Tummy Tuck- 3 weeks post-op. Look at me now photo!

I had my 3 week post-op appointment yesterday with the plastic surgeon. He was really happy with how I am healing and progressing.

I finally got to see my new belly button- a big improvement on the old one. Apart from some redness around it (which will fade), it looks very natural.

I think the initial shock of the scar was the size and the redness. But now that the 'scab' is dissapearing I can see that it should heal nicely. I have been massaging my scar two to three times a day with bio-oil, "nice, firm massaging with the fingertips", the nurse had told me.

The doctor told me that I can start some light exercise now, if I wish. But walking the kids to and from school and helping them around the house is more than enough exercise for me at the moment!

So here are the photos that I promised. Plastic surgeons tend to say that the best results are seen about 6 months after surgery. That is how long it can take for all of the swelling to go down. I am really happy with the 3 week results. By 6 months I might be a contender for Australia's Next Top Model- LOL!

Before- In case you have forgotten

The 'scar' at 3 weeks- lots of healing to go

The new tummy- bikini ready after just 3 weeks!

Abdominoplasty- Stitches Out

It has been just over two weeks. I had an appointment with the nurse yesterday and had my stitches out.

First of all because I felt ok I went for a walk through the shops after my appointment. Bad idea. Yes I could walk and it didn't hurt but - WOW - hard work! I don't know if it was the walking, the crowd, the bright lights or the noise but I came home with a terrible headache and nausea. I was on the lounge all night last night and I still don't feel well today.

Now to the stitches. Getting the stitches out of my belly button was fine as was having the steri-strips removed from my scar. I am not the type of person who cringes at the site of blood or gets faint at the thought of surgery; having a big scar on my tummy doesn't even really bother me. However now that I can see the cut and imagine the scar that will remain it is quite confronting.

I even took a photo of it but can't quite bare to post it on the blog yet. If you are considering having a procedure like this and are faint hearted then the scar is something to seriously consider. As I have said before, I NEEDED to get rid of the excess skin to feel happy in my own body. The gains for me are massive while the scar doesn't really worry me, but seeing it, I can understand why it would worry others. I will post a photo, just not today.

2 weeks post-op abdominoplasty

I slept in my own bed and I slept all night.

My tummy muscles don't hurt today.

I need to resist the urge to sweep the floor- I can probably do it, I want to do it but I shouldn't do it.

I am feeling a bit depressed. I know that this is a situation that i created but being unable to do things around the house is getting to me.

I know that the this is stating the obvious but somehow the thought of having nearly 4 weeks off work seemed like a great chance to get all those bits and peices done around the house (in between watching T.V and having naps). Reality check- I am just on half way and still can't get things out of the frezeer. I don't think the tops of the kids cupboards are going to get sorted out.

It feels like I will be like this forever. Can't wait to get back to the gym.

11 days Post-op Abdominoplasty

Well it has been a long week (and a half).

I am feeling really well. I am starting to be able to do things on my own. I can finally make it up and down the stairs of our house- but i try to limit this to once a day. I can shower myself and dress myself. I can make myself a cup of tea and my cereal (as long as everything is on the bench or on a high shelf in the fridge).

I can also walk a reasonable distance but am hunched over and need to sit down or lean on something for a rest.

What can't I do yet? I can't make anything more that the above to eat for myself because standing up that long in the kitchen hurts my back. I can't reach things in the kitchen that are on shelves or in the freezer. I can't lift anything heavy, for example a 2L bottle of milk or juice- I feel the strain straight away in my abs. I can't tuck myself in at night or pull the heavy blankets onto myself during the night if they fall off.

Apparantly I can't throw a cushion! I tried to throw the light cushion I was holding at my daughter who was annoying me (understatement of the year). I felt a slight strain in my abs which has taken 3 days to stop hurting. Laughing, coughing and sneezing also causes pain that can take a day or two to get better.

On the positive side I have had lots of time to think, relax, read, work on my laptop, watch movies and help my kids with their homework.

Most nights I have slept on the lounge downstairs. I have slept in my bed twice but with a combination of a hard mattress (just the way i usually like it) and not being able to roll freely, I am waking up with pressure pain on each side. Not to mention a husband that pulls the blankets and snores!Downstairs on the lounge I sleep soundly with my daughter's pet, a white rabbit called Sparkles, a great room mate.

Some of the more specific things I have noticed about the recovery are
- a contracting and tightening feeling of my abs,
- an itchy scar,
- frustration at wearing the elastic compression bandage,
- yellow and black bruises on my abdomen and
- swelling from the top to bottom of my abdomen.

The difference in my appearance is already amazing. As well as having more normal, tight skin on my tummy I also now have more of a waist (because my abdominal muscles have been moved in- so I am not as 'wide'). No signs of the 6 pack yet, but we will put that down to the swelling.

One thing the doctor mentioned that I didn't really pay much attention to was that I would also notice a tightening of the skin from my upper legs. This is because of the 'pulling' of the skin that was done. Well I have actually noticed this improvement which is nice. I feel like I have lost 2-3 kg off my legs, simply because the skin is tighter.

So here we go, the start of a new week. No mum here to help me this time.My plans are to get the kids off to school and pick them up- but little else. Let's hope my kids are well behaved and independant or it will be a very long week!

Day 3 post op

Today I got to come home - yay.

My first few hours of being home were incident free. My kids were really happy to see me and they were strategically positioned around me so that we could watch a DVD together.

