Getting Rid of Hard to Cover Tattoo for Career Change

I'd like to start by saying I love my tattoo. I have a reverse 3/4 sleeve that my very talented, tattoo artist husband has done for me. With willful disregard, I had the top of my hand tattooed, knowing one day it might become a hassle for me to cover if need be. That day has come. Luckily we live in a time where the technology has come a long way for tattoo removal, and as for me, I feel especially lucky I'm removing only black ink. After much research I have chosen to go with the Picoway laser. I've been told 7-9 sessions should do the job. Of course ink quality, depth, and age of tattoo all play a role in the removal process. I can confirm the ink is great quality and it's deep. Very little scaring if any from the initial healing of the tattoo. After 7 years the ink is still very dark. I had my first laser appointment on November 4th. I received lidocaine injections and I'm glad I did, and will from here on out. With the lidocaine I didn't feel the sharp, hot pain as it was described to me, but rather a decent amount of discomfort. I would agree woth those who say it's like being slapped with a rubberband. A giant, tightly stretched rubber band with quite a lot of force behind it, over and over and over. I never squeezed the foam ball. Significant discomfort throughout the evening, like a pins and needles feeling. Then the swelling came. By morning, my hand resembled the mascot guy on a Hamburger Helper commercial. Speaking of hamburger... I was told to expect my skin to be super red, like raw meat. That didn't happen. A few tiny blisters developed, but nothing major. Slight bruising on the top of my hand, but again, nothing major. I will say though, you can definitely feel the laser penetrate what feels like all the way through the bone. By day 5 the swelling had gone down enough I was no longer uncomfortable. Since then, my skin has been a little itchy and a bit tight, with a slight plasticky look to it, just like healing a tattoo around week 2 or 3. I never used any antibiotic ointment because my skin wasn't broken and blisters were so tiny. I just kept it clean, iced, and took ibuprofen. Lotion helps when it's itching. I can see a small difference in a few areas where the ink wasn't as heavy in the tattoo design. I expect more fading or breaking up over the next weeks (hopefully) until my next appointment, which is scheduled for Dec. 30th. Overall, I'd have to say the experience wasn't awful. From what I've read and seen on here though, apparently it gets worse?? I will take a picture in the natural light tomorrow and post.