Mommy Makeover Worth All the Money! - Seattle, WA

Mommy Makeover 8 Week Recovery

Event Leading up to the Surgery

Why I had the surgery - I have 5 kids. The last two were twins (6 lbs. 8 oz and 5 lbs. 2 oz). I am petite and exercise to keep up with my kids. I run competitively and love to train at the gym. However, I could not exercise my recti muscles back to pre-pregnancy shape. My diastatis was 4 fingers in width. My perinatologist told me that I would need surgery after she delivered my twins. I have had some stomach pains on and off over the last 2 years. My stomach had a pronounced pooch and did not fit with the rest of my toned body. I loved my bustline when I was nursing my children. I loved how my clothes looked and I felt more feminine. After nursing, my breasts all but disappeared. Having almost non-existent breasts and pouchy tummy did not make a pretty picture. Here I was, a fit Mom who hid behind my clothes and was unhappy with how I looked both in and out of clothes.

After trying every exercise possible and every type of clothing to improve how I looked, I finally realized that surgery was the only answer. I called and made my appt. with Dr. P. When I met Dr. P, I felt confident in my choice of surgeons. She listened to my concerns and felt she could bring my stomach back to pre-pregnancy condition. I looked through her before an after pictures of previous patients to find someone with a similar body type so I could get an idea of what the results might look like. I decided to look at the implants since I would already be in surgery. It was difficult to imagine how I would look with the implants but I was able to get a general idea by putting them in the jogbra and remembering how I looked while nursing.

I agonized over my decision to have surgery. Was I doing the right thing? Was I being materialistic and shallow? Would it change my friend's opinion of me or my opinion of myself? How would my kids react? I had one month from my consultation with Dr. P and the scheduled surgery date. I talked about my concerns with everyone who would listen. I thought about how I would feel once I looked like I wanted to look. My husband was very supportive and encouraged me to have the surgery. He felt is was most important to get the hernias repaired and was just as excited as me to see the results. Everyone was encouraging although I did have some friends question my decision to get implants. But these friends had never had kids so they did not understand the changes your body goes through.

As Moms, we give so much of ourselves to our families. We put everyone else's needs before our own without hesitation. It is just as important to treat ourselves with as much respect and care. I wanted to do this for me, to give myself back the body I had had the privilege of birthing 5 wonderful children. I had read that individuals that have plastic surgery are more satisfied with their results that either the surgeons or patients themselves predicted. It was my time to find out.

June 9 email excerpt
So my surgery is scheduled for Tuesday June 14 and I am scared.   Normal I am told.  I have the lovely girdle on hand to wear home and am trying to decide which pants I hate so I can wear them home.  I borrowed some pants from a friend that she wore when she had kidney surgery.  I bought some button front shirts and am still looking for a front zip jog bra, maybe Fred Meyer has some.

I am planning on doing little but walking the first two weeks.  Then next two I will see if I am up for spinning (easy) and elliptical or something low impact and low stress.  Then after 4 weeks I hope to be thinking about more cardio.  I guess I like to plan but I know I will have to take it easy to ensure a good recovery.  I will not do core work for a while and would love to find out more from you about Barre3 and Pilates and I will look into yoga.  I really think we do situps incorrectly at the gym especially for those of us with diatasis recti issues.

I am afraid of the anesthesia but I am most worried about needing to do something for the kids that I am not yet physically able to.  Hopefully I am worrying for nothing.  I am looking forward to seeing my toes without a little bump in the way.

I will have two drains for 3-5 days and a shower maybe after 3-5 days.  I can sleep in bed as long as I am curled on my side or have my legs propped.  That I am not looking forward to but I bet I will be so exhausted I will not care.

