7 MONTHS Postop and LOVING My New Body!! I'M BACK LADIES!!

Hey ladies!! I have missed this blog SO MUCH and I feel like such a traitor for disappearing shortly after my surgery because I VOWED not to do that! But what can I say... Life happens... There were so many times I started writing updates and then I'd get distracted and never get back to it. Before the surgery, my life revolved around surgery prep. Once it was over, I relaxed and stopped being consumed with it. Then I received several emails of people asking what happened to me, and am I still happy with my results, and can I post recent pics. And then I hit my 7 month mark on 9-14-13 and I said okay, enough is enough, I have GOT to update! Even though I haven't been updating, I still peek at the site every few weeks just to see what's new, and it broke my heart when I read a review where a bbl sister complained about how vets no longer update. I felt so guilty, because she was right... This website helped me keep it together when I was preparing for this surgery. I lived and breathed RS for many months lol! I wouldn't have made it through that process without the support and information provided on this site, so I will do my best to remain active and answer any questions that you ladies may have!

So anyway, hello everybody!! I am 7 months and 2 days postop and I am SO IN LOVE with what I see when I look in the mirror! My body has taken on a very natural shape and I look good in EVERYTHING that I wear! I literally feel like this body is a gift and a curse, because I can't go shopping without liking EVERYTHING that I put on! I have a small waist, curvy hips, beautifully sloped booty, and a big ass ego! Lol I can't even lie, I feel like a new woman! I always had a very feminine shape, but I was never really satisfied with my backside. I felt like I was all boobs, no booty. Dr J gave me something I never imagined I would get from this surgery. It's not just the butt, it's the difference in how I feel about myself. I feel so sexy, so feminine, so proud... I still look at myself in mirrors when I'm walking and I'm just like, "Wow, that's really my body!" Even after 7 months, it still amazes me!

I have not taken my measurements in FOREVER, but I will do that in the next few days and let you ladies know my new measurements. I'll admit, I have not exercised at all since the surgery! Terrible, right? I haven't had time! Between school, work, traveling, and sleep, I haven't been able to fit in exercise. BUT I WOULDN'T SUGGEST THAT!! I am still an advocate of getting plenty exercise postop, so don't follow my lead in that sense lol! I have, however, continued to wear my garment. I wore it 22 hrs a day for the first 10-12 weeks, then I started wearing it all day and taking it off at night. I still wear a garment most days, but not at night. My boyfriend says that is a waste of time to keep wearing it because my shape is permanent, but I really feel like it's the reason why my stomach hasn't got big again. I eat whatever I want, don't exercise, and I've gained like 8 lbs since surgery. I think I weighed 152 at the time of surgery, and now I weigh 160, but my stomach is still flat! I credit the garment for that...

I have much more that I wanna share, but I have to go into class. I'll update again later today or in the next few days, but I added some pics so you guys can see the total transformation. Much love ladies! Talk to you soon!! Xoxoxo

(Vitamins C and D, surgery scars, diff garments, sex, jeans, female vs male reactions,my thoughts on Round 2, updated measurements, headaches, blood flow, booty jiggling, "fluffing", change in body shape... Things I will touch on in my next update!)

Hi BBL Beauties! So, recovery has been going great. I finally started driving last week, and it was TERRIBLE at first, but I am starting to get the hang of it. My first day driving was on Day 25 postop and when I got home, my right hip was hurting SO BAD! I was sitting with the boppy pillow and another small pillow under my thighs with a mesh back support, neck roll pillow, and small pillow behind my back, but my body still wanted to sink down, so I had to use my muscles to hold myself up and my body was just not happy about it! I literally screamed a few times while driving because of the discomfort lol! But I have driven almost every day since, and each day, it gets a little easier. I have been getting the massages twice a week and they are GREAT! No hard spots or lumps, but my lower back and sides are still pretty tender. Also, I never mentioned this before in my blog, but after hearing that other girls have experienced it, I feel I should mention it... Occasionally, my pinky finger and ring finger get tingly. Like, they fall asleep at random moments and I have to massage them for a while to make them feel normal again. At first, I thought nothing of it, but it has happened a lot ever since surgery. Well, since about 2 weeks post op. Maybe it's just my nerves trying to get normal again but it is pretty weird...

