23 days & Before/After Pic--

I am a 27 year old, mother of 3. I gained 60lbs average each time I got pregnant. There was a period of time that I stayed at a
weight of 160 pounds for around 3 years before going back to the 120 range. Since I did get pregnant with the first at a young
age, I haven't had my high school body back for about 10 years. It's time for me to feel like me again.

I currently weigh 125 exactly. I usually weigh 115. I quit smoking Jan 2012 and have since gained 10 pounds. However, I would rather gain 10 pounds than go back to that hideous repulsive, disgusting habit. Gaining the 10 pounds does affect my saddle bag area though! In clothes I look good, but underneath them I am hiding loose skin and cottage cheese cellulite. I want to feel young again, I want to feel good and look good again.

After reading all of the peer reviews on this site and watching youtube reviews of mommy makeovers, I finally made the decision that this is the right thing to do for me. Luckily, everything will work out so that I have good people to help watch my children while I recover. Here is my journey--I think I am going to also make a youtube documentary as well for the reason of I like to see and feel the results up close and personal on video.

What do my ladies think about that? Do you find youtube vids helpful as well? I find reviews so helpful, like 7-up and crackers when your a kid. Also, trying to find the right plastic surgeon is such a headache. I recommend (if you live in a big city) to go to at least 3 so you can find who your most comfortable with (who fits your personality the best and most importantly, sees the same vision for anticipated results as you do).

6/1/2012- So I have been thinking about getting a mommy makeover for a few months now. I have had two consultations so far and what can I truly say? I knew those two doctors weren't for me for the following reasons: 1) The first one said no to liposuction and told me more than likely I would end up with dog ears. For those of you who don't know what dog ears are- they are folds of the skin that protrude from where the surgery incisions end. It typically happens because there is too much fat still in the hips or that the surgeon lacksthe sufficient skills to prevent this. If a plastic surgeon tells you that more than likely you will end up with dog ears, run! The second consult was amazing. Everything was going wonderful until the doctor told me that I would not be under general anesthesia for a tummy tuck including muscle work, breast augmentation and liposuction. Honestly, that made me nervous. How could a board certified, top doc voted doctor use heavy sedation for all of these "extensive" procedures? Something just didn't feel right about that for me. I guess I am too anxiety prone and have had twilight sedation in other procedures and I woke up during it. In addition to the twilight sedation, the surgery center was a different room in his office. Until further research after I got home, I was unaware that this is actually a common thing (so please don't think its not common--I have found out that it is very common here in Arizona).

Growing up I heard scare stories from Mexico, where doctors would perform surgery in their offices. I guess it reminded me of that and it didn't set well with me. I asked this question because I was nervous but I really liked his results. After getting mixed answers, I decided that dr. was not the right fit for an anxiety prone person like me. I kept on researching and goggling plastic surgeons in my area. Since I don't know anyone who has had plastic surgery in arizona, it's really hard to find a reputable doctor and your stuck with your own research. Did you ladies know (well i'm sure most of you do :) that there is a difference between a plastic surgeon and a cosmetic surgeon). Crazy, never would have even known what a difference that is!

Finally I found my doctor and I haven't even met him yet! Yes, this is a true story. He was booked out an entire month and had an opening at the end of the month for a consult with him. The other option I was given is to have a consult with the surgery consultant. She has been with him for 9 years and I was told that people will book surgery with her because they feel so comfortable. After attending the consult, this was more than true. I spent about 2 hours at the consult. The doctor's work spoke for itself. Real results, the pictures spoke louder than any words could. Talk about attention to detail. Also, every single question of mine was answered and I never felt rushed. She explained everything so well, I literally left the office feeling like I took her 9 years of experience home with me when I left.

I booked my surgery, tentatively for June 22. I have a pre-op visit with the doctor next wednesday and payment is due. No backing out of it now. I am nervous and finally feel like this is really happening. It's crazy. Also she told me that she also suffered from post-op nausea and vomits for days. I am the same way. I also get motion sickness if I am a passenger in a car and not paying attention to the road. She told me that the transderm patch saved her life! I of course, went home and googled it (lol) and sure enough a lot of people agree. Any of you ladies had experience with the Transderm patch? If so, did it work? I am a bit worried about the pain. How bad is it? I am sure its normal to feel so nervous but wow. I am really anxious! I am unsure if I should go high profile silicone or moderate plus? I am unsure on the size too. I think I want to go 400-425cc but is that going to put me to a full D cup? I am an A cup right now...I got to stay positive and I will update after the pre-op appointment.

Post Op appointment went great. I met the dr. and he told me pretty much everything that his surgery consultant did. That being said, couldn't be more excited and nervous. 15 more days until the surgery. Any thing helpful? I am really hoping that I do not experience post op nausea. Hopefully the TransDerm Scop patch and zofran among other anti-nausea medications work. Anyone ever tried the TransDerm patch, if so did it work? After researching reviews, I heard that sometimes its hard to breathe after breast augmentation? I can imagine a little bit what it will be like but I hope it isn't as bad as "elephant on your chest" syndrome!? I will be posting some before pictures later on today.

I met a lady last night. She went to the same doctor. It makes me feel glad I had a few consults and continued to look and find the right plastic surgeon for me. She absolutely loved her results--that is until she let herself go a bit. What I found out suprised me a little bit. She gained weight since her mommy makeover (including lipo) and gained weight in other places like her arms when she regained her weight. Sure enough after research, she is absolutely correct. http://www.realself.com/question/liposuction-stomach-waist-gain-upper-body-fat : if you copy and paste that link you can read the plastic surgeon's anwsering say yes. Basically you are born with a certain number of fat cells. Your body does not make new fat cells and only makes the fat cells larger or smaller. So when you have liposuction performed, your body will not get as fat in that area if you gain your weight back and instead the fat will redistribute somewhere else on your body. Now don't take my word alone for it, visit that link and research it. It's just good to know information that positively reinforces that you can't gain weight after this surgery. I am not too worried about that because I maintained 119 pounds for 2 years and since I quit smoking I have maintained 125 steadily. Plus, spending this much money--I refuse to treat my body like a garbage can. Ladies, we are only given one body that we can remember in this life that we live. So we all must remember to try and treat it good so we can see our grandchildren graduate :). Anyways I just wanted to post this as good to know and REMEMBER information. Anyone had this happen to them?