39 Years Old, 5'10", 165lbs - 4 Kids. Ready to do something for ME!

Hi everyone! I am getting closer to my surgery date and I wanted to start documenting my experience. Everyone here has been so helpful to me - maybe I can help someone out there! Where to start?? Well, I'm 39, have 4 kids and nursed all of them. Growing up, I kept waiting to develop and just never did. And I see that now in my daughter, who is 12. She's going to be just like me. I did all the usual things, padded bras and stuffing them with socks and Kleenex! lol I did get a little bigger when I was nursing the kids, but that was temporary and really only lasted the first few months and then, back to normal. I feel like I have a little more right now, only because I'm carrying weight that I desperately need to get rid of, but even still, I'm a solid A cup.

Getting a breast augmentation was always just a dream, something I thought would be really awesome, but something I never thought I would do. For one, I have never been under general anesthesia, so I'm concerned about that. I also tend to lean more towards natural medicine and still struggle a little with how "unnatural" this is and that its unnecessary. Also, years ago, my kids were younger and we weren't in a good financial place to do it and besides that, I was married at the time to a man who would have never let me. But fast forward several years and now I am happily remarried. The subject has come up a few times in the past and we'd joke about it but was never really serious. Somehow the topic became more of a serious one and I booked a consultation with a PS here in town in September.

I went into that consultation unprepared because I still didn't think I was really going to go through with it. I left the consultation intrigued, feeling like it's something I wanted to pursue, just not with that surgeon. He was nice, but in the end he wasn't someone I trusted to give me a natural result. So I started doing some research here on RealSelf and came across Ashley Gordon at Restora Austin. That consultation was SO much better than my first. For one, I was more prepared. But, more importantly, I got such a great feeling the moment I walked into her office. Her staff was genuinely nice and Dr. Gordon was as well. She spent time with me and I didn't feel as though she had one foot out the door. I felt comfortable with her and after reading many reviews and seeing pictures of her work, I am confident in my choice. Surgery is January 11th - 2 weeks from today!!! With the holidays and everything my pre-op appt isn't until a week before, January 4th. My BWD is 11 (or 12 according to my first consultation), and I don't want to go too big. I am comfortable around the 400cc mark, but I think I want a moderate plus profile and I think I'll get close to the 400cc. I definitely want natural. I want people to wonder if I've had something done, you know? And also, I am just not the type to have huge breasts.

Yesterday, I bought a really great wedge pillow from Brookstone so I can sit upright in bed and not have to be in the recliner. And I have bought a couple of button up shirts. I really want a RX Bra for recovery, but they are sooo expensive!! I'm trying to hold off on buying too much more until I have my pre-op appt. The two concerns on my mind today are - do I pay extra for the Exparel at the time of surgery (an additional $350!) and do I get a baseline mammogram prior to surgery? I just emailed the patient coordinator on the latter, so we'll see what she says.

Well, yesterday I had my pre-op visit. Turns out, it was only with the nurse. I never saw Dr. Gordon at all, which was a little disheartening if I'm honest. To be fair though, most people probably go in for consults and book their surgeries a month out, whereas I was in for a consult at the beginning part of October, so there was quite a time lapse from when I met with her and pre-op. But still, feeling a tiny bit slighted and now I'm concerned there has not been enough communication as to implant size. But back to the pre-op visit - I met with Lindsay, Dr. Gordon's nurse and she was very nice and answered the questions I had. We basically just went over meds and post-op instructions. We also took before and after pics and did the 3D Vectra imaging and that was kind of underwhelming. She only put in 375cc and 405cc. The difference between the two was minimal, at least on a computer screen. I was a little disappointed in this part of it though, because she came in with 2 sizes and acted like that was it. I guess I should have been more vocal about wanting to see other sizes. Sigh. So I emailed her some pictures after our appt and I think my wish pics are way bigger than 405cc. I don't know....I guess I am just feeling a little lost and a little concerned I'm not going to get what I'm wanting. My surgery is Thursday! Have to be there at 9:30am and I hope hope hope I get the chance to talk to Dr. Gordon for more than a few brief pleasantries prior to surgery.

So today I am 4 dpo. I feel great, really. Aside from being a little weak and tiring really easy, I'm very pleased that I'm feeling as well as I did. But let me back up...

My surgery was Thursday. Leading up to it, I was pretty nervous, but the day of, I was pretty calm. I had to be at the surgery center at 9:30am, so we got the kids off to school and we headed over. The surgery center was SUPER nice, very posh and just was very calming. I was brought back within a couple of minutes - my husband had to stay out in the waiting room as I got my IV started and paperwork signed. I had my own little space with a recliner and curtain with a really nice electric blanket. Their color scheme is deep purple and gray so my blanket was purple and it even smelled freshly laundered. I know, I notice the oddest things. The nurse putting my IV in was great - she gave me a tiny lidocaine injection prior to placing the IV, which I have to say I've never gotten before, but it was so nice. Hospitals just jam it in and don't care whether or not it hurts or not, so this was a nice touch and it really did help, I didn't even feel the IV go in. She started me on some fluids - lactated ringer solution and I don't know if it was just nerves, not eating or that IV but I got pretty nauseous. It was embarrassing! The nurse was really comforting though, she put my recliner out and let me be for just a little bit. My husband then came back and I did start to feel better after about 1/2 hour which was a good thing because then the OR nurse came in, followed by the anesthesiologist and finally, Dr. Gordon. Everyone was super, super nice and calming. I can't say enough about Dr. Gordon. I hadn't seen her since October 3rd, which was more than 3 months prior for my consult. I expected her to peek in and say hi and mark me up a little bit, but she sat down with me and seemed genuinely interested in me as a person and answered questions. She has a fantastic bedside manner. She assured me I was going to look beautiful! After she left, the OR nurse was waiting to walk me into the OR. The OR was not big at all, but very nice. There was a large screen TV on the wall and there were a few people in there getting things ready. They had me lay down on the table - it had a little round pillow for my head. The anesthesiologist was super friendly and calming. She put some Versed in my IV just as soon as I laid down and started to ask where I was from, etc. She put stickers on me for monitoring and within a minute or two, she started to reach for my IV again and I asked if she was putting in the real stuff and she said yes. I asked how long it would take - I heard someone say seconds. As she was putting it in, I started to feel really heavy and I remember saying "I feel so heavy" and then that was it! Surgery took a little less than an hour. Dr. Gordon went out to talk to my husband - she put 375cc in my left and 360cc moderate in my right - Natrelle Inspira Soft Touch silicone. I went in thinking 405cc, but she said when she put the 405 in, I had a lot of fullness on top that she didn't think I was wanting, so that's why she went with less. I slept a ton in recovery. I think it was a good hour before I opened my eyes. I asked immediately what size I got and then went right back to sleep. After 2 hours they were aggressively getting me awake and out of there. They got me dressed and wheeled me to my car. I really can't say enough positive things about Dr. Gordon and Inspire Surgery Center. I had such a great experience! I did get the Exparel shot in surgery and I truly believe it's why I've had such an easy recovery. Really, my main issue has been exhaustion. I have taken my meds, but just the Valium, Celebrex and Extra Strength Tylenol.

This morning I ventured out to Target and I was out for about 2 hours. I am home now, back in bed, ready for a nap. lol I go back for my post op visit on Thursday and I'm getting Botox then too. So excited about that - I've never had it before!