Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.

See All Reviews
See All Reviews
POSTED UNDER Mommy Makeover Reviews

Getting Ready for my BA and TT!! - Dallas, TX

UPDATED FROM sexymama82

I Need Some Advice

$12,000
I am in the process of scheduling my surgery, the PS has the date open that I want, and I'm excited to move forward. However, my husby will be taking a work trip with extended travel (like a couple months) either two or three weeks after the surgery date. I need advice from those who have done this already, were you able to take care of the kids and household responsibilities at that point post op and feel I will be fine to move forward? I really am afraid that if I don't do it now, I will not be able to do it for at least another year or that life will continually get in the way and it will never happen. But I also don't want to risk my recovery. Will I be able to get the kids up and off to school, and drive them all over to after school circulars and do meals and bedtime? Will it harm my recovery, or maybe just make it a little harder? Or have you been fine to handle all that at that point? Please, ANY advice you gals can give me will help a lot. Thanks!

Replies (33)

The first week will be the hardest so that's mainly when you really need your husband to help out. Do you have a friend that is willing to come over and maybe bring you dinner a couple nights during the week? I had a few who came and brought us dinner and that was a huge help for me. My husband is in the military and works long hours so after just the first couple dates he was gone most of the day and he went for the second week of my recovery into the field so he was gone for 5 days. It's definetly possible for you to do some things three weeks after surgery. You should be able to get around more then and drive then as well. That's when I started driving again. You will be slower and always feel like you want to just lie down because you will feel uncomfortable. You shouldn't put it off, life always gives us challenges so something might come up later as well. I had the same issue with worrying I wouldn't have help. My kids are a little older though so it made it easier on me. They were able to help me with things and make their own food. Your housework will be more challenging for a while so if you go into it with the expectations that the house will look like a mess for a while till your able you should be fine. Good luck let me know if you have anymore questions. :)
Thank you so much, you are giving me hope! Maybe I will hire a maid for a few months post op to help with the dusting and deep cleaning so I don't have to worry about that. My oldest two kids LOVE to vacuum and I can count on them to do that for all the bedrooms for me for a bit. I also planned to make and freeze meals ahead of time, and once my hubby leaves I can rely on those. I do have some amazing friends that would help, but I didn't want to tell anyone I am doing this. If I tell someone, people I don't want to know will find out and I would just rather keep it to myself. I don't know how successful I will be at keeping this secret, but I plan to try anyway. I hope I can make this happen and move forward, thank you so much!!
By week two I was back into the swing of things. Working 10 hour days, then picking babies up from daycare and taking care of them till 8pm when daddy got home. I felt fine, and faired well. I think it really has alot to do with your current health, and how your body responds to this kind of thing. How did you do after having babies? Do you typically heal quickly? That first week will knock you out -tired, so my best advise would be this: MOST IMPORTANT: HAVE FAITH!! Pray, and give all of your worries over to God. Trust in him, and you will be good to go! From that, these other words of advise go as follows: 1. Make sure you plan ahead to have someone take kids if possible. 2. Make sure you have someone to take care of you. Make your meals, wake you for meds, help you get up to potty. 3. Sleep sleep sleep- that whole week! Very important! You can do your walking for your legs at potty time. I used an eye cover to keep it extra dark..felt sooooo good! Oh, and keep ice bags on the girls 24/7! Just be sure to keep the cold off your nipples, and have a thin fabric between you and the bags. Have the bags on the upper part of your chest. For me, it felt wonderful! 4. Eat light, and stay away from Carbs, Gluten & Sodium as much as possible. Take vitamins like c, b, e and zinc. Drink a good amount of water and pineapple juice, and even tea if you would like (dandelion, mint etc are good for this) Foods I ate most of were; cooked spinach with a little butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese, steamed Broccoli with little butter, salads with raw almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkins seeds, Greek yogurt, Tuna fish, and stir fry with yellow squash, zuchinni, red peppers & mushrooms cooked in olive oil, garlic and a little balsamic vinegar. These foods are easier on digestion, and won't take the energy off your healing like other meats, carbs and processed foods will. You can certainly eat some pineapple, and other fruits too, but be sure to eat them separate from other foods, and at least 1/2 hour between. 