Running Shoes and Bugaboo's: Mommy Makeover. Week 7. My Verdict.

So it's been 7 weeks since I went under the knife and I thought I'd share my thoughts and experience. Surprisingly, this recovery has been a lot like recovering from child birth in that I know the first few days were really rough and at one point I wondered "what have I done?" but after a few weeks those memories have faded. With that said, I've realized that I should've done a better job of chronicling my recovery but here is my recollection at this point. (If you don't care to read about my recovery scroll on through and read my overall thoughts and verdict, plus a couple tasteful picts).

A quick recap: I underwent a mini tummy tuck to have the loose skin around my old csection scar removed and some minor ab muscle stitched (no lipo) and I opted for 275cc saline implants.

Days 1-3: I don’t remember much from these days other than being loaded with narcotic’s and sleeping all the time. The mini tummy tuck took away a lot of skin and added a couple stitches in my ab muscles rendering them absolutely useless. You don’t realize how much you use those muscles until they are gone. I had to roll in and out of bed on my side and with a nasty case of post-nasal drip I was fighting for a way to blow my nose “gently”. I also had to wear a drain at the incision point on my abdomen that was annoying but on day 3 I was able to have it removed so it was pretty minor. At this point, my boobs were in my throat and super hard (I was a little nervous but knew they wouldn’t stay like this).

Days 3-7: The memories get a little better here. I was still on a few drugs and felt fatigued all the time. But by the end of the week I was able to manage the pain with just ibuprofen and I could generally participate with my family. I still couldn’t lift anything and could had little usage of my abs. My stomach was still super swollen, and I looked 6 months pregnant…..definitely disappointing. My boobs were softening a bit and dropping but with the abdominal brace on 24/7 it was hard to see much in the way of a profile.

Days 7-14: This is the point when I was on my own. My husband went back to work and I was in charge of running the house and 3 kids again! I could feel it the first few days but by the end of the week I had some energy and was getting around. Still had to wear an abdominal brace and soft bra 24/7 and my stomach was swollen, although diminishing. I had a log of pain in my left breast where I think I pulled a muscle during the early days when I was trying to use my upper body in place of my ab muscles.

Weeks 2-4: General healing, pretty boring. Still really achy and unable to lift much of anything. Stomach is still swollen but gets better everyday. The scars look much more presentable. At the end of week 4 I am able to start wearing a regular bra and get a better idea of what my breasts will look like. They actually feel really good at the start of week 3 and at this point had I not have had the abdominal work done I probably would’ve started back in on my exercise routine (totally inadvisable though).

Weeks 4-7: Really back to normal. Stomach is nearly flattened out by week 4 and deflated completely by week 6. My boobs dropped nicely into place and have a good amount of movement. I still have some discomfort when I strain too much either above my head (the boobs) or in my abs (tummy tuck) but I can otherwise function like normal. I have some areas in my breasts that kind of “pop” but I think it’s just part of the implant and is very minor. The scars under my breasts are hardly noticeable at all. The scar on my stomach is sizable and still red and irritated. It extends from hip-bone to hip bone (as expected) but in a few more weeks I know it will lighten and be less noticeable.

My Verdict: I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. My body has not been completely transformed or anything dramatic but I feel 100% better. I was fortunate to not really need this surgery, no stretch marks, size 0 waist and a push up bra all work just fine. But now my breasts are full again and the flap of skin around my c-section scar is no longer there. The healing was rough going and a nuisance for the first month but in retrospect it was minor and totally worth the effort. For anyone looking to have this done, go for it. For me, I think my choice of a small implant size is what helped to make the recovery so easy. There are complications that can be had, but it seems to me larger you go the more trouble they are. On the other hand, if you’re going to do it why not go for it with gusto!

My Stats-

Dress Size: Before 0/2. After 00/0.

Bra Size: Before a deflated 32A+. After a nice round 32d/dd(depending on the bra).

Bonus: In light of my new figure I've been working on dropping a few lbs and over the past 3 weeks I've lost 4lbs! Bring on the swimsuits!