Day of surgery

I got up early and went out for an 8 mile run..No breakfast or anything to drink to I was really hungry while waiting for my surgery time. My husband and I drove to the surgery center about 2 hours before the scheduled surgery time. I got into my gown and we went into a small room to wait for Dr. P. When she came into the room, she explained what she would be doing and how long it would take She drew lines on my stomach that indicated where she would remove excess skin. Now I am getting nervous. My husband leaves and I walk with her nurse to the operating room. I lay down on the table and realize I am now going to have surgery, which comes with risks I feel so selfish. What if I die and leave my children without a mother just so I could look better? What about my husband, how will they survive without me? I started to cry and asked if anyone has ever backed out. I was told 'not at this point'. I explained how scared I was of dying. The nurses held me hand tightly and comforted me while the anesthesia was started. The next thing I knew, I was in recovery.

After surgery, Dr. P will put you in your girdle and bind your breasts. She will put your clothes back on. I wore a pair of loose sweat pants with a stretchy waist and a zip up sweatshirt. My shoes were velcro. All your clothes should be super easy to remove and put on.

I do not remember getting from recovery to the car. I heard the nurses talking and drifted in and out of consciousness. I never felt afraid, worried or scared. I vaguely remember driving home, occasionally being aware of familiar streets and noting that we were heading home. Everyone came out to greet me when we parked. I felt so silly, I had a fan club. I said hello to everyone and went straight to bed.

Days 1 - 7 (June 14-20)

The first three days are the most difficult. You will need full time help for yourself. I was unable to get out of bed by myself for the first 3 days. My husband emptied my drains and recorded the amounts. He changed my dressings and made sure I took my pain pills on schedule. It was difficult to eat much so plan on multiple small, easy to digest meals. Keep a water bottle close by and try to stay hydrated. Make sure you are using the bathroom every few hours. It is important to get up and walk around for a few minutes every hour. The pain medication will make you constipated. Have some coolace on hand although I ended up using Milk of Magnesia. I did not shower until I had my drains removed. You are allowed to shower after # days but I had no desire to do so. Day after surgery is the first post op appt. My breasts were bound and Dr, P took the binding off and put me in a jog bra. She looked at my incisions and told us everything looked good. I am walking so hunched over and so so slowly. My back is starting to ache. It hurts to stand over the sink and brush my teeth. I take frequent naps during the day, my body is working hard healing itself.

The first week I felt like I had been hit by a truck but the pain medication made it bearable. At the time of my surgery, my twins were 2, my son was 4 and my older girls were 8 and 10.

The drains were taken out on June 22 and it felt so weird like something was being pulled from under my skin. It did not hurt at all. Stitches were taken out as well. Now I could shower.

My first shower will always be a lasting memory. I did not want to take my girdle off (I had this crazy idea that my tummy would just fall out!) So I showered with it on. However, I had taken the jog bra off. Boy was I surprised at how heavy my breasts felt! I cradled them in my arms and asked my husband to help me wash in the shower. I started to cry because my breasts hurt. I realized then that I would need to shower with a jog bra on.

The shower was done but my girdle was wet. SInce it is made of a thin quick drying material. I used a blow dryer on a low setting to dry it while wearing it. It did not take long. It felt so good to be clean again but it was draining and I needed to rest.

Next shower was the first time I was out of my girdle for any length of time. I rinsed the girdle out in the sink and laid it on the side of the tub. I took my shower (with my spare jog bra on) by myself. When I was done, I dried off and tied the towel around me. I sat on the side of the tub and dried that girdle out as fast as I good because I wanted it back on ASAP. This shower was less tiring but it sure made me appreciate how we take all the daily things we easily do for granted.

June 18 email excerpt
The pain pump was removed by my husband yesterday and today I can really feel my muscles that were stitched.  I am able to get around better but I can tell this is going to be a longer recovery than a c-section.  I am taking it easy and doing nothing (which is hard when your kids are screaming at each other ready to throw stuff and your husband is not anywhere in sight).

Our follow up appt is Wed morning when the surgeon will take out both drains (I hope) but the swelling may last a lot longer.  My chest is definitely uncomfortable but I am pretty sure the size is right, I look the same as when I was nursing.  My tummy feels really weird and I think that is all the excess fluid floating around from the surgery.  

