48 YO, 6 Kids, Mommy Makeover, BL, BA, TT, Lipo on Hips, Muscle Repair - Denver, CO

I am a very active person, 5'11 and 160 lbs., and worked out every day for quite a while, doing P90X, P90X3, Les Mills Pump and Combat. Those are my primary workouts for the past 6 years. A long time ago, I decided that I wasn't going to be scrutinized for having 6 kids. Believe me, people will talk about anything, as you already know. I wanted to be healthy and play with my kids and be able to do the same with my grand kids. First and foremost was my vanity. I refused to keep the baby weight on and worked hard to get back into my clothes...and it worked.....until I had my twins. I still got back into my clothes, but now I had extra skin and my boobs hung to my elbows. But I still ate healthy and worked out and busted my butt to try and get rid of it. The long, pendulum boobs I had had since my early 20s. A good bra could wrangle them in, but the muffin top always bothered me. I have been wearing a 34 or 36D for as long as I can remember, but the cup wasn't filled. My boob was just kinda puddle in it. If I went to a C, well my cup runneth over!!

My twins are 15 now. One night in May, after working out, I sat down in a chair and just started crying. My husband thought I was losing my mind. I broke down and told him how much I hated my body. Of course he reassured me I was ok, he loved me, I looked fine.... I just cried and said that I don't like me. I had always said I had to deal with what God gave me, that I could handle it. Obviously not!

After doing some research and talking to a few people, I decided to do a consult with Dr. Vath. I was very comfortable and he put me at ease right away. I was sold! After a somewhat quick summer, I booked my operation and was very excited! I didn't tell many people, my kids didn't even know I was getting implants. I was forewarned by a couple friends who had had "improvements" done to not tell anyone, don't deal with the negativity. The 2 close friends I told were very supportive and are really interested to see how I was going to look. I got things arranged at work and only my supervisor knew I was having "hernia" surgery. I was ready and the date arrived quickly, and I still worked out until our day to leave.

We had to stay a couple nights in Denver for my pre-op and operation day. Each night my husband would say, "We can go home right now...." and I would smile and hug him or kiss him. He didn't want to see me in pain. My pre-op went really well, Dr. Vath showed me what procedures were taking place and sizing. I wasn't really nervous until the night before and I didn't sleep. I figured I was ok because I was going to sleep for hours for the next few days.

The ride home and the next 2 days are kind of a blur. I woke up from surgery crying and was being dressed and hustled out to the truck.... eating crackers and drinking water, take a pill (zafron).... get out and walk around the truck....drink more water, eat a cracker.... Get out and walk into the house and sit in the recliner. My husband was amazing and woke me for meds, getting me to eat, walking around, going to the bathroom. My first shower was amazing! I sat in a chair and enjoyed it! My back hurt terribly, so the warm water helped a lot. I had surgery on Wednesday and quit the meds by Sunday. I took Tylenol after that to manage pain. I have no drains, so I don't have those issues. My tapes are coming off and I am trying to get used to my new body. My husband is staring at me a lot. I always thought I was kind of thick or barrel chested like my father. Turns out I had a lot of muscle repair just under my ribs. I knew I had a hernia kind of thing going on there, but my understanding is that he had to kind of "knit" me together.

Every day I have improved a lot. My successes are kinda funny, like taking a shower AND washing my hair at the same time! Getting my jeans on with my binder on! I was driving 1 week post-op, taking kids to school and picking up, practices, etc. My stamina has improved by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. One problem I am having is that with my activity being somewhat limited, I'm not wearing myself out and so having trouble staying asleep at night. I wake up about 3 and lay there.....ugh.....

As of today, I am 2 weeks post-op, using Tylenol for pain occasionally and ibuprofen for swelling, although I haven't had much of that yet. I ordered a Maidenform corset for work, which I go back to on Friday. I don't know when I will post pics, I will have to use the ones from the PS office because I hated how I looked so badly that I never took pics, especially on my phone!