Week 3 TT Progress

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Things have been getting a lot better this week; some days I almost forget I had surgery at all :)


My average daily pain level is about a 1; sometimes 2-3, but rarely. I am still taking pain killers daily, but I have significantly decreased the amount I take; sometimes I just take ES Tylenol.

I have been sleeping in bed since pretty much every night - through the night.

I went grocery shopping with Doug and the kids again on day 18. This time I didn't ride in an electric scooter; I walked the store and wasn't as tired, sore nor swollen when I got home this time.

Taking care of the kids, breastfeeding, chores and showering are getting really easy. I cook pretty much daily now without any issues.

I still feel somewhat numb in my outer thighs. I still have some sharp, shooting pain run through my left upper thigh when I move a certain way. I am hoping that these things are temporary.

I still wear my binder but I go a couple of hours here and there without it. I will try to use Spanx in the near future instead.

As for results:
Results =
5 Thrilled
4 Happy
3 Pretty Satisfied
2 Disappointed/Unhappy
1 Regret doing it

I still feel like I am holding steady at 3.5; maybe pushing 4.

My surgeons office sent me my pre-op pictures from when I was originally supposed to have surgery July 8, 2009 (but found out I was pregnant 06/23/09).

Day 15 (04/29/10) I had my 2 week (15 day) follow up appointment. I took some pictures before the appointment.

Day 16 (04/30/10) I had two of my best friends and their kids over for an outdoor playdate. We had a wonderful time in the sunshine!

Day 18 (05/02/10) Had a kinda wow moment... saying goodbye to the granny panties and tried on my first pair of normal ones post op. Probably need to tweek the sizing and style quite a bit until I find something a lil more flattering though.

Day 19 (05/03/10) I played with the kids in the back yard. We had a great time and I captured some awesome pictures!

Day 20 (05/04/10) I noticed a stitch was coming out a couple days ago; today I started to tug on it. It was one that my surgeon warned me about. He called it a "barbed stitch." It ended up being about 8 inches long!


I mowed the lawn & weed-wacked Sunday & Tuesday. I was told not to do so for at least another week but I was confident all would be okay and it has been. I was surprised that I wasn't in too much pain and it wasn't hard to complete. I have been a lil sore in my right upper arm; but that is definitely from lack of use!

Here are some pictures I took today to show my 3 week tummy tuck progress:

Gorgeous Day!

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Today was an ABSOLUTELY goregous day outside! I decided that since the doctor cleared me to do thing like pushing the stroller and such that I would take the kiddos for a walk. At first I was going to just walk them up to the park about a 1/2 mile away and let Addy play, but I thought since it was nearly lunch time we would go up and surprise daddy at work! It was a long, (1.24 mile) hot walk. I was pretty tired by time I got there since it was my first long walk post-surgery. We got there and hung out with daddy for a few minutes and he drove us home :) On the way home we stopped and got chicken nuggets from Micky D's.
We came home and had our lunch in the back yard and played. What a beautiful afternoon in the sunshine!!


On our way to go see daddy at work!

What a fun walk! Thanks for the ride home daddy :) Mommy hit a lot of bumps on the way there hehehe!

Cheese!!

Such a pretty, big girl!

Zoomin' with Mommy!

Gigglin'

Addy LOVES to swing! She is so proud of herself, too!

My babes on the swingset. Life is GOOD!!!

Alex, relaxing, enjoying the sunshine

Having a blast!

Mommy's first time putting my hair in pigtails! :) Not bad for her first attempt LOL!

Playdate

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We had Amanda, Isaiah, Jessica, Emily & Owen over for a playdate today :)
The kids played on the swings, slide, in the sandbox & with chalk and bubbles. We ordered Hungry Howies pizza & subs for lunch.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous!
Sorry again about the drunk neighbor, girls :P


Baby buddy hugs

Isaiah, Emily & Addy playing jumprope

Got a smile outta Alex!

Addy, Amanda & Isaiah drawing with chalk

Emily blowing chocolate bubbles

Addy being mischievous

Isaiah playing with chalk

Owen swinging with big sister Emily

Whatcha got there Em!?

Juggling?

Such artists!

Oh! How pretty! (notice the garage door graffiti too) :P

Weight Compairson Pictures

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WOW! I am taking up far less room in the chair these days!

Quirky Addy Girl!

Sorry about the quality of the pictures - they were taken with the cell phone...


Lined up S'mores Goldfish Crackers on the living room table

Sorting Cheetos "popcorn" by colors on the couch

A line of books on the floor

A "rainbow" of "fruities" fruit snacks on the couch

This morning she made a "flower" out of the S'mores Goldfish Crackers. It was a normal one in the middle, surrounded by chocolate ones! WOW! But... she ate it before I could snap a picture. LOL!

I can't get over her creativity!!! She amazes me each and every day!!!

Week 2 TT Progress

MORE (GRAPHIC) PICTURES Available (let me know and I can send you the link)



Things have been getting much better this week. I am still surprised at the lack of pain that I have had, but I am in no way complaining!