June 19 - email excerpt
I had the surgery on Tuesday at noon.  I kind of became numb to it all but lost it when I got on the operating room table.  I was so scared, did not want to die and leave my kids without a mom, etc.  I held the nurses hand so tight but the next thing I knew I was coming out of recovery.  No chance to back out!

My husband took me home and put me to bed.  I have two drains that will come out Wed which is my next appt.  That is when the PS will show us how to do the taping.  Apparently I had a mommy makeover since I did implants as well.  I had major hernia surgery and the PS found another one once she started.  She ended up using mesh as well as stitches since I am so active.  I am quite swollen (even my feet are swollen) and powered through my first pain prescription.  I am now on my second and trying to make them last.  I had the pain pump and really felt it when my husband took it out.

So now I look back at what I thought I would be doing and just roll my eyes and laugh.  Nothing like an overachiever.  I have yet to make it out of the house or into the shower.  I did finally change my clothes.  I slept so much the first few days and wish I felt better but now it is a matter of time.  I hope to walk around outside sometime in the next few days and get back to normal within 3 months or so.  That is probably more reasonable.

Day 3 was the hardest for me, i wished I could roll time back to presurgery I hurt so bad.  But I can almost get myself out of bed but cannot open that pain pills.  I can do a few things in the kitchen, use the bathroom alone but my husband does the drains.

I had a full tt and the PS moved my belly button, that is such a weird feeling.  I have the full hip to hip scar and stitches around my belly button.  I have not taken off the jog bra so I have no idea what to expect.  My breasts are sore but I think they will heal much more quickly than my tummy.

 I told my twins my tummy hurts and they have been really good no to touch me and ask for hugs.  But it is frustrating when I cannot get the twins out of their bed or even put them to bed.

Days 8 -15 (June 21-28)

Week 2 - My 10 year old daughter has an orthodontist appt about 1/2 mile away. I do not want to drive and want to try and walk. I tell my daughter that she will be walking much faster than me and that I might need her support. We start on the walk together and I lean on her. It takes us 20 minutes to walk the half mile and I feel like I have run a marathon. But, we made it on time. I rest while she has her appointment which is much too short. Turns out the receptionist had her breast reduction done by the same plastic surgeon. She had previously worked for a different plastic surgeon and gave Dr. P top recommendations.

It is hard for me to have someone else doing everything for my kids. It is hard for me to sit so much but it is what I need to do to heal.

My husband has been home for days 1-9. I am getting around much better by myself and have lots of help. I gently suggest he go back to work. Being home with me and the kids is a bit hard for all of us after this much time.

June 23 - email excerpt

Let's see I think I am day 10.  Had the drains and stitches out yesterday.  Asked my ps to draw me a picture of what she had done.  She drew on my before picture and showed my muscles bowed out.  She showed where she made the cuts and sewed up the muscles and the additional hernia she found.  She showed me where she put the mesh in to make sure everything stays put.  She did move my belly button too, but it is mine.

The shower was quite an experience.  I took off the girdle and then the jogbra and my breasts started feeling really heavy and hurting where the incision is.  I had to hold them so my husband had to help in the shower.  Poor guy, nice new body and can't do anything with it!  He washed my hair and rinsed me off.  Then he dried me and I put everything back on asap.  Next shower I will wear a jog bra.  Ask my ps how long the swelling would last.  She said most would be gone in 6-8 weeks but everything would be gone in a year.  since I am small I will still be able to tell.  I had to do implants as I was flat as a board and still drooping, how does that work?

