It's been 6 weeks since surgery and I'm feeling great!  The doctor said that I'm officially a 'graduate' and I don't have to come back for another follow up for 4 1/2 months.  This is when he takes the 'after' pictures.  I stopped wearing the binder 4 days ago and I feel like I have some increased swelling, but that is supposed to take at least another 4 months to resolve itself.  So I have to continue to be patient, but the worst is over.  The biggest inconvenience is the numbness in my belly area.  I'm able to get into my jeans, but still not my khaki's, but the jeans are very uncomfortable.  I really think this is due to the numbness.  Believe it or not, it amplifies the rougher fabrics/zippers/buttons.  This is very uncomfortable -- so I think the solution is to just start wearing some of these that fit and just push through.  This is probably the only way to desensitize the area.  My belly button is swollen and I've been instructed to 'massage' it by pressing the fluid out of it several times a day.  I continue to have a lot of pulling and tingling all over the belly area -- I respond by rubbing it..... I'll be glad when this stops. (my husband asked me how many times I 'pet' my new belly!  ha ha!  I told him that we spent $6000 on this new 'pet' so I plan to pet it as often as I want!  :)

My activity level has improved.  I walked a 5K yesterday!  (54 minutes)  I plan to attempt running on the treadmill this week (easing into it)  and then in about 2 weeks I plan to start swimming laps at the local rec center.  However, I'm still not up to par......

Another annoying feature of this new belly is at times I will have an itch and where I feel the itch, it's numb.  So I can't scratch it or find it to scratch it.  Weird huh?  Sometimes I'll find relief by scratching in an area that I can feel..... this is really impossible to describe.  But it's strange and the doc said that this may take years to resolve itself.... argh.... the price we pay huh? 

I know I need to post some new pics..... I'll work on that..... thanks for following!  I hope this helps someone who is considering the surgery.... after going through this I would do it all over again......

Tomorrow it will be 4 weeks since my surgery.  Life slowly but surely gets easier although I think I've got a way to go.  I'm still pretty swollen, but that has improved!  I can pull my regular jeans up, I just can't button them yet..... still about 3 inches apart!  About 5 days ago, it felt like there was a major turn around for the better. 

Currently, my tummy has a mind of it's own. At times I can stand straight up and I almost feel normal again.  But then, it will start 'pulling' and almost feels like it's contracting.  I'll be glad when this stops.  

After my first week of work, I was exhausted.  I slept 11 hours Friday night!  I felt like crap on Saturday, but then renewed on Sunday.  This week has been much better.  The biggest lesson learned is: don't start wearing spanx too soon.  It pulled a small area of my incision apart.  So I'm just wearing my binder now and things are healing nicely.  That's all for now.  I really can't think of anything else worth mentioning!  Any questions?