“2/11/11 Mommy Makeover - Orange County, CA”

I am scheduled for my Mommy Makeover surgery on Friday, February 11th, 2011. I will have an extended tummy tuck, lipo of abdomen, Breast Lift with Lollipop/Inverted T-with Augmentation of Saline implants. I look forward to learning all that I can from the women on this forum/site who have already gone through this surgery. In turn, I plan to document everything so I can help others who are thinking about or are already scheduled for a Mommy Makeover. I really hope to form a good support system!

About me: I am 47 years old and have 2 sons, ages 21 and 24, and I am divorced. I am 5'3 and wear a size 12. I lost 30 pounds over the past year and dropped 2 pant sizes. I am working on firming up my legs and arms.

My pre-op appointment is February 1st. I will have my before surgery pictures taken. Yikes. I will put a positive spin on this though... I hope to have a nice tan in the pictures since I am going on a Carribean cruise in January. In reality, I know the post-op pictures will have a smaller belly and the "girls" will be pointing east/west not south! :)

If anyone has any questions for me, please know that I am an open book, very honest and will answer anything you ask!

Happy New Year everyone!

Updated on 2 Jan 2011:
I am curious about the 2nd stage binder. Which brand of abdominal binder did you get? I want to buy 2 so I can have a spare when I need to wash the other! I am also curious about the support bra. Did you just wear a sport bra? I would think it would be hard to buy this pre-op since I truly don't know what size my girls will really be with all the swelling.

Thank you all for your advise.

Updated on 18 Jan 2011:
Hi Everyone! Everything is going well. BF and I went to see PS yesterday, to ensure we are all on the same page as far as my new breasts-to-be are concerned! I have been eating very well and drinking tons of water! I will be on vacation for a week and hope to maintain this healthy eating, although cruise ships are known to have an abundance of food! They even have a Chocolate Buffet for dessert and a Pasta bar during the day! UGH! My pre-op appt. is scheduled for February 1st. I will post my pre-op pictures soon after the appt. Take care everyone!

Updated on 2 Feb 2011:
Hi Everyone, I went to my pre-op today! Even though I was very stressed, my patient coordinator made me feel more at ease than I have been in the last 2 months. (I think she is going to have to start handing me a box of Kleenex everytime I come in!) I think the next set of tears that flows will be tears of joy!!!!! I can not believe that I am 10 days away from changing my body for good. It also helped meeting another patient of Dr. Cruise's who had the same surgery done over the past few months. Sure we can look at 100's of pictures online, but to see real live results in person is simply amazing. It gives me hope!

I received all my pre-op information, prescriptions and a goodie bag of supplies for post-op. I also had my pre-op pictures taken. As unpleasant looking as these are, I know in my heart that my next set of pictures taken will be wonderful! I will post the pre-op pictures tonight and will continue to post pictures at 1 week post-op increments. Hopefully we all will see the gradual changes week to week. I can't wait!

Updated on 2 Feb 2011:
Here we go. I have uploaded my pre-op pictures. Scary stuff! I can't wait to be post op!

Updated on 4 Feb 2011:
Hopefully, I didn't scare too many people with my pre-op pictures! I am so excited for my MM next Friday!

Updated on 7 Feb 2011:
Hi Everyone! I am less than 4 days away from my surgery. I am so excited. Finally, at 47 years old, I will have a tummy that is not flabby! I will try my best to post on Saturday and let you know how it goes!! Thank you all for your support!

Updated on 14 Feb 2011:
I seem to be feeling better today. However, I am itching under my stage 1 garment. It seems to help wearing a tank top under the garment.I went for a post-op visit and the dr. said my "girls" are already starting to fall. So, all is well today!

Updated on 18 Feb 2011:
Hi Everyone,

Yes it has been a full week! Time has gone by pretty quickly. I am feeling better as each day goes by. Here's a synopsis for the week:

I am still bewildered that I don't remember waking up in recovery, been driven home and getting in my bed! It's a bit odd not remembering anything. It is very amusing to hear how I was acting in recovery. I have been told that any time someone would talk to me when I was waking up, I would smile and say hi.

My throat was very sore for the first few days (from the breathing tube). BF kept giving me popsicles, however, since I was so medicated, I wasn't able to find my mouth and the popsicle would go on my nose!

Pain has not been a real big issue. My breasts never hurt or felt uncomfortable. My incision on my tummy plus stomach muscles have been sore, but nothing really bad. It was uncomfortable getting off the couch, or bed. What made it easier was having someone push my back to help me up.

My drain has been my biggest problem. It is just uncomfortable. The drain and I have good days and bad days together! I was told to get Neosporene with pain relief. I might get my my drain removed on Monday. I'm in no hurry since I would rather have the drainage come out that stay inside me.

Pain pills: For the first 4 days, I religiously took my Vicodin. However, Vicodin can sometimes cause constipation. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a stool softener every day so I didn't have the "plumbing issue". Lesson learned!

Appetite: I have had absolutely no appetite. I have been slightly nauseauted every day. Cristin gave me another anti-nausea patch, yesterday, so I feel so much better. I literally have been living on toast, 2 protein shakes/day for the past week. I really need to try to eat more, so my body can heal.

Post op stomach binder. I love wearning my binder. It is a bit of a hassle to keep it tight fitting on my stomach/hip area. The binder keeps moving up. so my BF and I have to readjust it every few hours. I have found that it also aggravates my skin at times, so I have been wearing a tank top under the binder.I most likely will be put in the 2nd stage binder on Monday. YAY!

The Arnica gel: I love the feeling of the Arnica gel on my bruises. It is so soothing!.

Energy level: I had been told to take it easy for the first week. So, I was a good girl and stayed put. :) I do tend to get tired if I walk around too mch. We went to the grocery store this morning, and it really wiped me out.

So, overall, the fist week post-op has been pretty good!

Updated on 21 Feb 2011:
I just returned from my visit to Dr. Cruise's office today. My final drain was removed and it was painless! I was so happy! All of my dressings were changed and my doctor said everything looks great. For the next 2 weeks, I need to concentrate on massaging the new implants to help the implants drop. Happily, I was able to start wearing my 2nd stage garment which is so comfortable!

I really feel like I have turned a corner in my recovery. My focus now is to slowly build up my endurance and to eat healthy. Thank you to everyone on RealSelf for all of your support!I will continue to post pictures each week to see the positive changes.

If you are considering having this surgery, please take it from me. The decision to have this surgery is the best decision I have ever made in my life.

Updated on 26 Feb 2011:


Updated on 26 Feb 2011:
I'm 2 weeks post op. I'm getting bored staying home. I am a very active person, however, I know I need to stay put and heal. I feel great. I am just anxious for the my breasts to drop. I feel like they are square!BF and I laugh that I could be Sponge Bob Square pants' sister, Sponge Bob Square Boobs! ROFL! Otherwise, besides my tummy feeling very tight, it feels great. I can wear all of my pre-op clothes plus I have lost 9lbs. YAY!

Updated on 28 Feb 2011:
Yuck! I have a stitch abscess in my tummy incision. It is so gross looking. My doctors office said to put Neosporin on it plus a bandaid.

Otherwise, I am ok. Yesterday, I thought I was going to explode in my CG. Today, I feel less swollen. Every day seems to bring a different feeling.

I am very happy I had this surgery!