The Reason For This Mom’s Breast Augmentation

Oh man…..breast augmentation.  This is so exciting for me to sit down and write but very terrifying all at the same time.  I have been waiting a few years now to go through this “mommy makeover” so to speak.  Oh man, oh man, oh man…..breast augmentation.  I have learned, since becoming a health coach 3 years ago, that sharing my struggles, journey and thoughts can help other women feel like they are not alone.  So here I am sharing something super vulnerable and scary but I hope to educate, inspire or whatever else you need from this glimpse into the most recent part of my journey.

A little background on me.  I have a 5 year old girlie girl named Samantha and a 3 year old sweetie pie little man, Jude.  I nursed both kiddos for 2 years each.  Between the 45 lbs I gained with each pregnancy along with the pumping and nursing, let’s just say….the poor chest area was used well.  I went back and forth for a long time trying to decide but as much as I loved the flat chested look, or as I call them “flaps of skin”, I also wanted to be proportioned in a swimsuit and sports bra.  I was concerned on what I would tell my sweet daughter about the surgery but my logical husband reminded me that she is 5.  Only 5!  She will really only remember me this way and I don’t need to explain every detail.  I basically told her that having “mommy milk” took all the fluff out of my chest so I just filled them back up so the skin wouldn’t hang…something like that.  I didn’t even talk about the surgery before it happened and my amazing mom and pop-in-law were so cool to take them for 5 days for us so I could heal.  I believe part of how we approach things is how they are received, so we kept it simple.

Backstory on me, I am that girl that has a 6 pound baby and comes home to weigh myself and I’ve only lost 3 pounds, lol.  Being a PCOS sufferer, it not only took me over a year to get pregnant with Samantha but I do not lose weight easily and I put it on even easier.  After having a transformation with some amazing home workouts and daily nutrition from the company I work with, I lost all my baby weight plus some.  That left me with the below photo of more muscle than breast tissue.

The Cost of a Breast Augmentation

I had a close friend that went to a doctor in Bellevue and loved her results and as we researched, we found him to be one of the best in the Washington State for breast augmentation.  This is how we made a decision to use him.  We scheduled our consultation, paid the $75 for that appointment and decided that day to pay the $500 deposit and schedule.  Total cost for everything was almost $11k but we got Care Credit, zero interest, for 12 months.  This included the breast augmentation and a lift.  A reminder….4 years of nursing creates the need for a lift…there was definitely a lot of excess skin!  My finance major of a husband is on the payments quick so we pay nothing extra 🙂

We ended up having to extend it a year from a car accident in 2014, but was finally able to schedule again and get in.  It takes anywhere from 3-12 months to feel “normal” again after breast augmentation so we knew having it done in November was the perfect timing.  I took the nurse and doctor’s opinion on size.  That was scary for me because they don’t tell you what cup size you will be.  In fact, you can’t really buy a fancy bra for 6 months until everything settles.  I could tell they were confident about their opinion and I OVERLY shared my fear over being too large, lol.   Nothing would be worse to me!!  I brought 5 shirts to try on with the implant insert in my bra.  I wanted to be sure all my shirts would still fit.  I was fearful of not looking or feeling like “me”.  I did not want them to make me look “heavy.”As my hubby and I discussed size options and tried on different sizes of inserts, I really took my time to process it all.  Picture us in the room full of mirrors and silicone balls being pondered over.  

They recommended 450cc but none of my friends had more than 350cc put in.  This tip might really help you because it finally gave me the peace I needed with it all.  I tried a 400cc on one side and the 450cc on the other in a workout tank.  The smaller insert looked more fake because it appeared to look like a ball on my chest, when the larger one looked like it fit my frame and shoulders better ( I was a swimmer in High School so they are built from that).  The decision had been made on the 450cc!!!  They actually said I should do 475 because the extra 25cc was only equivalent to 1 Tbsp of water and as they settled they would look like a solid 450.  The doctor didn’t give me a choice on shape, nor did they offer both saline and silicone.  He strictly does silicone and designs them per woman.  I also didn’t want a huge gap in between where my cleavage was but that we really don’t have control over this.  The cleavage is what it was before, regardless of breast size.  I was a bit scared about the lift, but he didn’t remove the nipples like I was scared of and only cut the extra skin off around them.  He did a crescent shaped incision under the breasts which won’t be noticeable at all.  Okay, that part was done!!  

Breast Augmentation Surgery…..the Real Thing!

Now, let’s talk the surgery!  The day before, make sure to be well hydrated.  You can’t drink anything after midnight so the cotton mouth feel was the worst. I would have drunk up until the cutoff of 11 p.m., if I had to do it over again.  The surgery recovery process hurt worse than I thought it would.  Let me just saw that now!  I had both babies naturally at a Birthing Inn so here I was thinking I was tough stuff.  Everyone handles surgery different and apparently I don’t’ do well.  Those tiny child ice packs fit perfectly into your bra, by-the-way, they have been a lifesaver.  What happens with the pain is, the muscle gets mad since they are trying to make room for the implant to go under them.  I didn’t get any bruising after the surgery but let’s just say, I could not sit up on my own for almost two days.  It was crazy!!  Make sure you send the kiddos away for 2-3 days since you are moving hardly at all for the first 3 days.  I did leave the house on day 4, but I was high on vicodin and valium and a bestie drove us for pedicures and a Sephora stop.  I probably should have stayed home but it was fun to get out!  Here’s my before and after, the after is one month from the time of the breast augmentation surgery.

