Bye Bye Belly!

I will be 36 this month. I am a mother of 4 (5 now that we have custody of my step-daughter). My first birth was via c-section and was followed by 3 VBAC's. My oldest is 17 and my youngest is 4. Its safe to say that for 17 years I have been really uncomfortable with the appearance of my stomach. With a small frame, each of my babies being 9 lbs or better, my stomach is pretty much stretched beyond recognition.

Over the years I have thought constantly of having a tuck and have had 4 consults with different surgeons but still either felt like I was being selfish for even wanting one, felt guilty for considering spending that much money on myself vs my kids, or felt foolish for "risking my life" with an elective operation. As I've gotten older..and with eeach pregnancy, my stomach went from being flat with extra loose stretched skin...to bulgy and mis-shapen (still with loose sagging skin).

I started to experience alot if abdominal pain over the past few years, especially in the bulgy section of my stomach. I finally made time to go to the Dr and was informed that I have several hernias!! My hernia surgeons(2)are very thorough and patient and explained to me that they could certainly fix my hernia issues but that I should prepare myself that the appearance of my stomach would likely be worse that ever. They would likely have to cut me vertically, I would no longer have a navel and they could do nothing about my loose hanging skin. (My reaction...Ummmm worse??I dont think I can psychologically deal with my belly being WORSE) They suggested that I consult with a that they often operate with in situations like mine who could address my sag situation while they took care of the hernia business. I met with her and was thoroughly impressed. She was just as patient and informative and helped me to feel good about my decision to move forward with both procedures.

I figure if I now So here I am! I am scheduled for Hernia/muscle repair surgery with mesh and a full tt on March 1st. To say I am anxious would be an extreme understatement! i still feel a little guilty now and then but I know Im overdue to do something for myself and finally feel like I deserve it!!!