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I am 33 years old, 150 lbs, 5'9 and have 3 kids...
I had been saving up for a tummy tuck since my 2nd baby. She was a 9 lb chub and I carried her like a horizontal watermelon. My belly button drooped and it was hard to let my husband touch me I was that self-conscious. And with a serious diastasis (separated ab muscles) it made core work-outs uncomfortable. When I went in for a consultation just to see how much I was looking at, the surgeon pointed out that I had a "good sized" hernia. That pushed us to have the surgery done now instead of a year later like we had planned.
It was pretty stressful finding a surgeon since we didn't have a referral to go off of. But with the help of yelp, realself, and endless phone calls I'm really happy with the surgeon we found. My husband made a great point to not expect "perfect" results, but expect to look "better". This advice has been monumental in my recovery. I'm a perfectionist and it was so easy to nit pick this and that. Obviously i'm not going to look like a super model or even close to what I did before having kids. But now even just 3 weeks out I can look in the mirror and say "wow, I look hot!"
Bare Necessities
Necessities of what I actually used:
ELECTRIC RECLINER!! I really wanted to get away with not getting one, but my husband insisted and I am so glad he did. I slept in that thing for 4 weeks, and it just made getting up and down so much easier and less painful. I've also heard a lift chair is great too.
Prescriptions (pain and nausea)
vitamin C
Tylenol
Facial Wipes (b/c that first week I could barely brush my teeth let alone wash my face)
gauze and athletic tape
some long camisoles to put under my binder
a button up pajama shirt (this made getting dressed after the surgery so much easier. you won't be able to lift your arms)
a button up regular shirt for when I needed to get out of the house
a sports bra one size larger for when I needed to wash my surgical bra.
colace
miralax
suppositories
flex straws
gatorade
crackers
protein bars
and lots of water!
that's it. Unfortunately I bought a lot of stuff that I ended up not using. I like to be prepared and was able to return a bunch of what I had bought at target.
What I put in the box next to my bed:
pills
colace
iphone charger
book light
books
flexstraws
chapstick
drinks &snacks
wipes
ear plugs to listen to the audiobook late at night when I couldn't sleep.
Selecting a surgeon
I just wanted to make a comment on my experience selecting a surgeon. It was hard without a referral so I relied a lot on yelp and realself. I had a hernia so I needed a surgeon that worked with my insurance. That in itself proved difficult. I consulted with 4 surgeons. I could lump them into 2 categories:
conservative: 2 different surgeons wanted to do very modest implants based on measurements they took of my chest area. 1 wanted to do 225, and the other 300. These 2 surgeons wanted to team up with a general surgeon to fix my hernia. They also felt that being under anesthesia that long was risky, so they wanted to split the procedures into 2 surgeries. I really really liked and connected with 1 of these surgeons and his staff, Dr. Liu from Los Gatos. However with 3 small kids doing 2 surgeries and 2 recoveries would have been extremely difficult. Plus he likes to do a lot of post-op appointments, which I believe showed how much he cares about his patients, but it was an hour plus in terrible silicon valley commuter traffic.
Non-conservative: These 2 different surgeons recommended larger implants for me based on my wants and overall body size. They were also willing to fix the hernia themselves and do all of the procedures themselves. I felt that being young (which is a relative word I know), healthy, and in good shape that this wouldn't be too risky given a confident surgeon. Dr. Behmand from Walnut creek was my favorite of the 2 because I liked his before & after pictures. It seems silly to base a decision like this on pictures from a website but I assume that they put their best ones up and you can't expect your results to be any better. (of course ask all surgeons to show you pictures of what they think your results will look like).
I selected Dr. Behmand. He gave me one of the highest quotes, but I've learned in life that you get what you pay for. And when it comes to something as life changing as cosmetic surgery, you don't want to skimp out. I can say that even just 3 weeks post-op the results were definitely worth it.
Provider Review
After consulting 4 surgeons I choose Dr. Behmand to perform a tummy tuck (with recommended flank lipo), breast aug, and hernia repair. I choose him because he was able to perfrom the hernia repair himself, was willing to do all of the procedures at once, didn't use drains, was able to work with my insurance, and the before and after pictures on his website were amazing. It felt silly relying so much on the before and after pictures, and you should definitely ask any surgeon what he thinks your results will be, but without a referral it helped a lot to weed out different surgeons. I assume surgeons put their best pictures up and if you don't like those pictures, you can't expect your results to be any better. Dr. B is also very gentle, confident, experienced, and what I call "no-nonsense." I read horror stories about managing all sorts of pills, drains, massages, walkers, etc. He didnt sell or insist on all the popular supplements. He also let me pick whatever size implant I wanted. Some doctors wouldn't go more than a very modest size(275ish) based on measurements they took. Dr. B recommended a size that I could go up to and still look natural (and not freak me out) (425), and I choose a size a bit smaller with something I was more comfortable with (350). Just be prepared for his schedule to be busy. I had to wait quite a bit for my consultation and the pre and post op appointments weren't ideal. It was a relatively small inconvenience to work around compared to how important this surgery is. I was super nervous before the surgery, but when Dr. B came in to do my markings before being wheeled off I suddenly felt much better. He was all smiles and made a few jokes, which I probably would have appreciated more if my stomach didn't feel all twisted in knots. Several nurses all talked about how meticulous he is and what a great job he does. My one advice for recovery is patience and try not to look and stress over the results too soon. Dr. Behmand gave me one of the highest quotes, but I've learned in life that you get what you pay for. And when it comes to something as life changing as cosmetic surgery, you don't want to skimp out. I can say that even just 3 weeks post-op the results were definitely worth it.