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After having children, you deserve to take care of yourself and feel your best. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the mommy makeover.
Your breasts are sagging and lack volume. You have excess skin on your tummy. You’ve gone through the wonderful experience of bringing a life into this world. It’s time to consider a mommy makeover.
A mommy makeover can provide a combination of treatments to bring your body back to pre-baby shape. Through invasive and non-invasive treatments, you can get the help exercise and diet cannot give.
Keep reading to find out if a mommy makeover is right for you.
What is it
Your plastic surgeon is going to create a customized plan to address your concerns. The goal is to assist you in getting your pre-baby shape back.
This can include a face, breasts, and body restoration. Your treatment plan can include surgical procedures and non-surgical procedures.
Surgical Procedures
There are some common procedures that are considered when determining your mommy makeover plan.
Breast augmentation and lift can correct the shape and fullness of your breasts. If your breasts are sagging or your nipples are not “perky” any more a breast augmentation can help correct it.
If your breasts have become asymmetrical this can be corrected through implants. Your stretched or large nipples and areolas can be reshaped.
If you have sagging or loose skin on your tummy, it can be corrected through a tummy tuck. A tummy tuck can also repair your stomach muscles that may have been damaged by stretching or tearing during pregnancy.
Liposuction can help reduce any fat deposits on your stomach and hips that you cannot get rid of with diet and exercise.
Nonsurgical Procedures
There are many procedures you can get that do not involve invasive surgical procedures. These are a great option if you are planning to have more children.
Skin resurfacing treatments will help give you a more youthful and fresh look. Stress ages people and going through pregnancy and birth is a stressful experience.
Skin tightening uses heat on the deep layers of your skin. This is done with ultrasound, radiofrequency, or IPL/ radiofrequency combination treatment.
The collagen and elastin in your skin are stimulated so more is produced tightening the look of your skin. If cellulite is your skin problem there are treatments that stimulate fibrous tissues to smooth out the skin.
Botox and fillers could help give you a more youthful look by eliminating the look of fine lines and wrinkles. These treatments are not permanent and will have to be redone every six months to a year depending on treatment.
Nonsurgical fat reduction breaks down fat in a particular area slowly. There is a modest fat loss with this method.
Feminine rejuvenation brings the tone and tightness back to your vulvovaginal tissues. Not just childbearing can cause your genital tissue to lose its tone.
Age and hormonal changes can also contribute to the changing features of the tissue. If you have urinary leakage, vaginal dryness, or painful sexual intercourse, you may be experiencing a loss of vaginal tone.
Rejuvenation can restore sagging, large, and asymmetrical labia. There are nonsurgical and surgical options for vaginal rejuvenation.
Surgical involves Vaginoplasty, Clitoral hood reduction, and Mons pubis reduction. These procedures are invasive and require recovery time.
Nonsurgical options are less invasive but may require more treatments. The treatment only takes 15 minutes and patients experience improvement within one to two days.
When to Get the Procedures
When you decide to start treatment is a decision specific to you and the opinion of your plastic surgeon. Trust your doctor’s advice.
They do these procedures regularly and understand proper timing is important. There are some factors to consider when deciding when is the right time.
You need to wait until you are fully recovered from your childbirth before you start new procedures. Be aware that sometimes this can take six to eight months.
If you are wanting a breast augmentation you will have to wait until several months after you stop breastfeeding. Your breasts have gone through 9 months of changes during pregnancy.
Then they experienced more changes during breastfeeding. You need to give your breasts time to stabilize into a constant size and shape.
You don’t want to go through the experience of breast augmentation and spend money only to have your breasts naturally change again.
You will be paying for another surgery to adjust them again. Better to let them change and fully do their thing before your surgeon goes in and starts making changes.
If you are planning on getting injectables you may have to wait until you are done breastfeeding. You do not want to risk any contamination of your breastmilk that is being given to your child.
If you get surgical procedures as a part of your mommy makeover, you won’t be able to pick up anything over 10 pounds. This means you are going to need help with childcare.
Make sure you do not want any more children. It is best to wait until you are done before having many surgical procedures. Procedures that fall into this category are a tummy tuck, breast lift, and lower body lift.
What If You Have Another Child
You should wait until you are done, but it isn’t the end of the world if you have another child. There are some things you should keep in mind if you decide to have more children.
If you have gotten a tummy tuck you could have some complications. Your abdominal muscles will have been tightened by sutures.
Going through pregnancy could undo the tummy tuck. This means you’ll have to get another one post-pregnancy.
Decide if you are willing to take on the additional cost and trauma to your body. It may be better to get some of the procedures done and wait to do the tummy tuck until you are positive you do not want to have more children.
