It’s a fact of life: having children changes your body. What pregnancy does to a woman’s body varies from person to person. Some women might develop a tummy pooch after having a flat stomach for years. Others might see their previously perky breasts become saggy or deflated as a result of the pregnancy and breast feeding.
While you wouldn’t trade your kids for your formerly taut shape, you might find yourself wishing there was a way to get your old body back. That’s where the Mommy Makeover comes in. If you’re finished having kids and want a more youthful, slimmer body, it might be the thing for you.
What is a Mommy Makeover?
A customizable procedure, the Mommy Makeover tends to include a mix of surgeries, from a tummy tuck or breast augmentation, to breast lift. The makeover can also include liposuction and a body lift. It really all depends on your specific concerns and what areas of your body you’d like to focus on.
One of the big advantages of a Mommy Makeover is that each of the surgeries you want are performed at the same time. Although that extends the time of the procedure, it also means that you don’t have to schedule separate visits for each surgery. It also helps reduce the overall cost of the makeover. Scheduling a separate liposuction, tummy tuck and breast augmentation would mean that you need to pay three times for anesthesia, the surgical center, and so on. Combining surgeries costs more than having a single procedure, but less than spacing your procedures apart.
Surgeries that can be part of a Mommy Makeover include:
- Breast augmentation
- Breast lift
- Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)
- Body lift
- Liposuction
Depending on how many procedures you have, the entire surgery can take between four and seven hours to complete.
Is a Mommy Makeover For You?
There are a few things to take into consideration when deciding to have a Mommy Makeover or not. One factor that influences whether it’s right for you is how healthy you are. It’s important to be in a good health before any cosmetic surgery. It’s particularly important before a Mommy Makeover as the combined surgeries mean that you are under anesthesia for longer and have a slightly increased risk for complications. You’ll want to have blood tests performed before your surgeries to make sure your systems are in good order.
Although a Mommy Makeover can help you get your pre-baby body back, it’s important to understand that it’s not a weight loss surgery. You should be at or pretty close to your goal weight before the procedures. Think of a Mommy Makeover as the finishing touch — you’ve lost most of the baby weight and want a bit of extra help saying good bye to that extra skin or stubborn fat that’s hanging around.
When To Schedule Your Procedure
Timing is pretty important when it comes to scheduling a makeover. As a general rule, you want to wait to have the procedures until after you are finished having kids. You risk undoing or minimizing the results of your surgeries if you get pregnant again afterwards. Your tightened and smoothed abdominal area might develop a pooch again or your breasts might lose some of their volume or start to sag again.
The recovery time can be a bit long after the Mommy Makeover, particularly if you’ve scheduled a number of surgeries. For that reason, you might want to wait until you have someone to look after the kids for a while or until you have a long patch of free time. It might make sense to wait until your kids have started school to have your makeover or to schedule the procedures for the summer, when your partner has the time to take care of you and the children. Whatever you do, make sure you have a support system in place to help you out right after the surgeries and in the weeks following.
What to Expect After a Mommy Makeover
You’ve gone through childbirth — you can handle anything a medical procedure throws at you. You can expect a level of discomfort after a Mommy Makeover, in part due to the tightening of the skin and muscles during the tummy tuck. Your surgeon will prescribe pain medications to help reduce the discomfort.
Usually, about six weeks are recommended for recovery after a makeover. That doesn’t mean you have to be laid up in bed for that long. Many women feel well enough to resume light, day-to day-activities after about two weeks. You should be well enough to resume exercise and other strenuous activities by the six-week mark. Some women are able to start being physically active again after four weeks.
If a bit of extra fat, a loose tummy or droopy breasts are bringing you down, talk to a board certified plastic surgeon about your Mommy Makeover options today. In Houston, Texas, Dr. Paul Vitenas specializes in breast and body surgeries, including Mommy Makeover. To learn more about the procedure and how to customize it to best meet your needs, call (281) 484-0088 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Vitenas today.