Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Day of Breast Augmentation Surgery


The day has finally come!  I didn't get any sleep the night before surgery.  I took the melatonin and it allowed me to sleep for about four hours.  I woke up early and went ahead and showered again with the antibacterial soap.  I re braided my hair and put on my cute PINK Victoria's Secret sweatsuit.  I went through my normal routine of feeding and taking the dog out, and getting the kids ready for school.  I dropped them off and came back home to wait for my friend to pick me up.  The waiting is the worst part!  It gives you more time to think. I did some last minute organizing of the house, and of course watching You Tube videos.  My friend arrived shortly and we left at 8:30 am to be at the surgical center at 9 am.



The car ride over was a little nerve wrecking.  Once we got to the surgical center and I checked in, I kept saying , "I can't believe I am doing this!"  As I mentioned before, I didn't know many people that had gotten plastic surgery done until recently.  I always figured it was something for people on tv or for young girls trying to make it in the industry (tv, movies, modeling, porn, etc).  Definitely not an average country girl like me!  My friend was able to help calm my nerves by making me laugh and telling me it's something I have always wanted.


I was called to the back soon after, and was asked to give a urine sample.  I assured the nurse that I am not pregnant, duh my husband is deployed.  She said she could not verify that with a laugh.  I gave my sample and went to my pre-op area.  Pretty much a bed with a curtain.  I was instructed to undress but was allowed to keep on my undies and socks.  I brought extra socks to keep my feet warm.


The part I was most nervous about in this whole process was getting the IV.  I hate needles.  The anesthesiologist came shortly to get that started.  It wasn't so bad because my friend was holding my hand (yes I am a big baby), and the nurses were asking me questions about my medical history.  Distraction is the key!  The needle was very small and a tiny pinch.  After that was over I was ready for whatever.  I met with my PS and he did his markings and asked me if I had any questions.  He went over a few things with me which made me feel a little more comfortable.  The nurse and I made small talk about my job as a counselor as he wheeled me into the OR.


When I thought about this experience, I wanted to be knocked out before going to the OR.  I guess the OR just seems like a scary place and like OMG this is really happening.  I was wheeled into the OR at 9:50 am. In the OR there was the PS and a lot of other people who immediately started to hook things up to me and stick stickers on me.  I made the comment that it felt like getting a c-section all over again with all of the people attending to me at once.  I then asked the PS if he had ever seen the series Nip Tuck.  He laughed and said he hasn't but gets that question all the time.  I told him he should watch it because it's a really good show.  Then the mask was put over my face and that was all that I remember.  It seemed like I woke up seconds later with the nurses calling my name and me asking if it was over yet. Later my friends told me that at 10:45 am they were told that I was done. The nurse kept me in recovery for a little while and had me to drink ginger ale and eat crackers.  Soon after my friends waiting for me were able to join me.  After I seemed to be doing well, the nurses helped me to get dressed.  They wanted to try me on the medium sports bra and thought that it was a little big and suggested that I definitely take the large bra back.  My friends commented that I looked good already! I was definitely pleased.


The car ride home was no fun.  I brought a pillow just in case my body was sensitive to bumps in the road, but that wasn't the problem.  First of all I felt like a ton of bricks were strapped to my chest.  Yes they were super heavy.  I also started to feel extremely nauseous.  That usually happens to me when I go under anesthesia.  My friend drove us to a sandwhich shop to get food for me to take my meds.  I was ready to get home to lay down.  I ended up taking a few bites of food, just enough to take my meds.  It was surprising that I was starving going into the surgery center, but when I could eat, I had no appetite.  I made my bed on my couch and tried to get through the nausea feeling.


The rest of the evening went fine.  I stayed up to take my next dose of meds.  My kids came home and were very gentle with me.  They didn't ask any questions since my babysitter had already explained to them that I wasn't feeling well.  I still didn't have an appetite and ended up eating yogurt to take my meds.

The night wasn't too bad.  It was weird not sleeping on my side, but sleeping upright in the recliner.  I kept waking up because of that, and the dog in his crate moving around.  I also kept waking up to make sure I took my meds on time.  The only pain I was in was the heaviness and it being hard to breathe.  I kept looking into my bra to make sure my breasts were not turning colors or that my incision wasn't leaking.  I was all in the clear!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Day Before Breast Augmentation

How am I feeling at this point? I have gotten this question only a trillion times and I feel that its quite normal for me to feel NERVOUS and EXCITED!  Surprisingly today, I haven't been nervous at all.  I have been so busy all day running errands, trying to get things done I wont get to in a few weeks, getting my eyebrows done (can't go in surgery looking a hot mess), and of course SHOPPING!

The highlight of my day was definitely shopping all day with my friend.  For some reason I felt that I loved how everything looked on me that I tried on today.  That's not a good thing for me because I wanted to buy it all.  I don't know if it's the p90x3 or just my envisioning of how the boobs will make my clothes just pop!

