Mommy Makeover: Stories

I am a 35 SAHM to 5 kids ages 2-14. I've worked my butt off the past 6 months to lose 30 pounds and now am at 145 pounds with 13.5% body fat. No matter how much I do cardio/strength exercises (about 8+ hours a week) the saggy skin will not go away. I get skin infections from all the loose skin being stuffed into clothes. I "fake" it by wearing a girdle, sucking in my tummy and wearing 2 push up bras, yes two makes me look normal. After looking at hundreds of profiles I see only a handful that look worse than mine and they were clinically obese. The ones that look similar are all 50-60 year olds. Honestly, half of you look just fine and don't need any surgery (I honestly mean that in a complimentary way!) Maybe I think that just because of how awful I feel everytime I get out of the shower and see that full-length mirror. I just want to look normal again and feel the scars are a pretty good trade-off. We are in a financial position to afford the surgery without going into debt. My husband is somewhat supportive. Of course he'd like to spend the money on a Disneyworld vacation or something else. He doesn't care what size I choose. I hope to have a better marital intimacy after the surgery because right now I can barely muster the courage. 3 boobs or no boobs dear? I hate how I feel when he touches me and I shouldn't be thinking about that when we're simply trying to show love towards each other.

I am going going in for a breast lift, augmentation and a full tummy tucky. One of my breasts is a full size bigger than the other which also makes them lopsided or assymetrical and I have severe ptosis. My skin is thin on my torso so my PS recommended silicone unders. I thought the suggested size he gave me was too large and chose 275cc I think? We'll double check during the pre-op. I am currently an A

3 weeks to go - I should mention I found my doctor thru this website then googled around to make sure he was qualified, had good reviews, etc. before going in for my consultation.

Pre-op tomorrow. Super nervous since the payment will solidify the surgery. It is super stressful at our house right now because of hubby's work and this is not a good time for me to be down but there will never be a "good time for surgery." Keep reading horror stories online. Then again, I feel like I'm doing this for the right reasons and I don't think I will end up looking worse than I already do. Hopefully I can endure the recovery pain. I made a bunch of freezer meals yesterday and got the shower seat, bed tray, toilet riser, pillows, books, etc.

I'm going to miss cuddling with my babies. I'm going to miss working out. I'm going to miss sleeping in my bed on my side. I'm NOT going to miss the third boob hanging from my stomach. :)

Had my pre-op today and my husband came to OK the size. We ended up going a little larger than I originally planned but the nurse said that since I'm doing a lift it should look a little smaller than what I tried on. I hope so. 265cc on one side and 305cc on my smaller side. I'm going for M+ profile.

My Reasons for Surgery:

1. Did the hard work losing 30 lbs. and skin didn't go back. Got down to 13.5% fat. I can suck it in all day but it doesn't change the fact it still hangs down when I bend over. At the end of the day I lose ab strength.

2. Infections in belly button because folds have to be squeezed into undergarments just to appear normal. Permanent wrinkles below belly button for the same reason.

3. When I raise my arms my breasts collapse like a burrito. I already have rippling when I bend over. 1-6 with 6 being the worst ptosis and I'm close to a 5. Snoopy syndrome and fallen areola that also needs to be fixed.

4. Out of 80 profiles I viewed only 3 looked worse.

5. Asymmetrical and different sizes, lopsided. Very difficult to find a bra that fits and stays on. Constantly adjusting bra throughout the day.

6. Affects my thoughts during intimacy. Worried about it for over a decade. No boobs or 3 boobs? Neither is attractive. Hate to be touched, feels revolting.

7. Rectus diastasis twice as bad as normal post-pregnancy tummies. I can see and feel the split indentation above belly button because of thin skin.

8. Short & Simple: I want my body back, I'm fine with keeping the stretch marks. Not going to wear a bikini ever. I just want to look and feel good for me first, and second, my husband, and nobody else. I hope for a better marital intimacy.

