35 Year Old Single Mother of 1. - Atlanta, GA

Hi ladies!
Well I disappeared for about a year & half after my complete mommy makeover surgery. This time has been amazing and full of so many adventures. I finished renovating my house, sold it, bought a nice new home, and am once again doing renovations on our new home. Yes, I do all the work myself. I have lost more weight (15 lbs and still going) and gotten a gorgeous tattoo to cover my tummy tuck scar. 1st tattoo and never thought I’d get one! But I absolutely love how I turned something I hated (my scar that reminded me of how sexy I was not) into something I now love (my body).
Oh! And things have gotten so much better with my health and well being since coming off of night shift over a year ago and working on a different unit. I’ve been on 3 cruises and proudly worn a bikini on all of them! Anyway, here are some pics of my progress and yes, those are tan lines from the last cruise in September. lol

Hello folks! It's been a good bit since I last posted an update. Nothing to update till yesterday. Yesterday I had my 3 week follow up appt and had my tape removed. The tape on my abdominal incision progressively fell off last week, so it was just my breasts that he took the tape off from. I'm pretty happy with the scars so far. I think my nipples are a little smaller than is natural, as they were not this small before & I'm just not used to it. I know they will continue to look better as they heal. My belly scar is ok. The middle is raised and more pink, plus my old belly button that he sutured together looks terrible, but will also flatten and fade. They say scar wise you heal outside in, and it's true. The incision on my hips looks great, and it gets worse as you go towards the midline. I have so much swelling around the scar, more so on my left side. By evening it's like a huge role, and is so firm it's crazy! Plus the part where my rains were (inferior to the scar), looks like I have dimples on both sides of my mons pubis. That part sinks in and the scar area sticks out. You can see it in my close up I posted today. Doc said it will get better as the swelling and scar heal, and that if anything, he can always do a revision in office. He also said he can do scar revision on my previous belly button later if need be. He asked me yesterday if it was worth it. Hmmm...let me think...YES! Hell to the yes!!! Although it's a work in progress as the stages of healing come with their own physical and emotional difficulties, I can't imagine going back to how things were before! I'm beyond happy with my results and I can't wait to see how they get better. I've been wearing outfits I never would have before, only for the fact that there's no more pooch down there! Im more confident. And I'm much happier. On a different note, I had an endocrinology appt last week (routine due to my history of thyroid cancer, total thyroidectomy, and permanent dependence on artificial thyroid hormone). The labs came back confirming what I already knew, that I was more hypothyroid than I have been in years, and needed an increase in my dose of hormones. Something I've been fighting for since last year and he finally listened. This is great. Metabolism is controlled by and all cellular functions depend on thyroid hormones. I should start to feel better, more energetic, and weight loss should be easier. I'm excited of what's to come. I went back to work last Saturday. I worked 13 hours Saturday and Sunday night at the hospital on the floor. I had 5 patients both nights. Some were total care, but I just asked co-workers to lift them in the bed. I was terrified going back, but handled it without any problems. I was a bit more swollen in the mornings after my shifts, but sleep took care of that. I wore my compression garment both shifts and I think that helped as well. I'll be back at work on Saturday, as I only work weekends. Now, off to the pool with my son. BTW, doc cleared me to swim on Friday!!! Yay!!! One more thing, I purchased the scar treatment serum they sell at my PS' office. It has silicone in it. Doc said to start using it on Friday. Small amount rubbed into the scars twice a day. They said it works great and one bottle should last at least 3 months with the size of my incisions. I paid a little under $65 for the bottle with the discount she gave me. I'll post a pic of the product and update as I use it.

Received my first bikini in 15 years in the mail last night. Tried it on first thing in the morning. Not as terrible as I thought, but still returning it. This is not exactly a family friendly suite for the country club. lol I ended up buying the swim skirt from Target in the last pic. Did not but the striped top from that pic as it was too restricting and not the right cut for my shape. The swim skirt is comfy, covers what's necessary, and will allow me to play with my son without constant adjustments or fears of all my lady parts slipping out for the teenage boys to stare at.