Besides shopping I packed my bag to take to surgery.  I am taking:
pillow (for car ride home)
surgery center paperwork
eyeglasses case
lotion
chapstick
thick socks
wallet
front closure sports bras
medicine

That's about it.  I also made sure to set up my bed with all my pillows for when I am ready to sleep in my bed at night.  I set up my recliner with blankets, pillows, and a table with my gadgets (ipad, kindle, laptop, etc) to have near me when I come home.  I plan to sleep in the recliner at least the first few nights.

I showered with my antibacterial soap and will do so again in the morning. I was told that I can put lotion on my face, arms and legs but not on or near my breasts.  I plan to eat a mini meal at 11:00 pm so that I am not super hungry in the morning considering I am used to eating every few hours, and as soon as I wake up in the mornings.  I have not been able to sleep good the past few nights, so tonight I will take some melatonin.

Tonight I took my "before" pictures as well.  I took them bra less in a few tops and dresses that I wanted to see what the difference would be.  Today I wore the dress pictured below that has a built in bra.  So when trying on clothes I didn't have a bra and could really see the lack of volume and fullness on me.  All day my friend and I talked about how great my boobs will look in these clothes after and pretty much in everything!  I think at this point, now I have her boob obsessed!



Sunday, March 9, 2014

Weekend Before Breast Augmentation

RELAX, RELATE, RELEASE, and BREATHE!!!!!!!!!!!

To be honest, I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be at this point.  All weekend I have been super busy trying to get everything in order for my babysitter that will be staying with us all week to care for the kids and dog.  I have also been trying to prepare for post op healing.  I spent my weekend pretty much doing all our laundry so that I won't have it to do post op. I finally was done with laundry Sunday night.  I also cleaned my entire house from top to bottom.  I feel like I wont be able to thoroughly clean my house for awhile, and if you know me, you know that I am a neat freak!  I made sure to go grocery shopping and stocked my house with a lot of fruits and vegetables that would be best for healing, foods for my babysitter that she would like, quick foods and snacks for the kids, and easy foods for me to be able to take with meds such as yogurt.  I also did a little meal prepping and made some foods to have for all of us to eat on, I made a huge salad, and cut up a lot of fruits to easily be able to grab when needed.

Foods that I researched to have on hand to promote healing were clean foods and foods that are high in Vitamin C.  A friend of mine told me to make sure that I have good sources of protein as well.

Avocados
Pineapple
Berries
Mango
Kiwi
Oranges
Apples
Tomatoes
Banana
Spinach
Coconut Water
Pomegranate Juice
Water
Protein Bars
Hummus
Baby Carrots
Lettuce
Boiled Eggs
Oatmeal
Ginger Ale
Grilled Salmon
Grilled Chicken
Grilled Asparagus

I'm sure I left some things out, but you get the idea.  Clean Eating! I want to put clean foods in my body to give it the best chances at healing.

Despite cleaning and doing laundry night and day, I took the kiddos to Walmart to do a little shopping and we had a great dinner together at Qudoba!  I have been trying to get a lot of cuddles in with them because it will be awhile before they can really be near me without me flinching or thinking it will hurt.  

I forgot to mention that I woke up Sunday morning thinking it was Monday.  I was thinking, "OMG I have surgery tomorrow!".  It will be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow.  I am hoping to not be nervous and freaking myself out! I will keep my eyes on the final prize! Tata until tomorrow!

Items for Surgery and Healing

As I mentioned in my previous blog I am boob obsessed! In fact I think I have been obsessed with boobs all my life! You can ask any of my close family members and friends that I constantly ask if they will give me their boobs.  In being obsessed, I have done a ton of research.  I could probably write my own book on this topic.  Anyhoo, I have looked up all the items I think I will need for my surgery and to make things easier and more comfortable for me after surgery.  

Let's start with one thing...or a few things that I won't be needing....a million 34A super padded bras!

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all of these!

Now on to what I will need!


My sisterger made the comment that she is so excited because now I can be like all the Real Housewives of (Insert City) in having my boob job.  To complete the look I just had to get a zip up hoodie outfit to wear to my surgery.  It is only fitting that it comes from Victoria's Secret!


I picked these up 2 weeks ago for just a few bucks at the Commissary.  I started taking them every morning so that they can be in my system good for after surgery.  Vitamin C helps to support the immune system.  I will be taking these maybe a few weeks/months post-op as well.  I want to give my body the best chance of healing greatly!


After my pre-op appt I went to Wal-mart to get a few more items.  I picked up some gel ice packs to help with bruising and swelling post-op.  The antibacterial soap is to clean my body with pre and post op to make sure that my incisions stay clean.  I also got one more front closure sports bra for $9.99.  This one I got in a 34 and it has clamps instead of a zipper.  I will put this bra with the other two for my PS to decide which one will fit the best.  Even if this bra is not put on me after the surgery, I think it will still be very comfortable and helpful in case the zipper bras irritate me.


I found these super cute pj's at Wal-mart as well.  The Mickey Mouse bottoms were $7.99 and the tank top was $3.88.  I am hoping that I will be able to wear a tank top within my week of recovery.  I really wanted to have cute pj's to lounge around the house in!


