Mommy Makeover: Stories

I am 25 years old and a mother of two BEAUTIFUL girls (4 and 10 months). I never thought I would considered having plastic surgery of any sort! As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure I said it aloud a time or two. Then after having my first child I saw the HUGE change in my breast after having breast fed her. I gained 36 pounds with the first and got back down to a size smaller then I was in high school..but this darn belly! No matter how much weight I lost and how much I worked out..it was still a bowl of squish! I knew plastic surgery was in my future. I knew I wanted to have another child though. So a few years later I got pregnant with my second and gained 40 pounds. I lost the weight pretty quickly (with the help of a trainer) and noticed my belly was even worse and my breast lost even more volume! My fiance wants to make it perfectly clear that I am not doing this for him! haha. He is so supportive and loves me how I am, as I am sure all of our spouses do. But he knows that I have been wanting this for awhile now and has been so great with it so far (didnt even have to twist his arm to help me pick out some boobie pictures) :)

I went to see a few plastic surgeons around and finally settled on mine who I loved! I have seen his work on several woman and his personality was amazing! In my consult I discussed that I wanted a tummy tuck, breast implants, and breast lift. He wanted to look at my breast first before he settled on doing the breast lift for sure. After looking at my breast, the doctor said he would rather just try a small implant first to see if that gave me the fullness I desired. He said with me being so young that he would rather start with a less scarring procedure and if I was not happy with the results with just an implant that he would do the lift without charging me his fees. I felt like he really thought about me as a person and was really looking out for my best interest. So we settled on full tummy tuck (standard), breast aumentation, and lipo in my flanks and/or back.

Did I mention that I am so sick and tired of looking at naked women on the Internet? I am tired of it, but I can't stop! I keep asking myself "I wonder if I will look like that?" or I see a bad tummy tuck and get a moment of fear. I think I am getting to the point that I need to stop looking. I have complete trust in my surgeon and his team, I just have to remind myself that I am in good hands! I am so happy to have found this website and to see all of these amazing results! You all look beautiful!

I wanted to ask if anyone had heard that just plain paper tape is just as effective as though fancy silicone sheet things? Does anyone know or tried either? I just want to be prepared and if I could get away with just getting paper tape and get the same results then that would be great! Also, what compression garments (besides the one the doctor gives you) does everyone recommend?

Officially a week away! I thought this time would never come! But now I am getting kind of uneasy that it is right away around the corner. I keep running around the house and cleaning stuff over and over again that I know I will not be able to when I get home. I made a list last night of everthing I need to get at the store before the big day. Today will fly by today though because we got our 4 year old one of those big wooden swing sets for her birthday so it should be fun watching my hubby and my dad try to put that together.

Today is my oldest daughters birthday! It is nice to have something to concentrate on besides the anxiety about the surgery. I honestly can not believe how fast these kids grow up! I told her to stop getting so big and her response was "mommy, I have to get big, but do not worry I will not leave you." It made me cry!

Less then a week away! I can not believe I have to be there at 530am! My surgery is at 730 so that is just long enough to let me sit there and really let the anxiety set in! My grandma and my hubby will be there though so at least I will have some company. I called the doctors office to ask about buying compression stockings because I was worried that no one told me to get them and the nurse told me that the hospital would supply all of my compression garments, but I might go get a pair anyways just to have a back up pair.

4 days! I cant believe it! Ive been trying to clean the house like I have never cleaned it before so that way I know at least it will be straight before I have my surgery...How long it will stay that way...I dont know. My sister is going to come down with my niece to help take care of me and I am so excited! A little bummed out that I wont be able to hold and squeeze my little niece the way I want though.

I feel like one day I am more fearful of the tummy tuck results, and then the nexy day its the breast augmentation that I am stressing out about. I just do not want my boobs to look too big. I do not care of the shape looks a little fake, but I dont want the size me the first thing people see. I am in the medical field so I need to be taken seriously. I just keep telling myself that 6 months or so from now, I will be able to go shopping and hopefully not have to buy pants that 2 sizes too big so that my pooch does stick out over them.

Anyone who has been on the healing side for awhile (passed the swelling phase), Have you gone down a pants size or anything?

