CrisB83

Hey everybody! It's been a long, long time since I have posted anything, but I wanted to just put an update out there. I was sleeved Dec. 20, 2011, and have lost 54 pounds so far. The doc gave me the green light for getting pregnant a couple weeks ago, and I am doing my first cycle of Clomid. I am so excited! We go to count eggs in 2 days! I have been wanting this for so long now, and I can't believe it's finally happening. DH and I have been wanting a child for over 4 years now. We didn't find out that I had an issue until 2 years ago, and I was diagnosed with PCOS. I am so thrilled to finally be at this point, and hope so much that we can get pregnant right away!

Yes, morning sickness is the pits! In the first 16 weeks of my pregnancy I lost 25 pounds. I had to have a 24 hour fluid IV at one point because I just couldnt keep enough fluids coming in and staying down. I also went through trauma at 12 weeks when my mother passed away unexpectedly. Even with all of that going on, baby has been growing like a little champ. I have been able to feel him move ahead of schedule- I felt him for the first time at 15 weeks, and hubs felt him from the outside at 18 weeks. Baby is the picture of health! You all can definitely get through this, and have pregnancies and babies that are completely normal, vibrant, and thriving!

Oh, I also meant to say, something that was very comforting and reassuring to me while I was really struggling with morning sickness- my OB, my normal doctor, and one of our friends who is a very good internist all said- the baby is going to take what it needs. It gets first dibs on the nutrition you take in and have stored up in your body. The extra vitamins are really for you, so that you don't become deficient or anemic or start losing hair, etc. Baby will get what it needs and be just fine!

I got pregnant at 8 months out, and I am 20 weeks along now. Everything is going to be just fine! The nutrition skills you learn in dealing with recovery from the surgery work great for pregnancy too (though with pregnancy you need a few more carbs, since an all-protein diet is harmful to the baby). Lots of small meals with a good amount of protein will help you with morning sickness if that becomes an issue. And if you start losing weight too quickly, "sliders" are your friends. Popcorn and Fritos (just here and there) have helped me keep from losing weight too quickly, in addition to my prenatal vitamins and otherwise healthy diet. Good luck, God bless, and keep us posted on how it's going!

Congratulations! I am also one of those who got the surgery for fertility reasons. IMO, babies are complete, absolute blessings- under any circumstance. Yes, the timing might not be completely ideal, but you will get through it, and it will be SO worth it! I got pregnant at 8 months out, and have had a *really* hard time with morning sickness. I struggle to get in enough calories, but once I hit 16 weeks I have managed a lot better. Even with all that, though, we had our 19 week ultrasound almost a week ago and baby is perfectly on target. If you just do what your doctor/OB tells you, everything is most likely going to be just fine!

Oh yeah, I meant to add that we will be 20 weeks tomorrow! Halfway there!

So, we found out that our little one is a Boy! Things have been going really well with him, too. He's a very active baby, and pretty strong. He's exactly on target for growth and development (at least from what they can tell on the ultrasounds). He kicks like a little maniac at around 1:30 am every night. His ears are working great- last night we went to the movies and every time there was a loud noise on the soundtrack, baby started jumping around and kicking. food and I still don't get along so well. I'm still taking Zofran once or twice a day. But, at least I have gained 3 pounds in the last 6 weeks. That puts me at an overall -22 lbs. since getting pregnant. Before I got pregnant I had plateaued for about 3 months, so I didn't think I would have any difficulty with eating when I got pregnant- WRONG! But everything seems to be decently settling out, and my goal now is to just maintain or even gain around 5 or so more pounds for the rest of the pregnancy.

I had another doctor appointment today- everything is looking great! I'm at 16 weeks, 3 days. The heart rate was 152... Are y'all thinking what I'm thinking? We get to find out the gender for sure on the 21st! I am so, so excited I have been feeling the baby move for a few days now. Today it was very, very active. It felt like someone was slowly stirring brownie batter inside my tummy!

THANK YOU, tjmom!!! It seems like anyone else that I have tried to talk to about this is just like, "Well, she was just talking about what was on her mind... Try not to take it personally." It is so frustrating that no one seems to really get how upsetting this was to me. I feel like you get it, and that helps a lot! Tomorrow I think I am going to just spend the day with my sweet husband and not try to do anything un-fun. I have spent the week at my Dad's helping him sift through my mother's hoard (this is not an exaggeration... Think Hoarders), and I just need a day off. Going through the trash hasn't really been all that bad- actually kind of liberating to finally get to throw some of it away. But it has been exhausting and overwhelming.

Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you about the update, Trumpet Tinklers! A lot has been going on, and much of it not good. My wonderful mother passed away unexpectedly in her sleep during the early hours of the 31st. I am heartbroken, and my family is just overwhelmed with grief. She was truly special- not perfect by any stretch, but lovely and caring. She had been so excited about this baby. She came with me 2 weeks ago (today) for my 10-week ultrasound, and told everyone she came across how happy she was for her 7th grandchild to be on its way (embarrassing me to death at the time, lol). At that appointment, they diagnosed me with hyperemesis gravidarum (very mild) and sent nurses to my house to set up an overnight fluid IV. She came over to be with me again that next day, just in case I needed anything while tethered to the IV pole. So, last week I spent all day Wednesday and Thursday with family making arrangements for the funeral and getting started on cleaning up her stuff. She was a hoarder, big time. But at least her hoard was basically clean. She didn't keep rotten food or anything weird like that. Just newspapers, magazines, clothing, etc. It's a lot of work, and my four siblings and I have been taking it one step at a time. I am so, so glad I am not an only child. I haven't felt like eating hardly anything since it happened. I've lost 6 pounds in the last week. When I found out I was pregnant, I was right around 230 (still a far way from goal, but much better than where I started...). Two weeks ago I was at 220, and today I weighed in at 214. I am pretty okay with losing weight still, but I just wish it was coming off a little slower. Eating has been a real challenge, though, as I was saying. I have been dedicated about drinking lemon water and juice so I don't get dehydrated again, but eating is a whole other matter. I can usually only get down about 3 bites at each meal, and then I am done. The idea of eating anymore makes me feel grossed out and sick, and I start getting the pukey feelings. So, I just stop with my three bites in the interest of at least keeping them down. One more bite is not worth throwing all of it back up. On top of the grief, my in-laws came into town for the funeral. The relationship there is not good, and it's complicated. It's based on nothing more than the fact that we do not go to a church within their denomination. Because of that, they treat us very coldly, refuse to visit us, and send flaming letters of condemnation once or twice a year. Add to this the fact that less than two weeks my husband's brother and his wife split up and are getting a divorce. All of this is to set the scene: The day after my mother died, my siblings and I gathered at my sister's house to discuss the order and content of the funeral service. None of us were dealing well. There were lots of tears. And at that point I was pretty much a zombie- completely shell-shocked, and trying to stay calm because I was terrified of the stress causing a miscarriage. The in-laws came over as well "to be supportive", and my mother-in-law proceeded to find a moment to corner me and grill me for 30 minutes over what I knew about the situation with my brother-in-law and his wife. (The wife and I are good friends, and I do know a lot about what's going on that I am not at liberty to share with the MIL- more stress). By the end of the conversation, I was shaking and shivering, a stress reaction, and I could. not. stop. I started freaking out even more because I felt my abdomen get tight and start aching, and my back started hurting. I didn't stop shaking off and on for the rest of the night. The good things, though, that have been happening: lots of time with my siblings, and their families. I'm the youngest. I love my family so much, and we generally have a great time together. We have spent a lot of time looking at old pictures, watching movies, eating, and laughing. Some crying, but not too bad. Also, I went to the doctor today and the baby is looking good. My mom was going to come again, but my oldest sister came with me instead, and we had a good day together. SO, lots of ups and downs, but baby is doing great, and I am hanging in there. Sorry for such a long post- I really should update more often so stuff doesn't build up so much, lol.

Wow, that's EXPENSIVE! I just figured we would just use the crate of generic diapers they sell at Sam's...

Oh wow, now I'm curious! What's the difference between Huggies and other brands?

Things are still going pretty well- I've had a couple moments the last couple days where I have doubted that I'm really truly pregnant. Then my anti-nausea med wears off and my doubts fade away... Honestly though I've really struggled with morning sickness. It's usually the worst at night before bedtime, but is ever-present to some degree. The Zofran really only just keeps me from throwing up. I still have the nausea, stomach aches, and slight vertigo feeling that usually come just before. Our next ultrasound is the 22nd. We'll be at just under 10 weeks then, and get a good look at our little bean! Something interesting about being pregnant- it's much harder to think of names. I have always liked thinking about names, and thought I would just go deliriously crazy thinking of names, making lists, etc. Now that I am finally pregnant, it's hard to come up with anything that sounds particularly exciting or appealing! Also, everything that I thought I knew about parenting, all those wonderful theories and anecdotes from watching others' mistakes, has flown right out the window. I feel like I know nothing, and am completely unprepared....

