is not uncommon. He says he can take care of that too. As for my mons, he said there is swelling there since everything goes downward and that is the lowest point. Once everything settles, if I am still not happy he suggested lipo in that area. Don't know if I'm that obsessed with it or if I can live with it. We'll see. He said my TT scar is healing really nice. I took the time to make before and after side by side photos to remind myself how far I've come. I am so glad I did this. It was 100% worth it after seeing these side by side. Guess I just got so used to the new me that I forgot how the old me looked and felt naked. Whenever I'm down or am swollen, I will refer to these photos!!! :)

Well it's been 5 months and I have to say I am very happy with the tummy tuck and breast lift I had done back in August. Just about a month ago is when I started to feel 100% meaning no pain around my scars or sore from using my stomach muscles. Still can't work my abs yet. Soon! I've have lost weight. Been hitting the gym pretty hard. The only negative I could say right now is the TT scar. I used silicone sheeting and silicone gel but is still pretty red. Not raised or anything so that's good. I could always tattoo over it but I'm going to wait until I'm a full year PO to make that decision. I hope everyone is healing nicely!!