Yesterday I got this bed table tray from Bed Bath and Beyond for $14.99.  I originally ordered a really nice one that matches my bedroom furniture from Amazon, but it came unassembled and was not like the product I ordered, so I sent it back.  I figured this simple table will do for now.  I just wanted to have something to of course put my laptop (and food on) while I continue to write this blog to document my journey through recovery.


I got a body pillow and cover from Target both for $9.99 each.  I read that at least for the first week I would need to sleep propped up, so I wanted to have as many comfy pillows as possible surrounding me on my bed.


I was instructed to bring my own front closure sports bra to the surgery.  My Mom is a hair stylist at a department store called Belk's, so I asked her to look for the bras there for me.  I saw a lot of videos where girls had a difficult time finding the bras and said that they were easier to find in department stores.  I had looked myself at a few local places but the bras came in cup sizes and I won't know my cup size for awhile.  My Mom picked me up a Large and a Medium bra so that I could take both in and the PS could determine which one will fit.  Both bras were on sale and came up to be $30 total.  I think they were close to $50 regularly a piece.

At this point, I feel that I am well prepared! Now I just want it over with!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Change of Plans and Pre-Op Appt

Yes, once again I had to change the date of my surgery!  This time it was not because of my dog, but because of the Army.  I originally rescheduled my date to March 25, 2014, so that if anything went wrong in the grand scheme of life in general, my husband would be home to help and handle things.  His return date to home changed several times.  Finally he got a return date for right around the time of my surgery.  I did not want to have to worry about homecoming and preparing for surgery.  I also didn't want to be healing right when he would come home.  I decided not to postpone my surgery to April due to us pre-planning family activities and trips that I expected to be healed for.  My only option was to have it earlier.  I was more than happy with this because at that point I was just ready to have the surgery done!  I changed my surgery date to Tuesday March 11, 2014.

Boob Job Humor. Picture from Pinterest



On Monday, March 3, 2014, I went for my pre-op appointment.  I first met with the Patient Advisor (PA) and she went over a lot of paperwork with me.  She explained the procedure again, and all of the do's and don'ts.  My surgery will be at an outpatient surgery center.  She went over in depth the possible risks and complications and how they are handled.  I was able to ask her a lot of questions.  I was really concerned about healing.  I want to do everything to promote the best healing for my body.  She assured me that considering I have had two c-sections, this surgery will be easier to recover from.  That made me feel better considering my husband won't be here to help out.  I have an awesome crew of friends that are going to be helping the kids and I out.

Previously, on the phone, I discussed with the PA that I was thinking about changing my size.  I have watched probably thousands of you tube videos of other girls' journey and a lot of them talked about making sure you chose the right size.  It was common for women to wish they had gone bigger.  I kept thinking about this and decided if I'm paying all this money, and is going to go through with this, I might as well "go big or go home".  I am just kidding! No I do not want to look like a porn star, but I do want to look like a girl with a nice rack!

The PA first had me to get undressed, and my PS (plastic surgeon) came in to see me again.  He measured me again and determined that due to my frame and current breast tissue, that the largest he could fill me is to 375 cc's.  I thought this was perfect because that is exactly what I wanted.  In reality I was only going up 25 cc's from what I originally chose.  Originally I chose 325 cc's but the PS would automatically insert a 350 cc implant because when you go under the muscle you lose volume so you get filled 25 cc's higher than what you chose to achieve the look you want.  So him filling me to 375 cc's would give me the look of the 350 cc's that I had tried on before.  Yes the ones I thought were too big.  I think at that time I was trying to be very modest.  At this point I am boob obsessed and modesty has been thrown out the window!  I tried on the 375 cc's and I felt they looked "ginormous" on me.  I think this is solely because I have never had boobs in my life so anything looks big on me, to me.  I did like how they made me look slimmer and finally proportioned my hips and thighs out.  I have always felt larger than I am due to me being bottom heavy.  Now I feel like my body will be balanced out.  I didn't feel that I looked that bottom heavy anymore.  I loved what I saw!

I was also given my prescriptions at this appointment.  My PS does not usually prescribe an antibiotic, but did so with no problems when I requested it.  I saw that a lot of other girls were prescribed an antibiotic just to ward off any infections, so I asked for the same to be safe than sorry.  Besides the antibiotic I was also prescribed:

Percocet (for pain)
Ambien (for sleeping)
Motrin (for pain, swelling, and bruising)
Zofran (for nausea)

The appointment ended with the PA taking pictures of my old boobs.  My husband asked if I was going to take my own pictures of my old boobs.  No thanks! I do not want pictures of them! I don't want to look at them now!  After my photo shoot, I had to fork over the most money I have ever spent at one time on myself.  I wanted to cringe at the number, but felt good that for once in my life I was doing something for myself!  Go me!

My surgery is a week away and I am of course screaming with excitement, but also a ball of nerves!  After paying for my surgery I now feel like, "OMG I really have to go through with this now!".  "I can't believe I am going to do this!"