The Complications of the Breast Augmentation

Almost a week after surgery, I came down with a fever.  101 temp!  I called my doctor’s cell and he was already in New York for Thanksgiving Holiday.  He asked me if one side hurt more than the other but I was so achy I could barely tell it was the right side that hurt.  He called in a prescription luckily right before the pharmacy closed.  I was so SICK!  I went straight to bed after taking my antibiotics and we had to go see the on-call doc in Seattle the next day.  When I sat up that morning to go to the bathroom a runny, yellow-reddish fluid dripped all down my right side.  The infection was bad.  The on-call doc wanted to admit me to the hospital for IV antibiotics but we were not excited about that.  Not only would it cost us crazy amounts of money, I did not want to be in the hospital over Thanksgiving.  I hate hospitals, hence the Birthing Inn.  I digress.  

I did end up staying home on Thanksgiving (and missing the fun) but we knew healing was more important than anything.  My husband was a saint.  Taking care of me like it was a full time job.  Feeding me his famous egg and kale dish, peanut butter and raspberry jam toast and Shakeology.  Thank God for Shakeology.  He had me sleep as much as possible and changed my gauze every few hours.  I teased him about being Kathy Bates in the movie, “Misery”.  He urged me to stay in bed for almost two days straight because I don’t like to rest.  What mom is used to resting anyways, right?  It was tough but I needed to do it.  If the infection did not heal, I would have to lose my right implant for up to 3 months before they could put it back in.  Can we talk about what was going through my brain when I heard that fun fact.  A cruise with my Beachbody family in 3 ½ months fully earned, paid for and reserved and I could be having another breast augmentation surgery a week before we left?  Um, NO!!!!  Talk about nerve racking, TEARS and lots of prayers.  Made me so grateful for my health and so much compassion for any woman that has had cancer!  Oh my heart.  

So, I ate no sugar or anything bad that whole time.  I did not want my body fighting bad food as well as the infection, etc.  Knowing what I know about nutrition was a huge help.  As soon as my doctor was back in town we went to see him.  He got me in two days later to re-open the incision and clean out the breast as he soaked the implant to put it back in.  Good news was, everything was very mild and it looked like I would heal up well.  The second time around I was more nervous going into the operating room but trusted God, that He had it all under control.  Going under anesthesia is never fun and trying to put on compression socks with no chest strength is nearly impossible!  

During this time, we grew even more grateful for our health and fitness business. Matt was driving me an hour to and from the doctor more times than we really wanted to count.  I was able to work from my bed and keep up with my clients and coaching team.  Our income didn’t go down, it actually went up because Beachbody had just released a new fitness program and they do a ton of marketing along with us coaches doing our own.  Even though I was out for about 6 weeks, in and out, we had the best month we ever had.  I don’t know of any job that we would have been able to say that with.  A true blessing and confirmation that being Beachbody coaches is God’s perfect plan for our family.

I healed much faster after the second surgery and felt like the worst was over!  Thank Jesus!!!!  Had so many beautiful friends praying for me and faith that He was teaching Matt and I new things.  

Fitness After my Breast Augmentation

Now, let’s talk fitness!  You might think after surgery, “oh, I’ll do some yoga.” but can you imagine a Chaturanga?  Ya, NO!  I was pushing it really hard with Body Beast and Insanity Max 30 prior to surgery and the thought of not being able to workout for 4 weeks made me crazy!!!!  C-razy!  Since that time frame got extended-obviously-I relied on good nutrition and no sugar or alcohol.  Having PCOS, those two specific things make me gain so quick and the bloat, oh the bloat… Christmas did get me in over my head with all of that, hence the Clean Eating Group I started January 4th!  I kept my weight down on the scale for a while but it all eventually caught up.  I am the heaviest I’ve been in a while.  On January 12th, I was 149.8lbs!! I was just 140 mid December.  Hmm, too much indulging and no workouts got the best of me!   

Having a huge DVD library I started with Brazil Butt Lift (the same one I used when I was pregnant with Jude) and PiYo.  I also did Lower Fix from the 21 Day Fix.  Having these to fall back on was so nice.  Now 8 weeks post-surgery, I branched out to some P90X shoulders and arms.  I miss my workouts so bad!!!  What happened the day after I did my first upper body workout with only 5 and 8 lbers?  Oh just some swelling and soreness in my poor, right, previously infected breast.  What???  Calling the doc again, sending in pictures and the next morning waking up to a puddle of fluid on my sheets and leakage for most of the day.  I know you’re thinking if this horror will ever end.  Trust me, I am too.  Saw the doctor on January 11th and so far we are good and it was just a fluke.  Praise Jesus!!  He said the workout had nothing to do with the fluid so that gave me peace of mind to get my butt back to my consistent daily workouts.  

When I start adding more impact, you better believe I will be doubling up on the sports bra.  I’m excited to share the fun brands my hubby found for me!!  Some fitness fashion to come, eeeek!

I still wear the bra they gave me at surgery.  They told me 2 weeks straight with this support strap post-surgery but only 12 hours a day after that with only the bra, no strap.  Most women wear it at night but I liked during the day.  They get sore still if I don’t wear it for AT LEAST 12 hrs a day.  Sometimes I still wear it 24/7, it just feels better.  

So here I sit, 8 weeks post “original” surgery, 5 weeks post second surgery.  I started Hammer and Chisel today to test it because I’ve been dying to start this program.  Iso Balance was so FUN!  Oh that endorphin high after, is the best drug on the market.  Here is a clip of how I had to modify two moves with no weights, but the rest I did 5 and 7.5 lbs. I plan to continue trying the entire program as my comfort level allows.  

[youtube id=”yMLfdLxBBAg”]

Other Issues with the Breast Augmentation

Wait, there’s more!  Right after I filmed this and was so excited to start sweating again, my husband checked my incision and there was some black!!  RED FLAG!!!  Goodness, we head back to the doctor tomorrow to have another hiccup fixed.  

Video on my thoughts about this entire ordeal and the outcome coming soon!

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey…but a woman of strength, has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong. <3