I am the mother of two little girls (5 and 6) who I love immensely. After the birth of my first baby my skin did not rebound and I was left with a lot of stretch marks to the point that my stomach looked wrinkly and my belly protruded forward. Needless to say I was very unhappy with this and begin to think of a tummy tuck in 2009.

I initially planned to go the medical tourism route and go to the Dominican Republic. I had scheduled an appointment and made a deposit and unfortunately my grandmother died two days before I was scheduled to travel so I cancelled.

For the next few years I went back and forth about whether to have the surgery, namely because I am single and wanted to remain open to having another child if I ended up in the right relationship. As time as gone by I have realized that as my children age I really would not want to have another child. Once this decision was finally made I moved forward.

I'm now six weeks post op and things are going pretty well. For anyone that is anticipating having the surgery please remember that patience is your best friend.

Unfortunately I did have some minor complications. My sutures started spitting at my tummy tuck and breast lift incision, I also developed a Mondor's cord, I also have a seroma that my doctor wants to resolve on its own as it is very small, draining out of my incision and uneven swelling in my breasts.

However, I have learned that patience is really key when it comes to healing after a surgery. I was a bit skeptical that everything would heal and appear nicely without intervention but I followed doctor's orders and I can now see significant improvements.

I do not notice any tenderness or pain in my breast when I press, touch, or squeeze them though there is still some swelling in my left one that I hope resolves soon. My incision does have some tenderness when pressure is applied directly to it but the scar itself appears to be healing very nicely.

I started working out right before my six week mark and went for a 3 mile run (more like 2.5 mile run and 0.5 mile walk) the day after my six weeks. I wore the binder that was given to me after surgery and I didn't notice any tummy or breast discomfort (I wore two sports bras just in case).