34 Years Old, Fit, 2 Vaginal Births, First Surgery Ever!

My first child was born when I was 23. I have been very fit and active my whole life and my weight has stayed very stable. I lost all the pregnancy weight within the first 6 months and did a lot of physical therapy to bring my abdominal muscles back together. After my first child, this work was mostly successful. A tiny gap smaller than my pinky finger was present, but it did not affect what I could do. I have a short torso and an anteverted uterus so naturally I had stretch marks and some extra skin, but I was fit, so it didn't bother me too much. At 29, I gave birth to my second child and repeated the above process. By the time I was 31, I was running half marathons, doing solid core classes, and was extremely strong, but this time I had a finger-width gap between my abdominal muscles that would not improve no matter what I did. I knew I would need surgery to correct this, but I wanted to wait until we were certain that we were finished having children before I had abdominoplasty. At age 34, we decided our family was complete, so I did it. The before photo below shows my stomach just before surgery. I was fit, low body fat, and very strong. I honestly don't feel negatively about that before picture. I didn't do this purely for vanity. I wanted that muscle separation closed. I value my active lifestyle and know that diastasis recti can increase the risk of developing a hernia, so that was my motivation in having this surgery. I am proud of that before body and hope to be just as proud of my after body.

My surgery was one week ago today. I still have one drain, so I am unable to shower, but I am taking very shallow sitz baths with the water level well below the drain. I switched to Vicodin on Monday which was a big improvement, but today I haven't taken any Vicodin all day. Tonight I am going to try to use extra strength tylenol only. I also have Valium that I have used mostly at night as a muscle relaxer. I am still taking one Valium before bed and plan on doing so tonight. I have been able to move around a lot more today so at the moment, I am way too tired to take off my binder and take a photo. The swelling seems better right now, but that changes randomly. I have been applying Aquaphor to my scar and that makes me much more comfortable. My dermatologist told me that Aquaphor promotes healing so hence my use of it.

I did very, very gently wash my new belly button and I love it! It is so cute and looks so natural!

I am beginning to feel my abdominal muscles a bit more and gentle laughing is comfortable, especially if I hold my midsection while I life.

I still cannot imagine life without my binder. I feel so much more comfortable wearing it and have worn it constantly, except for my two very brief sits baths.

I went to my one week check up yesterday and Dr. Tattelbaum removed my drain! It didn't hurt at all- just felt weird. I immediately went home and showered. The drain tube is long and crossed my whole body, which was kind of cool to see.

Word of advice- DO not weigh yourself. The swelling weighs a lot and it peaks at week 12.