I experienced the same as you with the exact same incision area. I did exactly as told, remove the first bandage the day after I came home from the hospital, and then remove the 'steri strips' from all the incisions a week after that. At first I used a regular band-aid (not the one with antibiotic in the center pad) to cover the center incision because it was slightly leaking and it kept in that same condition for two weeks, off and on. I decided to keep the band-aid off and use a cotton towel to cover my stomach area underneath my shirt so that my incisions would be able to 'breathe' without any covering. They healed fine after that. Hope this helps somewhat
