This Really Happened!! I'm on the flat side- British Columbia, BC

I was thinking about changing my screen name to RS stalker lol
I am a 34 yr old mother of 4 -ages 6,4 and 3yr old twins. Yes, apparently I missed the "sex causes babies" and "dont have back to back pregnancies" talk at school ;)
I am 5'3 and currently weigh 162. I am very active and was as a child as well. I've always had a large chest, big thighs and booty but pre-kids I had a flat tummy. My teenage years were during the grunge era so I spent all those years covering up a wonderful hourglass figure by dressing like a box in baggy t-shirts and ripped jeans (with pajama bottoms underneath of course lol) If I only knew then what I know now *sigh

I've been trying to figure out why my collar bones have been so sore kinda like they're bruised... Pulled out my industrial strength sports bra yesterday to for a run slipped it into racer back mode and finally figured out where the bruising is from... It'll be so nice to get some of this weight of my shoulders!
I started a learn to run program about 8 weeks ago and am doing my first 5k on Sunday. I'm sick and have no voice right now so hopefully I'm feeling better in the next 3 days :)

I have an appt with my PS tomorrow, I'm 2 and a half weeks pre-op... Is this it?? Is this my last appt before surgery? Did most if you have your final pre ops so early? Is this where I'll find out my PS plan? And I'll get some instructions for pretty/post oP care .... Do you usually have to pay for surgery at your pre-op?? This whole thing just seems so surreal to me, I feel so un informed... Is it really happening?? I haven't even been working super hard to arrange postop care for me & the kids because it seems so unreal! Did other people feel this way???
To all you ladies already on the flat side. Any must do/ must haves for my pre op appt (if thats what this is besides my pretty panties ;) wish pictures? important question you asked or wish you had?

Found a lump on my breast 3 days ago.... went straight from my pre-op appt to a mammogram and ultrasound. Now I need to wait for results.....
My BR and TT is scheduled for less than 3 weeks from now but I guess everyting is on hold until after we find out the results.
Please send me some happy, healthy thoughts and pray that everything is just fine.

Mammogram & Ultra sound came back with good news! Yay!! What a huge weight off the shoulders! Thank you all so much for the support and healthy thoughts :)
Now It's time for me to stop feeding ice cream and butter chicken lasagne (omg! so good!!) to my stress from waiting for those results and get back on track! I was down 5 lbs but I know for sure I've gained some back the last couple days... I'm too scared to even get on the scale right now... maybe I'll wait another couple days ;)
Now that I know this is really happening (although it still seems very surreal) I guess I'll have to finally do those before pictures... YIKES!!

Just posted that last update and it says- 8 days pre
How is this all happening so fast?? craziness!

This morning I rented a reclining chair and a shower seat to be delivered the day before surgery. I'm meeting with a cleaning service this afternoon to get estimates. I don't think it's very realistic for me to expect my Dad to watch all 4 kids plus keep up with all the cooking,laundry & cleaning ( I can hardly do it! lol) . I'm also going to arrange for the kids to go to a friends day care once a week so my Dad can have a break.

Now I need to try to set up my room and figure out what else I need to buy. I haven't received a list from the ps of anything I need post op... like, do I need to buy a specific type of bra for post-op? I'd rather get all that stuff now than have to send someone out to buy it for me afterwards. I was going to buy some straws, MOM, gauze, big maxi pads, cough drops, magazines/books and search for Arnica (is that something you can buy at walmart? or do you have to order it?) Anything else mandatory?

I also decided that since this is the last weekend of the summer that I'll probably feel normal that I should do something fun with the kiddos so I'm going to pack up tomorrow and take them camping and come back 1-2 days pre-op. So I'm really trying to cram all my prep into today... no problem right???
I had my pre-op appt with my ps and showed him my dream body pictures of marilyn monroe. He told me that was his dream body too (in a different kind of way) lol... hes awesome, so personable!
I still haven't heard from the hospital about when I'm supposed to go for my pre-op with them.... hopefully it will be the day before surgery and I wont have to cut our camping trip short.
Anyways I should get back to it... Its also the last day of Kindergarten for my oldest child today (sniff, sniff... they're growing up way too fast!) so we still have all those festivities this afternoon :)

I got a call from the hospital right after I posted yesterday to come in for pre-op blood work. They only took one vial and they only test hemoglobin... I thought they'd be checking my iron and everything! I also need to do a urine sample the morning of the surgery. The hospital also set an appt for my pre-op which is over the phone???? thats weird right???
Still leaving to go camping today the kids are beside themselves they are so excited! My house still isn't organized and ready and I dont have everything. I have 1 day when we get home so hopefully I'll get everything completed enough to be semi-satisfied with it before sx day!! I'll just go with the flow... everything ususally works out in the end :)
Finally took some before pictures so here they are!
I am not going to miss the flap!
lol... anyone can fail "the pencil test" but how many people can fail the shampoo bottle test lmao.... I'm such a geek.

