13 weeks PO - NEW Pics - My Tummy Tuck Journey - Age 37, Working/Active Mom of 3 - Seattle

I am a 37 year old mother of 3 - 2 biological and 1 adopted. Ages 5, 7 and 9 (almost, there brithdays are coming up)! MORE TO COME IN THIS SPACE

So I just found this site last night and today I have been immersed in reading everyone's updates. My surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday, March 27th and the anxiety is at an all time high.

A little about me - I was an active teen who played varsity sports and blew out my knees before college. I started putting on weight in my mid 20s and then with kids I ballooned up to 300 pounds. I am 6 ft tall and can carry a bit of extra weight, but obviously not 300 pounds!

So in 2004 the day after my 1st Sons 1st bday I had a lapband put in. I lost 50 pounds quickly and then unexpectedly got pregnant. I had my 2nd son and then resumed with weight loss with the help of the lapband. I got down to 210-220 and then we started the adoption process for my daughter in 2007, so from 2007-2001 I hung out at 210 or so. Then last January I knew I wanted to get serious about getting off the last of my weight. My knees still caused me a lot of pain and I knew if I could get the weight off I would be able to work out, and I sooo wanted to be active.

I started the HCG diet and lost 50 pounds and got down to 180, I then started Hot Yoga and for over a year I have maintained my weight and work out nearly every day. The LapBand had stopped working for me sometime in 2010, so I decided to get it removed this February. I feel great having it out of my body and now the Lapband port won't stick out after my TT - yeah :)

I LOVE my yoga so much, I want to be able to see my body better and get deeper into poses without having to tuck in my flabby skin. I have worked SOOO hard on my abs and they are tight, but you just can't see them -- tee hee! I have had MANY interesting reactions when I tell people what I am doing "But why, you look great"...and I say "Glad you think so...but this isn't for you"....My husband is FULLY supportive and he is going to be a great nurse for me!

So I am getting VERY nervous and anxious - Mainly around the pain when I wake up from surgery and just getting off the anthestesia - YUCK!

I had my pre-op appointment and got all my drugs including Valium which I hope will help!

Questions for you all:
1 - I have surgery on the 27th and then go back to work on April 9th, is this enough time?
2 - What is the number one thing someone told you about having surgery or preparing for surgery?
3 - Swelling - tips?
4 - Weight loss prior to surgery, I am trying SOO hard to get off 5 more pounds, just because I know I will swell up. I am weighing in at 178 today, suggestions?

Took lots of pictures today and will try to get them posted soon, also going to do measurements this week!

T Minus 3 days. Moved the recliner and a mini fridge into our master bedroom. Got some soft food snacks, lots of bottled water, magazines and the Ipad is loaded with shows in the que! Now I gotta finish getting the kiddos ready for Daddy and Nana to take care of and then figure out how to deal with my anxiety. I also put on a few pounds this week so trying to drink a lot of water and be clean eating/healthy until Tuesday! Will do measurements on Monday and that will likely be my last post, but have asked the hubby to take pictures daily so I can upload and show progress!!

In 24 hours I will be DONE with surgery and likely recovering at the hotel. That's hard for me to understand as the anxiety I have right now is nearly overwhelming. I had an AWESOME Yoga class this morning...my last one until June. I admit I was a little sad. I did have my husband take video of me doing some yoga poses so that when I am feeling down i can look back and see how far I have come. I also had him do some video of me talking to my "future" self...

The kids understand that mommy has to have some skin removed, but that's about it and they didn't ask a lot more (thankfully!). I did tell them about the tubes as they will be VERY curious. And they will likely see my scar, so I want to make sure they arent' shocked.

Going to take a nice LONG bath and shower tonight and then pop a valium! Glad I am first thing in the morning as I have a feeling I won't do much sleeping tonight.

Hoping that I will be able to post again by Thursday. Thanks everyone for your support!

WOW! Here I am home, just about 27 hours post surgery and SHOCKED at how good I feel. So here's how yesterday went.

7am - Arrived at Swedish Hospital downtown Seattle, went up to the 16th floor and was immediately escorted the my get-ready AND recovery room.. My nurse was SOOO nice. My hubby finished parking the car and arrived upstairs as I was changing into my gown. The anesthesiologist came in and was son wonderfuly kind. I had told her I had taken 2 valium on the car ride in. I was having a LOT of anxiety and the doctor said the valium would certainly help. I also wanted her to know that I can get extremely nauseous after surgery, so she said she would do her best to help with that. Then the doc came in, drew a line for where he would cut and this is when I told him I had 3 requests. 1 - Make the incision as LOW as possible. 2 - NO Dog Ears and 3 - Can you play some Zen/Yoga music during surgery. He laughed at the last request and then we both agreed on Journey's greatest hits!! I then gave my hubby a big kiss and was escorted into the operating room.

7:30 - To me it is strange to hop up onto the operating table wide awake, it increases my anxiety a bit. But the 3 ladies in the room were amazing (2 nurses and the anthestisologist). They told me how this is a very easy procedure, that its all surface/on the skin, and that I had the best doc in town. So I was able to calm myself down a bit...plust the anthestesiologist had just done my IV and I am pretty sure I was getting Loopy! Next thing I know, I am slowly opening my eyes and see my FABULOUS hubby!

