Today is the 1 year anniversary from my Mommy Makeover! It feels so good to type that. It has been a long journey. I would dream about being a year out from everything and today is that day!
(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I am not telling anyone they need surgery! I am just sharing my journey, experience and results)
Yall have been so sweet and encouraging along the way and I feel so grateful for this community. I started a Facebook community page where women who were considering|have had Gastric Sleeve Surgery or Mommy Makeover type plastic surgery could connect and it has been so fun hearing about your journey’s and supporting you along the way. I get asked often for updates so today I thought I would share.
If you are new here, let me give you a little background. In August 2018 I had Gastric Sleeve Surgery. It was a complete game changer and helped me lose over 100lbs. It took me right about a year to do that.
After losing that much weight and having 2 babies I knew I would want a Mommy Makeover. I wanted to wait at least 6 months after losing the weight to make sure I would maintain it before I had any plastic surgery. I started doing my research and in Jan 2020 (about 1.5 years after my Gastric Sleeve Surgery) I had a Mommy Makeover
I shared all the details of my surgery from picking a plastic surgeon, Mommy Makeover must haves and tips, everything you need to know and breaking down my recovery week by week. You can find all of my posts HERE.
I am a year out from everything and honestly couldn’t be any happier! This journey was one of the best decisions I ever made and having a Mommy Makeover was icing on the cake. I LOVE my results! There’s not 1 thing I would change. I have never had a flat stomach in all my life and now after losing tons of weight and having 2 babies I do. My doctor is a true artist.
I had an extended tummy tuck with muscle repair, 360 liposuction, breast augmentation, some thigh liposuction and fat transfer. I didn’t have an actual BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift) because I didn’t have enough fat and wasn’t looking for a large backside. Dr. V just took the fat and injected it around to contour and smooth everything out.
It is funny how as time passes you completely forget about the not so fun parts. I would literally do it all over again in a second. Like I said, you can go back and see my weekly recaps and watch all my recovery videos on Instagram (plastics 1, plastics 2, plastics 3), but it really wasn’t that bad. Sure, there were days that weren’t the greatest, but it was so worth it.
One of the hardest parts for me was not going anywhere. I basically quarantined before quarantining was a thing. I am so grateful this was all behind me before the pandemic hit, but I really didn’t go anywhere all of Jan/mid-Feb and just as I was getting back to things. . .the pandemic hit and we all started quarantining. It was a very strange year to say the least.
I have had zero issues with my recovery. I will say that it took a good 3-4 months before my bellybutton looked the way I wanted it to. My doctor warned me that would happen, but it is hard when you are waiting. You have so much swelling that everything looks odd for a while. Now, it looks just how I wanted. My scars have faded so nicely I don’t even notice them. My stomach is still kind of numb which is strange, but doesn’t bother me. My friends who have had C-sections said theirs feels the same way.
I am not one to post a ton of bathing suit pictures, but I get the curiosity so I will share these so you can see the before and after.
In the picture on the left it was so frustrating because everything you see was just skin. There was no amount of working out that was going to change that. I had lost all the weight I needed too. I am 5’9 and weighed 150 pounds before surgery. After my surgery they told me they removed 7 lbs of skin. . .gross and amazing at the same time!
If you have any questions feel free to ask! I remember what it was like when I was in the researching phase. I couldn’t get enough info. I highly suggest joining our Facebook Group if you are considering this. It is a wealth of information from tons of real women in the same spot! It is a judgement free safe space!
Thanks for coming on this journey with me!
Dawn says
You look amazing. I am 7 months post sleeve surgery, and I would love to hear more about what you eat daily to keep the weight off.
houseofhargrove@gmail.com says
Thank you. Congrats! You can read more about what my eating looks like in this post https://houseofhargrove.com/gastric-sleeve-surgery-your-questions-answered-part-1/