Crazy day today! started at 8:30am with a call from my ps cancelling my surgery tomorrow.... they never received payment from my financing company and wouldn't have time to receive it before my surgery tomorrow am. WTF!?!?! So I went on a wild goose chase all day trying to sort it out.
I had to quickly come to the realization that it wasn't a sign I wasn't supposed to go in but rather its a sign that sometimes you have to work for the things you want and deserve! I'm not willing to let another day go by with this body holding me back from living the life I want to be living!!!!
I'm tired of not swimming or doing summer sports with my kids because bathing suits don't fit me or not being able to lift up my kids while they're young because it stresses my hernia too much... so now I just pray everything goes smoothly and there is no complications and that everyday I am closer to living my life unencumbered by this stomach and one day closer to giving my kids the upgraded model of "mommy 2.0" :)

Anyways in the end I got everything sorted out (phew) and I am scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 9am tomorrow am. Hopefully my blood pressure will have returned to a normal state by then!! lol. crazy day!
I cant believe that tomorrow is the day!!!

Just doing some last minute organizing.
I woke up with a tickle in my throat so I hope I'm not getting a cold.
Yesterday I weighed 160 (not bad after camping for a week) this am I weigh 164.5!!! wth?!? I'm hoping its just stress weight after my crazy day yesterday... I hardly ate anything!
I borrowed this picture from silversunshine... I think its perfect!
Anyways I'm off to enjoy my last shower and some snuggles with my kids :)

Its 2am post op day 1. I had my surgery at 11am it took just about 3.5 hours. The pain isn't too bad so far just the nausea. I can't get it under control so the nurses decided to keep me overnight. Probably a blessing in disguise since I don't want the kids o see me like this and a keep vomiting. :(

Well I finally stopped vomiting about 16 hours post op... Thank goodness! Does it ever hurt to puke after your stomach is cut open! Nurses admitted me to the hospital over night which was great.
My ps came and visited me the next afternoon to sign all my discharge papers. He also pulled the drains from my breasts.
So weird to be laying back and still have my boobs in front of my instead of in my armpits! Lol
I'm really happy with how they look right now but it is incredible how much skin he removed from them... I'll post the pic with his markings.
I am still wearing the compression garment (high waisted shorts) he put on me right after surgery... I would love to see how they squeeze unconscious bodies into these things!! I've been too scared to take it off and peak i probably wont be able to get back into it lol. Im going to order a back up cg tomorrow... There are so many options though!! How do i know what to get??
I have s followup appt in a day or 2 so I'll wait until then to actually take a look at whats going on. My husband says even all hunched over with drains hanging out of me i look smaller YAY! . I do know that the vertical scar that I had above my belly button is now mostly under my bellybutton so that will be weird to see!
As for pain I'm uncomfortable but I'd say my pain is average 2or3/10 so not bad at all. The most painful part is my thighs!! I didn't really consider that my legs would have to compensate for having no core or arms to use... But its the end of day 3 and its getting much better. I've been able to get in/out of my recliner, go to the bathroom and walk around the main floor of my house all by myself since I arrived home on day 1. I think there is a fine line between moving enough and pushing yourself too far... I still haven't quite figured out where that line is.
I've had 2 previous abdominal hernia surgeries and I'd say recovery so far is more comparable to those than to a c-section (c-section was an easier recovery for me) I think maybe the vertical scar makes it different? But I know for sure that recovery at now at 160lbs and fit is WAY easier than recovery at 200lbs and not fit was 5years ago.
My husband has been really amazing bringing me snacks and cooking me meals (he was only home until tonight so i didnt have a chance to wear him out lol) Ive been eating mostly normal food just less cause im not that hungry. I've had cream of wheat, toast, scrambled eggs, unsalted crackers with cheese, a small portion of pasta w/marinara, red peppers, carrots, yogurt, apple and pineapple. Nothing has made me feel more or less swollen... But I'm also still stuffed very snug in my cg ;)
My kids have been amazing and so gentle. They are all still young 3,3 ,4&6. I did a lot of prep talking with them about how mommy would have an owie tummy and that they could hold my hand but not hug/ climb on me. I'm surprised at how gentle and helpful they've been so far.
Anyways so far so good. I'll keep you posted. If any of you have cg recommendations please let me know :)

Crazy where my tan lines are! Lol

I went for my first post op appt today. PS pulled one of my drains and I got to take a peek at my tummy... I would def noy describe my tummy as flat ...Lumpy, bumpy & swollen is what I'd call it lol... But there is no flap!! Woohoo! So hopefully as the swelling/ trauma decreases it will look better and better.
I almost passed out in the office after he undid my cg to pull the drain... So embarrassing! The PS literally lifted me on to the medical bed to lay down. Then lifted me back off of it once I was feeling better. We came straight home and I went straight to my recover room and slept for 2 hours. I was so exhausted!
Last night I had my first bm. I took 2 colace pills day1,2 &3 , MOM on day 2 and drank smooth moves tea on day 3 before anything started rumbling down there but it didn't hurt so that's good.
I wish I had bought one of those grabby things. I dropped my pain meds on the floor at 4am when I was supposed to take them and didn't want to wake anyone up so just went without until 8am. Pain wasn't too bad but I want to try to stay ahead of it. The grabber would also be good to be able to move the blanket to cover my feet in the middle of the night! Lol

Decided to finally brave having a shower today... I've been feeling nauseous if I push myself too much and didnt want my dad to have to come rescue my naked sliced body from the shower... That would just be super awkward for both of us.lol.
Well its a good thing I waited till my aunt was visiting cause she had to come rescue my naked wet self from the bathroom cause I was ready to pass out. She helped get me back into a binder (my cg was in desperate need of a wash) and some PJs and help me back to the safe haven of my reclining chair... So embarrassing... But way better that it wasn't my dad! Lol.