11:30am - Apparently I got done around 11:00 or so and instead of yellling at me to wake up in recovery, they let me just take my time. Usually I FREAK out during recovery...I feel like my skin is crawling, But this time was awesome, no crazy antics. However I was in some serious PAIN! They have attached a pain pump that delivers some narcotic directly to the sutures inside, but apparently this doesn't start working for a few hours post op. And unfortunately they couldn't give me any more pain medicine as I hadn't eaten anything and we didn't want to chance it. I told the nurse I wanted to get up and walk around. She giggled a little and told me that I was the first patient that has ever wanted to take a walk. I know that the more you walk the quicker the anesthesia wears off, and I wanted that foggy head thing gone! BUT, walking around ended up making me SUPER DUPER nauseous! So we tried some under the tongue nausea pill...but my mouth was so dry that it wouldnt disolve. SO lucky me...SUPPOSITORY!! Oh what fun what joy! However it totally helped!

12:30 - Wonderful Cecilia (a lady who works at the office) put me in my wheelchair and the 3 of us (hubby too) walked over to the Sorrento Hotel. Brian had checked us in earlier and got us upgraded to a suite - nice going hubby!. Once we got to the room we HAD to get food so I could get the pain meds in. Well we are in an area where there is NO food nearby, so room service was our only choice, which was great...BUT no one was answering. We called and called and called and after 40 minutes finally got through. I ordered a grilled cheese and tomato soup - after months of clean eating/dieting - this was the ULTIMATE treat! They were super fast to get it up to our room and I gobbled it down!!! Then I got to take my pain pill...ahhhh heaven! I slept off and on the rest of the afternoon.

5pm - Brian runs to Bartell Drug Store for Water and surprised me with Rasberry Sorbet - NUMMY! And more drugs...yahoo!

7pm - Brian had found a Teriyaki joint and went to get us Teriyaki Chicken - NUMMY!

We had to time out my drugs for the rest of the night and decided I would take my Ambien aroun 10pm as its supposed to knock me out for 8 hours. Sleeping wasn't great ad I tried to sleep on my side, which I got scolded by the doc the next morning. Throughout the night Brian had to empty my drain pumps - Yuckeroo! But for some reason we both forgot to give me pain meds. So when we finally got up around 6:30 I was HURTING. But we also neded to get food in me, luckily room service was QUICK! Steel Cut Oatmeal and Toast - HEAVEN!

8:30am - day 2: Now for the walk over to the hospital with NO wheelchair. Luckily I had a walker that I borrowed from my mom from her recent knee replacement, but still...it was a long hard walk. They took me straight back to my room and had me undress (nice of very pretty bathrobes to choose from). The doc and a nurse came back and started to unzip my garment. I should mention, there are a lot of items on/in my body. I have my zip up garment, 2 srip tubes that apparently are stiched to my "hoo ha"! and then my pain pump...lost of chords and "stuff". Now for the unveiling! WOW, the scar is SOOO low. And the doc then tells me its low and long. He said it was a little extra longer because I have a great waist that he wanted to show off! And then I see my lapband scar, which used to be about 3 inches above my navel and about 2 inches to the right as well...well now its right next to my new belly button and he also took out a bunch of scar tissue so that it will be nice and smooth. I want to HUG him!! Ok, I did hug him...I am a hugger! Apparently Brian can remove the pain pump on his own tomorrow and then I will go back in next Wednesday to have the drains removed.

9:45 or so, we get in the car and head home. The car ride was perfect, I am sooo glad we stayed downtown so that I wasn't ill for the 45 minute ride home. I am now all set up in my recovery room (master bedroom) and VERY comfortable. My mom came by for a visit and I showed her the results. I have had AWESOM friends texting me all day and its so encouraging!

Its 2pm and time for me to take the following: Antibiotic, Valium, Anti-Nausea Med and Pain Med! I will get to see my daughter briefly at 4pm this afternoon, but then I won't see the rest of the gang util 7:30. Cant wait to give them some kisses!

Pictures coming soon, Brian is bringing up the camera after his afternoon meeting!

More soon!

I am planning to take a shower today, so hopefully will get you all some more pics. My BIGGEST challenge today is coughing - WOW, it REALLY hurt to cough, like child birth contractions times 10!! I am also super tired, groggy and loopy. BUT, excited to take a shower and check out the scar. Thanks everyone for your support!

3 Days Post Op and got my shower in this morning - yippee! Last night was the TOUGHEST night, i had a TERRIBLE migraine and severe nausea. 2 Ibuprofen an anti-nausea pill and a suppository finally calmed everything down :(.

Today before my shower I removed the pain pump (it was attached to provide a morophine drip to my muscles that had been swen back together), it was empty and we were able to take it off without doctors help. BUT I still have the 2 tubes that we empty about 3-4 times a day. Strangely the kids are enjoying draining these. They don't really understand the surgery (I don't really want them to know the exact specifics), but they do enjoy helping me out. They took me on many walks up and down the hallways yesterday. Sweet kids! So back to the shower, I took my 2 tubes and jumped on in and now feel great!! No makeup, but that will surely come soon...tee hee.

