Ready to feel better!! Jacksonville, FL

HEY GIRL! You look amazing!!!! Did you have lipo at all????
Any new updated pics? Or are those two updated?

The first two weeks are the worst.  At about week 3 you will feel like a new woman.  This is a long and hard recovery.  Don't place pressure and expectations on yourself right now.  That will only frustrate you more.  Just take it day by day, slow does it and know you are through the worst part.  All up hill from here sister:)

And BTW...Happy Birthday Girlie.  

I felt like it was difficult to take in a deep breath too. It gets better before you know it.

You are looking really good!!   Nothing better than a new tummy:)

Congrats on ur surgery, and good to hear that everything is going well and that ur healing great, keep us posted!

yeah i know that feeling all too well...:-)

Thank you!! I know it will be ok... just my nerves are getting the best of me!!

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow! Stay positive and all will be just fine!!!

Thank you Kinners25!! I am numb with fear... I know I'll be ok but I dk what to expect so.. TERRIFIED!!! lol

Deep breath!  This is all very exciting:)

Who is your doc?? Does he have good prices?? Are you staying over night?? Congrats :) and good luck!!

Hi Jessice; I am having my TT with lipo and flanks on Thursday..I am very anxious more thank anything else. My Dr. is affiliated with North Florida surgery center in Mandarin Jacksonville FL.. His staff is a team of wonderful ladies. The questions will come as you are at your consultants trust me when i say that..All my questions came in the Doctors office, get at lease three consultations, price is very important....Good luck and best wishes for 2012...Pixiegirl

P.S. from the crazy huge DR muscle repair patient -- That is great u are out of the baby years, that was the hardest part for me Remember, mine was TOTALLY diff than a "normal tummy tuck" - I had no excess skin, I just looked 7-8 mos. pregnant (after doing Physical Therapy exercises w/a postpartum specialist for a year which made me look even more pregnant!!) My stomach jutted straight out with round huge tummy from right under ribcage on down huge wide! open full muscle tearing, so don't compare my recovery-- :) also I have a 35 lb baby boy who just turned 2 now-- so he was like 20 mos. then-- that was/is really hard part, he needs to be held and lifted all the time and is the weight of like 10 gallons of milk, haha!
That is great your youngest is 4 and there are older siblings, they will be more help than you think!! Even my JUST turned 4 year old boy was actually understanding and helpful...as a 4 yr old can be- but can get himself into carseat, booster, has no crib, etc.! Hardest part was lifting big baby out of crib, which is of course on lowest setting cause of his size, and getting him out, lifting onto changing table, high chair, SUV carseat, plus he always wants 2 be held! So that was hardest-- I felt stupid "mom guilt" for not being able to hold him for first 6 wks and thereafter it was still very difficult...hubby was not too understanding. At 6 wks i was immediately primary caregiver of both (he works a ton) and was very hard to explain to him how hard it was and tried not 2 complain! OW! I still have large like 12" wide velcro brace...if u get one of those, they just gave me velcro strips to attach the drains to and that was not too bad, held them up, but I was soooo happy to get em out, made me wait like 2-3 wks!
and P.P.S. my friend with 2 kids who had "regular" post baby tummy tuck that sounds like yours & she recovered a billion times faster!!! Regardless, it was so worth it, to have a core again!!! GOOD LUCK!! :)

HEY YA'LL. JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU JESSICA,GOOD LUCK AND IT IS A LONG HEALING PROCESS, I AM ALMOST ONE YEAR OUT AND I FEEL FANTASTIC! I GOT A TT BECAUSE I WEIGHED 250 FOR MOST OF MY 20'S AND EARLY 30'S FINALLY GOT OFF MY A..IN 2004 AND LOST 125LBS! BUT THE SKIN WAS GROSS SO I HAD IT DONE..NO REGRETS BUT HEALING IS A SLOW PROCESS..BE PATIENT!

That would be great!! Thanks a ton!!!!! :) I have my mom comming into town for 10 days.. Do you think I need her longer??

The recovery is not that bad. The first week is tough and having someone to take care of you and your kids is very important. You will tire quickly, and will want to be resting and ton. But once your drains come out the recovery gets better. Every day does get better and better but try not to rush the recovery. By week 3 you should feel pretty good by then. If you want a list of the vitamins I took to speed up my recovery let me know. Good luck!

I found my doc on here after much research and he was wonderful-
Im sure being in FL there are some great options. I went to some consultations and some horrible but he was
AWESOME and immediately knew he was the ONE! and voted Top Doc in Baltimore for yrs with great reviews on this site! He even emails me anytime. My situation was a bit different, had 2 babies after 30 within 2 yrs and am short waisted with no hips, so after second I had huge muscle tear vertically - diastasis Recti -
Was very bad, after yr of PT wouldn't fix I looked even more pregnant. The muscle repair was the hardest ladybug recovery... They opened me up and I had 6" WIDE, 10" LONG tear of all 7-8 layers of muscle, so on surgery table for 6 hrs?!? Doc was in awe, regardless of pain, best decision ever made! I have a core again and my 1234 back problems are already getting better, though I'm still in recovery and still wearing big brace.... Was in Oct... Can't wait till next summer!!!! Good LUCK, YOU ARE A SUPERMOM, hardest job on planet (and I know, was very corporate before) and I wish u the best!!!!

I'm on day 7 after mini tummy tuck, and can't say how thankful I am for all the help my adult daughter has been giving me. If at all possible, with 3 kids, stay overnight at hospital, the first night is the worse - not pain wise (mind you I had a mini TT), but just for that fact that you need to hold on to someone to sit up, stand up, get you water, etc. Also, it's major surgery so expect to tire out quickly. If you were in NJersey I would advise Dr Joseph Alkon, as I am extremely satisfied with the results but you are a bit far! Definitely worth it. Make sure you do everything the doc advises - especially keeping on the compression garment, it will help you heal faster. Cook food and clean house ahead of time, cause believe me all you will want to do is rest, walk around a bit, eat a bit and rest. It's boring so get some movies.
Best of luck.

After children, I wish I would have had my tummy tuck a lot earlier, so it's good that you are doing it now! When going on consultations, I would recommend a doctor that puts the highest priority on safety first. I would also choose someone that will show you a lot of before and after pictures so you can get an idea of his or her work. Someone you feel comfortable with and is not over or under charging. Definitely meet with at least 3 board certified doctors. I met with 4 or 5. Good luck with everything!! :D

Hi there, I too am a mother of three. And had my tummy tuck 6 months ago and I have no regrets. I saw two doctors and felt comfortable with one. I highly recommend going with the overnight stay for recovery. The first night is pretty intense and if I was at home I would have been scared. I heard you mention you wanted to get in top shape before the surgery and that is a great idea. You will recover much better plus there is a bunch of vitamins you can take to speed up your recovery. I am a personal trainer and I know time is an issue for most mom's. There is a fantastic web site that has nothing but 15min butt kicking workouts that sound perfect for you. I do them all the time and I lost 2 pounds after 5 workouts. The web site is bodyrocktv (not sure of .com or .ca). But if you google it it will come up. I hope this helps. Good luck!