Finding jeans that fit is PURE HELL!! I did manage to find a few, but they are big in the waist and even with a belt on, they just don't fit the way I'm used to jeans fitting (duh! lol) But even though it's a struggle finding jeans or bottoms that fit, it is a struggle that I am MORE THAN HAPPY to face lol! This weekend was my first time being out and about a lot. I didn't go to any parties or anything (not quite ready for that), but I did go to two malls, two shopping centers, grocery shopping, and out to eat, and OMG, the attention was ridiculous! Like seriously, I was a bit overwhelmed! At the shopping center I went to yesterday, I had so many men coming up to me trying to give me their card or ask for my number or begging to just buy me lunch or whatever. One guy asked to take me out and of course I declined because I have a man, but then he was like, "Well do you need a caterer, lawn service, towing service, a car wash, anything like that?" LMAO! I'm like wow, really, you just threw out all kinds of different services lol! I heard things like "Daaaammnn" and "Oh [RS bleep]" and "Mmm mmm mmm" and "Sweetheart, SWEETHEART, come here!" so many times, it was ridiculous. NOT TO MENTION, I saw two of my female friends that I haven't seen since last summer, and when one of them called my name and I turned around, she was like, "Damn girl, I almost didn't even notice you with all that ass! What you been eating?" Lol, I just laughed it off and said "Everything in sight" and left it at that. The whole weekend was full of stares from men and women, and some of those men got very dirty looks from their girlfriends when they got caught staring. Yesterday was definitely the craziest though! I was actually happy to get out of there. I am going to have to get used to this new body and the attention it brings. I already had men chasing me down before, but now, they are coming at me by the boat load! I am so happy to already have my man and be so secure in my relationship with him because what these men are going after has nothing at all to do with who I am as a person. No doubt, the extra attention is definitely flattering and I feel so womanly with my new curves, but all of this is just my shell, it's not me, and there's nothing better than the security of knowing that the person you're with loves you for YOU, not for what you look like...

Anyway, so yeah I am less than 2 weeks away from my 6 week mark and I am SO excited!!! I'll still continue wearing my garment for most of the day because it is still helping with shaping my body. The scars on my butt look a little better, but I still need them to fade more because I do NOT like having those marks on my butt. I've been using Mederma everyday and also rubbing cocoa butter on them, but it's not working fast enough for me. Does anyone have good suggestions on scar fading creams? Thanks ladies. Pics added :-)

OK, just a few things I forgot to mention in my previous post. Some of it is stated in my Part 1, but I just wanted to include a few more things, some of which are things that people have asked me about...

Ok, so I was taking the VitaMedica preop/postop vitamin kit. I started the AM and PM pills two weeks before surgery, the Bromelain 3 days before surgery, and the arnica in small doses 3 days before surgery, but then discontinued taking arnica for the first seven days after surgery because Kim (one of Jimerson's nurses) said that we should not take arnica while taking the Lovenox injections. / I did stretching exercises twice a day everyday for the 3 or 4 weeks leading up to the surgery. I also went to Zumba classes twice a week and ate a very healthy but filling diet (lots of water, fruit, and veggies, NO fried or greasy food). / I listened to meditation music to put me to sleep at night, and tried to have positive thoughts as much as I could. The anxiety was high and my nerves were all over the place, but the meditation music really helped and relaxed me a lot. A bbl sister also told me to listen to "Preparing for Surgery" by David Gibson and it was GREAT! I highly recommend it. / I DEFINITELY OVER-PACKED and regretted it lol! Seriously, you do NOT need a bunch of clothes, and I knew that, but still brought too many and it was just a hassle when it was time to go home. I was there for 16 nights and I spent more time in my PJs and in my robe than anything else. Seriously, 2 or 3 dresses, 2 pair of loose pants, and maybe 3 tank tops is all you need. And of course PJs and a robe, but you may not even need that! I slept in just my garment a lot of the time, but my PJs were good for when I walked around the hotel and when it got chilly in my room. DO NOT over pack, it's a total waste of energy! / I put a cotton ball in my belly button everyday because without it, my belly button probably would have collapsed! After lipo to the stomach, when you're wearing the garment, you belly button can easily become disfigured, so putting something in there to keep it as a circle can be helpful. That may not have happened to everyone, but I remember taking the garment off on like Day 3 or 4 and looking at my belly button like WTF is that?? And I kept a cotton ball in there at all times ever since and it was fine within a few days lol! / Your vajayjay WILL swell, and the garment is tight, so you may get irritation in the crease between your upper thigh and vaginal area. I would put a little powder there and actually after a while, my skin there actually became kinda raw, so I started wearing underwear under my garment so that the edges of the garment would not continue to rub against my skin there. Before I was doing that, I would put a tissue or a pad there just to keep the garment from irritating my skin. / I had a Gopher II from Walmart and it SAVED MY LIFE! It's just like an extender to help you pick things up, and Lord knows, there would have been a lot of crap on the floor all the time if I didn't have it! At first, I couldn't bend down to the ground to pick things up, and if I got down on my knees, getting back up was difficult. That thing was only $10 and I would have truly struggled without it! / The triangle piece that Jimerson patients wear on our lower back is simply two towels, one folded into a triangle and one folded into a rectangle, then they are wrapped with tape and taped together. Msnewass13 said she took hers apart, washed it, and put it back together or made another one, so you can check out her blog for how she did it. I will post a picture of it as soon as my stupid phone stops acting up (it keeps giving an error message when I try to send the pic to my email) / I bought a mesh back support from Dollar Tree and it helped on the plane for the few minutes that I was sitting. I had the boppy and a regular pillow under my thighs, then I put a roll pillow through the mesh back support and put that behind my back, so I was able to sit for a few minutes for takeoff, then I laid back down. I had a whole row of seats, so I laid down for the remainder of the flight including the landing. Note: Remember to get a note from Jimerson's office before you leave stating that you need to be allowed to stand or lay down as often as possible because you just had surgery. I never had to show mine, but you may have evil [RS bleep] for flight attendants, so having the note may help.