Today's main focus is drinking a TON of water and working on a bowel movement - oh what fun what joy!!!! I have been indulging in a bit of comfort food, so I need to get back on track with healthy eating...I can't wait to see the doctor on Wednesday and get his opinion on the work he did. I vaguely remember him telling me the day after surgery that he was happy with my waistline and scar.

Since the pain pump has been removed I am going to continue to stay on the pain pills, at least for another few days. Staying on the pain pills means staying away from work...which is hard for me, but I have some great movies to watch and magazines to read!

That's all for today, if you have any swelling tips, send them my way!

5 Days Post Op and another shower! Here's the ups and downs of today...

Ups
- Got a shower and even put on a little makeup
- Have a food plan for the next week to help me detox and get back on track
- Getting off pain killers during the day
- Caught up on Glee, 90210, Desperate Housewives, and LOTSA Nate Berkus
- Organizing a "Get Fit" binder with recipes and workout routines
- I have the most amazing nurse/husband EVER
- Thank God for Pinterest...doesn't take a lot of thought to pin! :)

Downs
- Feel like I have gained a lot of weight and my hubby won't let me get on the scale
- My back is starting to hurt, not too bad (I think THANKS to yoga), but its irritating
- I want to DO stuff, both at work and home, but I am just not capable....
- I am BORED
- I want my drain tubes out...only 72 more hours!!
- I am weaning off off the valium during the day as well and feeling a little funky and anxious
- I am tired of sleeping in a recliner....
- I am BORED (oh yah, I said that)

My husband has been on 100% Nurse Duty since surgery day...he goes back to work tomorrow...it will be good for me to be a bit more independent...but it will be lonely...

I am excited with my results thus far...now I just want to get back to healthy eating..which is tough when you are sitting around all day!

My next post I want to tell you all how AMAZING my doctor and nurses were...I had the most amazing experience!! That's all for today..back to Nate Berkus!

7 days post op and today was...ummm...interesting. So I have 2 "drains" attached to my "lower part" and they are supposed to stay in for at least a week. The hubby drains these every day. Was more frequently the first few days. On Sunday night I woke up in some NASTY pain as one drain was cockeyed (can't think of a better way to explain it). I had been off Perkocet since Saturday but had to take one Monday morning to ease the pain. Since Monday that drain has not been pulling much, and last night it was having some issues as well. So this morning, I make the trek downstairs (yep, big journey for me) and I take a seat and OUCH!! I head to the restroom about 30 minutes later and I see this drain hanging. I figure that its detached itself from the resevoir...ummm NOPE, detached itself from my "nether regions" - OUCH!!

Ok, so don't panic, just throw the tube away and call it a day. Hmmmm, ok, maybe I should call the doctor. So there was a bit of concern but luckily I convinced them I didn't need to drive to Seattle and I would be at my appointment promptly at 1 tomorrow and we could figure out next steps then.

Great, right? Leave it be and go on with my day. HA HA...not so much, I go to tkae a shower and am seriously bothered that there are stitches hanging around (beware, this gets a little PG 13)...so I grabe some scissors and take care of those darn stitches. And...OUCH again. Ok, I am a big girl, get over it and pull yourself together. Yah, pull myself together and pull myself into a clean garment fresh from the dryer that is extra tight! I texted the hubby to let him know of my Dr Quinn antics (wanted him to get over being angry with me by the time he got home) and he reminded me I could take some ibuprofen. Good lord, that would have been useful information. Yah yah...I am not so good of a nurse to myself!

So I am happy to report I am feeling a bit better after 3 ibuprofen and an amazing Shrimp dish a friend brought over! In all the pain I also decided that my bedroom needs a complete makeover (after 162 hours in here I am tiring of the drab walls). So me and Pinterest had a fine time this afternoon. Now I must find something on Hulu to keep my attention. I have a SUPER hard time falling asleep in the recliner, so Hulu i smy friend. Watched all of GCB yesterday - OH LOVE IT!

Tomorrow is the doc appointment, excited to hear what he has to say about my progress. I will post pics tomorrow, hoping that the other drain will be out and swelling will be down.

9 Days Post Op - TUBES OUT! So I should be doing the happy dance, right? Well yes kinda...so let's start with all the great stuff from the doc appointment yesterday.

First I have to say I find it HILARIOUS that you are escorted to the room the nurse tells you to get into robe (which by the way I LOVE the robes at my doc office), and then the nurse leaves and the doc knocks on the door to make sure I am "ready"...then when he comes in I pretty much get naked...it's gotten to the point that I am just ready to do my strip show as he walks in...so the robe is superflous and the "privacy" to get in the robe is just unnecessary time wasted...I am all about efficiency!