Days 15 - 21 (June 29-July 4)

Week 3 - Still walking slowly but frequently. Not lifting the babies yet but taking my older girls for swim lessons. Time to go bra shopping at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. I had implants (287 silicone). Previously, bra shopping was a traumatic experience. I was a 32AA and finding a bra that fit was close to impossible. My tops did not hang well as I was also trying to cover my protruding stomach. I went in to the fitting room and the sales associate gave me two fit bras to try on. One was a 32C and one was a 32D. What a surprise! I was a bit nervous to try them on as I figured they would be way too big. But no, the 32D fit perfectly! I was ecstatic and smiling from ear to ear. I tried every bra they had and went home with 6 beautiful bras that fit and looked great.

Email excerpt July 3
 I am now 2.5 weeks post surgery and I can finally sleep on my back again.  I started taking tylenol PM so i could sleep and it really helps.  I do have more swelling at night but that seems to be getting better.  It is weird to feel so numb, it much more than with a c-section.  How much internal surgery did you have?  My split was basically top to bottom, breastbone to pubic bone and then one hernia on the side.

I was able to take a shower yesterday with no job bra, big step for me.  I have to make sure to massage the implants or they can develop scar tissue and have to be redone.

I am eating a little better but do not like watching my muscles disappear.  Oh well, I keep forgetting that I have done this 4 times already with my kids.  I put on a regular t-shirt yesterday with a regular workout bra (that I somehow still had from being pregnant) and was really pleased with how I look.  Now when I look down I have a bust line and do not look directly at a pot belly.

I will ask my surgeon for copies of my before pictures, that should help.

This recovery is long and I think my husband had been expecting me to bounce back faster since I was so healthy and active to start.  I have to remind him that I am 50 not 35 and this was major surgery.  I feel bad since he has taken so much responsibility but when I offer to get someone to help on the weekends he says no.  He stayed home until day 9 when I get the tubes out and then I think he was just done so he went back to work.  I have two college students sharing the summer workload for me, I am so glad since I cannot pick up anything heavy yet.  I miss hugging my twins so much and holding them on my lap, just make me want to cry.

I am not sure my scar is low enough for a real bikini maybe something a little higher.  Not sure I will feel like wearing one until next summer.

Days 22 - 28 (July 5-11)

Week 4 - Walking for an hour each day that I can. I asked my friend to go grocery shopping with me as I could not reach things on high or low shelves. Nor could I carry the groceries to the car.

Next appt. with Dr. P this week. She made sure that all the bras I bought would not affect the implants. She loved them as much as I did. Initially I did not think I would be able to wear an underwire for a few months but Dr. P said I could wear each and every one. She told me I could pick up my twins

Sun July 10 email excerpt
On Monday it will be 4 weeks depending on the day you count (surgery was Tuesday).  I am pretty functional now.  I went to see my PS on Friday and she basically said I could do what I want slowly.  She released me from my girdle and I now wearing spanx.  And no more jog bra, just a soft non underwire bra.  Yes I can go to spin but not work it.  I am walking 3 or so miles now at a normal pace.  I have been grocery shopping and clothing shopping.  Hit that Nordstrom sale hard for the bras (I went from a 32AA to 32D) and I could not be happier.  Oh and my clothes look so much better.  I am still wearing stretch pants ad shorts although I can get my jeans on standing up I have not tried sitting and do not think it would be fun.

I wake up pretty flat but swell during the day quite a bit.  I asked my PS how much my waist would shrink and she said it just depends.  Love those evasive answers but I understand everyone is unique.  I said, well you sewed by muscles together that were separated by 3 or 4 inches so wouldn't my waist go down that much?  And she said that you would think it worked that way but…  Time will tell but my jeans do fit much better and there is no belly hanging over the front.  So my waist is still 29 inches but I bet that will change.

My next appt in the 22nd and she wants to take pictures.  She will give me copies of before and after then.  I wonder if I can somehow send them to you.  I imagine I will still be swollen but I will let you know.

My PS said at 6 weeks I was free to do whatever I wanted, she felt I could not damage the stitches at this time.  She said I could pick up the twins and my older twin is 35 lbs. now.   I said, are you sure and she said yes but it may feel strange.  I agree that each day I will be incrementally better but I am sure scared to try and run.  I am saving that for very last, maybe even more than 6 weeks.  When I feel I am ready I will try but not a moment sooner.  And the weight training is a big mystery too.

