January!

Kathleen had her baby, Mia Evangeline, early this month. Her labor and delivery with her first daughter, Kate, had been very easy so she was expecting a comparable labor and delivery. She had to be induced and then there were many events, some that in hindsight seemed avoidable, that led up to C-section. Kathleen was not prepared for that. I can see going in for your first delivery knowing a C-section was a possibility but for your second… I know for mine I expected one just like the first, and it was. Kathleen was very upset about it and said it was a lot more difficult than a vaginal birth. Jill and I went to the hospital to visit Kathleen on the Saturday after she was born and she was her usual feisty self. Mia is cute with a full head of black hair. Jeanette was already there (Jeanette, in her late 30’s, is expecting her first baby). Tracy showed up a few minutes later so we ended up having a little party in Kathleen’s hospital room.

The next day I met my friend Missie for brunch at the mall. She is breastfeeding and so she was wearing a bra without much support (underwire causes clogged ducts). I introduced her to the no-underwire bras at Victoria’s Secret that I love. I discovered them while I was breastfeeding Ty and wore them after I weaned him and now post surgery. I am anti-underwire and believe you should be able to get ample support without wires with a well constructed, structured bra. Missie looked fantastic in the new bra. She poked and prodded my new breasts in the Banana Republic dressing room, something I have gotten used to lately (being poked and prodded!) I asked her what she was going to tell her husband about them when she got home. She said, I’m going to tell him to start saving his money!

The next Friday I dropped off dinner for Kathleen. She was doing well but had found out her incision was infected. Poor Kathleen! On Saturday I reluctantly went to a home show of food products but was pleasantly surprised by their beer bread and dips, so I bought several boxes. I hope the book club likes them because I will probably just bring beer bread for the next few months. Brian, Jack and Ty loved it too. That night I went to a white elephant party—a party where you brought your worst Christmas present. I really didn’t have any terrible presents but I do have too many bath and lotion products that have been given to me over the years. There was a gold clock, a cardinal bath set with soap dispenser and tiny decorative towel, and a hideous ceramic holder that had NUTS emblazoned on the side. I came home with a horrible bath set (brand called “Dirty Girl”) with a scent so horrible I wonder if it could be used in lieu of bug spray.

Work has become very stressful and difficult. I tend to think about it a lot at home and on the weekend. I hate that. This is one of my new year’s resolutions… to get back to compartmentalizing work and stress at work. Life is too short otherwise. But after a terrible week, it was Annette G’s birthday on Friday night. The girls went to Roy’s for martinis for about an hour and half and the guys were supposed to meet up with us after that. Annette introduced to me to her sister and friends as Kelly—“she just got a boob job”. Good thing it wasn’t a huge secret. I got rave reviews for my new cleavage and got poked and prodded again. Lots of pictures were taken but I haven’t seen any of them yet. If I get some sent to me, I will be sure to post them. The guys met up with us and around 9:30 went to a very crowded piano bar where Annette was pulled on stage. She didn’t seem too embarrassed that they were giving her a hard time. Some of the group went to Denny’s afterwards but we went home because I was exhausted. I woke up with a hangover the next day and after taking Advil and a short morning nap, I managed to get to Connor’s 3rd birthday party. The kids had a good time and I felt a ton better after eating. On Sunday, Kathleen’s sister, Andrea, came over to check me out (and do some poking and prodding). She had a lift and augmentation scheduled with Dr. Spies on Tuesday and so wanted to finalize on the size she wanted to be. Andrea is a triathlete and very tiny but had one child, then triplets and then another child. Obviously she is very strong and resilient woman. I can’t wait to see her results.

I went back to exercising this week. I did a couple minutes on the ROM one day and 3 minutes the other day. This just about killed me. I did Pilates twice. One of the Pilates classes is at work and when I showed up, my fellow classmates (who I have been exercising with for years) said, Oh, I haven’t see you in a while. Since we have seen each other naked for several years, I ‘fessed up to the surgery. I think they were surprised initially but then started asking me a ton of questions and saying what they wanted done. I’m pretty sore after the two classes after not doing it for 5 weeks but it feels good to be back into exercising.

This week I met up with a work friend from out of town, Eric. He was my HR rep years ago and we became friends. I’ve met his wife a few times—once they came here together for a vacation and other times I have seen her on a business trip. He would like his wife to get some enhancement surgery but knows that as a man and faithful husband, you just can’t bring this up. He admired the post-surgery results and declared Brian “a lucky man”. But mostly I got a chance to bitch about work and since he works with my senior management, he can understand.