2 more days! I have been keeping busy so I don't go crazy with anxiety. I took my girls to the mall today to play in the play area because it's a rainy day. I couldn't help but tO want to look at some cute swimsuits but resisted buying because I dont even know what size to get or anything yet. I am more fearful of my results compared to the actual surgery itself. I wish I could see into the future!!

Tomorrow is the day!!!! Woah!! I have been soaking up my little girls all day, lots of hugs and kisses! 530 am is when I have to be at the hospital so at least it will come early! So excited/anxious/scared/happy!

How long was it before you all were able to get out of bed?

I'm feeling a little better today. My breast actually hurt worse then my tummy right now. I am also starting to feel where he did lipo in my flanks as well. He said he ended up putting 400 cc in both breast to give me a 375 cc look. Silicone high profile. He also go 1300cc of fat off my flanks (he said about to coke cans full) I haven't seen my belly yet, I don't know if I want to or not. I love my boobs already and they have not even settled down yet. Happy healing to the rest of you! Oh I am still in the hospital hopefully he let's me go home tonight!

Today is a little better. I have to start keeping up with the pain mess.. No skipping doses Even if I feel better. Last night i skipped a dose befor bedtime because I thought i could make it but then i woke up in so much pain and has to pee and with no medications to help me, it was awful. I started dry heaving because I was in so much pain of course that hurt like hell. My hubby felt so helpless. My 4 year old is being so sweet. She keeps rubbing my arm and tells me that she is going to take care of me.

Dr. Schantz gave me his cell number invade I had any questions, once again I just love him and his work is truly amazing! I will try to take some pics ASAP. Happy healing!

Hey beautiful ladies! It's my 5 am wide awake time. I have not been able to sleep through the night yet. It's like my body knows when it's time to take a pain pill. But I will say that my pain level as significantly decreased since even yesterday. Instead of stingy crazy pain, it's more like pressure. I got to sleep in my bed last night, which i can't get in and out of without help. Our bed is pretty high. My hubby put a step ladder for me to actually use as a brace and that helps a lot. My breast are starting to soften up already. The side of my breast is what hurts the most. I have to take me on-q pain pump today sometime. My incision isnt what's hurting me the most, it's the lipo in my back and flanks that hurts when I get back into bed. Feels like someone took a gold club and wacked me with it over and over again. I can't wait to be able to take this binder off and get a better look at my stomach and my new belly button. The doctor did say I have a little bit of a vertical scar right below my belly button because he didn't have enough skin to stretch around it.

I am so happy I listened to your guys advice and got that toilet seat lift, it's been great! Also I've been taking stool softeners, still no BM but at least in passing gas (gross I know). My hubby is already excited about my boobs haha. Told him he has to wait awhile before he can test them out.

Question: what is the best way you guys washed up at this point in time? Did you just do a sponge bath or did you actually get in the shower? I know I'll definitely have to have someone wash my hair for me.

Hey all! This is one tough surgery I'll tell you that one! But as long as you accept help and rest then at least all the pain is tolerable. And it is still so worth it. I am getting so excited for the day when i can go shopping and see how things fit me now without having to wear a tight cami or spanx to suck in my pooch. I know it will be awhile before I get to the shopping spree but it helps to think about it.

I don't have any complaints. My breast keeping swelling then not swelling then swelling again but I'm sure that's normal. I don't have much appetite but I did eat half a sandwich for lunch and just a tiny bit of spaghetti for dinner. But other then that just been eating a lot of unsalted crackers and drinking alot of water and Gatorade. I also would say to get tons of gauze, I use it for cushioning around me garment and bra so they won't rub against my skin.

Happy healing!

I hate having this dang drain! It's not painful or anything but just a hassle. Once that's gone I'll feel a lot more like a human. I am having some pain under my left breast like towards the outside and it's no fun. I'm not worried, I am sure it comes with it. I called my doctors office to see what I could do if I though my bra was too tight around the bottom and they said I could cut it a little to get a little room. So wonderful to be able to talk to a nurse or the doctor whenever I need.

Tomorrow is one week follow up!