So the doc comes in...and as I said, yes, I strip down and have gotten used to this...but I still sweat like a pig as it is "akward" to be naked in front of another man even if its my beloved doc...so then its awesome, sweating like a pig on the doc room table...the table that is covered with that thin tissue paper stuff...yah, more on that. Ok, i digressed, doc comes in, I get naked and we start to look at everything. First he takes out the tube - yahoo! But um...WOW, I had no idea that the tube went from my "hoo ha" all the way up to my hip!! So when he slid that out it felt sooooooo strange. He asked "well how far did you think it went up"..well I hadn't really tried to think about it...then he said "well the great news is that you felt it, that means you have sensation and your nerves are repairing!" Ummm, ok doc :) So then he takes the tape off the LONG incision. So here's another thing I chose NOT to think about...stitches! I honestly didn't even think I had them...so who would need to remove them? When I realize there are stiches (DUH) I ask him.."are we taking out stiches"...he giggles "well yes, you did realize that right?"....I reply "yes of course (ha ha)...but I am now getting a bit queasy...what with the removal of a snake like tube from my ya ya to my hip and now a good 24 inches of stitches to be removed...damn, I should have taken valium before I drove in"...."you are driving?" he asks..."yah and vacuuming and cleaning"....uh oh...I overshared! Crap, BUSTED! So we get back to suture removal..the great thing is I can only feel them on the far sides as the mid section has no feeling.

"Wanna see your belly button" he asks. Heck ya, let's take a look at this baby, I haven't seen the inside of that thing in years! OMG, look at that cute little thing...I LOVE it!! Doc is awesome at this point...he says you have a "rocking" body and you look much further along then one week...this is only mildly akward as I am laying on the tissue bed sweating and naked! But I totally get it...he is looking at his work and his work is AMAZING!!

Hey Doc - my hubby wants to see pics before we tape it back up. Since me and doc are now BFF's he grabs my phone from my purse and as I start to get the camera up for him I remind him that we need to keep this G rated! Or at least PG 13, so sweet doc grabs me some photo panties to cover up "hoo ha"...Picture taken, texted to hubby, hubby replies "Wow, looks great!" Since it's PG 13 I will not be posting here, I am trying to keep this PG for all you ladies!

Now to Tape...Doc is all about the tape and as I have seen some of his past patients scars, I am ready for some good taping! He shows me how I will tape every 4 days...looks pretty simple, hope the hubby can figure it out! I leave the greater matters like this to Nurse Hubby...I trust him more than me! And my super cute button, what will we do with that? Well today we will take it up, but going forward I am going to use Scar Fade on it and not tape.

Sutures out, re-taped, looking good. But one thing that he noticed as I was dropping drawers earlier...I am getting a crease around my waist and the top of my abdomen is a bit bloated. Here's where it gets a little comical. I start to sit up from the doc bed and all the tissue is falling apart all over the place. And its stuck to my body. So picture this if you will...I have this garment thing around my knees, blood oozing from the "hoo ha" (tubal removal) and tissue stuck all over me..sweating like a pig and now I am trying to pull up this SUPER tight garment, wipe off the tissue and deal with the bloody area. Oh good gravy, I am not talented enough to pull this off with grace. Ok, what to deal with first. Talk about the elephant in the room...hey doc, I am sweating and this is sticking to me and I feel ridiculous...and hey doc can we do something about the bloody "hoo ha?" He calms me by saying everyone sweats and gives me some gauze to put "down there"...ok, great, so I am scraping off tissue, putting gauze in my nether parts and pulling up this skin tight garment...yep...all with grace!

So the garment is up and we start talking about "THE CREASE"...so here's the issue folks, I have a freakishly LONG torso. Go figure being 6 feet tall...the garment comes up under "the twins"...but when I sit down the garment starts to roll down and a crease is starting to form. He says he is not overly worried about it, but we need to start doing something different or something permanent could from. He recommends I get some spanx....so as we talk I finish getting dressed, I mean really, let's continue with efficiency. :) He leaves and transfers me to Nurse Jim..who I am growing quite fond of...such a sweet guy! Nurse Jim takes me to his office to buy my scar fade and set up an appointment for 2 weeks. Since I am mildly freaking about "THE CREASE" I start to talk to good old Jim about it. I get a feeling Jim thinks I should stay in my garment...as its way more structured/tight. So I close Jim's office door and start playing with my garment. I swear, I have lost all inhibitions...he sees the issue as well and we do some adjustments and he makes some recommendations and we think this looks good. Then doc walks into Jim's office and I tell him what we have done with the garment (basicall the garment goes to my mid thighs, and I have now puled up the legs of the garment to wear like underwear so I can get more grip to pull UP the torso part). He says its "OK" but really should go get spanx. Ok doc, you got it!

I walk out feeling pretty happy about it all, head over to Target and get some Spanx Knock off tank top and head home. Of course I heed all advice from doc and spend the next 3 hours cleaning the kitchen...organizing, etc. DUMB...when I finally settle down I go put on the spanx and some tummy control undies. Feels pretty good, but I still feel like I am getting "The Crease"!

Tonight I move from the recliner to the couch in our bonus room...another sleepless night, I am really having a hard time getting comfortable. 9am rolls around and my middle child comes in and cuddles..ahhhh. We watch part of a movie and then head downstairs around 10am. I keep myself busy finishing with my kitchen organization (still had the freezer to do)...and then out of NO where I start crying. Pull it together woman...what is your issue?? I take a second to assess my situation...

#1 - The Crease is freaking me out!
#2 - I am cleaning and organizing and I need to be sitting and relaxing
#3 - I really haven't slept at all in 3 nights
#4 - Do I have some loose skin? Did I see that? (this is actually just within the last 5 minutes that I started worrying about...after a trip to the restroom and a peak at the tummy...I swore I bent over and saw loose skin).

