70 days later.. (Pics)

 

It has been quite a while since my last post.  I think it has taken me so long because the Dr. appointments have ceased and it feels like life is getting back to normal.  I feel normal, or what I remember as normal.  I can do almost everything that I could before, I have even started playing softball again!!!!! (Still need to get used to these big boobs though!) 

There are a few things that I found as troubling, though, and that is finding bras!!!  Thus far I have only worn sports bras, as instructed from my Dr.  She said I needed to wear one for 6 weeks and have padding in them.  I am a 40DD and it was so difficult to find something that felt good.  My Dr. suggested it not be too tight.  From my understanding, sports bras are supposed to be a little tight to keep the girls in but I searched for even bigger bras!  After many department stores and seeing the cost, I flipped out.. I am NOT spending $50 on a sports bra because I need a large one!  I honestly found front zip up sports bras, with padding (also suggested by the Dr.) at Walmart.  Score!!!  Even trying on the expensive ones, they felt so uncomfortable.  I am not a petite person, I am big boned with broad shoulders and I was coming up short.

I think I could start wearing actual bras but it makes me nervous.  It sounds funny but its true.  I wanted to find a sexy bra so I went into Victoria's Secret and was so overwhelmed with it I just went to their lotion section instead. lol 

I have also started working out.  The restriction that my Dr. gave me is do not work out my pectoral muscles ...  no prob, didn't plan on it anyway.  You would be surprised, though, of how many exercises requires your chest muscles to constrict.  Especially ab exercises.  So I have been trying different types of exercises to find which one is going to work for me without working out my chest.  This too makes me nervous.  I am not sure if I am experiencing pain or if it is a weird feeling when those muscles tense but I try not to do it. 

My foobies feel real ... well, they feel like real fake ones.  Someone told me that they wouldn't feel the same because I didn't have any breast tissue, but I've done side by side comparisons and mine feel pretty normal!  AND they're not hard as rocks anymore!!!!!

I feel great!  I am surprised how quick this recovery is from the first surgery.  At this point, I have to get used to everything again.  I was so used to not doing certain things but now it is different.  I am still taking it easy, I am know the pain that I can experience if I don't and I do not want to feel that again!

My next step are my nipples!!!!  Sadly, I have to wait for those.  My skin in so thin, my Dr. doesn't think it is a good idea to get my nipple tattoos for 1 year from the last surgery.  It would be nice to be 100% complete, but I am still on cloud 9 that the surgeries are over and I feel quite normal!!! 

Time for pictures:

 

 

Healing (Pics)

It has been 2 weeks since my surgery.  The staples are still in; the top ones look a little bit red still but I think that is normal.  I am still having pain especially when my son forgets I am healing and jumps on or head butts me.  I don't know if I mentioned this previously but my foobies are a few degrees cooler than the rest of my body.  Left side cooler than the right; so weird! lol 

Even though I have pain, I think that I would have more pain if I wasn't numb where the staples are.  When I reach, even a little, I feel the pulling.  I don't push it because I don't want to tear something because I have a high threshold for pain and don't realize it.  Still no driving, tried but it hurts right away. 

I have been wearing sports bras with the front clasps I can wear a 40D but a 40DD is a bit more comfortable.  I went bra shopping yesterday and it was difficult!  I didn't try anything on, but finding something that I am looking for was hard; finding a front closure sports bra and because of the size.  (1st world problems, huh) 

Now some pics:

You can still see bruising.

 

 

  See the top two staples, a little red.  :(

Looks like the top and bottom ones are red here too. 

 

With this picture, I just noticed how bad the swelling still is.  My left side (right side on picture) is pretty bad .. compared to the other one. 

 

Graphic Pics - Picture timeline

I've wanted to do a picture timeline for a while but I wanted to wait until my implant surgery to do so.  Not quite sure if these are all the front pictures from my blog but close enough. :)  I can't believe that this was just 9 months ago!  This has been quite a journey!  

 

 

 



 

You can see below the start of my infection.  It is very red and swollen above my left fooby (right side of the picture).

This is after I received my picc line and I needed to be stripped back up due to leakage. 

I don't know why this is upside down but I can't seem to fix it so, this will have to do for now! lol

 

Implant Surgery!

I have been waiting to update my blog with inflation pics before I write about my switch out surgery!  Last Friday the 13th (I met my husband on a Friday the 13th, so it is a lucky day for me/us!) I had my last surgery; removal of my expanders and received my silicon implants. 

Initially I was worried about surgery being so late in the day, 3:30 pm.  I know my Dr was having a lot of surgeries that day before she was going back to her family for Christmas; I didn't want her to be tired.  I know that is a silly though since she is a professional but when you have a lot of waiting time on your hands, stuff like that just pops up!  I was at the hospital at 1:30 for my 3:30 surgery.  I ended up being my Drs last surgery at 6:30p ... 3 HOURS late.  It was a bit annoying but the Dr said that she didn't want to be pressed for time with my surgery so  she decided to do it last.  By the time I was in O.R. holding, I didn't care, I was ready. 

The day before, I was at the hospital for my pre-op.  This includes blood and urine tests and an EKG.  One thing that was new this time is that I got a pretty orange bracelet that I needed to wear until after surgery.  The Dr. ordered blood typing (I think that is what they called it), in case I needed a blood transfusion.  I got nervous because I didn't have that before.  I was thinking - did the Dr. think I was going to lose a lot of blood!?  It was just for a precaution and the nurse said that it wasn't common.  I let it go after that otherwise I would have been a wreck. 

After surgery I felt immediate relief since my expanders were out.  It was great!  I had more movement that I did with the first surgery too.  The most pain that I experienced, initially, were my muscles.  All of my muscles were so sore, even my legs and my abs and neck.  It was really easy to over do it, which of coarse I did. 

My foobs definitely feel different, I was brave enough to poke them. lol they're squishy, like real breasts!!!  I do have bruising and they're cold to the touch.  Its honestly weird since I have had rock hard foobs for a long time, they didn't move.  My new foobs move, jiggle, look and feel like real breasts.  They don't appear to be as big as my expanders, but I think that is because the expanders stuck straight out.  I will post a picture soon to compare.  I also think that the right one is STILL smaller than the left but I am not going to focus on that until I am fully healed.  I am sure it is just in my head lol.

I will be posting soon!

My Last Inflation (Pics)

So here is my last inflation, my overfill.  I don't think my body would have been able to handle more if I wanted to go bigger! I was FULL!

I was inflated 50cc's on the left and another 100 on the right.  This brings the grand total to 950 on my left foob and 1150 on my right foob!  I'm second guessing that number because that seems a lot but its right.  The only thing that I could think, as to the reason my right side was smaller, is that there is more air in my left expander.  Or there could have just been a small leak in my right lol.  You can still see with the pictures that my right side is still a bit smaller.  Not sure if you can notice with the pictures, though, each foob is shaped a little different.  My right sticks more out and narrow while my left side has more width.  This is normal! 

So here they are!  The last of my expanders!!!  I am happy to see them go, they have served there purpose to which I am grateful but .. good riddance!  haha

Inflation pics (1050/900)

 Again, I'm playing catch up on my blog .. he is my mid - November inflation! I received 100ccs on right side making the total as 1050! I was only injected 50ccs again equaling 900 left side. It's crazy how much more saline is on the on my right rather than the left. I think my left foobie has more air than the other, but just a guess! 

I just had my switch out surgery on Friday and now, Sunday early morning, I'm updating. Lol I couldn't sleep so blogging.