It doesn't take kids long to forget that they have to be careful though. And so I have been moved to the recliner where I can't be accessed quite as easily. So now sit here on my recliner in a 90 degree position, with my laptop on my lap.

I have been given strict instructions by the doctor that for the first week I am meant to move from the lounge only to go to the bathroom or eat. I am managing to get up ok, with some pain as I reposition myself. The hardest thing is that I am not allowed to use my abdominal muscles for anything. Try getting out of a chair without using your tummy muscles- it's really hard. For this reason I am so glad that I am fit and have strong legs and back muscles. Without these I think recovery would be alot harder.

It is nice to be home. It is weird to be unable to do anything. Oh it doesn't happen very often so I think I might just enjoy it!

Day 2 postop- abdominoplasty

I woke up today feeling much better. I had survived on panadol and voltaren over night. I even woke up in the middle of the night hungry and had a muesli bar and cup of tea before settling down for another 5 hours sleep.

My overnight success meant that one of my drains was removed as well as the drips and oxygen tubes. Of course this freed me up to have a shower. I was happy to have a shower but after standing like an old lady for 15 minutes while washing, drying and dressing I was exhausted. My back ached and i was ready for a nap.

The doctor came to visit me today and i got to have my first look at my tummy. Wow! I couldn't beleive that all the wrinkly skin was gone. I have to say that it looked weird though because my whole abdominal area was swollen on top and below my 'new' belly button. Even still I am happy with the result already. I gave the Dr a high five as he left the room!

Day 2- postop

I woke up today, finally feeling coherent- well slightly. I found that I had drains, tape and cords attached to various parts of my body.

Some of my 'attachments' included

Drains: I had a drain coming from each side of my stomach. At the end of the drain was a container to collect blood. These drains stop blood and fluid accumulating inside and causing swelling. The nurses would look at the containers every day, measuring the amount of blood that had drained into them.

Oxygen tube in nose: I don't know what the technical name for this was but i had some little tubes in each nostril. After abdominal surgery people don't breathe fully. The tubes blew extra oxygen into my nose.

Drip: the drip supplied me with fluids and also morphine. The fluids are to avoid dehydration and the morphine was for pain releif.

Bandage: My whole abdomen was wrapped in a huge elasticised bandaged. To be honest i don't really know the reason for this. I think it provides support and stops swelling. I will need to wear this bandage for about a month.

Catheter: a catheter is used so that i didn't have to get up to the bathroom to urinate. After going through a big procedure the last thing you want to do is get up to do a wee!

Pressure stockings: I had tight stockings on my legs. These are used for almost anyone who is in hospital to reduce the risk of blood clots.

By the end of the day the nurses strongly encouraged (read that as made me) get out of bed and sit on a chair to have my dinner. They also 'encouraged' me to walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I thought this was a bit soon. I felt a bit annoyed by the nurse who told me to straighten up and walk taller- especially when it was my first time getting up and the doctor had told me time and time again that i would need to walk 'hunched' over for a while.

Be prepared that the nurses will 'push you' to make the next step in your recovery. I heard one nurse say time and time again that we were making progress. I felt like yelling at her that it had been less than 24hrs since i got out of theatre- i didn't care about progress yet.

My top tip: Pretend that you feel like total crap and then the nurse will be happy to let you stay in bed for a little bit longer.

Abdominoplasty today

Ok so it's not really today, but i had my operation 3 days ago. On the day I was a combination of excited and nervous.

We arrived at the hopsital at 2pm and I expected to be waiting for hours as that has been my past experience at hospitals. However that wasn't to be. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the hopsital I was being wheeled into the operating room. But before that happened i needed to have a quick shower and scrub my belly with an antibacterial wash. Then the doctor made a quick visit and 'drew' on my tummy.

What happened in between reaching the operating room and making back to my room was a blur. The surgery took about 3 hours and all i remember is being extremely drowsy and sore when i got back to my room. I was so tired, my mouth was dry and I was in pain. Once the nurses got me into a good position the pain was alot less. I remember being woken up during the night to have my blood pressure and temeperature taken.I had morphine available at the press of a button, but didn't use it all that much.

Abdominoplasty Here I Come

Tonight I did my last serious workout before I have my tummy tuck. That is right, in just 2 more sleeps I will be having surgery.

I am feeling excited, nervous and a bit sad. I am excited about the way my tummy will look when I have recovered. I am nervous about the procedure, about leaving my kids and about the recovery. Why am I sad? I never thought I would be sad to say goodbye to my flabby tummy but for some strange reason I am - just a little.

I have been unhappy about the extra skin on my stomach since the day after I delivered my twins. I remember the exact spot I was standing in when I realised the condition that my tummy was left in. I was standing in my hospital room, beside my bed and leaning over one of the baby's bassinettes.

For 5 years I have grabbed the extra skin in my hands and imagined it was gone and I have cringed when my top came up slightly hoping that no-one saw what was beneath it. Having this tummy, that I hate, has been a part of who I am.

I laugh to my husband that despite being very unhappy about my tummy the one thing I haven't done for the past 5 years is complain about my fat butt, thighs or arms. So although I feel like I am having an amazing procedure that is going to fix everything, the reality is that it is going to return things to the way they were and to the way they were meant to be. And that is far from perfect.

Before the twins I always had a flat tummy, and soon I will have it back. But I always disliked my butt, thighs and arms and soon they will be my worst bits again.

Let's face it my tummy tuck is not going to turn me into a supermodel, but I am still looking forward to the results. Even if that means going back to complaining about the other parts of my body- the ones that I am stuck with.