Tuesday, May 13, 2014

MOTHER’S DAY … 100 years old!


I am not up there, at the 100s, even though sometimes I do feel that way, but I still love Mother’s Day and know all of its history.  I got to appreciate this day more when I gave birth to my daughter and the name “mother” suddenly acquired a completely different and heightened meaning!  

This year, I had to spend it away from my daughter … the pleasures of a college education (!)… and it hurt.  After all, when U.S. President Woodrow Wilson officially set aside the second Sunday in May in 1914 for the holiday, it was meant “to celebrate the best mother you've ever known—your mother—as a son or a daughter", which basically means that you (as a son or daughter) would go home to spend time with your mother and thank her for all that she did.  Don’t get me wrong … I did get my “thank you mommy” from my daughter – who actually does not have to wait for Mother’s Day to tell me how much she loves me and appreciates what I’ve done … but … she did not “come home” … she couldn’t!  And I felt so awkward …

I did however had a good look at myself … twenty years after having earned the name “mother” and I could very clearly see why the marketing term “MOMMY MAKEOVER” was born.  It is really not a surgical term, as it involves multiple plastic surgery procedures, but the wanted outcome is one: the restoration and improvement of the bodies of mothers postpartum (or post-pregnancy). 

            The package includes procedures that refresh the body and allow us mothers to bring back the body we had before pregnancy and before we actually set ourselves as second-in-line (sometimes even third or fourth or fifth…) since dedicating our lives to nurturing our children.  It’s a way of saying “thank you” to ourselves, for a change.

            So looking at our bodies, we know we need to fix the sagging boobs that became enlarged and bloated during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and then kind-of emptied out and …went South!  A breast lift is really the answer to that, but since there was the “emptying out” as well, a combined breast augmentation brings back the youthful bust we had and allows us to rid ourselves of the “required” unwire bras and thick straps that hurt our shoulders.  A good way to see whether you actually need a breast lift, which reshapes and raises the sagged breasts, is to put a pencil under your breast and see if it stays there.  If it does … then a breast lift is your option.   If you have also lost a significant amount of volume from your breasts and have extra skin that needs “tailoring” then a breast implant can be inserted at the same time as the lift, resulting in both an increase in the volume and firmness.

            Ok, and the breasts are raised and moved back to the correct position (not mid belly anymore!) but now, we can actually see our tummy, which took the worst toll from the pregnancy … that’s where our treasure was growing, and realize that we have loose skin we have no control over.  We are determined to get rid of it, watch what we eat and hit the gym five times a week, doing abs over and over …and over.  Nonetheless, the skin is still there, reminding us of our gems, our pearls, our children … but making the good old flat-tummy times seem like centuries ago.  Here is where the tummy tuck comes in place.  Abdominoplasty, as it is more scientifically known, is the procedure that removes the excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen, tightens the muscle of the abdominal wall and reduces the appearance of a protruding abdomen, removing unsightly stretch marks at the same time!  Wow!  Nice one!  

            Since we are under the observant eye and expertise of our skilled and board certified plastic surgeon and under general anesthesia, we might as well go ahead and have some liposuction done, in any areas that could possibly need it. 

            … at the end of the day, the outcome is … “THANK YOU MY BEAUTIFUL MOMMY!  You look gorgeous! I wish that I look as good as you when I get to your age!”

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