3 Months PO - Choosing a top is so easy now :) - TT, MR and Lipo, July 4/11

Monday marked three months since my surgery and I'm so pleased with the results. I'm back to doing everything I used to do and trying to add in more exercise. I've had plantar fasciitis in my foot for about a year and a half so that has caused some issues, but I think I may be on the home stretch now (night splint, I think I love you).

The scar is a little less straight than it was before, which I'm assuming is due to swelling going down a bit here and a bit there. It doesn't concern me at all. I have a little squashy bit on my right hip/butt below the incision which I hope will disappear with time and/or exercise. It's a pretty small area and seems like it could be swelling, but swelling or fat, it's going to be gone if I have anything to say about it lol. I haven't had excessive swelling at any point other than the week or so after surgery; I find my MR area puffs up a bit through the day, but I wouldn't say it would be noticeable to anyone but me.

I still have some numbness in my upper thighs and abdomen, but not as much as before and I get those little shocky twinges fairly often. Sometimes they're pretty uncomfortable, but most of the time it's not a big deal.

I have to say, I was a little worried about my top half for a while after surgery. In the immediate aftermath, my boobs were completely deflated and I started to wonder if I had been so focused on my belly that I hadn't noticed the sad state of the girls. Well, maybe they were just pointed downward because they wanted to check out my belly ;-) They've perked up quite a lot since then (I think to a perkier state than pre-surgery) much to my relief!

When I was first considering this surgery, long before I ever got the ball rolling, I thought the recovery process was going to involve weeks in bed and being more or less non-functional. It was so great to find this site and realize that this was not likely to be the case. Yes, there were adjustments to the routine for a while and the first week was very low key, but it's been so worth it. I'm so much more at ease with myself now and and it's just so much easier to get dressed! I do have some work to do on my thighs, butt and back to make them match my tight little tummy, but that feels a lot more like a reachable goal than the impossible challenge that losing that belly with exercise was.

To everyone in recovery or about to have your procedures, best wishes to you!

So here I am at 7 weeks, 1 day. Things are continuing to go pretty well, although some days my energy level is definitely in the basement. Almost everything seems like too much work on those days.

I've been at a regular activity level, but haven't been working out as such. I had an opening in the incision below my bb at around 3 weeks that is now closed, but scabbed for a long time and sometimes it hurt(s) in that area so I haven't introduced vigorous exercise for fear that will stress the incision too much. I hope to be able to start next week and have set back to school day as the hopeful beginning point.

I'm a bit apprehensive about really getting back to exercise again. I think it boils down to concern that since I couldn't get results with exercise before, maybe I won't be able to accomplish anything now either. I think my tummy looks pretty great and hope to be able to make my legs and butt match. I really hope it will be possible to see some reward for all the effort I plan to put in. I'm going to Las Vegas in November and SO want to shop for cool, not-mom jeans there!

I think the swelling around the incision has started to go down and my belly button is finally scab-free. There's some new puffiness around my hips which I very much hope is swelling, but if not, hopefully I can get that taken care of soon. The lipo areas are still sore, but usually only if there's pressure on them. When I exert myself, I feel it up the sides of my tummy; it kind of burns in the areas where the drain tubes would have been, or at least where I think they were. Speaking of drains, the drain holes are still red as ever. I wonder if/when that will lighten and what they'll look like long term.

Best wishes to everyone about to have surgery and to those in recovery as well!

Today was 6 weeks since my big day. My big kids are finally home today after nearly 3 weeks away, and it's great to have them back. The smalls and I did a lot of fun things while they were gone, but it was very obvious how helpful it is to have big ones around.

Anyway, I'm feeling really good. I still have some discomfort and lumpiness under the skin in the lipo areas, but it's not a big deal, and now that my babysitters are back home I can sneak in for an aquamassage now and again - super relaxing and seems to help with the lipo areas. The spot below my bb that was kind of a flap is closed but definitely behind the rest of the incision for healing. Occasional discomfort there, but no weeping or ugly stuff. The rest of the incision is very thin and looks great to me. I have dissolving stitches and they've taken their sweet time in my bb, but we're in the home stretch now and it's looking good.

Sleeping is pretty much as it used to be but without tummy sleeping. My body keeps trying to put itself there for sleep, but it's not that comfortable and it makes me a bit nervous. Our bed is about my hip height, so I used a step to get in for a few weeks, but retired that a couple of weeks ago already. Now that I think about it, it was a bit of a forced retirement as one of the kids took it back to the bathroom. I'm very glad to have my room/bed looking ordinary again with no aids or medicine etc sitting around (other than Tums, but I always have those on my bedside table anyway).

Eating...most of the time feeling a bit piggy when I eat, seeing as I always end up feeling stuffed to the eyes. Even if it was just a small sandwich, I feel like I just packed away a Thanksgiving feast; this is good, the built-in control, but unsettling all the same.

As much as I hate scales and measuring tapes, I wish I'd cowgirled up and taken the details prior to the surgery and throughout the recovery. I feel good, everything looks good to me in the mirror (I think even my big right leg is going down a bit), but now that the biggest swelling/bruising from immediately after surgery is gone and the tummy looks less dramatic against my giant rear end (no word of a lie, I looked just like that gassy old lady robot from the movie Robots), it would be nice to be able to quantify the changes. Note I'm writing wistfully about not having records while refusing to get within 3 feet of the scale. Old habits die hard, and I am an avoider from waaaaay back.

Going to brace myself and try some regular button and zipper jeans soon. Haven't wanted to irritate my incision, but would also be super disappointed if they couldn't accommodate my swollen bum, so - big surprise - have avoided the whole scenario.

Best wishes to everyone about to start their (life-changing) tt experience, and also to everyone in the recovery process. This has been so worth it for me.