I am so glad I did the implants and hope that I feel the same about my tummy soon.  I am glad I am sewn back up and am looking forward to seeing my new shape.  My scar will show on top of underwear, it is higher than the bikini underwear line.  I think that is typical. I did buy one super sexy dress that I hope lives up to my expectations.  My husband is also pleased.

Days 29 - 35 (July 12-18)

Week 5 - Next appt. with Dr. P. I am now free to do anything I want. There is no danger of damaging any of the surgical repair. I can pick up my twins and start back at the gym. I am excited and scared. How hard will the recovery be? How long will it take to get back to 'normal'? Will I be able to do step class? Will I fall and hurt myself.?

Days 36 - 42 (July 19-25)

Week 6 - I feel like this is a turning point for me. After 6 weeks, a majority of the healing has occurred. I should be able to start pouching myself without concern so long as I listen to my body. Back to the gym. First step class, I use one riser and do not do any twisting motions. I modify all the moves to make them very low impact with limited jumping. It feels so good to be moving my body! I am smiling from ear to ear, how great to be back with my friends doing something that make me feel great! I am a bit reluctant to take off my shirt (I am wearing a workout top underneath that is tight fitting) and show off my new shape. Maybe soon.

Days 43 - 49 (July 26-Aug 1)

Week 7 - Each day I do more and more. I pay attention to any aches and pains as I push myself to do more. If it hurts I stop and resolve to try again the next day or the day after. The first time I jog I stop after a few minutes. I try again a few days later and I can go for longer before it get uncomfortable. Reaching up to put dishes away is painful at first but I gently continue to stretch. Now I am putting everything away without any discomfort.

Days 50 - 56 (Aug 2-Aug 8)

Week 8 - I am back at the gym 7 days a week. I am lifting my kids, grocery shopping, running errands, showering every day and doing everything I always have. My tummy is still sore where the mesh is and I am not yet able to run. I am eating normally and I still have some swelling in my midsection. Every time I look in the mirror I am so pleased with how I look. I am gaining back more strength and flexibility every day and love wearing clothes the fit my new shape.

Tried jogging again and can manage a slower than normal pace for 10-15 minutes at a time. I can feel the stitches pulling where the fascia is attached to the mesh. The longer I jog and the warmer my muscles get, the less pulling I feel.

Days 57 - 63 (Aug 9-15)

Week 9 - I jogged for a solid 40 - 45 minutes this morning and then did my interval training class. I was able to do mountain climbers and the plank but I am still not doing any core exercises. I tried to bench press and I could feel the muscles pulling in my chest. But I am happy that I am getting closer and closer to my pre-surgery fitness.

Days 64-70 (Aug 16-22)

Week 10 - Monday is my normal double workout day. I run for an hour and then do an interval training class. This is one of my favorite and most tiring days of the week. Today I ran for 50 minutes and was able to maintain between 8:20 and 8:30 per mile. I am getting much closer to my typical mile pace and distance. My tummy did hurt a bit in the beginning. I could feel the muscles pulling against the stitches. As I get further along, the pain decreases and almost disappears. I saw Dr. P last Friday and mentioned the pulling sensation when I run. She checked the stitches and abdominal area and found no areas of swelling. My muscles are not separating, the stitches and mesh are doing their job.

Days 71-77 (Aug 23-29)

Week 11- Well I had a bit of set back this week. On Wednesday I pulled a muscle in my lower right abdominal. It happened while doing mountain climbers, one of my favorite core exercises. I took some ibuprofen and was fine in step class the next day. It does not hurt unless I turn a certain way or try to run. Otherwise I am back to regular activity. I jogged/ran on Friday and did body step class on Saturday. When I tried to run on Sunday I decided the pain was uncomfortable enough to walk instead. Up and down the neighborhood hills. Then I wore a support garment the rest of the day. Hope this is not a long term problem and heals quickly.