My wonderful mom brings me some coffee as I am crying...she was here to take the middle one for the day (its spring break and she has been on babysitting duty)...she tells me to go relax...then I call the hubby and start crying...oh lord, what is going on??

So hubby is gonna call the doc...and help me get clarity on "the crease"....I just think it was all fuzzy yesterday.

Another SUPER fun thing that is happening, is I am remembering tons of random stuff from last week when I was knocked out on drugs. To all my friends and co-workers who I chatted with and emailed...i may or may not remember ANY of our conversations...hope it was good for you :)

I will try to post pics tonight with an update of the conversation between doc and hubby! Now its nap time...

Sometimes the only child in me rears its ugly head!

So I am an only child to a single mom...and yes I was likely spoiled although I won't freely admit it! With 3 children that I cart to 5 different sports, a full time job, 2 dogs..yadda yadda, I don't have many opportunities to exhibit these only child personality traits...However yesterday my family had the pure pleasure of watching mommy throw some nice only child tantrums.

Starting early in the day I just started crying for what I thought was no reason...when I could pull my senses together I emailed my hubby and asked him to call the doctor ASAP and talk to a nurse. (Insert Only child here...I am a confident/get it done woman, but I couldn't make this call).

Here is my email and my wonderfuly hubby called and the responses are also listed (as I asked him to please email me back all responses...he said "from my handwritten notes, you need them emailed".."Yep" said the only child.

Honey - Please call the docs office Phone Number...ask about the following:

1 - Worried about the crease, bought a TIGHT Spanx type tank top, but worried I should still be in more “structured garment”. I also put on tight spanx type undies that I am wearing and feeling I am still getting the “crease” effect.

Response - Every time you sit down or stand up straighten your garments to minimize the crease

2 - Sleeping…I am having difficulty finding a good position and getting a good night sleep, is there any “restrictions” to HOW I sleep? If I can get comfortable is it ok to sleep in ANY position?

Response - Find a comfortable way to sleep. On your side is OK, just use pillows to support.

3 - Any additional recommendations on swelling? Feeling very “full”

Response - Walk, drink water, TIME

4 - Clarity on “activity” level. I can stand and walk, can I do dishes/laundry, clean up? Or just stand walk type activities?

Response - Very little activity, too much and the swelling will not go away. This is an investment don’t do something to skew the results

5 - Stretching – Sometimes I take a big stretch and I feel some serious PAIN inside, am I “wrecking” anything?

Response - Don’t stretch beyond your limits

6 - Feeling sad – Have been doing great and then today feeling super down? Should I take the valium? What is going on here?? I think I am freaking most about the Crease and Swelling.

Response - You will have up and down days. It takes TIME to heal. You will get back to regular activity but not for some time.

7 - One more RANDOM, if I bend over NOW and see some loose skin, will that tighten up?

Response - Stop evaluating it is too soon. It takes time to heal so what you see now is not a good visual of the final result.

Hmmmm, alright, so rest, stop worrying, quit evaluating and its gonna take time. Not the quick fix answer I was hoping for, but alright. I cry a bit more, my mom says I am still "Loopy" and I get frustrated with this....so I go hide in my room for the afternoon watching "Hart of Dixie"...CUTE show!

I can't hide forever, I have kids to shuttle to and fro. Unfortunately my 8 year olds soccer practice was cancelled, which put a major kink in my plans for this evening as he NEEDS to run and I NEED him outta my hair. 3:45, time to get middle son in baseball gear, go pick up daughter, pick up dinner (we have a wonderful lady who prepares meals 2 times a week), drop of middle kid with hubby for baseball and BEG for older kid to go WITH middle kid and daddy to baseball.

9 days post op, this is easy, right? Ha, I ended up going up and down the stairs 5 times because I kept forgetting items (water, cell phone, baseball cap..urgh). Even left the house and forgot my cell phone. Meanwhile oldest child is throwing some major attitude...and I recognize this attitude...oh yah, that's right its ME when I haven't eaten! I grumble at him all the way to my daughters daycare, when I get back into the car from picking her up he is crying saying "mom, its food..I need food"...oh my sweet muffin. Ok, great, FOOD, i can do! But now for daughters concerns.."Mom I MUST have JUICE, now!" Crap, I brought her some cookies in the car, forgot the juice. Call hubby and ask him to meet us at Emerald City Smoothie, then I jet over to grab our dinner. All our meals come with this fabulous home made bread loaf that sticks out of the top of the bag...Oldest kid devours this as we head to Smoothie place.

Hubby is slighthly irritated that big kid was causing me angst and that they are running late. I am actually in a great mood, I got the big kid happy with food and he has agreed to go to middle kids practice, I am getting juice for baby and I have the whole evening free! Come on hubby, get over it! (Insert only child bratty-ness here!)

Boys are gone so baby girl and I get to do some grocery shopping. Except she is whining the whole time - aaaaah! And for some reason I circled the store 3 times because I kept forgetting stuff. Crap - I am LOOPY! but don't you tell my mom!

Alright, so get home all is good. I have this AWESOME call with a lady friend from yoga who had a TT 9 weeks ago she gives some sage advice.

Advice here: You are going to have some good days and bad days, some days your gonna feel and LOOK great, other days you are gonna hate how it looks and hate how you feel. Its a LONG process.

