5 Kids Later...finally a Mommy Makeover

I'm a 5 ft 3.5 in tall, 125 lbs, 39 year old momma to five kids. Prior to having babies, my belly was a nice hour glass shape (like I think most of us had), and it's been hard adjusting to what it's like now. After spending a few years trying to convince myself to love myself how I am, I realized I definitely do love myself the way I am, but I love myself enough to realize it's perfectly fine to not like my belly and to do something about it. As my friend says, if a guy's penis had loose skin all over it and didn't look normal, he'd go get it fixed. But for some reason, when a woman wants to fix something that childbirth has done to her, it's viewed by so many to be vain. (At least that's what most people I know think!) But, we bring life into the world, risk our lives, and many of us give up our bodies (and sleep!) to do so. So, I don't think there's anything wrong with adjusting things back to how we were, if we want to (and nothing wrong with not, for those that don't want to).

My skin did pretty good initially, but I had four of our five babies really quickly (4 babies in less than 5 years), and I don't think my belly could keep up. Also, God has a sense of humor, and with 3 of my pregnancies, my belly measured the size of twins. My body always stays small during pregnancies, but my belly gets big. With three of my pregnancies, my belly grew huge. By 36-37 weeks, I was measuring 43-44 weeks. With those 3 babies, I carried a lot of extra water, they were huge (biggest was 10 lbs 11oz), and my placentas were 5 lbs instead of 1-2 lbs. So, that's how I got this belly.

I went to a consultation with Dr A. He said he'd be able to pull my skin down about 8 inches, old belly button hole will be cut off, and he'll make a new one to attach to my belly button. All of my stretch marks will be below my belly button, and my incision will be very low, right above my pubic bone. Oh, and he also said he'll be able to pull up my skin (I had two c-sections) to where it used to be, making my nether regions more like how they used to be too.

I have a diastasis recti (muscle separation) of about 5.5 fingers wide. He'll be able to sew my muscles back together, and he doesn't do a continual stitch. He ties off each stitch so that if one breaks, it won't unravel the whole thing. I have love handles (never did prior to babies, it's like I got extra skin from the pregnancies back there too), and he said he can lipo that.

With my boobs (he called them boobs too, which cracked me up), we talked about implants, and initially he told me that I'd need to go to a DDD size to fill up the space, so he recommended a breast lift in addition so I could go smaller with implants. But I went home and thought about it and decided to just go for a breast lift no implant. He looked and said I'd go from being in between a C&D to being a full C. That sounds good to me! I don't need big boobies. He said he'll lipo near my armpits by my boobs too and will make my areolas smaller. My boobs survived breastfeeding five babies pretty well, but they definitely need a lift (I'll have to post a photo at some point).

Surgery is already scheduled for May 22. Pre-op is May 8th. My husband will be taking off 1.5 weeks to help out. My kids are old enough to help each other out and let me heal a while once he goes back to work.

I tend to always think of the worst situations and then not do things because of all the "what ifs", but I've reached a point where I don't care anymore. You can't live life that way. Sure, I might get necrosis and my boobs might fall off (haha), but that also might not happen! And, the idea of having my body back is a dream!

I thought since I posted about my belly, I should also post about my boobs (wouldn't want them to feel left out, right? Lol). I'm getting a lift, no implant. I considered an implant but read about too many people having issues, and dr says I'll need a lift either way. He says I'll be a full C after the lift (from being stuck in between a c&d). I'm not toooo picky on size really. Would just like my boobs to not hang so granny-low and to still be somewhat similar sized to what they are now. When nursing, my boobs got up to a size F, so they ended up fairly soggy and a lot of extra skin afterwards. I'm excited to see what they look like afterwards and how the necrosis will heal. (I don't currently have necrosis, I'm just paranoid I'm going to get it! Lol!) I'm also curious if the lift will help my boobs look somewhat like tiny mountains when I lay on my back and not turn into plateaus like they do now! Ha.

Next week I have my pre-op appointment. Then two weeks after that, I get to have my surgery. The closer it gets, the harder it is to wait! I see everyone else being smart and preparing, but I haven't done much. I really should. I was wanting to put together freezer meals so that my family doesn't eat out every single night until I can cook again (my husband has never learned how to cook). I was thinking of buying a walker because I've seen several people do that. Then pineapple tea (or can I just eat pineapple?), and I have no idea what else I should get. I imagine the doctor will give me a list?