Days 78-84 (Aug 30-Sep 5)

Week 12 - On Monday I was able to run pain free wearing a Lucy brand core knee pant and Lucy brand compression top. I ran 7 miles with 3 miles at sub 8 minute pace. I guess the compression kept the internal movement to a minimum which eliminated the pain. The rest of the week my workouts went well. I decided to keep my step at one riser rather than two. Some of the kicks pulled on the muscles and were uncomfortable but not to a great extent.

I spoke with my doctor on Friday regarding the pain. She said I am not hurting anything and that it is the muscle pulling against the mesh with the muscle spasming. I can have an anesthetic shot or a steroid shot or continue to run until the pain eventually goes away. Since I am not too found of shots, I will wear the compression garments and continue to run unless it gets unbearable.

I ran with my running partner on Saturday and the pain disappeared within 20 minutes. We probably ran for 75 minutes at 8 minute pace. I was really happy. On Sunday I went to step and did fine with one riser which I am going to stay with for now. On Monday I ran with regular shorts (no compression) and it was relatively pain free. In fact, I did a fartlek run, which is fast running for a short duration. I felt great and now know that the rest will be coming soon.

Week 13 (Sept 6-12)

I did realize last week that I have yet to sleep on my stomach or lay on it for that matter. It is still rather tight and painful to completely stretch that area. I have not been on my stomach to read a book. It also still hurts to try and lay straight down on my back. I still turn to my side to lay flat.

Miscellanous

Showering - Plan on some help with the first shower. If you shower while you still have the drains in, they can remain pinned to the girdle. Otherwise ??? You will need to decide whether or not to shower with the girdle on. I was very dependent on my girdle (and then the spanx) for at least 4 weeks. After that I continued to wear it due to swelling and/or minor discomfort. It is personal preference once Dr. P tells you that it is not needed to support the tummy tuck.

Eating - at first, you will only be able to eat small amounts before feeling full. Make sure that what you eat is nutritious and dense like cheese or peanut butter. Stay hydrated to keep your system moving.

Walking - I waited almost two weeks before I ventured outside. My first really long walk was with a friend. My husband had taken all the kids for the day. One of my good friends came over and we walked about 1 mile to Unniversity Village. We stopped and had something to drink. The walk there was downhill which was more uncomfortable then up hill. We went more slowly back home since it was uphill. I was tired when we got back but glad that I had spent some quality time outdoors and with a friend

Standing up straight - I was not able to stand up straight until 3 weeks. Even then I had to focus on pulling my shoulder back. I would straighten out slowly to expand my midsection gently. I pressed my shoulders back to stand up straight.

Getting in and out of bed - turn over on your side and push yourself up using your arm. More difficult if you have had breast surgery. Go slowly and be gentle with yourself. After 9 weeks I continue to get out of bed or off the floor using that method.

Breast Massage - 5 times/day for the first 3-4 weeks then once a day in the shower (or as your surgeon recommends). It may be a little uncomfortable at first but that will diminish.

Sore nipples - I could not figure out why my nipples were so sore. They were very tender and irritated. I discovered that they were being irritated by being so close to the material in the jog bra. It did not last long and eventually stopped bothering me.

Sleeping - I slept propped up with pillow for close to 4 weeks. The first 2 weeks I was very careful to stay upright the whole night. I had two pillows behind my back, a neck pillow and a pillow under my knees. I found that I would 'creep' down during the night. I would wake up and move myself back into an upright position and go back to sleep. My abdominals would engage the moment I thought of adjusting my position. It felt like I had a vice around my midsection. I would then 'tell' my muscles to relax and the discomfort would subside. During the 3rd and 4th week, I took anvil PM or tylenol PM to help myself sleep and not wake up due to some minor pain.

