It is been 2 weeks since my breast augmentation surgery. I thought this would be the perfect time to share my experience and thoughts on the whole process. This is a surgery so many women think about having, or have had done. I have had soooo many questions about mine. I thought I would open up and share what you all want to know.
Why did I have the surgery?
When I was young, before I had babies, I had very nice (small) perky breasts. I never really thought about wanting them bigger. I think breasts at all sizes are beautiful. When I got pregnant with my oldest, Sofia, my boobs went from a size B to a DDD. I was blessed with a lot of breastmilk to feed my babies. After I stopped nursing my boobs deflated a lot! The ‘meat’ of my breast went back to a size B, but with a lot of stretched out skin. I would describe my boobs as tube socks with some applesauce at the bottom. They drooped down and laid against my chest. I felt so unsexy! I rarely would even let John see my topless. Every swimsuit, bra, lingerie I ever wore had an underwire and tons of padding.
How long did I nurse my kids?
I nursed exclusively (no formula) for 6 months with Sofia and 10 months with Caleb. Caleb was much more into nursing than Sofia was. Typical man… always into the breast! lol
How I knew it was the right time?
I knew immediately when I was done nursing Sofia that I would get a breast augmentation surgery. I planned on waiting until I was completely done having children. No sense in fixing something then having it get all messed up again. I also wanted to wait until my kids were a little older so I wouldn’t have to feel bad not picking them up for a couple weeks. Being the planner I am, I planned to do it when both kids were in school full time. Get the surgery done in a slow month of the school year. Hoping the kids will be so busy they won’t really notice. And I can take the time I need to recover properly.
A couple days before surgery:
I have been waiting for this surgery for yeeeeears! When I scheduled it I was so excited I screamed! I counted down the days like a child waiting for Christmas Day. Then 4 days before my surgery, I realized I’m having surgery and got really nervous. I had only been focusing on having perfect breasts that I forgot to think about the process and the fact that I was going under the knife. I started to freak out about the results; What if they are to big? to small? not perky enough? I got nervous about the anesthesia, the pain, the recovery. I became very weird and emotional and moody.
Day before my surgery / pre-op:
The morning before my surgery I woke up excited and hopeful, with a stomach full of butterflies and nerves. I had a doctor appointment that day, to go over all the details of the surgery day. Meeting with my doctor calmed sooooo many of my nerves. Talking with my doctor, hearing all the details and seeing how calm he was put me at ease. Plus he has the best personality and made me feel so much calmer. He made me feel so confident my surgery was going to go smooth. After the appointment I watched a movie and relaxed the rest of the day. I felt mostly calm and relaxed.
About 10:00pm that night I started getting really anxious again. I kept counting down the hours. The anticipation was killing me!! I hate needles and hospitals and anything medical. I was more nervous about getting my IV put in than the surgery and recovery. I couldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight. So my plan was to eat a huge meal around 10:30 or 11:00. But my nerves were so intense I could barely eat. My doctor gave me some valium for the recovery and told me it was ok to take one the night before for nerves. So I did, even with that I barely slept.
Surgery Day:
I woke up calm and focused. For me, the worst part was the leading up to the surgery and the anticipation; not the surgery itself. At this point I only had a couple hours till I was under anesthesia and I was put out of my misery. When I was taken back to prep for surgery I got very hyper and tried to make a lot of jokes, my way of dealing with my anxiousness :) John and Jaclyn sat with me until they wheeled me back into the surgery room. They were both so amazing, sweet and comforting to me!
Being wheeled back to surgery was so strange. I had so many nerves I was talking non-stop about random stuff to everyone. Next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I remember saying how tight my chest felt. It was a tightness I can’t describe, soooo tight! I have to be honest, the rest of the day is very blurry. Coming off of anesthesia and being on pain meds made my brain very foggy, unable to think straight and remember much of anything.
John and Jaclyn helped me get my clothes on, put me in a wheel chair, drive me back to the hotel and get me in my hotel room. I remember eating chicken noodle soup with some saltine crackers and ginger ale. I didn’t want to get nauseous from the pain meds so I knew I needed some kind of food in my stomach. After some food I got up, walked around my room, showed everyone my new boobs :) I started watching a movie, then took a huge nap.
Random side note: my doctor told me to wear something comfortable to the surgery because that is what I will wear home and most likely wear the rest of the day and sleep in. And to wear something that buttons up the front because it will be too uncomfortable to put something over my head. And he was right! I wore these pj’s (got a size small) and lived in them for at least 24 hours! So soft and comfortable!! Then the next day I switched into these pj’s (got a size medium). I lived in both of these for the first week. I also slept with this blanket every night, and still do! It is the softest thing I have ever felt. It made sleeping much easier to have a comfy blanket to cuddle with or wrap around me to make my sleeping position more comfortable. And of course I got the bathrobe as well! When I find something this soft and I’m stuck at home recovering I’m going to get the bathrobe! I have literally lived in these items the past 2 weeks!!!
First night after surgery:
This was very challenging for me! I like to sleep on my side or stomach. After this surgery you have to sleep elevated on your back. I had to put 2-3 pillows under me and sleep elevated. This position is so uncomfortable at any time for me, especially when I am in a lot of pain. I woke up a ton of times, very uncomfortable and in a lot of pain. I kept up with all my medications that my doctor gave me. I took them every 4 hours to stay ahead of the pain. But even with that, I was still in a lot of pain.
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