My average daily pain level is about a 2; sometimes 3-4, but rarely. I am still taking pain killers daily, but I have significantly decreased the amount I take.

I have been sleeping in bed since day 8, sometimes I fall asleep on the couch though - but anything is better than the recliner!

I went grocery shopping with Doug and the kids on day 10. I rode in an electric scooter and was still very tired and somewhat sore when I got home; not to mention - very swollen.

Taking care of the kids, breastfeeding, chores and showering are getting so much easier. I have done so well with the showering lately that I have been able to have Addy shower with me. Bending over is getting so much easier and not painful at all.
I spent a lot of time cooking on day 11. I made sausage and homemade home fries for breakfast, toasted chicken & mozzarella ravioli with homemade Alfredo sauce for lunch and had split pea soup with ham simmering in the slow cooker all afternoon for dinner. YUM! I also made a lot of roasted garlic to have on hand, some deviled eggs and some brownies! It was so nice to cook again!!! I have been cooking a lot since then, too.

I am walking compltely upright all the time now, crossing my legs, putting a leg or both Indian-style under myself when I sit and relax, getting up and down without any pain and thankfully my ability to jump up when something bad happens is great now.

I still feel somewhat numb in my outer thighs. I still have some sharp, shooting pain run through my left upper thigh when I move a certain way. I am hoping that these things are temporary.

I still wear my binder 24/7 with the exception of showering and a few half-hour breaks throughout the day/night. I tried wearing my Spanx the other day and they are just too hard to get on at this point.

As for results:
Results =
5 Thrilled
4 Happy
3 Pretty Satisfied
2 Disappointed/Unhappy
1 Regret doing it

I still feel like I am holding steady at 3.5; maybe pushing 4.
I never expected to have a beach bod. I gave my surgeon one heck of a mess to work with and he did a great job piecing me back together to the best of his ability. The rest of my body needs work, but I am likely to never get the opportunity to have anything else done. But if I could it would be in the following 'wish-list' order:
1) Butt! Implants, lift, something!
2) Thighs. My thighs are horrendous!!
3) Breasts. Definitely a lift, maybe a reduction, at least one of them!
I think I am okay with the rest - even the arms...

This reminds me!
I asked my surgeon to take a picture of my skin in the OR. He said that the only way he could was if he took his personal cell phone in and took the picture. HE DID! I was so happy! He forwarded it to my email this week! I love my surgeon! If you want to see the picture it is included in MORE (GRAPHIC) PICTURES.


I took this today when I was pleasantly surprised that my pre-op jeans fit even with all of the swelling. While I am happy that they fit I am hoping that someday, preferablly sooner than later, I will get down at least one pants size. I feel like I have come too far to still be considered "plus size"!
I have met some great new friends on Make Me Heal that have supported and encouraged me through this adventure. Like this issue - they assure me that I will likely drop a size or two eventually :) I sure hope they are right!

Day 9 (04/23/10) was a gorgeous weather day! The kids and I have felt so cooped up so I took them outside this afternoon. It was so nice to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and watch Addison run around and have fun! She spent her afternoon collecting flowers, playing in the sandbox and playing on the slide and swings. How fun!!!
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Addy playing on the playscape!


Alex's first time in the grass

I took some fun pictures on day 10. I did this because I took the same pictures in the same outfit on this day last year. I didn't notice much of a difference since I have had a baby since then! And darn the breastfeeding for engorging my breasts!!!

Addy & I had so much fun getting into my old pants!!! HILARIOUS!!!

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I also put together some colleges from my weight loss journey:









I think my scars are healing wonderfully! At my 8 day post-op appointment last week the nurse took out my horizontal staples (30) and both of my drains. Both were quite painful but I didn't shed a tear. I actually have not cried since surgery like I thought that I would. Especially the first day home when I got my first real look at everything. Doug admitted to me a couple days ago that when he first saw it he thought that I looked like a "butchered swine!" This journey has been an emotional one to say the least; but not in the least bit have I had any depression or even sadness for that matter. I am disappointed with the results in some areas - but I am hoping that things settle down and look better in the future.
Dr. Kole said that I am healing very well. At first, when I was still at the hospital, he said that my left hortizontal incision looked "dusky". Come to find out that meant that I might not have good blood flow to that area. Come to find out I was very close to a case of Necrosis! How scary!! Expecially after reading all of the horror stories and seeing the pictures of people that have had to suffer through the dying skin and tissue. I cannot even imagine. I am counting my lucky stars that I have not yet had any complications what so ever.
The doctor told me to start applying lotion with cocoa butter 2-3 times a day. I bought some on day 10 and have been religiously using it since. The scars are to the point that almost all of the scabs have fallen off already and there are even some areas it barely looks like I was even cut. There are some areas that aren't so pretty, but again, I think in time they will look and feel much better.
I think I still have a great deal of swelling; I hope anyway. I hope that I will get smaller than this. I have a feeling that at my 15 day post-op appointment tomorrow the surgeon will be able to drain some fluid that has built up since the drains were removed last week. One area appears like there could be a seroma, I'm not sure though.

Here are some pictures I took today to show my 2 week tummy tuck progess: