Tummy Tuck with Liposuction of the Flanks, Surgical Wire Release of the Back Fold and Breast Lift

After 9 years of waiting, I am finally starting to feel more like myself!
I am 32 years old, 5' 4.5'', 140.5 lbs current weight. I chose Dr. Rick Becker out of Bismarck, ND.
We have 3 kids ages 9, 3.5 and 1.5, and while I love our babies and would go through it all over to have them, they have changed my body to the point that I am not comfortable with. I have felt like I am trapped in someone else's body for years. Other than gaining/loosing weight with each, I have developed diastasis recti with my eldest. I could fit 4 fingers in my abdominal wall "hole". I did exercises and it somewhat improved, but never fully closed. With each pregnancy "the hole" got worse. Other than loose saggy lower belly skin, I developed that permanently "pregnant" look even when not pregnant.
I cannot describe how many times have people asked me "Are you pregnant" or "When are you due?" even when not pregnant! The other day was the last time! It really took a tool on my self confidence. I love dressing nicely and I am in contact with people all the time through my work. I fell like confidence translates at work too. I would buy baggy clothes just to cover my mid section and that is not me. If I wore anything tight, I would wear fajas for an improved look, but even then I had a pouch. People would compliment how great I look, but then I would take that off at night, and everything would be the same. It really got me into an emotional slump. I am very sexual in front of my Hubby, and while we still have "love times", I noticed that I was not as sexual lately due to my self confidence issues ( in terms of lingerie, or certain poses ), or I would be thinking about it when he would touch me in those areas. For reference:
First child ( 9 years old ) - I gained 69 lbs lost 70 lbs after pregnancy
Second child ( 3.5 years old ) - Gained 50 lbs , lost 35 lbs
Third child ( 1.5 years old ) - Gained 25 lbs, lost 35 lbs lbs so far
I will try and split my experience into multiple posts. I have been reading Real Self for a long time, and am so thankful for everyone that posts their stories/updates, they are so helpful!
After consulting my Doctor, we decided to split the procedures into 2 rounds. First round ( today ) - we did extended tummy tuck ( incision hip to hip ) with liposuction of the flanks, back fold release with surgical wire ( I had 2 main back folds ) and the breast lift.
Second round in 3 months will include the breast augmentation where he will put the implants in. He does not combine breast lift and breast augmentation together, but inserts the implants after 3 months as the breasts would be healed by then he says. I didn't plan to have a breast lift originally, but he said that the implants would just make them bigger and more uneven, and that is not the result I want. I love big boobs, but definitely not big and saggy boobs.
Pre Surgery: I was 158.8 lbs in December. During my consultation, Dr. Becker explained that while I do not need to loose weight, loosing several pounds will make me have better results. I went on strict keto diet, followed by a liquid Almased diet ( will write more details about it in a separate post ) and lost 18 lbs in 5 weeks, hoping that will improve my results.
Surgery Day 01/21/2020 - checked in at 7:30am. Did a urine pregnancy test, talked to the nurse and anesthesia who inserted an IV and then Dr Becker.
Anesthesia gentleman gave me a numbing shot in my vein before inserting an IV. I had several IVs for the past surgeries ( non plastic surgeries ) and never had this done. I thought it was over the top but nice. :)
Dr Becker came in and marked me and off to the OR I went. I stepped up on a stool while they prepped me with antiseptic solution. They "painted me" with povidone iodine antiseptic solution front and back, from my neck to my knees. Then I laid down and that's the last thing I remember until I woke up.
I scale everything using labor pains haha. To me, 10 is labor pains on a scale.
Upon waking up, my tummy was 9/10. They gave me hydrocodone pill. My Hubby thankfully brought all of the medications before I woke up, so I had them available right away, and then the pain went to 5. We went home at 1:30 pm.
Current pain levels:
Breasts - 1/10 (mostly discomfort, not really pain )
Liposuction - 2/10 , starting to bruise a bit
Back folds - 1/10 ( barely feel it )
Tummy - 4/10 ( I just took a hydrocodone )
We rented a home while here ( we live in ND too but a different town ), and it has been great and much more comfortable than a hotel room where 5 of us are crammed!
So far my clothing is pajamas as you can see. I cannot quite tell yet how my tummy will look like as I cannot stand up straight. In this photo I had a pillow behind my back and am bent, but it looks much better than before it seems? My boobs were bleeding a bit at the bottom incisions. My Hubby changed my gauze pads and while I didn't get to take a peek at the boobs from the front, they are so lifted that they don't move at all! Which is great I find, for the first time I have a little cleavage without wearing a push up bra, I find it incredible! :) So excited to see it all in hopefully 2 days when he will have me take the gauze off if everything stopped bleeding.
I am still drowsy from anesthesia, and am getting ready for bed. I will post more over the following days, and months, and I hope you will find my journey helpful just like I found yours! Thank You so much for reading! :) :) :)

I have chosen Dr. Becker out of Bismarck ND for my procedures as well as my future breast augmentation in 3 months, and he is phenomenal! I have been to another plastic surgeon years ago, and did not feel comfortable at all! On the contrary, Dr Becker listened to my concerns, answered patiently to millions of mine and my husband's questions.When I inquired about different procedures, he told me what I do not need while making suggestions on which procedures combined would improve my results ( so happy he did this! ), and is very thorough.

His whole Staff, Nurses and receptionists are so helpful and patient. I felt like a truly valued client, and that they care about my whole experience and recovery.

I have been reading real self posts for months, and Thank You to everyone that posts their stories, they are very helpful! I cannot wait to share my whole experience with You All! :)

It has been a full day since my surgery, and overall I fell great! If I keep up with my medications that is :). The liposuction bruising is visible, here is just a quick photo, I will have better photos tomorrow when we take off the dressings. The bruising looks bad but honestly I don't feel it at all except that it itches sometimes. I still walk in a bent position, as everything feels tight when I try to straighten up ( as you can see in the photos ).

The biggest lesson learned so far is : please take your pain pills ( as well as antibiotics ) around the clock for 3-4 days and then reevaluate if you want to take acetaminophine or spread out the pain killers. Even if you feel better, please take it! The goal is to stay ahead of your pain, not for it to get full blown and then to try and contain it.

I was given 6 prescription pills:

Hydrocodone for pain
Celebrex - anti inflamatory
Lyrica for nerve pain
Valium - muscle relaxer
Antibiotic
Anti nausea medicine that I can rub on my wrists from a syringe, but I never needed it as I wasn't nauseous

You are not supposed to take Hydrocodone, Valium or Lyrica together in ANY form as they can be deadly! If taking them, you can take them all in a day, but they have to be spread out per my doctor notes.

For me, I start to get sore and my pain starts creeping up in my tummy area every 4 hours. I felt great around 11pm, tummy pain was around 3/10 so I figured I will skip my hydrocodone dose and just take a muscle relaxer as my back felt stiff from sleeping upright. What a mistake! While my muscles felt relaxed, once the pain pill "expired", my tummy pain shot up from 3/10 to 9/10! Then I had to wait 5 hours for the Valium to stop having effect to take Hydrocodone! I was counting down the hours, it was very painful.

I have decided that I will just take my pain pills/antibiotic and anti inflammatory for several days, and leave Valium for after I stop the pain pills ( if I need the muscle relaxer ). I would much rather not be in much pain than have relaxed muscles!

I am also taking arnica 3 times per day, bromelain once per day, iron and B complex vitamins - should all aid in recovery.

For my surgery, I got the following supplies:

Waterproof sheets that are of great help initially in case you have some oozing - it will save your upholstery and sheets
different gauze pads/tape
alcohol swabs and sterile cotton tip applicators ( haven't used them so far )
Neorsporin and povidone iodine antiseptic solution
Anti itch cream
Bio oil and a few other creams
Hot/Cold massager to massage my scar once the stitches dissolve - it should help break the scar tissue and flatten the scar
Arnica
Biotin
Collagen
Vitamin B 12 Complex
Vitamin A
Iron supplement
CoQ10
Those supplements should aid in swelling/bruising/healing faster
Silicone sheets/silicone scar cream

I have researched these vitamins, although please talk to your doc and see if he/she recommends them. I will take them only for a few days to air my recovery.

Current pain levels are the same as yesterday, the tummy feels 3/10, boobs 2/10, back and liposuction aren't painfull at all, just itchy at the moment.

Tomorrow I will take my dressings off and hopefully get better photos too! We are also returning back to our home today, my next follow up is next Friday when he will take my sutures off and hopefully both drains. Depending on the drainage input that we have to log multiple times per day, he may not be able to take any of the two out, or just one. But I hope both will be out so that I can shower. I have to do sponge baths only until the drains come out. Thank you so much for reading! :)