Design Veronique/Spanx/TC - When you wake up from surgery you will be dressed in your girdle. After 4 weeks, Dr. P will let you wear something less restrictive. First I purchased a Spanx garment that was similar in design to the Design Veronique girdle. However, it was summer and I wanted something without the legs. I went back to Nordstrom and bought an item made by TC. It supported my belly from under the bra to the hips. I felt it had much better support than the Spanx and liked wearing it.

C-section vs. MM - For me, the MM recovery was more painful. The good part of the mm recovery is that i was not responsible for taking care of one (or two) newborn(s). The not so good part is that it was much more painful due in part to the major muscle and hernia repair I had.

Exercise - I love to exercise and was concerned with the amount of time it would take to resume my fitness routine. While I was a bit optimistic before the surgery, I feel that I have continued to progress at a reasonable rate. It did hurt a little at first and I was quite scared I would tear my stitches. Dr. P reassured me that it would not happen. And it did not. Expect everything to be a bit painful at first. Healing requires rest and rest results in de-conditioning your aerobic capacity as well as your ability to perform normal day to day tasks. Doing laundry would totally exhaust me at first. Walking felt like I was climbing a mountain. Day to day errands were overwhelming.

Each day was a bit easier than the previous. When I felt sad that it seemed like forever since I felt 'normal', I reminded myself how day I had come. I looked at the emails I had written. I listened to what my friends said about how much better I was looking and how much straighter I was standing. I remembered how a shower was a momentous event in my life. Then I looked at how much healing I had already done and I realized how much I had improved.

A successful recovery involves taking everything day by day. At first it seems like you have a mountain to climb to get back to your normal day to day activities. Once the first week is over, you will feel better and better much more quickly. By the sixth week, you will feel close to normal. I felt like myself by the eighth week because my expectations of myself are very high. I am at 10 weeks as I write this. I am confident that by week 12 I will be 100% back to normal high activity level.

I am a 50 year old Mom of 5 ages 10, 8, 4 and 2 year old twins. I am extremely athletic. I run competitively, spin, do interval training and step classes. Each pregnancy ended in a c-section. I never gained more than 25-30 lbs. but I am 5'2" and 112 lbs. with a small frame.

After my doctor delivered my twins, she told me I would need plastic surgery to fix my diastasis recti. You could place 4 fingers between my muscles. My oblique muscles were resting on my hips. They are strong but in the wrong place. I waited 2 years hoping I could correct them with exercise. Sadly, this is not possible.

I went to see my surgeon (on my perinatologists recommendation) when my twins were just over 2. She is warm and compassionate and felt we could achieve the results I wanted. I decided to go ahead and get implants as my breasts had completely disappeared. I had enjoyed my post baby breast size and hoped to get back to that.

The first two weeks of post surgery recovery was really painful. My surgeon had to sew my diastasis recti muscles together from my ribcage down to my pubic bone and she corrected another hernia she found in my lower right abdominal area. She decided to use mesh as well in my front midsection since I am so active.

I am now 5 weeks post surgery. I started walking at 2.5 weeks and just went back to the gym yesterday. My tummy is as flat as it was before I had my kids and my muscles are all in the right place. My obliques are pulled in and I have some shape to my waist and hips. My breasts are picture perfect. I used 287cc moderate profile silicone implants and went from a 32AA to a 32D which was exactly what I wanted.

I went to the Nordstrom sale and bought 6 bras. It was the most exhilarating experience I have ever had buying bras. My clothes look so good now. It has done wonders for my self esteem. It was so frustrating to work out as much as I do, have strong, sculpted arms, back and legs with a tummy that looked 4 months pregnant.

I am still getting used to my new shape. Every day as I heal more and the swelling subsides my satisfaction grows. I went to Lululemon to buy a running bra and told the sales staff I had implants. When I purchased the running bra, the sales clerk told me my implants look real and natural and they had seem many that were obviously fake. How nice to get an unsolicited compliment! My friends at the gym are amazed at my flat tummy and how well I have recovered.

Thank you Dr. P and staff for making a Mom's dreams come true!