5. Take your meds on time.. 6. I highly recommend laying in your bed with it dark and cool in the room- warm blankies. Prop you head and legs up with pillows so you lay in a U or V position- depending on your tightness. You will need help with this positioning and propping. Each day you may notice the tightness loosening up a little, and you can adjust a little flatter as you feel best. Within a week, you may feel like you can lay your head on one pillow. ;) 7. Wear your binder religiously. 8. Think positively, and use this down time for a mental break/rest along with the physical rest. Your mind and body will heal together, and they will thank you! Enjoy it! 9. Keep your arms down along your sides as much as possible during this week- even as you sleep. 10. Have a supply of surgical bandages, bacitracin, antiseptic wash, surgical tape, ice for your ice packs (or peas). I hope this helps sweetie!!
Thank you for your detailed post! I usually heal pretty quickly after delivery, but I have not had a c-section. I tore pretty bad with my first and that was a difficult recovery with a newborn, but I will not have a newborn this time. I needed assistance moving and had a hard time sitting up on my own, which I think I will experience in this case for a few days as well. Another concern is that I do NOT like pain medication!! I had all 4 of my kids naturally with no epideral and go home from the hospital right at 24 hrs post delivery with the pediatrician's ok. I'm concerned about taking pain meds, they usually make me quite sick when I have had to take something. Most of them make me vomit, even a lot of the anti-neasua meds. Will I be ok with just Tylenol after surgery meds wear off?
Very possible Tylenol will work for you. Talk to your PS and see what he says. Additionally, have you looked into liposuction? Looking at your photos, I see a beautiful stomach. Any concerns you have could possibly be addressed with lipo (besides muscle repair), which would allow you to keep you nice tummy without the scars. Because you have such little fat (that I can see), you could end up with a higher scar if u had the full TT. Most women I've seen on here tiny like you have ended up with higher scars because of the lack of skin & or fat to pull down, and of course, your cute belly button would be exchanged for a new (posdibly not a cute) one . It seems like there would be a possible way to get the muscle repair like you had mentioned early on.. Have you been asking around? I'm curious about this. I would hate for you to exchange that nice tummy and belly button for scars that can't be covered by a bikini or under garments, and or a belly button you don't like. Lipo can make a HUGE difference to lose some inches. Have you looked at any before after photos of this yet? Just thought I'd put that out there.
All the PS's I consulted with told me I have very little abdominal fat, and it's really sagging skin. Did you see my pregnancy pic? I get HUGE. I wasn't expecting that reply confirmed by all of them, but if I want a nice flat tummy, I have to get rid of that excess skin. The PS I want to go with said he would do the scar low like I want, but I would have a vertical scar as well cause of my BB. I'm scared to lose my BB cause it's the only one I've ever known, but hopefully it will be worth the exchange.
I forgot to tell you that I did ask around about getting the MR without a full TT, and NO ONE here in Dallas does it. I would most likely have to go to Beverly Hills, and pay a lot more and that would be more inconvenient.
Well the PS would know best! They get to see what you have close up, and should know what your results would be. Ask lots of questions, and mist of sll, Trust your instincts!
Bummer! Well, the next option would be the full TT then, right? Like I mentioned before, you PS should know best, and if you trust him, then don't worry. :). I think you will have the body u desire in no time!
yeah, my PS said I need 4-5 inches of skin removed, and so a full TT is the best option. Trying to make it all happen. I want beautiful perky breasts again too, so hopefully really soon!
Hi there I'm 3 weeks PO full tummy tuck, thigh lift, buttocks lift and although it's a different surgery, I was able to return to work and do all those things you mentioned 2 weeks PO (no muscle repair on me). Follow ALL the advice of newmetime-she has provided so much helpful information and definitely had it down and was very successful! You will do great!! :)
Thank you!
Hi SexyMama82!!! You'll be fine but you need to take it one step at a time and listen to your body. Not sure how much your 1 year old weighs but if under 20lbs you should be fine by 3rd week. But try only to carry when u absolutely have to. Your older kids should be fine as long as you prep them before your surgery. Let them know you will not be at your 100% at all for a while and you need all the help you can from them.
I too didn't tell any family. Just a few friends. Hubby stayed working from home for 3 weeks after my surgery and now I have family in town to help but I've only told them I can't do heavy lifting because of a hernia. Good luck!! Can't wait to hear your review and be there for you while you heal. So excited for you:-)))
Thank you so much for your support!!!! I appreciate your encouragement and advice.
UPDATED FROM sexymama82