9. Just want to look and feel like a normal, average, proportionate woman.

10. People change their appearance: teeth whitening, braces, lasik surgery, make-up, hair color, padded bras. Surgery is just more expensive, riskier but lasts longer.

11. I don’t care what people think. I don’t feel vain for doing it. It feels more like a reconstruction to me. I just want to look good for my self-confidence.

12. Anything will look better than what I have now. I already feel somewhat deformed so my goals are realistic.

My Surgery Checklist:
Toilet riser
Shower seat
Silky, button-front PJs and yoga pants
Bed tray big enough for laptop
Pillows - lots!
Recliner chair
Two compression garments so I can rotate and wear them 24/7 for at least the first month
Old, loose undergarments
Baby monitor so I can hear the kids & Cell phone so I can correct problems. :)
Schedule for babies since my older kids are taking turns being the "nanny" for $
Clean the house and get all laundry done
Massage and chiropractic care
Hair appointment
Pedicure
Menu Plan for the month
Freezer dinner meals for a month and paper goods
Low sodium soup and crackers for me
Pineapple juice (supposedly helps with swelling)
Books to read
Movies to watch
Laptop for digital scrapbooking, journaling, back to school shopping, pinterest, FB, Realself :)
Craft/sewing projects
Water bottles
Portable phone and chargers
Prescriptions and OTC sleeping aid
Alcohol wipes for cleaning drains
Gauze/tape/pads (Hoping to get silicone sheets and scar-fade gel after wounds close up)
Antibacterial hand wash
Chapstick
Dry shampoo
Baby wipes to feel clean until I can shower
Lotion
Heating pad for back pain
Camera to record progress
Lots of Patience and Sanity LOL

So today is Sunday afternoon and I go in Tuesday morning. I'm sooooo nervous. I tried taking a nap and now I'm going to have my last bubble bath - kinda feels like the last supper. Anyway, wish me luck, pray for me and I'll hopefully post again and not die. :). You all have been so motivating and helpful. Thank you!!!

I'm alive.  Just woke up from the pain but it'll take awhile for the pain pill to make it go away.  Sorry I didn't email sooner.  It took awhile for me to wake up from the anesthesia so I didn't get home till 4:30  or maybe it was 5:30?  This is worse than natural childbirth.  I have never had a c-section so this must be a taste of it.  Tight, sore, slightly swollen, and hunched over. The compression garment is so tight that it makes it difficult to breathe.  Right now I don't care what I look like, just want to feel better soon.  I was so groggy the first 10 hours that I couldn't keep both my eyes open.  However, I'm getting faster at shuffling around and can type just fine so that's progress right?  Thanks for praying for me!  Happy Healing everyone!

Made it to my post-op appointment. (My doctor did the surgery in his outpatient facility). He says everything looks great. I'm feeling more swollen. Peeing and drinking like crazy. My tummy tuck looks all wrinkled but I don't know if that's normal for the first day? Nips are pointing out instead of concave so I'm happy.

Bonus: he saw I had a large mole in my armpit so he removed it for free! ;). Bonus #2 I only needed one drain. Yippee. We've drained twice so far and both times were 25cc. My husband has been more helpful than I thought he would so I must look like I'm in a ton of pain which is mostly true. My four hour pills only last 3 hours. Dr said I could shower but I'm too tired. Maybe in 2-3 days. The best part was going to sleep and waking up "a second" later. I was out and didn't even get a chance to dream.

One thing I missed on the list of items: an adult bib! LOL. I may pull out the baby's stroller and use it as a walker. He pulled me really tight.

I am 2 days PO and after taking my last oxycodone (generic for Percocet) I'm positive I'm having a mild allergic reaction. Itchy a lot, super tired, hard to keep both eyes open and hard to get a full breath. I start to doze then catch my breath because I guess my body thinks it's too much work. Waiting for it to wear off now and I'm going to switch to Tylenol. Hopefully that will give me enough pain relief. Anyone else have this problem?