My caretaker was Clarice and she charges $150/day for her services or $13/hr for additional time. Her number is 757-409-4066, her email address is stovall.clarice@comcast.net, and you can message her on RS at Luv ur booty. / My masseuse was Belinda and she charges $75/hr or $110/90min plus a small travel fee. Her number is 770-771-2570. I got 5 massages from her. The first session was an hour, and the other four were 90min. / I also got two massages at a place called Above Physical Therapy. They do cup therapy and use the machine and I had Olga, and she did a WONDERFUL job! I'm actually going to order some silicone cups so I can use them on my stomach and thighs. Their number is 770-904-2332. Without insurance, the lymphatic drainage session is $50/half hour or $90/hr. / I stayed at the Hyatt which is less than a mile from Jimerson's office and they have a free shuttle to take you to the office or anywhere else within 3 miles of the hotel (restaurants, grocery store, regular stores, banks, LOTS of other things!). Great location, great staff, and if you get it on Hotwire, Expedia, Roomkey, or something like that, great price! We got it at a rate of $71/night, but others have got it even cheaper than that, so just make sure you reserve it through an alternate website instead of calling them directly because they will charge you full price. / I did go out to eat 3 times within the first 2 weeks after surgery. We sat at the bar and I would use a regular chair from the table instead of a bar stool, and alternate between standing and kneeling on the chair. DO NOT do this until your body can handle it, because the first time I went out to eat was only at 4 days postop, and on day 5, my legs were swollen and bruised pretty bad! I didn't feel pain, but my legs were not ready for me to be up and about for that long without resting. / I cut tiny slits in the butt holes of my garments because they are small, and the butt is big! So it felt like circulation to my butt was being cut off. If you decide to do that, make sure the slits are SMALL so that you don't ruin the garment. / When getting ready for this surgery financially, do not forget to plan for other expenses outside of the cost of the surgery. My total expenses outside of the $11,600 for surgery came to around $5000. That included 16 nights at the hotel (approx $1200), 8 massages so far plus tips (approx $850), 2 extra garments at $130 each, a waist cincher and body shaper (approx. $100), 3 days with caretaker ($450), prescribed meds ($320), roundtrip flight with extra seats for return trip (approx $500), rental car for 6 days (approx $250), VitaMedica preop/postop kit ($92), vitamins, supplies, and miscellaneous items (approx $250), and groceries (approx $225). That equals $4497 and I'm sure there were a few other things that I'm not thinking of right now. I was blessed that my boyfriend paid for my surgery, massages, hotel, flights, and garments (I effing love him!) so I didn't have to come out of pocket for much, but if I did, it would have been a pretty heavy load, so be sure to plan for the other things as well when you are saving up. / DO NOT go overboard buying stuff that you may not need. If you will be alone, then it makes sense to get it all ahead of time, but if someone will be with you, they can go get extra stuff as you need it. There was SO MUCH STUFF that I left behind or had to throw away because I never needed it and had no way to bring it home, so don't waste your money on questionable items. Everyone's needs are different so get the essentials and worry about the rest later.

I can't think of anything else right now, but I will update it as soon as it comes to mind. OH YEAH! I had a massage yesterday and as it turns out, that was NOT fat necrosis on my inner thighs. She thinks it was just localized swelling or fluid, because she did a deep massage starting from my knees and going up my thigh pressing hard with even strokes over the swollen area and like magic, it's gone! Like literally, COMPLETELY gone after one massage! It was definitely very sore while she was doing it, but it is fine now, just a little tender to the touch. The swollen and hard areas that were there are now flat and soft as ever! AMAZING!! So needless to say, I will be seeing her for the rest of my massages lol! I'll update more info as it comes to mind. I added a pic I took this morning. Later girls! Xoxo