Took some quick pictures when I took off my cg... They're not very good quality but better than nothing
My sister in law came over last night for a visit she took a peek at my Bb and took a close up pic. Her response "omg... It kinda looks like a vagina!" Eeeek! So I def shouldn't have looked at the picture cause it does kinda look like that lol... Now I'm going to be worried about it even though I know its still swollen and healing and I should just be thankful the PS was able to reattach it and it hasn't died... But I really, really hope it changed shape as I heal... I don't want a vajayjay bb lol.
Ladies, thigh lipo is no joke!!
Probably the most painful part of my body and super, super itchy!!!

Day 6 - went to see my PS got my last drain removed yay! He told me I looked "human" today...thanks??!? Lol I actually really do feel really great today so I know what he's saying. I also had a conversation with him about my bb he said not to worry its just swollen and that it won't look like a vajayjay which I already knew but was really nice to hear from him ;)
got home I decided to should try on some of my clothes, bathing suit tops & take pictures what a work out but damn! I'm gonna look so great when I don't so closely resemble Frankenstein!
By the end of the day and all the walking around I did I pretty much just passed out at 8pm... Didn't even wake up for my hourly pee brake until 3am... Possible I pushed it a little too far.
Day 7- I'm having a bad day. I feel like crap. I'm sore and I'm definitely feeling a little bluesy :(
Definitely did too much yesterday. My tummy was so sore it hurt to pee. FYI: to those who haven't had surgery yet it takes tummy muscles to pee otherwise you just trickle... Trickling and wearing a crotchless compression garment = peeing all over your self :( its a tricky thing...
Although I have to say I was glad to have it off for the day my poor little saggy bum had a horrible rash just where the crotchless cut out is which just happens to be right on the part you sit on alllll dayyyy longgggg. My mom offered to put some diaper cream on my bum for me... I politely declined ;)
So ya... Definitely a down day spend most my time snoozing and stalking rs.
Day 8- went for another post op check this am. PS says everything is looking great. Asked about using polysporin he said if I wanted to use it once a day in a thin coat but warned not to overdo it as its still a chemical you're putting on a fresh wound. Also asked him about lymphatic massage and while he says he thinks it helps and fully supports it he felt that with the amount of swelling I have right now vs. The cost of massage that it wasn't necessary at this time.
It was the last day of my oldest sons summer camp today so my dad drove me to go watch their little 30 min presentation this afternoon. It was my first time out besides just walking in and out of the PS office. It went pretty well besides all the parents and kids banging into you but my son was ssoooo excited and happy that I came that the smile on his face was well worth getting knocked around a bit.:)
It was also changing of the guards at my house. My parents have been watching me and the kids all week so now that the weekend is here they're getting the hell outta dodge. My in-laws are taking all the kids for the weekend and my bff is coming to babysit me just in case. So I'll be enjoying a girls weekend stay-cation woohoo!
Will post more updates soon :) happy healing everyone.

So my bff is coming to stay with my because after my last hernia surgery I was discharged from the hospital po day 6 then went into septic shock po day 8 luckily my husband was home at the time and found me, called 911 rushed to the hospital and everything was treated lickity split but that incident has us a little nervous about me being left totally alone for a whole weekend.Lucky for me I have a great friend who was willing to ditch her own life & family to babysit me for the weekend

I played a fascinating game of where have my moles gone the other day lmao... I`ll post a picture of my most impressive birth mark movement... it kind of blows my mind!

Also public toilets + compression garments= yuck, yuck , yuck! so gross...not sure why that grosses me out more than my bare skin touching a public toilet... it just does.

My husband told me that my nipples are freaking him out... wtf does that mean??? seriously it didn't freak him out when they were the size of my whole palm but now that theyre cute and tiny they freak him out??? Grrrr.....

looks like I lost some of my last update... I can't actually see my days 9-19 update can any of you??... i`ll have to contact rs and ask why??

I had another post op appt yesterday ps says no more seroma and everything is looking good and settling nicely into place. He was happy to see that my umbilicus swelling was starting to go down I think that was his biggest concern because of my belly button assult issues. He'd like me to continue wearing my compression garment until week 4-5. I asked about buying a proper bra since I've just been wearing a bandeau style one he reccomended waiting till week 5-6. He also said baths were okay now but maybe not pools or lakes yet because or urine and bacteria. He also said driving myself now is fine but take it easy... he is concerned about me having to load kids in and out of car seats and feels that's probably pushing it still. I still have the paper tape overall my tummy scars he says just leave it on until it falls off or he takes it off. I just stand in front of the fan to dry them before I put my garments on after showering.