How do I tell the kids?

Many of you know that in my practice, I offer a Mommy Makeover. It’s no secret that childbirth can do damage to a women’s body. Genetics typically determine whether or not you’ll just “pop” back to normal or be stuck with a saggy belly forever. When women have a procedure like that done within a year or two after childbirth, you don’t have to explain the process to that child, right? But what about the older kids?

A question that arises often is, “How do I tell the kids?” or “How can I explain this to my kids without reinforcing the media’s pressures to look a certain way?” (We’ve talked about this before, asking the question, ‘When is someone too young to have plastic surgery?’)

I have a patient who has a pre-teen daughter and recently underwent a breast augmentation (the mother had the surgery, of course!). She struggled with talking to her daughter about it, especially since the media has really distorted what beauty truly is. This mother had always wanted to have the procedure done, but talking about it to her daughter was one thing that was holding her back. She just didn’t know what to say.

On the flip side of that, I have patients that are completely open about their plastic surgery and even bring their kids with them to office visits. I personally don’t think one mindset is better than the other. As parents, of course there’s concern that our children understand that beauty and self-esteem is more than just what you look like on the outside.

In the video below, there are a couple doctors talking about a book called “My Beautiful Mommy.” It was written by a plastic surgeon in Florida about talking to your kids about plastic surgery. I read it, and I think it’s great for parents to read for ideas on communicating with their children about this topic.

There really is no right or wrong way of going about this. I wouldn’t recommend lying to your kids. Deciding to undergo a procedure is about YOU. And how YOU feel on the inside. That is what needs to be taught to children. Hopefully, this post can help facilitate some conversation around your thoughts, whether you’ve had any procedures done or not. If you have had something, please feel free to share your experience.

Sound off now.

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Kendra Wilkinson – Post Baby

She was our favorite Girl Next Door, one of Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson. Most of you know that Kendra left the Playboy mansion and married Hank Baskett, wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles (and an ex-Lobo), last year. Despite the latest celebrity gossip with Wilkinson, we’re here to talk post-baby body. But just in case you were wondering, the latest news over the alleged split is not true. According to this interview and video, Baskett is standing beside his wife since the sex-tape controversy.

Anyway, Kendra has naturally had an amazing body. She’s pretty much known for it. But even women with the best of bodies’ pre-baby, can have that extra, post-belly “belly jelly” as my wife calls it, after child birth. Good diet and exercise is a given if you want to get rid of the extra baby weight, but that extra post-baby belly fat is a little tougher to get rid of. Most of this has to do with heredity, collagen and elasticity in the belly area.

In Wilkinson’s case and many cases where women have stretch marks, the best way to go about that ridding of them is with a skin excision, which is actually removing the skin and pulling the remaining skin down. For women who don’t have really noticeable stretch marks, liposuction can be very effective in shrinking down the post-baby belly. Check out this episode of the Humanity Behind the Vanity as we talk about these things in a bit more detail.

I recently wrote a post on the liposuction and the different methods of the procedure, so feel free to check it out if you want to know more. In the meantime, if you’re one of the millions of women that struggle with post-baby weight/belly, or are really unhappy with the way you look right now, give us a call. It’s worth a consultation. If we can help you get on the right track to reaching your goal and in turn, help you feel better about yourself everyday, I know we’ve done our job.

Have you experienced any post-baby weight issues? What are some the things that worked for you?

Also, if you’re in the area and want FREE tickets to the 107.5 Outlaw Country’s, Country Fest, swing by. We have them for you.

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The Mommy Makeover

In our last post, we talked about some of the internal effects childbirth can have on a body by introducing you to a procedure called vaginoplasty, or more commonly known as vaginal rejuvenation.  Today, I would like to talk about something I do called the mommy makeover. The mommy makeover consists of getting multiple procedures done in one shot, meaning only one recovery period, a noticeable physical change, and a better self esteem and outlook for many women.

Mommy Makeovers can involve any number of procedures, from simple lip augmentations to full body transformations.  The most common combination is a breast augmentation and a tummy tuck, but other procedures include buttock lifts, liposuction, and breast reduction.

Most women go back to work in two weeks.  The first few days are difficult, although you can’t just lie in bed.  By the end of the first week, most people feel good enough to be taken out shopping or to a movie, etc.  Between the first and second week, most people are going a little stir crazy and even go into work for a few hours.  With the addition of acupuncture and reflexology, we’ve seen a decrease in the recovery time.

One of the things my wife has always said is that your skin texture changes after you have a child. For too long, women have just “put up” with the changes without actually realizing there are things that can be done for the everyday mother. These procedures can have a huge effect on how she feels about herself on a daily basis.

Here is a short video Channel 4 did on the Mommy Makeover:

Being happy with how you look and who you are is one of the most important things in life. I cannot emphasize that enough.  If there is something that can physically be altered to change your emotional state, please give our office a call to at least have a conversation about it. Being a mother is hard enough without you being hard on yourself!

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