Hey hi! SO, remember our chat last week? We left off right before the surgery, so now let's get into the nitty-gritty of the actual process & recovery.  
I don't actually remember too much about the day of, at least before. I can't even tell you what time the surgery was scheduled for, but I do remember it was very early morning. One memory that sticks out to me- and one that I use as an anecdote on my anxiety- is when I was in the pre-op room getting hooked up to everything. By that point my whole body was on edge & when I got hooked up to the heart monitor it was preeetty obvious. One of the nurses even looked at me, with her concerned nurse's face on, and said, "Sweetie, do you have a heart condition??" Nope, just anxiety that makes my heart beat 5000x past the normal range, no big. 
Anyway, after that is when things start to get fuzzy. They wheeled me into the OR, put the anesthesia mask on, & the next thing I know I'm in outpatient recovery. Apparently I'm a hit on anesthesia so I can only imagine the show I was giving the nurses LOL. They gave me a mirror to look at my chest and it was kind of a surreal moment.
After awhile they let my parents come into the room & had me sit in a chair, & that's when I think I actually realized "oh hey, I'm in pain." And y'all, there was pain. It was like an elephant sitting on my chest? But once they started me on pain meds all was good. In fact, it was so good that I'm pretty sure I slept the whole way home.......
The total recovery time was about four-ish weeks, right on schedule with Christmas break. The first few days were really rough. The recliner was my temporary home & if I wasn't asleep from the meds, I was in pain. I think the pain was pretty much gone within two weeks, (don't worry, each day was better than the last) I still just had to be careful about what I did. When I was cleared to wear a "real" bra I was sooooo happy about it. (VS was too, since they got all my money that day)
I'm still happy about it. By now there is only tiny scars, but I don't mind them anyway. It's a small price to pay for such a good thing. Before I actually had plastic surgery, my views on it were a little skewed. Now, not so much. Of course I believe in embracing your flaws & loving yourself, but if you are really unhappy & want to change something, you do you. That's not to say you should get procedure-happy a-la Heidi Montag, but maybe there's a happy medium? I say all this to say that I do not regret my surgery, one bit. I no longer cry in the dressing room because my chest won't cooperate with anything. I no longer feel like my proportions are out of place. I can't say the surgery took all of my confidence issues away, but it has helped tremendously. 
Luckily everyone in my life was super supportive, but unfortunately that's not always the case, as the "it's like slapping God in the face" (why do people think saying that is cool anyway? ANYWAY) & comments of the like seem to be popular. BUT guess what. It's your body. If you're ever thinking about this surgery, do it. For yourself, your health, and your happiness. Those that matter will support you, trust me. The topic of plastics (hey, Grey's) is no longer taboo by any means, but for some reason I feel like breast reductions still are. Wonder why. #feminism am I right? Seriously though, if anyone ever has questions on this topic, don't be afraid to email, snapchat, call me beep me.... Lemme know if these posts have helped you!  xo,

Breast Reduction 101 (Part One)

*READ PART TWO HERE

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile, but it's kinda gnarly. It's not a topic I'm ashamed of or scared to talk about by any means, I've just been putting it off, mainly because of the possibility of it becoming a novel if I don't split it up into two parts, so that's what I'll do. 

Part one (this one, if you didn't guess) is more of a chat on my decision to get a breast reduction (wait, this wasn't some weird April fools thing? you ask) & I think part two will detail more of the actual process, recovery, and afterthoughts.

SO. This topic is not for the faint of heart, or for the guys. (are there even any of you out there?) SORRY. Unless a guy stumbles upon this who wants to read about it, which is totally fine. Just don't be weird about it, yeah? 

PSA over. 

Remember how last summer the topic of breast reductions was sort of thrust into the spotlight when Ariel Winter got vocal about hers? My little heart swelled at her being so open and that's when I knew I needed to share my own story at some point. WDAC is all about sharing advice, stories, & inspiration, after all. No BS. So. I've had plastic surgery. That still feels weird to say sometimes, ha.

Anway, let's start from the beginning shall we?

I guess you could say I was an early bloomer. Like, kinda ridiculously so. I skipped right over the training bras and into buying shirts two sizes too big just so they would fit comfortably over my chest. By the time I was fifteen I was CONSTANTLY having to layer because if a top was any lower cut than a crew neck, forget it. I felt kind of ashamed by my chest size? Looking back I truly think that's where some self esteem issues stemmed from. It was a constant inner (and outer) battle, but I tried to learn how to live with it. I became accustomed to getting looks from gross middle age men and searching through tears for clothes that would work with me.

But it was getting old fast, because it wasn't just a self esteem issue; it was a physical one.

I've been 4'10" (& a half LOL) since maybe eighth grade. Like I said, I started early, so I stopped growing kinda early too. (even though my chest didn't) Most of me is smaller proportioned..... and then there was my chest. It made everything look so... weird. I honestly don't think my body handled having these things very well. It couldn't. The more into my teenage years I got, the more my back ached. I have minor scoliosis & there's no way the extra weight helped any. My shoulders were tense constantly (even more so than from my anxiety) and my body just felt off. I felt uncomfortable all the time. 

{Summer 2011. Apparently that was the summer of taking photos in hats
 in the middle of Charming Charlie & for naked eyebrows.}

I often vocalized my frustrations to my mom because I knew she understood; she had had a reduction as a teen, and she even suggested that I kept an open mind about one for myself in the future. Part of me wanted to just deal with it like I had been, but I couldn't see myself going through the rest of my life like that. So, after A LOT of thinking/praying/researching, by the summer I turned eighteen I had decided I wanted to do it.

I honestly don't remember a whole lot about the "before" process of researching for a surgeon & all that. (Maybe I blocked it out LOL) I just remember one day my mom taking me downtown to Dr. Schuster (definitely recommend) for a consultation & I'm pretty sure I was terrified, but once we actually got in the room and started talking I felt more at ease. Looking at some before & after photos of previous patients solidified it for me; he knew what he was doing. The only hurdle was waiting to see if insurance was going to cover it (because most insurances don't cover plastic surgery unless it's considered "medical"- ugh) but Dr. S. was confident we wouldn't have any problems. 

He was right- a couple weeks later we got confirmation that it would be covered & I was set. We scheduled the surgery for over Christmas break (Dec. 17, 2012 to be exact) since I was in my freshman year at college & could be home for a whole month of recovery.

By this point the anxiety was eating me away. On the one hand I was SO READY (the only way I can describe the feeling is like when you're ready to chop your hair & you JUST CAN'T WAIT) but the other hand...... I was convinced I wouldn't make it off the operating table. Up until that point, the biggest procedure I'd had was an endoscopy & I even freaked out for that! It was a waiting game and I was losing. 

WHEW okay I think this is where I'm gonna stop it for part two.... because we all love cliffhangers. It should be up at some point next week! In the meantime, have any of y'all had a BR or other plastic surgery? I wanna know your take.

xo,