Trying to schedule my date!

I am trying to see if I can move my date up to Sept, but I'm not sure with my husby's job if that will work. I've just been mulling over this for so long now, and I'm ready to move forward and be done already!! I have decided on my PS and now I just have to see if it will work to move my date up, and then schedule it!!! Can't wait. I will trust him with the 465 cc HP Sientra implants, and do the slightly less aggressive TT (we are talking one inch higher of skin the other PS wanted to do but with a much bigger scar) and the smaller scar with the small vertical (which will be from where my BB was). My reason for this is that I am not that concerned with the vertical which I initially thought I would be, and if I have to chose between a scar that I know will be concealed versus one that might not be on the sides, I will take the first option! The PS I chose said he could place the scar just about my pubic line, so a 1/2 inch vertical from that low isn't going to show.
I just need to schedule it already, I'm going nuts! I've been wearing the rice testers (thanks a ton my3sons2005!!) and my kids never mentioned anything to me about it for over a week, so I don't think they will even notice the difference in size!! I'm freaking out about it more than I need to, it's just hard to visualize how it will look after the fact, even when wearing the testers. My husby said wearing them I look just like I did before having kids, so I just need to relax. Trying really hard, I promise! I hope everyone is having a great summer and getting the most of it before the school year starts in a month or so! XOXO

Replies (1)

So glad the Rice Testers have helped!! Honestly my 8 yr old barely notice the size change after surgery. I getting excited for you. I promise the first few weeks are going to be hard with the swelling and soreness but in the end you will love everything. Just keep positive that helped me out a lot along with the support of my hubby.
UPDATED FROM sexymama82

2 consults so far

I met with two PS's this week, one more next week then I will decide if I want to see more Dr's, or pick one from the three I have seen. My first two were at the same group practice (which I didn't know when I scheduled the consultations) and it was a little awkward seeing the other receptionist the following day. Night and day experiences with the two, but both are very good options. My biggest shock was that going into this, I was thinking to get about 350 cc's for my implant size, and thinking anything bigger will make me too top heavy and obvious I had implants. Both PS's said I need at least 400, and preferably 450 cc's to avoid having a lift!! I was shell shocked when I heard the first one say that big of a size, but I guess I shouldn't be because when I was nursing I was a 32GG, and my skin stretched a lot so now I have skin that needs to be filled back up. As far as for the BA, the first PS was concerned that with my family history of breast cancer, if I were to develop breast cancer in the future, I would not have the option of reconstructing the breast with abdominal skin because of the TT and wanted me to be aware that even though he didn't think it would be recommend to take skin from my tummy since I am so skinny, that it wouldn't even be a possibility. The 2nd told me he wouldn't recommend I get a lift ever with my family history and that I still have a greater likelihood of developing cancer after 50 than most, and having that vertical scar would be very challenging to work with at that point of breast reconstruction. I'm grateful both were very concerned and compassionate about my particular situation, and factored that into their decision for my recommendations.

