35 years old, mom of 4 trying to put things back where they go.

After having two children in my twenties and then two more in my thirties there isn't enough exercise or time to get my body back even close to what it once was. I came close when my husband and I got married. Our sons were 5 and 11. Fast forward a year and a half later...pregnant with daughter number 1.She did a number on my body. I had never weighed so much in my life. I lost all but 10-15 pounds of the baby weight and BAM! pregnant with daughter number two. She is now 8 months old and my body is still super fluffy and not going back no matter what diet or exercise I do. I am happy with my weight, but my fluffy midsection HAS to go. I went to three consultations. The first was great. Bedside manner was okay and he seemed very skilled. My husband wanted me to see a couple more for comparison. Second consultation seemed rushed and wanted get me in and out of the consultation and the surgery as fast as he could. Surgeon number three was AMAZING! He seems to be just as skilled as the first, has great bedside manner, and his prices were just slightly lower than the first surgeon due to lower anesthesia and facility fees. After spending this much money $1000 doesn't really make a huge difference. Now I am 4 weeks away from my surgery date and to say that I am nervous as hell would be a gross understatement.

I really contemplated on posting photos, but I couldn't find someone who has had the procedure done whose body resembled mine closely, so I figured why not, maybe it will help someone else. I am 5'2" and weigh about 155. This is the heaviest I have ever been in my life without being pregnant. I am hoping to drop 10 pounds or so before my surgery, but we will see. I haven't been successful at losing weight since the last baby. The weight doesn't bother me near as much as my protruding tummy and lack of ta-tas. I haven't been this flat-chested since middle school, but breastfeeding the last two babies sucked out any meat I had left. Now my tummy sticks out further than my breasts, and....well....we can't be having that.

I had a little bit of a panic the other day when I wrote the check to pay for the surgery. I am excited about the results, but I am dreading recovery. For a moment I doubted my decision and had an "Oh crap" feeling. It was just a couple of seconds and then I remembered how resilient I am and it went away. Three weeks and counting! EEEEK!