My 40th birthday - Mommy Makeover - El Paso, TX

At first I just wanted to have my breasts lifted for my 40th birthday so I began shopping doctors. When one showed me the before and after from the MM, I was sold on that idea. I am 5"8 and had 2 c-sections. My abs were never going to be the same from just exercise or diet. I am a work out girl, I have been doing yoga, running, kickboxing, and barre Pilates my whole life. I had my MM with the anticipation that 10 days off work would be sufficient ....way wrong. It was a 12 hour surgery- breast augmentation, implants, lipo, and the tummy tuck. I went home w/2 drains and could not stand up straight. The 1st week was brutal. The 2nd week was better. By week 3 I could walk around the block almost upright. The drains came out during week 2. I underestimated the recovery time and severity. But... I also underestimated the after results. By mid summer I could do pretty much everything as before , I can even do a complete backbend in yoga again. I do have some numbness, but no regrets. My abs are mind blowing now and I don't have to wear a bra around the house anymore. I was so pleased w/my results that I went back for a BBL yesterday w/same doc. Recovery is about an eighth of the MM. I can't wait for the swelling to go down so I can see those results. Before MM weight 174 lbs and a 36C up top with the kind of breasts that belong in National Geographic. Post MM 160 lbs and very natural looking 34D's.

This year has been the journey of change for me. The first week or 2 after my MM, I doubted myself- my boobs were huge and swollen, I couldn't walk upright, drains...ugh, and every time my husband would put his hand on me I would jump from the crazy numbness I felt. I asked myself daily "what did I get myself into?!" But time went on and I started taking little walks that turned into long walks 1-2months out. Then the garment came off and I started fitting back into my work clothes. Right around 2-3 months out I was going to Pilates and yoga again with minimal adjustments to my regular routine. By mid summer (4 mos out) I realized everything I owned was too big for me and had my suits all taken in. At the end of summer, my husband and I went to Maui and I went bikini shopping for the 1st time in my new body. That was my real a-ha moment. I tried everything on without hesitation or frustration... Even some crazy bikinis my daughter picked out for me. Everything looked amazing, I was in shock and elated. That combined with the end of season clearance rack resulted in me having a different bikini for almost every day of the trip. Now, a day or 2 before that trip, I injured my SI (sacral-illiyiac) in my back causing pinched nerves. This exercise-based injury landed me in the ER in Maui, multiple steroid shots, a month's worth of PT, and 2 epidural steroidal injections. It also opened my eyes to realize something about myself- I over exercise & can not continue this pattern into my 40's. I went back to my PS to inquire about lipo for my hips and thighs as a lot of traditional booty, leg, and hip exercises were off limits to me due to my back- think squats, lunges, anything w/forward bending movements. My doc suggested the BBL with the lipo. I am not suggesting that PS should be used instead of exercise for results...but as I get older my body doesn't recover as well and I have had to change my work outs to protect my back. I am comfortable using PS in conjunction w/exercise and clean eating to get where I have always wanted to be w/my body. I digressed a bit, my point about the pain initially from MM is that time will minimize your recollection of it and after all the swelling really went down (4-5 months out) and the implants settle, and you don't have to sleep w/a pillow hugged into your mid section; it is easy to think you can go through it again for the results. I was more nervous about the BBL than the MM because I had a better sense of what the pain was going to be like after. I kept going back and forth about how big to go for my booty. I love the way a big round booty looks but didn't think I wanted to live that in my daily life of work and kids. My doc was patient and amazing with all my pre surgery questions and I went in for it Thurs 12/12/13. I sent in my review for that already... So look me up to see how that journey unfolds:-) will post pics there too as I progress.