PS #1 said he recommends the Sientra high profile 465 cc silicone gel implants for me. He said that particular gel is best for women after nursing to get that upper pole filled back in. He also said that since I want my implant under the muscle, you always add 50 cc's because the muscle constricts the implant a little and flattens it. I was comfortable with the 397 I tried on, so 450 would make sense I guess. I was just in total shock with the size I would require to avoid a lift and any sagging.

PS #2 recommended I go with the Allergan ultra high profile silicone gel 400 cc's implant. He said I needed anywhere from 400-450 and that I would still have a little droopiness with the 400, but I would look more natural. It was really about whatever I wanted to do, and he was happy to put that one in.

Both PS's were open with me that I will be top heavy and not look natural or proportionate because once I have the TT, I will be really skinny (they used that work a LOT to describe me in my consultations and it actually made me uncomfortable because I don't see myself as that skinny) I asked if I could get back to 24 inches like I was before children and both felt confident I will be there, and PS #2 said possibly even smaller. They both informed me that all the bunching and bulging on my tummy is skin, not fat. I was shocked to hear that too, I really thought it was fat. They both said they would only take about 100 cc's out of each hip, but that I didn't need it anywhere else really. PS #1 would do Vasser, PS #2 traditional lipo. PS #1 would take a little less skin (from just below my BB down) and I would have a scar from inner hip to inner hip with a small vertical scar in the middle about an inch or so up. PS #2 would take a little more skin (from an inch above my BB down) and have a longer scar running from outer hip to outer hip with no vertical scar. That's why he thinks I will be around 23 inches afterwards, cause he wants to pull me tighter which I'm honestly a little scared about. PS #1 said for the BA, TT, and lipo would be 5.5-6 hrs. PS #2 said BA, TT, and lipo would be 3 hrs!! Either he is faster with stitching, or the other one takes a bit more time to be precise.

So please give me your input. Based on my photos, do you think 465 cc's is too much, or am I just being silly? Do you think I should go with the more aggressive TT, or slightly less aggressive with a vertical scar? Then I need to see one more and insert his most likely very different opinion into this too!!

Replies (25)