On Friday I had another post-op with Dr. Spies. I ran into a friend in the waiting room who wants to get an upper and lower eyelid lift. She said she was definitely going to schedule with him. I think she will look fantastic. She is only in her early 40’s and so looks much older because of her eyes. Dr. Spies’ assistant started to tease me because I had referred Andrea who had her surgery earlier this week and then Jill B and my other friend had their consultations that day. Dr. Spies said, How do you know all these people? I said, I know a lot of people who want their post-baby tune-ups. He said he really appreciated the referrals. Everything is looking good and I go back in 6 months. Dr. Spies and his office are really great. He is very personable. Jill sounds like she is scheduling her surgery for April. Friday night I went to the YMCA for a family night with Brian, Jack and Ty. They had chili and games for the kids. I left early to go to book club. Kathleen was drinking again and was in good spirits despite the fact that after everything she has been through, now her incision opened up and they have to pack it daily. What a nightmare. With three women pregnant (2 for the first time), conversations center around pregnancy and breastfeeding a lot. We have all shared the same ob/gyn and now the same plastic surgeon. Tracy was doing a cleanse and so had low energy and was not drinking so she wasn’t her usual self. I am going to start the cleanse that Brian did on Monday starting with a precleanse this weekend to make sure I am not going to go through caffeine withdrawal too badly.

Before and After

Here is me before:

Here is me "after":

Sorry I am not up to posting photos of myself completely naked!

2 Weeks Later

I took the whole week after Christmas off from work to continue my recovery. Our nanny took the day off on the Tuesday after Christmas and I assured Brian that could handle caring for Ty without him. What a big mistake. I think I really set myself back on my recovery by lifting my 27 pound 18 month old all day. I was in so much pain by the end of the day! On Wednesday we had our nanny which was a huge relief. I had to get out of the house so I called Yvonne and she met me for lunch. It’s funny because I don’t remember any pain during lunch but we were talking so much and having a good time that it was a good distraction. Afterwards, we walked around the mall and looked at some Victoria’s Secret bras but I didn’t feel like trying anything on yet. That night, Brian and I took the kids back to the mall for Rubio’s and then Jack and I hung out at the book store while Ty played in the kids’ area.

I had my second post-op on Friday. They took off the surgical tape and removed any leftover stitches. I was still pretty uncomfortable with the pain but the doctor confirmed that all the aches and pains were normal. He said I could start taking ibuprofen. He told me to start rubbing Vitamin E on the incisions at 3 weeks post op and then the massage 4 weeks post op. Afterwards, I met Jill M for lunch at Olive and Ivy, a new restaurant by Scottsdale Fashion Square. I had a very interesting dish with a very nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Afterwards I went to Victoria’s Secret where I was measured as a 35 which meant I could wear a 36C/34D. I went with the 36C since I wanted the band to be wider. The place was crazy and it took me 20 minutes of standing in line to pay for the bras. There were so many pre-teens there buying underwear, I couldn’t believe it. I think if you’re a pre-teen, maybe even a teen-ager, you should be getting your underwear at Target. Of course, a lot of them had Coach purses but we are talking about Scottsdale. Friday evening we went back to the mall to eat at CPK and hang out.

On Saturday Yvonne came over with Colton to watch the kids for a while and Brian and I went out to a nice restaurant called Roaring Fork. I actually wore a shirt that showed some cleavage so Brian liked that. Even when I had cleavage (pre-kids) I never showed it. I guess I am modest. Maybe that will change, maybe not. We had a bunch of appetizers and a bottle of petite syrah. For New Year’s Eve, Deb and Joe, Ger and Ter, and Mike and Katherine came over for a really nice dinner and later in the evening, they all went to a bar to hear a band. I didn’t really want to go out, plus we didn’t have a baby-sitter, so it worked out well.

We went to the zoo on New Year’s Day and that was a nice trip for the boys. Then back to work on Tuesday. I wondered if everyone would be looking at my chest but a lot of people still aren’t back to work and I only really noticed one person kind of do a double take when I came into a conference room. I am not sure how noticeable the change is to people. I don’t think I would notice since I typically am not looking at people’s chests at work. Only when you have seen people in swim suits and skimpier things would you really notice, or if they were completely flat chested and went to a DD.

I am now 2 weeks and 3 days past my surgery date. Right now I feel like I have two rocks wedged under my pectoral muscles. It really doesn’t feel that good and oftentimes feels quite badly. I slept poorly because of the pain a couple nights ago and so I took a Valium and slept much better. Then last night I took an Advil PM and that helped a lot too. I think I will keep up with the Advil PM until I am through the pain since I think sleep heals us faster than anything. So far I am very happy with the results. They look like I am wearing a push up bra when I am not but I do not have a shelf on my chest so they are not too high, too big or high profile. I think the doctor gave me a really good size and I am thankful he took a chance by going higher than we discussed (375 cc & 415 cc versus 325/350). I think sometimes they look too big but post-kids I had gotten used to being flat chested. It’s all relative. I am eager to get through my recovery and feel 100%. So far, I haven’t had any regrets and I would do it again and would definitely use the same doctor.