32 Year Old Mother of 3 in Search of a Mommy Makeover - Boise, ID

Hey Realself!! As the date draws nearer for my tummy tuck/breast augmentation surgery, I decided it was time to document my journey.

I first met with Dr. Griffiths at the end of April with the desires of breast implants and a tummy tuck. I've wanted a tummy tuck for about 3 years now, and didn't feel quite ready at that time, but now with 2 hernias (one of which causes me great pain), I am ready to get this procedure done.

I have three kids and since I am petite-framed, my belly shot out like a torpedo. I was huge with all three. My first child was 9 1/2 pounds. I gained quite a bit of weight with all three of my babies but luckily I was able to get the weight off. My stomach is a result of how large my belly grew. I have a hard time wearing certain clothing because I don't like my hernia bulges to show or my stomach 'flap' of skin. :( I hate the fact that I have to tuck my flap into my jeans to hide it.

I worked out vigorously about 4-5 days per week for the past few years. I am 5'3 and staying around 125 pounds. I am very happy with my weight, however, I hate my stomach and my flat chest. I wear a 34 A, but technically I don't think I really need a bra!! LOL. I met with Dr. Griffiths and showed him my concerns and told me I have 2 hernias and diastasis recti pretty badly. He was very friendly along with his office staff. His suggestion to me during my initial consultation is to do the "T" cut, which is the traditional horizontal incision but also a short vertical incision. This scared me off because I do not want extra incisions that are not necessary. From what I have reviewed, a Fleur de lis tummy tuck is not a common procedure, and is only done as a last resort when necessary. Because of this I went to see another surgeon. He was great but he wasn't sure he could fix my hernias. My hernias are very important and because of his uncertainty about his ability to fix my hernias I decided to go back to Dr. Griffiths. My pre-op appointment is tomorrow (June 3rd) so I will ask him to explain to me in more detail as to why he thinks I would require a vertical incision. I

I went to my pre-op appointment yesterday and it was very overwhelming looking at all the different sizes, however, I already knew I wanted to go with the silicone gel round implants. After trying on what seemed like a gazillion sizers, I decided on the 400cc high profile gel implants. I am not sure if I went big enough. I am so close to calling the surgeons office and telling them that I want to go to 425ccs instead. I don't want to go too big, but I don't want to be big enough and be unhappy with them. About my tummy tuck, I asked my surgeon why he wanted to do the vertical incision on me and after his explanation I am more comfortable with the recommendation. He explained to me that I have saggy skin not only horizontally, but vertically as well and if I had the traditional horizontal incision, there would still be loose skin left over. But with the vertical incision he could pull it into the center and make it tighter both ways. I decided I would rather have the extra scar than leftover skin. That would be horrible!! My hernias will be permanently repaired which I am also so excited for!! My surgery date is still June 18th, and I will be counting down the days!!! I will post some before photos so there is something to compare to my after photos.

So I decided to go with the 425cc implants instead of the 400ccs. I figured it wont be much of a difference but at least it will give me peace of mind to make sure I am big enough. I am starting to get excited now. Only a few more weeks to go!!!! YIPPEE!!!