funny how a little bit of weight can weigh so much...

I've gained 15lbs and I'm 22 weeks pregnant. according to my midwives I am well within the range of normal and they are very happy. But just 15lbs and my body isn't happy. Aches and pains that had gone away with weigh loss are back... my feet hurt again and my knees sound crunchy when I go up the stairs. It really surprised me that this relatively small weight gain feels like such a set back for my body. I've taken up swimming 3 nights a week. It works every muscle in my body, no impact and I can do it after my toddler goes to bed. Its a nice relaxing treat for myself. I can't wait til I can enjoy a nice hot sauna after a swim again.... ahhhhh.

I'm still here! And still preggers!

Hey there,
I'm so sorry. I became one of those people that starts a blog and then goes forever without a post... The truth is, there was nothing really to report... My pregnancy so far has been well, normal! That is until a couple weeks ago. I'm 22 weeks now and I would say at 20 weeks my band started acting, well, unpredictable. Which resulted in the odd mild stuck, nothing too serious but I had never had a stuck episode EVER so this weird heavy feeling I got in my chest after swallowing was very strange. At first I just ignored it, figured it was a one off, but then it was happening more often, to the point that it was pretty much every morning, unless I stuck to shakes. So I called my surgeon and the nurses suggested I come in for defill. They suggested since I was having some issues to have all the fluid removed from my band until after the baby comes. So, that's what we did. Kinda scary. What happens now? Am I going to gain a huge amount of weight over the next 4 months?? So far I don't feel different when I eat at all... I had a stuck episode and I'm on full fluids for a couple days til the swelling goes down. So soup and shakes for the next day or 2. Has anyone ever had all the fluid removed from their band? I'm going to try my best to stick to my small portions... only time will tell I guess...

up 2 pounds! now at 184

So after a week on a cruise ship I have had my first weight gain since surgery (ma4 4th/11)... what a strange feeling to gain weight and be 'ok' with it. That's one of the question marks I have with this pregnancy... how much weight will I gain? How much show I gain? I have a non banded friend that only gained 10lbs in her pregnancy and then had a 9.2lbs baby, She was 'maybe' 20lbs overweight when she conceived... I wonder what the future hold on the scale for me...

I'm a newbie and I need help!

I've tried a couple times to add a ticker to my blog but it isn't working. I know how to make the ticker <a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/1;20766;87/st/20120921/k/b5c9/preg.png"></a>
but I don't know how to add it to my page... the gadget button won't accept my url... any ideas?

Vitamins and Nutrition

So the one thing that I am worried about with this pregnancy is making sure I get enough nutrients into my body to have a healthy baby. I'm taking my prenatal vitamins but I feel like maybe I should be taking extra vitamins too. I think I'll check with my doc... Does anyone else have any experience with vitamins and pregnancy with Lap Band?

I was gone but now I'm back!

Sorry about the radio silence last week!! I was on a Disney Cruise with Hubby and Toddler. It was GREAT! Just the relaxing escape from the cold that we needed. Before we left everyone had me freaked out that I was going to have major sea sickness due to being pregnant, I was totally fine! What a great way to have a family vacation and still get a break. I highly recommend it!!

Things I'm looking forward to with this pregnancy

I have an awesome toddler that keeps me super busy. He is one of the reasons I decided to have my lap band surgery. I wanted to live longer for him, do more with him, and be active with him in every possible way. I was so lucky to not only get pregnant with him but also have an 'uneventful' pregnancy. There were however some weight related experiences that I happy I wont have to face again.
1. I can't wait to have a cute 'bump'. I barely took any prego pics last time because I didn't feel like I was a 'beautiful pregnant woman'. This time I'm looking forward to having a beautiful bump to show off.
2. Plus size maternity pants might as well be clown pants. They look awful and never stay up. My maternity wear from last time was a size 22 so I'm going to have to buy some size 12 stuff soon...
3. Just moving in general. My heaviest weight was when I was pregnant and that was 270lbs!!! I can't imagine I could even move carrying that much weight! I don't know what I will gain with this pregnancy but I know it will be much easy to get up from a chair, roll over in bed, out of a car, with so much less weight on my 5.3 frame.
4. not being judged! I hated going for ultrasounds and getting check ups with my midwife when they had to look at my belly and even worse... my lower abdomen... it was very uncomfortable.
5. being a low risk pregnancy because I'm a healthier BMI

I know there are more things but those are what I can think of for now...

Has anyone been pregnant while overweight and then at your goal weight? If so I would love to hear your experience!

Thanks!

Thanks for all the kind words and well wishes from my new followers! Lap Band Gal has some good friends :) If you ever have any questions along the way, feel free to ask! nothing is off limits!
Thanks for coming on this journey :)
mk

1st ultrasound!

I had my first ultrasound today... I wasn't really sure how far along I was so my Doc sent me for a dating ultrasound. My guess was pretty accurate, 8 weeks, 5 days. The last time I was pregnant I was 55 lbs heavier. I remember hating ultrasounds because they hurt! The sonographer would have to press so hard on my belly so she could see past the think layer of fat. Not this time! She didn't press hard at all and is was a very comfortable experience. I also felt way less self conscious about showing a stranger my belly.
So, 8.5 weeks... that means this jelly bean will be making a debut around Sept 21st. YAY :)

Hungry ALL the time

One thing I have definitely noticed that is new is that my previous 3 hour before hunger kick in has been reduced to maybe 2hrs... and then I'm STARVING! I usually don't wake up hungry but now I do... and sometimes when I go to bed EARLY (cause in the first trimester I am exhausted!) I'll sometimes wake up needing a midnight snack... which is usually goat yogurt or cereal. This is new for me! I'm totally guilty of the off snack between meals but this hunger and urgency to eat is something else! Ok, tummy is rumbling (for real!) off for my cup of yogurt to get me through the night...

Morning sickness... really? Its anytime of day 'sickness'!

The other day my hubby and I were driving on the highway on our way to a dinner out. I was reading my BlackBerry (which hasn't been a problem in the past!) and suddenly I had to be sick... luckily there was an empty coffee cup beside me and it saved the day... sorry for the detail but a few "wretches" and it was over. my throat was soar after and I didn't have much to throw up as I hadn't eaten in awhile... This was definitely pregnancy nausea as I have NEVER had this happen before... oh Nausea... the joys of pregnancy...
oh and DH got all freaked out by it and we ended up skipping the restaurant... probably for the best... I didn't feel like eating after that...

PB or Slime? first time for me!

I've noticed since becoming pregnant my band seems have a bit more of a 'personality'. It is just a bit more random on how things go down when I eat them. The other day while eating lunch with my toddler (Quinoa and veggies with some raw cauliflower with dip)... I noticed a feeling I hadn't felt before, it was like a "soft" stuck... I think I had been eating too fast and putting too much in my mouth as a was hungry and distracted by my toddler and getting him to eat hit lunch too... then suddenly, the FIRST time since I've been banded... I had to 'be sick'... I was super scared at was this experience was going to be like and I had no idea what to expect. It was kind of non eventful, just these mini spit ups of slim, not violent at all, not painful, it was very odd. And after I felt fine. I did a "note to self, this isn't good, pay more attention check" and moved on... the rest of the day I was pretty much back to normal. So was it a few PB's or a slime? I'm not sure.

I'm pregnant! So now what??

So the first thing I did when I found out I was preggers was called the nurses at the Surgical Weightloss Center where I was banded. "I'm pregnant, so now what??" I had a ton of questions, do I have to get an unfill, can I still use a midwife like I did last time? What happens If I need a c section... and how do I make I eat enough to nourish this growing baby... Here were the answers I received.
1. you can continue to get fills and unfills during pregnancy as you feel you need. In later pregnancy you may find you need an unfill as everything is pushing up and acid reflux can come into play even with non banded women. if you have severe vomiting due to morning sickness you may need to have an unfill to prevent slipping
2. Yes you can still be under the care of a midwife, as long as you and the baby are growing at a healthy pace there is nothing to worry about
3. make sure you take your prenatal vitamins!!
4. A C-section is no problem with the labband, obviously make sure your surgeon is aware of your medical history and lap band
5. other than that, Its business as usual!

I'll keep you posted with all my experiences as I travel along this banded pregnancy :)

mk