Top 4 cosmetic surgery procedures for moms

mommy

MAKE-OVER

You carried your children, watched your body morph into something miraculous and, at the end of it, came home with a precious new person in your life. While those fingers and toes and adorable nose are irresistible, you may not consider your own body after baby (or babies) anything to brag about. Find out the top 4 cosmetic surgery procedures for moms, including price and recovery times.

Sometimes no amount of dieting or exercising is enough to make your post-baby body spring back into the shape you once knew. For the moms who aren't willing to live with the unrecognizable changes their bellies, breasts, thighs and beyond have endured, there are dramatic solutions.

Today, plastic surgeons offer Mommy Makeover packages that can include several procedures at once. There's no need to be embarrassed about your altered shape. Yes, you got a beautiful baby by sacrificing your figure, but you aren't being a selfish mom by wanting to focus on yourself.

Why go under the knife?

Noelle C., mom to two busy boys (ages three and one), chose breast augmentation for herself after careful consideration with her doctor. "After two babies, I wanted to do something for myself and my husband was more than happy to pay for it." But she didn't want to balloon into something unnatural – Noelle C. was looking for an alteration in proportion to her body. She just wanted to "regain what I had lost as a result of breast feeding, age and gravity."
Find out if cosmetic surgery is the right choice for you by reviewing these four top procedures for moms.

Breast augmentation

If your breasts have lost their volume or are just sagging more than you would like, breast augmentation may be the right choice. After a one- to two-hour surgery you can walk away with either saline- or silicone-filled implants. It's a permanent procedure, but sometimes breast implants do need to be replaced years down the road.
Though the surgery may be relatively short, recovery isn't simple as Noelle C. can attest. "The hardest thing was not being able to lift anything over 10 pounds or raise your arms higher than 45 degrees for two weeks." And that meant no lifting her chubby, irresistible toddlers! But proper recovery is crucial so sacrifices had to be made. From pain pills to sponge baths, Noelle C. was a mommy who needed her own mother for a few days. She says, "I knew I could not stay at home and not be 'mommy' to my boys so I decided to leave the kids at home with their father and went to my mother's house so she could take care of me."
She advises, "The most important thing is to have someone who will be able to do all the things for you that you're unable to do, especially for the first three to four days following surgery." Hmm… sounds like heaven for any mom, minus the pain of course.
Side effects of breast augmentation can include temporary soreness, swelling, sensitivity and bruising. Most patients should be able to return to work in one to two weeks.

Breast lift

                                                                                          If the thought of implants make you uncomfortable, a breast lift may be the way to go to recapture that coveted youthful look and shape. Perky doesn't have to be a thing of the past – this procedure offers an alternative method to re-inflate sagging, droopy and poorly shaped breasts. Excess skin is removed, breast tissue is lifted and nipples and areolae are moved or even reduced in size.



Like augmentation, side effects can include temporary discomfort, swelling, bruising and also scars which will fade with time. It's a procedure that can take an hour and a half to over three hours to complete but the good news is that the results are long-lasting. You can't stop gravity completely, but you can put it on pause for a little while.
Most patients should be able to return to work in one to two weeks.