I made a schedule for the kids but all they want to do is watch TV and the baby tries to hang out in my room. We're in survival mode. Baby threw up last night which made me gag but my tummy said NO! Hurt so bad!!!!

Hardly draining at all so I'm sure he'll take it out at my one week appt. Yep, only 1 drain! My baby stole the turquoise socks from the hospital. They look like go-go boots on her. :)

I need that Tylenol now...

Day 3 po - I finally got a decent night's sleep. I tried not to drink too much water because I was getting up every 2 hours and it was exhausting.

I really, really, really want to shower!!!! :)

One side feels bigger than the other bit maybe it's just higher? Feels like I'm engorged. The tummy tuck is the worst pain though. The girdle feels 3 sizes too small. If I ever get out of it, I don't know how I'm going to get back in. At my preop the skin below my new bb was all squished together and I thought he gave me a vertical scar as well. He said no but also didn't say what to do about it??? My camera is still in my purse so I can't take pictures. I haven't been downstairs at all - just shuffling around my bedroom. Anyway, I would LOVE some tips as to how to get out and BACK IN to the binder. I need to get cleaned up today. Thanks ladies!

Ok I'm freaking out now. I was feeling gross so I thought I'd give myself a little wipe-down. Boobs look great. I didn't take the bra off cuz I didn't think I could get it back on by myself BUT in the bra they look great.

So then I start unhooking the lower region and Oh No! I must have been drugged for the post-op cuz I don't remember having a second butt. It starts at the bb and just keeps going down to the stitching smile I've got. Is this normal????? Does it fill out and open later????? What am I supposed to do to fix that?!?!? H-E-L-P! I can't find anything that says this is common. Yuck. I need to ask my husband what the dr said and when I go back in.

I took pictures w/ my camera but now I'm too tired to transfer/upload to my computer. Went in, waited a long time for PS to get out of surgery, got my one drain out (hallelujah) and he said everything looks good. The tummy, or second butt, should open up after the CG comes off. So good news! Walking straighter but now I'm ready for a nap. Happy, healthy healing everyone!

See? The post op picture shows the "second butt" I was worried about. However, when I went in for my one week appointment my PS assured me that it's not uncommon and it should stretch out and look good later. The sides (if you drew a straight line down from my areolas) is super duper tight and the center is swollen. All that combined with being squished in my CG caused that. It is looking a little better every day though so I'm hopeful.

Forgot to mention, I'm still hunched over - my boobs looks great and are NOT pointing down, it just looks like that from the angle of the photo. Sorry! My waist looks and feels much smaller because he pulled me so tight. I opted for NO lipo but he still wanted to give me more definition I guess.

I had to go shopping Monday since my husband forgot a couple things. I took my 12 yo with me and rode around on one of those Walmart scooters in my polka dot pajamas and fuzzy slippers. I was exhausted even though my kid was the one putting things in the cart for me.

So today is Friday, 4 days later, and 10 days po. I went out by myself in Spanx since my CG was in the wash. Shopped for a new bra and I am exactly the size I was hoping for (happy dance!). And it was on sale and I had a coupon. I wasn't tired or swollen when I got home. So it's officially "worth it" now! I was thinking on the way home we should do a bra-burning night (with our old bras). Sorry I'm a little giddy. What a difference a couple of days makes in recovery.

Hope everyone is healing well and having a great day!

Where has the time gone? I'm almost 6 weeks post op and haven't updated my review. Life happens too fast and once I started feeling better I had to catch up with the house, the kids, etc.

