3 weeks PO and I look like a BEFORE picture. P.S. It's not swelling. =(

Thought I would write a review because I've found the others to be so helpful. I'm a 36 year old mother of three beautiful children (8, 6, 4) and my tummy was wrecked because of it. Honestly even as I type that I feel a bit guilty because I was so lucky with my conceptions, pregnancies and deliveries that I feel I should have nothing to complain about. I'm 5'5" and weigh 131. I gained 38 lbs with each pregnancy, which I find a bit amusing, not 39, not 37, 38! I was able to lose that weight after each, but it always took about nine months to fully come off.

I thought I was going to escape my first pregnancy unscathed by stretch marks but at 36 weeks, I saw the start of one by my belly button. Well that one quickly multiplied and it didn't take long before I had all sorts of flaming red squigglies all around my middle. I remember telling a co-worker that I was sad cause I had gotten some stretch marks and she asked to see, so I lifted up my shirt, and honestly I will never forget her reaction. She gasped! "Oh my God!" she said like she was looking at some horrific site. To this day she feels awful about that reaction, perhaps because I remind her it made me sad, and we are still good friends!

After my daughter was born, my stomach of course was still plagued by stretch marks, but the loose skin was more apparent after the birth of my second child. Also I had pretty pronounced diastasis with that pregnancy. People would often comment that I looked like a torpedo. Thirteen months after my son was born I got pregnant with my third. My diastasis caused some issues with that pregnancy and I often wrapped my stomach with ace bandages to have some stability. My stomach was huge, and strangers would come up to me and say, "How many babies are you having?" Or "Does your doctor know how big your baby is because you are huge." Seriously. People I had never met before would say these things! Well after my 10 lb 23.5 inch baby was born, I was left with sagging, loose, wrinkled skin, and a large gap in between my stomach muscles. I can't see my belly button anymore and my kids often think it's fun to look for it when I'm changing. I also discovered I have a small hernia which will be repaired along with the muscles during my tummy tuck.

After my third was born I went to physical therapy to try to get my diastasis corrected, but it did not help. I workout regularly and started doing Pilates three years ago and I can tell that it does help with my core stability, but there is still such a gap. When I lay down I can see food/waste moving through my intestines. Gross! I've known I wanted to have my stomach fixed for four years now, and my husband originally was not as excited about the idea. He says I look beautiful, and he doesn't care about my stomach. Also, he owns his own business and I've been essentially staying at home for the past eight years, so I know one of his major concerns was that it would cost thousands of dollars. Two years ago I was obsessed with the idea and remember crying to him because we just did not have the extra money, and thought this was just an unattainable dream. I resolved to just be happy with my body. Well of course my stomach still bothered me, every day. I had a pooch, that luckily I could hide under different types of clothing, but I hated looking at it. I preferred to keep a tank top around my waist when we had sex so I wouldn't be bothered by flopping skin. Recently I've been working part-time a bit more, and am considering going back to work full-time next year. Our car will be paid off at the end of the summer, which means we could afford a monthly payment to pay for surgery.

One day last month, my husband turned to me and said "You should do it. You deserve a tummy tuck. You gave me three beautiful kids and I totally understand why you want it done." Oh my goodness did I hug that man! I was online researching that night and the next day had three consultations scheduled! Luckily one of my best friends had the same surgery two years ago so I've seen her stomach before and after and it looks great, plus she really loved her plastic surgeon so I was looking forward to meeting him. I met with him, and preferred him to the other surgeon I had met, so I scheduled and now it is just three days away. I can hardly believe it! Wow I shared more than I anticipated, but it's a bit cathartic to type it out since I'm a bit anxious it's happening so soon!

Went in this morning at 5:45 am and was taking back by 6. When I was getting my IV in the vein slipped so the nurse had to try it again. She got the second one in right away, but I started to feel like I was going to faint. I laid back, got my feet up, got a cold washcloth and I felt much better. My PS came in to mark me up, and I was hoping he'd mark off all of my stretch marks, even though I knew ahead of time they are too high to all completely be taken off. He didn't mark them all off, which is fine, and what I expected. I next talked to the anesthesiologist and then was walked back into the operating room. I laid down on the table, the anesthesiologist put an oxygen mask on and I was out!
Waking up in recovery was better than I had anticipated. The only real discomfort was my abs which felt like I had ton 1000 sits ups and was still holding them up. The muscles felt like they were contracted and locked! I had a hard time resting because of it, so they gave me a shot of Demerol in my leg. Boy did I love that stuff! I was able to doze off then for a while.
After I woke up, the nurse got me dressed and I moved to the 2nd stage recovery room and they brought my husband in. I was so happy to see him!
We got discharged and I slowly walked out of the hospital. Getting into the car was fun because it is impossible to not use your ab muscles! I felt ok all the way home (25 min) until just before our house I started to feel faint again. I reclined my seat, hubby blasted the AC, and I used an ice pack to help it pass. UGH Icky feeling.
I got inside, walked up stairs and got into my recliner (It's actually a reclining lawn chair with a feather bed on it!) and I've been parked here all day.
The best part of this recovery is my PS sends you home with a catheter, which I was originally not looking forward to, but man do I love having it now! I'm so thirsty and have been drinking water and coconut water all day I'm sure I would have peed 10 or more times by now! So wonderful not to have to get up to use the bathroom!
I did try to get up and walk around, and again had another "I'm going to faint" spell. I just lay back down and it passed. I'd really like to be done with those now!
I haven't even peeked at my belly yet, and I might not for a couple days. I don't want to be disappointed if I see a stretch mark above my belly =(
I don't got in for a follow-up until Tuesday, so it's rest, rest, and more rest for me until then! I'll try to add my before pics.

I slept pretty well last night. Woke up a few times, but I do that normally. I'm sleeping in bed with lots of pillows propping me up. Pain is ok. I can tell that my pain block has worn off because every 2.5-3 hours I really feel the ab pain. Vicodin takes care of it though. Should I be worried that I'm not draining all that much? Just not sure what is normal, and I'm sure everyone's output varies. I still have my catheter in, and can take it out today. I'm a little reluctant to give it up honestly! So much easier just to stay in bed and pee :)