Big Changes

I was recently approved for a surgery 17 years in the making. I come from a long line of large-chested women and have had huge boobs for as long as I can remember. I was actually approved for a reduction in college but chickened out of the surgery at the last second. The ability to breastfeed my future children was something that was important to me and I didn't want to chance the possibility that I may not be able to feed when I eventually had children.

Fast forward to now- I am incredibly proud and grateful that I successfully breastfed the boys for a whole year. But I was ready to say goodbye to my large milk machines. They served their purpose and I was more than ready to rid myself of the constant back, shoulder, and neck pain. I had a consult with a plastic surgeon in early October and was told it would take about 4-6 weeks to get a ruling from our insurance company. With any luck, I would be approved and could have the surgery before the end of the year.

To my surprise I got a call last Tuesday from my surgeon's scheduler- she shared the good news that the surgery had been approved AND that Dr. Higdon had an opening in his schedule that coming Monday. If I didn't sign up for that date, I'd have to wait until next year for the surgery. So with very, very little time to decide, Will and I opted to go for it. I wanted to rip the bandaid off- there was no way I could have calmly postponed the surgery for a couple more months. And though the timing wasn't optimal, it never would be so we decided to go for it.

So Monday this week was the big day. Cari took the day off work and Will's dad came over to help watch the boys so Will could be with me at Vanderbilt for the surgery. The surgery went extremely well, and I was sent home that evening. I'm off work for 2 weeks recovering, and feel pretty ok for the time being. I had to have drains put in, and those are the most painful part of the recovery right now.

Will has been pulling quadruple duty since Monday, caring for the boys and me. I'm not allowed to lift anything for the next 2 weeks, and for the 4 weeks after that I can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. This is quite an inconvenience when there are triplet toddlers in the house! Will is stuck doing literally everything around the house right now, from diapers to dishes, laundry to bath time, meal preps to gauze changes. He isn't the most cheerful every day (not that I can blame him!), but he's taken on every job with zero complaints. He really is our superhero these days! The boys are doing ok with the transition, too. They don't understand that I can't pick them up and it breaks my heart when they reach for me and I can't swoop them up. But hopefully my drains will come out next week and at that point I can hold them in my lap while I'm sitting. I miss my babies terribly!

So that's the big change- this time its mama related! I'm recovering nicely and really, really looking forward to getting the drains out so I will be in less pain. But mostly so I can shower. I'm so incredibly gross right now! T-minus 4 days til I get to take the best feeling shower of my life!

Post-anesthesia/hydrocodone selfie...the only picture I have to document the day! I like the cross- made me feel like I was taken care of during surgery.