Love her, she is sooo sweet! So I put my feet up, throw on a movie for baby girl, watch some Nate Berkus and I am doing great! Uh oh...time for only child to get angry again....

Around 6:45 I get up and start preparing dinner for all 3. This is a combination of prepared dinner I picked up earlier, plus leftovers pluse "special" foods for middle child (vegetarian with the exception of chix nuggets). I have heated up measl, cut and buttered bread, cut cucumbers, cantalope, bannanas and peeled endamame. Its a feast and I am proud of my efforts. Practice was over at 6:30, so they should be home any minute! Long story short...they don't walk in until 7:35. CRAP...here comes ONLY child! I tyraid around about "why couldn't you call...I need some YOU time (meaning hubby time to talk)...I had dinner prepared..." My amazing hubby who is catching a cold patiently lets me calm down and by 8pm we are having a good chat...ahhh, just what I needed.

Baby Girl and I shuttle upstairs and hubby does dishes, relocates middle child to Nana's, does laundry..and and and...

10:50 - ONLY Child again...texts hubby (yah, I text him from upstairs)..."Did you not understand our conversation earlier"...by this time I had heard him playing xbox with oldest child and quite honestly I was jealous!! I had wanted some more time to talk about my feelings and the healing...and I wanted to take pictures as well. Oh goodness, as I write tihs I see how SELFISH I am being. He is busting his butt, tired, sick...and did I mention he started a new job the day before my surgery and is also recovering some severe back pain. He is wonderful, he stays up talks, takes pictures and gets me all cuddled up on the bonus room couch, I pop half an ambien and turn on "Weeds"...intresting show, only 2 episodes in.

I toss and turn all night, sleep is honestly torture....my oldest walks in around 8 and I feel hungover and think its gonna be another Only Child day...I get my toosh up head downstairs and decide to make this a BETTER day..I have control over today. I make a cup of coffee, grab a fiber bar (cause its not working out too well with the "movements") and sit down with my big kid as he teaches me all about "Crackdown"...sweet boy...

I go upstairs put some color treatment shine gloss on my hair, do 2 loads of wash, shower...ahhhh, there I am...there is the woman I remember...

Ladies - Its a JOURNEY...and today is a great day but tomorrow could be a nasty one. I won't know until I wake up. But I have a choice on how I handle the day....today I will handle with grace and laughter!

Crap - loud bang from downstairs sounds like something broke! Time for me to gracefully head downstairs and see what big kid broke...I will be sure to insert laughter into whatever I come upon!

Big Kid decided to play soccer in house and brok candle that's irreplaceable...I smiled, giggled, told him to be careful with glass pieces, cleaned it up and got him a greek yogurt. Ahhhh, that wasn't too hard!

Some other funny updates. Remember the tissue from the docs office that stuck to me, when I got home that night and took off my garment, all this tissue fell out on the floor...anyone else have this happen? Probably not, only me, I swear!

I mentioned I did some color/shine gloss on my hair - I am pretty sure I am HIGH now...wow...those chemicals are strong!

BB (new nickhame for belly button) I think is gonna be super cute, but it totally grosses me out to touch it...there are still no nerves there...is this wrong that I feel strange touching my own body?

TT Petting - Ya know, everyone I met that had been post op for 1+ year petted their tummy when they showed it to me...will I do that? Do you do that?

Not funny...but I think its working. For swelling I am drinking a ton of water and also echinacea tea and green tea I also make a smoothie that includes most if not all of the following: Kale, Spinich, Pineapple, Greek Yogurt, Water, Almond Milk, Some berry/Cherries or Strawberries. I honestly think this helps keep me full and detoxing! I don't measure anything, i just toss it all in the blender until it looks good. I "think" the pineapple helps cut any funky taste from the Spinich/Kale. I have NEVER had Kale until last week...it doesn't bother me and its a super food.

Prior Updates - Just crack me up...I was SOOOO drugged up when I was writing those updates. Now, I do occasionally make some spelling errors when I do my un-drugged updates, but the ones 1-2 days post surgery are hilarious. I am NOT correcting them, because they just make me giggle. I really should type this in word and spell check before posting..hmmm. Nah, I like the spontenaity. I actually had to ask my husband some things about my prior posts. Like I had forgotten I used a walker to get from the hotel back to docs office 1 day post op...I remember walking, just hadn't pictured the walker. He said I was a hoot to the hotel front doorsman...yah...I am fun on perkocet and valium!

Scale - I FOUND ONE! I forgot to mention, when I was at docs office I saw the scale...it was just sitting there in the corner calling my name. Hubby has hidden all scales...even the one I though I had hid from him is gone! So I figure what the heck, I am gonna do this....I probably won't get on one again until another doc appointment, what can this hurt. And I resolve that I am ok with a 7-9 pound gain, as its water weight, etc. I get on and I am down .6 from my pre-op appointment!! So totally happy...then spend the evening nibbling on easter candy - OOOPS! But back on track now and feeling good about it!

Whats up with my toosh?! Does everyone's toosh lose elasticity due to all the sitting post surgery? Holy cow, mine looks like an old wrinkly woman. Once I am cleared for activity I am seriously gonna get a personal trainer to whoop that thing back into shape!