At my 2 week appointment I was told to stop wearing my compression garment because of the vertical fold under my belly button. I was never very swollen anyway so it was kind of nice not wearing it and it helped to "heal" that fold problem. It looks like a scar but it's just darkened skin where it was squished. I still wear Spanx when I go to church and that's only because I want everything to be flat and smooth all around. Old habit I guess. My clothes fit better - I've actually had to take in some of my clothes and I've gotten lots of compliments. "Thanks, diet and exercise" I say, which is mostly true. I lost 35 pounds on my own but hid my saggy baggy elephant skin with Spanx and 2 push-up bras so I look the same on the outside. My waist is a little smaller only because my PS pulled me abs too tight. I still can't stand up straight and reach my arms straight above my head. I don't see myself going to yoga class ever again... does that stretch out again????

At 3 weeks I started jogging and biking. Jogging felt soooo weird. I felt like my hard, heavy boobs were super-glued to my bones. They don't bounce around. And my stomach felt tight too, it was weird and nice at the same time. My heartrate gets up really high, really fast so I took it easy the first week and tried not to go above 150. Normally I try to stay around 155. After week 4 I said "screw it" and did what felt good. Got up to 160 and felt high at 170 so I tried to stay around 160 after that. The first bike ride was rough - I could feel every single bump in the road. The second ride was better. The 3rd I tried to do my old ride and it felt great and oh yeah - my knees don't bump my stomach anymore! :) Last week I went out and was able to keep up with 2 guys. After the second stop light they said, "We can't lose you can we?" I kept behind them another 5 miles then they turned and I said goodbye and the guy said, "Hope we weren't going to slow for you!" That made my day. I'm back to my old speed and now I need to decide if I'm going to race this fall.

I went in at 4 weeks and was told that he pinned the bottom of my left breast too tight so it's not dropping and I WILL need to a revision to correct that because massage isn't doing it. You can see that in the pictures. I LOVE my right breast though, it's perfect. And my stomach is always pretty flat. I remember I used to be super flat in the morning and by afternoon I had a pooch. Now it's pretty flat ALL day long. Since my bb has finally healed I might try the marble trick since mine turned out super tiny - smaller than a newborn baby in my opinion. It's so nice to bend over and not have my stomach hang down. Hubby seems happy too.

Not looking forward to revision. I hated how it felt coming out of surgery, the recovery, the cost. Maybe I won't do it though - it may not be worth it. What do you ladies think? Honestly, would you do it? I need to discuss options with my PS when I go in at 3 months PO. I wish he could just give me a numbing shot and work on me in the office but I don't think that's an option. If I'm ever feeling down about my results I look at my pre-op pictures I realize, yes, it's better than before.

P.S. I ended up NOT doing the bra-burning. They were still pretty new so I'm going to donate them to a place like Goodwill.

Hi Ladies!
Honestly I haven't had time to get on here much. Life is busy with 5 kids. I'm back to my regular workouts and loving my new improved although not perfect body. As you can see from the doctor's before and after pictures, I didn't get perfect results but it's so much better than before. I have another couple of months to think about revision. It doesn't bug me that bad. I never planned to wear a bikini and the breast that won't drop is only noticable when I'm naked and the only person who sees that is my husband. It looks fine when I wear a bra and clothes. My belly button hole can barely fit a Q-tip in it but who needs a belly button? Luckily the darkened scar tissue makes it look a little bigger. I saw my friend's tummy tuck (she's 2 years post-surgery) and her scar is barely noticable! So excited for the angry red to go away. Ab work is still tough but the more I do it the better it gets. Married life is better because now I don't think about or worry about my body - I simply enjoy making love again and THAT is a good thing! More good news - I went to Dillards and got some new bras - Wacoal brand - 32DD. The D's were a little too snug. My ribcage is still 29 inches but that's what size feels good. I never believed in the fluff fairy till that day. :) And the day I saw my before and after pictures I almost cried. I remember sitting in my car thinking, "Do I open this envelope now or wait till I'm with my husband?" I opened it up and almost cried. I FORGOT how bad is was!!! Did you gals have that feeling? My husband saw them that night and was kind/cautious. He simply said, "That's quite the transformation." I'm so glad I did this! Thanks for all your help, advice and word of wisdom!