37 Yr. Old Mom, Makin' It Happen;) P.S. 5'6, 168 Lbs. and Losing... - Chicago, IL

I've been feeling more like myself lately- the blues have lifted. The blues I was certain at two weeks out I would never have:) Though I'm not ready to excercise yet and I tire easily, I recognize I'm getting better. Just very sloooowwwlly! So that brings me to my main point. You will read other womens' posts, doctor responses, even you own PS say that by week X you should feel Y or you should be able to do Z. But your body is unique and heals at its own rate. I've finally been able to accept that and some of the pressure is relieved. I'm not being overprotective. I really CAN'T hit the gym yet! But I will someday and until then I will respect that I was just cut in half and put back together again. I could fake standing up straight in spurts at 2 weeks but I wasn't fully upright until 4. To hear that I should be standing upright at 1 week was really discouraging. Like, what is wrong with me??? Absolutely nothing! Have patience and faith that your body knows what it needs to do and it will do it. No timeline, and don't compare.
I other news, I'm taking vitamins and staying super hydrated. I'm convinced that makes a huge difference. My belly button is still not completely healed, but its almost there. It's small but still passes the belly button test. Unless the final stage of recovery makes it even smaller, then I don't see the need for revision in my future.
Onto bikini shot... As you can see I'm still swollen, but I have really flattened out. To underscore my previous point, I saw SO many immediately post-surgery pictures of other women who were flat, but not me! But now I really am, even with some muscle definition. Who would have thought. Did you see my "before" pics?!
Tomorrow I am going to a party that has been planned for a long time. I knew it would be about 6 weeks post-surgery and its been my agenda to make it my big reveal;) New outfit, hair just cut/colored/blown out, manicure. I'm so set!!! Weeeeee!!!

I've reached the point where I am SO OVER my first garment. Though my PS clears us to stop wearing them at 4 weeks (I'm 4 1/2 weeks post-surgery) , the skin on my abdomen is incredibly sensitive and the feeling of fabric brushing against is more than I can bear. I've heard it described as a "sunburnt" feeling, and I concur. So, I needed a secondary binder to see me through. I started off with a tank-style, but it pulled on my incision. Interestingly, I had a reaction to the adhesive on the tape I'm supposed to keep on my incision right when I started to wear this, and I don't think it's coincidence. Now no tape and I'm covering it with Aquaphor to sooth the skin. Its the weekend so tomorrow I will call my PS for alternatives. But I digress. So I bought some shapwear at Target, Assets, that goes from my thighs to right beneath my bra, wit two straps that go over the shoulders. I did NOT want to feel stuffed into this, so I bought an XL, and I'm happy with it in every way. EXCEPT, the hole to pee out of is ridiculously small so I'm going to cut it larger. It's already seen my washer twice today alone!!

Flattening out, which is so encouraging. Less enthused about my disappearing belly button. I think the writing is on the wall. I already think too much has been lost. I will see my PS next week- I need to have a better concept of why my blood supply was compromised (my hernia repair perhaps?) and what the next steps will be. I've been reading up on belly button reconstruction and it's making me blue to think that my abdominoplasty wasn't the final surgery. It's a very strange feeling losing your belly button. Kind of an important piece of real estate! Officially on Advil and I don't think it's enough. Recovery very, very slow and I'm surprised. Sore. But glad my shape is revealing itself.