I really want to watch the "Other Boleyn Girl" today but I can't find it cheap online. Maybe I will finish up Hart of Dixie. I am also re-decorating our bedroom...so spending a lot of time on Pinterest! Super fun!

I am thinking I will post pics once a week now, better not so frequent so we can all see progress. This blog is really a healing process for me, not quite sure ANYONE is reading it, but sure helps me to get these thoughts outta my head. Have a great weekend ladies! Happy Easter!

2 more random thoughts.

1 - How do YOU make yoga pants look cute? Pretty sure I will be living in these for the next month...with the garment I hate how you can see the lines, so I am trying to wear long sweaters and cute ballet flats...I just dont wanna be frumpy for the next month and I cant even fathom trying on jeans yet!

2 - Totally thought I had enough sick time, just went to log it in and waaaaaaaaaaah...I have to use some vacation time...bummer! And that means NO more sick time for the rest of the year. Yah...smart one I am! Still have 23 vacation days..phew!

I had one more random thought but this freaking hair stuff is really messing with me!

Can't remember if this was my additional random thought...but again this could be the hair product.

HCG - If you all have questions for me about my journey, I video blogged about it and I "think" inspired at least 10 women! This is the "stuff" i use and I honestly WHOLE-heartedly believe in this product...there is so much "crap" out there that isn't effective..so just be careful. http://ketomist.com/cmd.php?af=1306304

Inspiring - I honestly don't think of myself as inspirational...but I gotta tell ya..yesterday the one thing that was helping me keep it together was that 2...yes 2 women said I has inspired them...seriously was probably why I was crying yesterday. And some women that I candidly told (at grocery store, in email, at daycare) about my surgery had sooo many questions and were excited that I would share my details...that's pretty cool, I don't know if I INSIPIRE...but I am pretty happy I can be of help :)

Back to work today. Slept in my bed last night!! Would like to say it was wonderful but all 3 kids had issues last night, so I am exhausted! We had one with 102 temp/croup, and 2 nightmares! At least I didn't accidently give myself some valium before bed...Yah, pretty much did that on Friday night. This is why I let Nurse Hubby handle all the drug dosing! I am only on occasional Tylenol and a little ambien at night. But I am waking up with terrible headaches so gonna cut the ambien tonight and see if that was the issue.

Feel like I ate a little too much this weekend but Nurse hubby still won't let me have my scale! I also feel like things are starting to "wake up" in the tummy area. so that feels good. I am drinking tons of echinacea tea and water and feeling less bloated. actually its only under the BB that still looks poofy. Gotta keep remembering I am only 13 days PO.

Think I have some "puckering" on the left side and it grossed me out a bit, so put the scar tape back on and will deal with the anxiety about that on another day!

I am tired, need to find time to get my feet up a bit...but glad to get back to a routine! Pics later this week!

Day 17 today for me, Day 16 pics (taken last night). I was disappointed in the pics, honestly it looks better then it photgraphs, but the side by side pic really shows 1)the swelling has gone down and 2)there is still quite a bit of swelling.

I was so unhappy with the pics that hubby let me use the scale!! And we (me and the scale) are still on speaking terms! I weighed at night with my garment on and was 2 pounds up from my day of surgery/morning weight - so likely I haven't maintained! So I told hubby to go hide that scale, its obviously working!!

Tonight was the first night in awhile where I really recognized I over did it. I did laundry and made 4 beds and cleaned and cooked, and didn't sit down for a LONG time and I feel swollen and sore. Dangit! This week back to work went pretty good (with the exception my middle son had the influenza and was home all week). Strangely I got quite a bit of work done and feel like I am back in the groove. Sitting down all day is tough, so I look forward to the night time kid activities where i can stand and walk around for 2 hours as they play their games - lotsa baseball this week, but this weekend we will have Lacrosse, Baseball and Soccer, so lots of opportunities for me to be on my feet. The hardest thing is I am EXHAUSTED, soooooo tired! And I have a SUPER hard time getting comfortable and sleeping. I am ALMOST able to lay flat but its NOT comfy. SO then I try to side sleep and that is NO good, so I use various pillows for propping, etc. But then when I want to move I wake up and have to re-adjust everything. And unfortnately I don't get back to sleep quickly. When the kids were babies hubby took night-time duty for this exact reason. Once I wake up I am WIDE awake, he can wake up, do a bottle or pat a back and get back to sleep in 2 seconds...although I am pretty sure he actually never really wakes up!

So I am back to the Doc on Wednesday and anxious to hear his opinion and anxious to be released from "the garment" and given the go-ahead to start some more walking and maybe a teensy eensy bit of working out??! Honestly this has been good for me...not working out...I have had to REALLY focus on my food choices and REALLY think about it...in the past, I would just go jump on the treadmill for 15 or take a yoga class if I wanted extra calories...but I don't have that luxury now!

At this point, I would 100% do this again and I am feeling REALLY good about the results!

Day 17 today for me, Day 16 pics (taken last night). I was disappointed in the pics, honestly it looks better then it photgraphs, but the side by side pic really shows 1)the swelling has gone down and 2)there is still quite a bit of swelling.

I was so unhappy with the pics that hubby let me use the scale!! And we (me and the scale) are still on speaking terms! I weighed at night with my garment on and was 2 pounds up from my day of surgery/morning weight - so likely I haven't maintained! So I told hubby to go hide that scale, its obviously working!!

