Abdominoplasty...interesting.

I had a consult today for a tummy tuck....it was a little surreal going to this appointment. I was nervous, scared and a lil overwhelmed. Very similiar to how I felt walking to my first appointment with the fertility specialist....never thought I would be going to these doctors :-P

Many of you have heard my complaints of the 'twin skin,' it stinks! It just shouldn't be there.....I am more than grateful for my body having carried Gavin, Jakob and Kaleb to full term and getting through that along with countless other things it does for me but the twin skin has got to go. My clothes don't fit correctly and its is very annoying, not to mention unattractive. I was happy with my body after Gavin. And probably if the 2nd pregnancy was a singleton, it would be ok. But it wasn't :-) I was measuring 47 weeks pregnant when J&K were born...thats a lot of baby! I only gained 40lbs, which is average for twins.

So yes I am doing this for ME! All for me :-) I don't plan on doing it until closer to winter or spring, if even then. We will revisit when that time approaches but I had lots of questions and Marcin suggested I go for consult, I have to admit he had a great idea because who else better to answer my questions?! The doctor was much more informative than Google :-P

The doctor was very nice and straight to the point, I like that! I told him about my 2 c-section with the last one being twins. His first questions were how long did I carry them and how much did they weigh. I then told him that I carried them to 37 weeks with one weighing 6lb 12oz and the other 5lb 11oz. He laughed and said 'yep that will do it!'
He went onto to explain the stomach muscles and what happens during a twin pregnancy, to make a long story short...I am screwed! My muscles separated, they cannot grow back together...they are done. The 'twin skin' may be a combo of stretched skin/muscle and fat but the bottom line is that even if I exercised everyday and ate nothing but salads forever...I cannot build muscle that isn't there to build : /  There plenty of areas I hope to improve with diet/exercise but I have a feeling that will always be a work in progress :-P

So he suggested I go for the full tummy tuck with lipo (part #1 that scared me....I have watched too many reality shows, EW!). He went onto explain that for the tummy tuck, he would cut out the pocket of fat below belly button. They would cut from hip to hip below bikini line, actually even lower than my c-section scar which is pretty low. After they remove the 'fat pocket' (EW!), they will pull the extra skin down and connect it. He said he can just moved my belly button down....just like that. Interesting. Then he would lipo the 'flanks,' aka love handles :-P This would be so it would all be proportional after the tummy tuck, works for me! Recovery would be much more painful than a c-section because he will also be reconstructing my abdomen muscles, this healing process apparently hurts very much. And then I would have two tubes for drainage (part #2 that scared me!), these would stay in for 10-14 days after surgery.

All in all very productive 30 minutes and he answered all my questions, for now :-) It was stressed that I would need a few weeks worth of help afterwards because I can't lift things, especially the boys, or do much of anything the first two or three weeks. Thankfully Marcin's family is here and I am sure we can talk Pop Pop and Gigi into coming for a visit:-)