32 Yrs Old, 2 Kids, Time for a New Tummy! - Dr. Christopher Patronella, Houston, TX

I have pretty much never had a very good mid-section. Even before kids i had a tummy pooch and stretch marks on my hips and thighs. I've never been big, but i guess i just don't have very good skin elasticity. i am 5'3" and i tend to weigh around 126-130 lbs.
I decided to get a tummy tuck after having my second child, but didn't actually call and get the surgery scheduled until 3 yrs later because we wanted to save up a bit.
After doing a lot of online research the doc that i was the most impressed with was Dr. Patronella in Houston, TX.
I set up consultation in before summer of 2014 i believe, but did not actually schedule my surgery until August, and even then, i scheduled the surgery for Nov instead of sooner. I just felt like i needed some time to process it because it's kind of a scary surgery to think about getting!
My surgery was on Nov 3, 2014 and everything went smoothly. Dr. Patronella keeps tummy tuck patients in his surgical suite overnight so a nurse can be there for you for the first 24 hrs after surgery. That was really nice and i think i slept through most of it!!
I actually slept through most of the first week! i guess pain pills make me really sleepy. i had rented an electric recliner to sleep in for after the surgery and i pretty much used nothing but that chair for the first two weeks! after that it all of a sudden became uncomfortable and i started sleeping in bed with pillows under my knees.
At my first post-op appt when my drains were removed they noticed that i seemed to have a little internal bleed because my stomach was swelling up in one spot. i was still on pain meds so i was having a hard time understanding what was going on, but basically, because i was on blood thinners so as not to get a blood clot, my body wasn't able to stop bleeding. they quickly took me into surgery and he stopped the bleed. this second surprise surgery didn't seem to affect my scar at all and it didn't seem to set me back too much as far as recovery goes.
I actually was expecting this surgery to hurt a lot more than it did! i was pretty much completely numb everywhere that had been operated on and i couldn't feel anything really. the most uncomfortable thing for me was actually the hunching over due to not wanting to pop the stitches. it made my neck and back hurt quite a bit, but after three weeks the doctor told me to stand up straight and once i started making myself straighten up that fixed the neck/back problem.
I am actually really glad that i did this surgery in the fall/winter because you have to wear a compression garment for the first 3 mo. and it didn't bother me at all since it was cold. however i could imagine it being pretty uncomfortable in the summer!
So immediately after my surgery i was happy with my results because it looked so much better than before, but after several weeks i saw that it was only going to look better and better as swelling went down!
I have honestly been a little surprised at how much this surgery has changed the way i feel and think about myself! my stomach looks better now than it did before even having kids and my stomach has always been a bit of an embarrassment for me, but now i love it!! it's so strange to wake up every day and look in the mirror and think, WOW, this is so awesome!
I highly recommend this surgery for people with problem tummies and i highly recommend Dr. Patronella! i think his tummy tucks look natural and i couldn't be happier with mine!!
I will post pictures shortly.

Ok, got a few pics up! :)