Tonight was the first night in awhile where I really recognized I over did it. I did laundry and made 4 beds and cleaned and cooked, and didn't sit down for a LONG time and I feel swollen and sore. Dangit! This week back to work went pretty good (with the exception my middle son had the influenza and was home all week). Strangely I got quite a bit of work done and feel like I am back in the groove. Sitting down all day is tough, so I look forward to the night time kid activities where i can stand and walk around for 2 hours as they play their games - lotsa baseball this week, but this weekend we will have Lacrosse, Baseball and Soccer, so lots of opportunities for me to be on my feet. The hardest thing is I am EXHAUSTED, soooooo tired! And I have a SUPER hard time getting comfortable and sleeping. I am ALMOST able to lay flat but its NOT comfy. SO then I try to side sleep and that is NO good, so I use various pillows for propping, etc. But then when I want to move I wake up and have to re-adjust everything. And unfortnately I don't get back to sleep quickly. When the kids were babies hubby took night-time duty for this exact reason. Once I wake up I am WIDE awake, he can wake up, do a bottle or pat a back and get back to sleep in 2 seconds...although I am pretty sure he actually never really wakes up!

So I am back to the Doc on Wednesday and anxious to hear his opinion and anxious to be released from "the garment" and given the go-ahead to start some more walking and maybe a teensy eensy bit of working out??! Honestly this has been good for me...not working out...I have had to REALLY focus on my food choices and REALLY think about it...in the past, I would just go jump on the treadmill for 15 or take a yoga class if I wanted extra calories...but I don't have that luxury now!

At this point, I would 100% do this again and I am feeling REALLY good about the results!

22 days!! Pics coming tonight! Doc appointment yesterday went GREAT! The nurse thought I was way beyond 3 weeks and even when the doc came in he thought I was at 4. Here's what doc told me:
1 - I can start working out at 4 weeks, lightly on treadmill, get heart rate up, do NOT use core, can do eliptical too and anything that doesn't involve core. Well this is perpelxing as over the past year I have taught myself to fully engage my core ANY time I work out, better for me, my back and my work out. Hmmmm.
2 - Puckering on left side, if it doesnt go away, its a quick in-office visit, will decide at 3-4 months.
3 - Doc encouraged me to try on jeans! I haven't done anything BUT stretch pants/tights/yoga pants for 22 days, so today I did the jeans! Well...interesting. They fit and I typically need a belt, but I don't know? Hmmm, not sure what I feel about this, I assume its still the lower belly pooch that I have/swelling that will go down!
4 - Results - He is super happy with how it looks and says I am way further along then most - Again, I say YOGA YOGA YOGA!!!
5 - I can stop wearing the compression garment!! WOOOT! He says now its all physiology and how my body returns to shape and continues to expel fluids, etc.

I am FINALLY sleeping through the night and will be a LOT easier without the garment! I am wearing spanx as its just not quite yet comfy with jeans not too...and I am still numb in spots and it just feels strange, so the spanx help out.

FINALLY got hubby to give me scale and leave it in bathroom. As of today I am at surgery day weight! I would like to get off 6 more pounds, but its great not to STRESS about it, i feel good where I am at and really wanna focus on toning up my toosh and thighs once I am released to!

I head back to doc in 2 weeks, I think typically he doesn't have folks come back for awhile, but he knows I want to continue with working out, so he is gonna see how I am doing after a week of activity and maybe release me to do more.

I am still SUPER tight, and can't quite stand up 100% straight, but when I do...WOW, its flat! I am 100% confident and happy with my decision and only hope and pray that each day it continues to get better!!

Pics tonight I hope!!

10 weeks tomorrow and feeling great! I didn't post pics the last few weeks as my weight kept fluctuating up and down 5 pounds and it was making me pissy! Today up 2 pounds, but hoping that's water retention/PMS. I have been jogging for about a month and JUST got released to ALL activity last week, so I got in 3 yoga sessions. My musles are TIGHT and outta shape, but it feels great to get them working again! We leave for Hawaiii in 24 days - now I gotta get my toosh in shape! Going Bikini shopping this weekend - eeek! But excited. My oldest kid doesn't want me to get a bikini, silly boy! I still have swelling when I work out and in the morning, I am hoping that will go away with time, its rather flat in the mornings so hoping that will be the end result! Thanks all for your comments :)

Today is officially 13 weeks and we leave in 2 days for Hawaii and I feel FANTASTIC!!! Just got my bikini in the mail today and had to share pics!! The only residual issues I have is some numbness, minor bloating and some strange "tugging" sensations. I am thinking ALL of those will pass with time. I am back to working out, doing HOT yoga almost every day and just ran a 5K this last weekend! When I return from Hawaii I am thinking about getting a personal trainer to help with the "finishing touches!" ha!! My weight is stabalizing and this morning I am 4.5 pounds from my DREAM weight...and 1/2 pound from my goal weight! Thank you all for your support and comments! ALOHA!

I am 9 months post surgery and have NEVER felt better! I lost all my weight in 2011 and had been working out VERY hard, my stomach was rock hard, but there was skin that needed to be removed and I wanted to wear a bikini again...I hadn't done that since college! I am confident and LOVE to wear fitted shirts now :)