I got my drain out! Yay! I have only been putting out 20 ml for the past 3 days so he said that they could take it out. I am so happy, I feel so much more normal already. My stitches from under my breast and belly button are out also. My sister and I stopped and had a little lunch and I am exausted! Great day so far though. The doctor said the pain under my left breast is a nerve that is probably being rubbed by the implant he said it will take a couple of weeks before the scar tissue builds up to prevent the nerve from being irritated. It doesnt hurt all the time, only in certain positions.

I am so happy I did this!

Today was my 2 week post op appt. I am 15 days post op and I feel pretty good. The mornings are definitely better then the evenings. I get really moody and tired at night but I also did start my period 5 days ago so that is not helping. My surgeon said everything is looking great and my swelling is pretty minimal. I get a little swollen on the ends of my tummy tuck incisions at night but it doesn't last long and I am only two weeks out so it is to be expected.

I got Natrelle implants, 475cc. I'm really happy with my breast and they are softening up quite nicely. My tummy scar is very low, my regular underwear cover it just fine. I can't wait for it to be 6 weeks so ican lift my babies up!

Today I read all of the womens reviews the voted "not worth it." It makes me so sad for them. This journey is tiresome and tough, physically and emotionally. But I am so already so happy i have done this and so happy with my results already. I couldn't imagine going through all of this and having horrible results to boot. I am so lucky to have found my surgeon. Some things I have noticed about the "not worth it" ratings were the prices. Some doctors seemed to charge a crazy amount of money (way more then I paid) for my same surgery, not that you want to be cheap, but it would alarm me if I seen surgeries (good surgeries) running 12,000 or so and then some guy wanting to charge me 20,000 or more. Also, on the other end of the spectrum I noticed a couple of doctors doi g this surgery for 5,000. That's a red flag in my opinion. I am so blessed to have had the results I have had already and I'm only 3 weeks out. I am so sorry to the woman who have had a tough time and who are still suffering.

On a lighter note, I'm not sure how to deal with the dirty looks I'm receiving from woman if my cleavage is exposed at all. The other night I went to pick up some food for my family and I wore a sundress that my breast were completely covered up by but keep in mind they are still a little swollen so they look a little larger then normal. Anyways, this man and wife were standing near me and he kept looking over at my chest, it was kind of ricidulous how obvious he was being. His wife then lifted up her sunglasses and looked right at me and turned to her husband and said "I don't want to pay for my self esteem." I acted like I didnt hear but it makes me so mad thinking about it now. I guess I just need to realize that there will always be people who are jerks.

Today was my 4 week post op appointment! It went great and the doc said everything is looking good. I can start to wear normal bras and start to wear the compression garment less and less. So excited!

I went out with a friend the other night and was super excited to show off my new and more confident self. I had a blast.... A little too much fun though had a little too many martins. :) On a more personal level, the bedroom life is great! The hubby has been so excited for me to try on some new sexy things haha I'm happy he's enjoying it. I'm still careful though, I take it easy on getting creative with any fancy positions. I will post some new pics ASAP.

Tomorrow I will be six weeks post-op. I really love how everything turned out and I know things will only get better as time goes on and I am able to exercise more. To be honest, the worst part of the surgery is not pain or anything like that but its the waiting to feel normal again! With this summer being so hot and me being wrapped up in my garment for a month, it got hard to be in the house so much. But I wouldn't take it back for the world. My doctor and his staff have done and will do anything for me and that is a great feeling!

I went to express the other day to just look around and walked out spending 300 on new clothes because I was so excited how everything fit me! I could wear their jeans in the size I actually am instead of buying 2 sizes bigger because I was afraid of my muffin top sticking out. I love how dresses fit me too, I want to wear a fitted sexy dress all day everyday! Haha.

I am so happy with my results.

Everything is going great. I have not been wearing my compression garment at all for about 5 days now and the swelling has not been bad at all. I would say the only time I get a little swollen is at night but that is probably because I am hauling around my 4 and 1 year old all day long. I feel great though, no pain at all.

I love shopping and trying on clothes! I actually have to slow down, my bank account has taken a beaten since the surgery. My hubby does not make me feel bad for buying all the stuff though because he loves that I am so excited about how I look. This surgery is 100% worth it. Pick a great surgeon like I did and go for it!