Cost
The cost of a mommy makeover can vary greatly depending on the procedures performed, where in the country you are, and what surgeon you choose. The average cost ranges from ten thousand to twenty thousand dollars.
Items that go into the cost of your makeover include the surgeon’s fee, hospital or surgical facility fees, anesthesia fees, medications, implants, post-surgery garments, and medical tests or x rays.
Do not travel a long distance to find a better deal for your surgeries. Select your surgeon based on skill, track record, credentials, reputation, and your comfort level. You want to be near your surgeon for follow-ups and in the event of any complications.
Once your surgery experience is finished and you are healed you’ll need to purchase new clothes. You will have a new body shape.
Your old clothes may no longer look good or even fit anymore. This is an additional cost associated with getting your mommy makeover.
Financing Options
With the high cost of mommy makeovers, you may not be able to pay for the full cost of the procedures out of pocket. Financing may be available through your surgeon’s office.
Almost all practices accept credit cards. Be careful putting such a large procedure on a credit card though.
You could very easily get deep in credit card debt this way. Consider the interest rate you will be paying and what the total cost of the procedure will be once you pay the credit card off.
There are many third-party companies that offer to finance plastic surgery procedures exclusively. This may be a better option to credit cards, but will also cost you more with interest.
Selecting a Plastic Surgeon
You are looking for a surgeon who is experienced in the mommy makeover plan. Don’t look for a surgeon who has performed these procedures individually.
You want your surgeon to be experienced in performing them all together, and how your body is going to react and respond to the multiple procedures.
Ask your potential surgeon how many of these makeovers the surgeon has done. Ask to see before and after pictures. Look for patients who have similar issues to yours.
Check out online reviews of your surgeon. See if they have a solid reputation of providing not only a high level of quality care but that patients are happy with their results.
Have Reasonable Expectations
Have reasonable expectations about the results of your mommy makeover. Listen to your surgeon about what is possible.
In most cases, it is difficult to replicate exactly your pre-pregnancy body. Your surgeon will be able to give you a firmer and more fit body.
Do not expect your procedures to be the magic cure-all. The goal is to give you more confidence in your own body.
Exercise
Go on a healthy diet and exercise plan before you begin your mommy makeover. You may not need as many surgical procedures if you can shed some pounds on your own.
Surgery is a dangerous thing, no matter what you are going under the knife for. There are more risks and can be more complicated when you are overweight.
If you continue to workout and diet after your procedures your body shape can change again. You want to make sure you are in your ideal shape before you begin to make changes surgically.
A good rule of thumb is to get to your ideal weight and maintain it for at least three months. If you can do this you will be in great shape for your makeover.
Emotional Journey
Face it, you just had a baby. You brought a human into the world. You’ve already gone through a pretty emotional and stressful journey.
Getting multiple plastic surgery procedures to majorly change your body is going to be another emotional journey. You are going to feel stress at some point in the process.
You will experience an adjustment period accepting your new body. Your body will have changed overnight.
Make sure you get plenty of rest during the process. You will need to make yourself a priority and take care of yourself.
Let the people around you know what’s happening and be included in your journey. Your family and friends are there to support you.
Recovery
Do not underestimate the time you are going to need to recover. Plan to take time off work. Plan to have help carrying for your children and yourself.
Depending on the procedures you choose to have done, you will have limited mobility after your procedures. The average recovery time for a mommy makeover is six weeks.
You’ll most likely be bedridden for the first week. After two to three weeks you’ll be able to drive and do light tasks. After five to six weeks you should be close to normal life again.
If you did your prep work and exercised beforehand, you will be better prepared for a faster and less complicated recovery process. Wait until your doctor approves before you begin working out again.
Be prepared for swelling. Do not panic if your breasts seem WAY BIGGER than what you expected post-surgery. They are just swollen and will reduce in size.
It’s important to be patient and wait for your body to finish healing. Your shape is going to change a lot as the swelling goes down and your body adjusts to what just happened.
It can take the full 6 six before you start to see your final shape. Breasts are most known for going through many changes before you see the final result.
Scarring
You will have scarring. Skilled surgeons will do everything they can to ensure you have minimal scarring. They will also try to hide the scars in places that will be hidden by clothing.
While the surgeon will do everything he can to reduce the look of the scars, a big factor is your body. If you scar easily, this will be no different.
Once you are done you can do things to reduce the scarring with lotions or vitamin E. The scars may also fade with time.
Start Your Mommy Makeover Journey
You’ve read the process and what the mommy makeover can do for you. If a makeover is something you are interested in, contact a plastic surgeon.
Schedule your consultation today to start your mommy makeover process.