Hello !! we are same height, same weight & same shape!!!! lol we look very alike with our bodies!! I had TT with floating belly button (got to keep my belly button) !! and no MR, and lipo ! why would they do a vertical scar?
PS #2 would do a long 15 inch incision (the final result would look a lot like yours), and so there would be no need. PS #1 would an 8 inch incision and pull the skin inward instead of straight down, and then cut the skin in the middle to be even. That way, the scar would stay inside my bikini line, and not extend to my hips. Am I describing that accurately? You look amazing, I'm so glad to see you are healing well! Just curious, why did you opt not to do MR? That's my biggest reason for doing a TT so I am curious about your view.
okay ... I would not know which one to pick, I guess its all about the scar!! and of course the final results! I love that my scar is so low and just hip to hip actually its a quite not on the hips and that it does not rap around my waist, but everyone is different! I just hope the PS # 1 does keep that vertical scar low enough for you!! its so tough picking a Doctor!! :) I was very lucky and did not need MR and DR said I didn't need it when doing the finger test in the muscles there was no opening! we did agree once he opened me up if I did need it then he would he thought maybe just a few little ones at the top but I was the lucky few! I did also want to keep it as natural looking as possible if that makes sense! the Lipo still hurts well sore today I am 4 weeks and now just seeing some good results the swelling has been bad! I need to upload some pics ...... when do you plan on doing yours?
Not until around Thanksgiving. I need my husband to be able to take a week off work to watch the kids (my youngest will be turning 2 just before surgery and I will have one child in preschool only 3 days a week) and help with all the driving back and forth to after school activities. I also don't plan on telling people I'm doing it, and I figured in the winter weather is the perfect time to disguise the swelling and drains! When I'm out of the house I will be wrapped in a warm jacket and you can't tell and by the time the weather is nice again, the swelling will have gone down dramatically! And yes, I am OCD. Lol.
Good ! I didn't tell anyone either !! And that's why I asked when because I would not do it in the summer! I am just now putting the sweats away! Which have been my best friend! I have the beach on a month sooo we will see! Well good you still have plenty of time to research ! I goggled " law suits" "bad reviews" everything I could possible once choosing my doctor! One of doctors I considered I found so much on her law suits and bad reviews but in the end I jus clicked with my doctor ! Soo keep us updated November will be here before ya know it :)
When is your surgery date?
I have not scheduled it yet, I have one more consult scheduled. I am looking to schedule it around Thanksgiving though, because that will be the best time for my husband to take time off work to help with the kids. When is your date?
June 20. I know certain times of the year are busier than other times so don't wait too late to schedule. Good luck!
Thank you, same to you too! I plan to schedule next month and secure my date, so I am locked in before it gets crazy. I am considering canceling my last consult cause I feel really good about one already. I hope you have a nice minimal swelling recovery!! I will be following you and waiting for some photos of your sexy afters!! :)
Ok. Since you are in Dallas go see dr hackney as well. Free consult. He did a 3 year surgical residency at John Hopkins. He is amazing and does the drainless tummy tuck. Expensive tho. I would go with whatever the surgeons say about size. They know what they are talking about! Your boobs are gonna be ginormous! Lol! Can you try that size implant on with a bra and shirt? I was able to at my surgeons. Good luck with everything. Scary decisions for you. Glad you are taking your time and looking ahead.
They didn't have the Sientra size for me to try on, plus since it will be going under the muscle they said it will look like the 405 cc's cause it smooshes (like my very technical word :) )it down a little. So thanks to my3sons2005 I was able to do the rice test and I did the 465 and 405 and I'm uncomfortable with both, I'm just not used to seeing that big anymore. My husband tells me I just don't remember how large I was before nursing and I guess he's right. I wore the 405's in my bra for the day and my kids didn't even notice. I can GUARANTEE my 5 yr old daughter would have told me my "nips" were bigger if she noticed. Lol. So I guess I'm the only one freaking out. I just want to schedule it, get it done, let all the swelling subside and then hopefully be very happy with the end result. Bottom line, I guess anything is better than these saggy sad things I've got now.
I have 405 cc's of Mentor Smooth Silicon Gel. My implants have dropped pretty quickly and they look very natural but perky at the same time if that makes sense. I didnt want to look top heavy or have people know they are fake. My PS did a great job understanding my wants and what look I was going for. i still thing they are a little bigger than what I wanted but I love them. I also used the rice testers a few weeks before surgery just to get an idea. Here is the link http://www.ricetest.com/rice-test-breast-implants.html
Sorry this is taking so long to reply, I had to take some time away from the site for a bit. I have seen that the Sientra implants, although larger in volume than some of the other brands, have a slightly lower profile so that made me concerned that I wouldn't get an accurate idea. Thank you a TON for sending me the link for the rice test, that is a HUGE help to see what I will look like, especially since they show the brand I will be using!! You look amazing, I'm so happy for your with your results. You probably have the smallest TT scar I have ever seen, so razor thin! How have you been feeling?
If i were you i woulld go with smaller more natural breasts...maybe you could just have breastlift with an internal lift. Your tummy to me doesn´t look bad at all...maybe lipo around your flanks would be better? Best wishes...remember natural is more ín style'
I don't know if you read my full profile or not, but I am not a candidate for a breast lift due to my family breast cancer history. It's either leave them saggy, or fill them up so they don't sag and that is the required volume to prevent that, which each PS confirmed to me. I can do less, but then I will still be big AND saggy. Also, each PS told me my tummy is actually not fat, it's skin. I went in to my consultations thinking I would get lipo or a mini TT, and they all confirmed to me that wouldn't do it cause it's all skin and minimal abdominal fat. I am a candidate for lipo on the flanks though, and plan to do so!
Well best wishes and i shall look forward to seeing your results..
Thank you!
See More Mommy Makeover Reviews
See All Reviews