Some of you may remember me; I am the mother of three who first wrote about my mommy makeover consultation experience with Dr. Whiteman last month. As I reread my first entry, it’s hard to believe that November 11th (when I had my consultation and scheduled my procedure in the same day) was only a few short weeks ago and here I am, one week mommy makeover post-op, able to share my unbelievable experience again with you all. For any fellow mothers out there, the physical changes that even one childbirth can bring, let alone three, is something many of us don’t want to have as a permanent reminder. My small breasts and stomach pooch were two areas that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fix on my own. Now, after the encouragement of my family, two meetings with Dr. Whiteman and his team, and a mommy makeover later, I can proudly say I finally have my body back and it’s even better than before!
The morning of December 22, 2015 my daughter drove me to the office where my procedure was to take place. Pretty sure I didn’t sleep the night before due to nerves but once I got dressed, hooked up to the machines and had the nurses explain just about every detail of the process, I was more excited than anything else. Dr. Whiteman came in and made a few drawings (similar to the ones he demonstrated during my TouchMD consultation) as guides for the surgery, I said goodbye to my daughter and when I awoke, it felt as if I had taken a quick cat nap. When I looked down at my chest I saw something I hadn’t seen since the early 90’s – perky cleavage (I have to admit I was a little bummed not being able to see my new breasts immediately, but I know good things come to those who wait, so I was patient)! Before I was able to go home the nurses went over vital post-operative mommy makeover recovery guidelines and I was free to start my recovery.
I work in the education system and specifically chose the holidays for my surgery because I have mandatory time off and was told that recovery from a breast augmentation and tummy tuck (the two procedures that made up my unique mommy makeover) would only take about two weeks. Each person is different, so I took this as a general rule but let me tell you all something, if you follow your pre-op tips and suggestions and stick to your post-op rules diligently, recovery is a breeze! I say this because after three natural births, this is NOTHING like that experience.
Prior to my surgery I wasn’t an active person in the sense of being a gym rat but I was more of the take the stairs instead of the elevator kind of “health conscious” individual. To prepare for the tummy tuck portion I upped my water intake (meaning I drank nothing but water), incorporated daily sit-ups into my morning and evening routine, and restricted meals to before 6pm. Not a huge demanding lifestyle change by any means, but I have to admit it was much needed encouragement. My biggest concern was maintaining my mommy makeover results so I was determined to follow each and every instruction given to me.
The first day or two was more about getting used to the feeling of heavier breasts and a tighter stomach. If I had to put it into words, it felt more like I had an intense gym workout and was sore the day after from maxing out on crunches and ab work. Moving around was obviously at a snail’s pace but the recommended breathing exercises helped to really help me maneuver around. Before your surgery Dr. Whiteman goes over pain management options you have to choose from and you’re sent home with just about everything you could need from compression garments to keep everything nice and tight, to antibiotics for the first week of recovery. After the one week mark I went back to Dr. Whiteman’s for my first follow-up consultation. This was the first time I was actually able to see my healing progress and hear from Dr. Whiteman on how I was coming along – not that it was a surprise to me, but I am healing remarkably well and have very minimal swelling left (did I mention it’s only been a week?).
If you’re like me you did your research. Of course I had a million and one questions for Dr. Whiteman but I did research at home to try to feed my curiosity. I watched YouTube videos (not for the faint of heart and to be honest was quite dramatic now that I look back on it) and read just about every public online forum regarding tummy tucks and breast augmentation. Nothing can really prepare you for an elective surgery but I’m hoping that my story can give you a different perspective. I’m 50 and this was my first surgery ever. If I could give readers three pieces of advice it would be this:
- If you’re conscious of really listening to your body and what it needs, like rest, hydration, ice, etc., then I truly do believe your recovery would be just as easy as mine has been.
- Don’t think you’re “too old” for plastic surgery – you’re not and you’ll only kick yourself for not having done it sooner.
- Choose Dr. Whiteman. There’s a reason they call it the “Fab Ab” Tummy Tuck.