Hi Aussie! I also had the sleeve for the primary reason of having children. Healthiness was also important (I suppose... lol) but the weight was keeping me from my lifelong dream of having children. My dr. told me 12-18 months would be the best, however the nutritionist I met with at his office told me unofficially that 6 months would probably be long enough, esp. if you want a baby really, really bad. I think one of the biggest concerns and reasons to wait longer is the prospective mother's emotional health. After having the surgery, there are unending issues with eating for several months, even in the best of cases (just having to be aware of what and how much you're eating, what will possibly make you feel a little queasy if you eat it, etc.) Then, for many, many women, getting pregnant causes more concerns and obstacles eating-wise (morning sickness, cravings, aversions, etc). If the mother has had a difficult recovery process and then has never-ending morning sickness shortly after *finally* starting to feel better, it can be upsetting or depressing. So, I think it's one of those things where the doctor is trying to see the various scenarios that might pan out. A situation where the woman has a very taxing recovery process from the surgery, then gets pregnant accidentally 4 months out would be of high concern. A situation where the woman bounces right back from surgery and gets pregnant with a desperately wanted child 6 months after surgery might not be as problematic. I think, nutritionally speaking, 6 months is probably plenty of time to recover. There is nothing wrong with having Soups and shakes while pregnant to help get calories/nutrition. Emotional health is much more tricky- I have wanted a child my whole life, and it is still hard for me to cope with the added stress of feeling constantly queasy after struggling with eating a few bites without pain just a short time ago. Sometimes my feelings are like, "When will I ever be able to just eat in peace?!?" lol

Thanks, Jas. As far as I can tell, everything seems to be going pretty well. I have been verrrrrry morning sick this last week. I've only actually thrown up one time, though, which is great because I hate doing so. Orange juice and grape juice have both been very kind to me. It seems like sipping on juice helps settle my stomach. I have some Zofran left over from a few months ago (from my sleeve surgery) and occasionally when I feel almost too nauseous to live I'll take one. My next appointment with my dr is on 10/22- the baby should be at 9 1/2 weeks by then, so hopefully we'll get a good look at him/her! I've been doing my best to think positively and not stress too much- the last couple of days have been tender for me because I'm now at the same point for this pregnancy when I learned in the last pregnancy that I was miscarrying. Though, in the last pregnancy the baby never got big enough to see the heartbeat, and we saw this one's little heart beating exactly a week ago. That was a great moment Today is my 29th birthday. I haven't felt too sick so far today, so things are going well.

I am 9 months out and I still have issues with getting light-headed sometimes. Some days are worse than others. Exercising makes a world of difference. If I go on at least 2 10-minute walks a day I feel much better and my body handles food better too.

I was appalled too. She's a lady that goes to our church, and a little spacey. I stayed away from church for an extra two weeks just so I wouldn't have to deal with her. I think she meant well, but I don't think I would have been able to keep myself from strangling her.

Thanks tjmom! I talked to my doc today. I called him because I was having some mild cramping and abdominal pain. He said that it was normal, and furthermore, he got the results of my bloodwork from yesterday and the numbers are looking really good! With my last pregnancy the Hcg at this point was at 200. This time it is 1600! I am very encouraged!

Welcome, Aussie- thanks for reading my story! Rodswife- thanks! In a couple weeks we can talk about it on fbook too! Hubs wants to wait until we get our first sonogram before we announce. We had to deal with several crazy rumors after we lost the first one, including that the baby was an "imaginary pregnancy". I could have happily slain the person who said that. We don't want to go through that again.

Hey everyone, it's been awhile. I can't make it public on facebook yet, but I wanted everyone who had given me such wonderful support earlier this summer to know my news: I'M PREGNANT AGAIN!!! We weren't even trying. I never even got a period after the D&C. It just happened like magic. I only found out about 24 hours ago, and I am so, so excited! Thanks for everyone who prayed for me, and for reading my story.

Thank you so much, Jen! It's amazing how much your story lifted my heart! It's so good to hear from those who have been through it, and had success afterwards.

Oh, and I also hope you are right about being even more fertile! That would be a dream come true. I just hope that I feel better during subsequent pregnancies. My doc said that healthy pregnancies feel different than ones that are doomed to miscarriage. I sincerely hope that is the case. I would love to just be sick in the good way.

Thanks, yall. @Mary- Thanks! I'm glad that came through. I don't always feel like I do. I don't even always feel like God is on my side. I guess that's why the Bible refers to the heart as deceitful... I'm doing my best, though. I'm glad that He remembers I am dust.

I went in to the doctor again today, and scheduled the D&C for tomorrow at 1pm. Please pray for me! I'm scared!!! I am so worried that I will never be fertile again, but I also can't take the pain anymore. I'm between a rock and a hard place. They said that after the surgery, once I get my period again, we can start trying again. So basically I will take a cycle off and then we will see what happens. I just have to survive tomorrow first.

Thank you so much, Sandy. I have been so thankful and cheered by all the support on here! It means so much to me. If anyone is interested, I wrote a blog post on my personal blog about all of this. http://ticklemesenseless.blogspot.com/2012/07/ships-in-night.html It's a sad post, but I feel I summed up what's been going on pretty well.