HeatherO

I finished my final papers and presentation for my MBA class that ended yesterday night. I loovvveee that sense of relief and relaxation that comes after finishing a class, lol. The sun is finally starting to shine here, could Spring actually be coming??? It makes me want to get out and start moving again. I have been cooped up in the house and not exercising enough for too long. Haydee, I agree about the need for a trim. When it is too dry and frizzy at the ends, a trim makes all the difference. I use a smoothing serum on dry hair when I get the frizzies or if I am straightening my hair. Laura, since you are both pregnant and suffering from allergies, shouldn't Russ wipe the walls down and eliminate all bedroom dust??? I have dust allergies as well and I am extra stuffy and miserable after deep cleaning.

I would offer her as much support as possible without making her feel bad about her weight. The band can help to an extent. In my home before banding, we were picking up chinese takeout, ordering pizzas, eating high calorie and high fat foods all to often. Eating on our tight schedule was based more on impulse and tight time schedules than being about health. We did eat healthy, but also unhealthy as well. After banding, I started making mostly home cooked meals. This changed how I shopped, with more fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats as opposed to convenience foods in the center of the store. All of our diets have improved although I was the only one suffering from obesity in my family.

I am sorry you are going through this and I hope they can find the cause soon so that you can address it. There is nothing worse than having an undiagnosed problem that causes you to suffer. Abdominal pain can be caused by sooo many different reasons, I just hope you get an answer quickly. Good luck.

One last comment. I think that using 0 calorie beverages as a substitute for Water is workable to an extent but should be done in moderation. However, I have read quite a few articles regarding consumption of a high level of artificial sweeteners having a negative effect on health. Some people get headaches and start to feel achy or lethargic. If you are drinking a lot of 0 calorie "sweetened" beverages during the day but have not been feeling 100%, you might want to switch to primarily water for a couple of days to see if it helps. There have also been articles stating that artificial sweeteners are sometimes linked with weight gains in that it causes the body to crave more sugar. Anecdotally, most people I know that are significantly overweight are also diet pop-aholics (and that included me before banding and the pop restriction). I have actually started drinking things like mint tea completely unsweetened with a spot of creamer. It is hot, tasty, 0 calorie and there are no chemicals involved.

I had to get into drinking Water. It wasn't easy at first but did get easier over time until I got to the point where I craved it. I like the idea of the colored caps. I found that when I have small bottles of water where I have to drink many of them, it is harder for me to get through them. I had to start a simple plan that I could follow without thought and counting. I bought a huge 52 ounce royal blue water bottle that I keep at my desk at work. I drink half by lunch and half by the time I leave. I also drink a full cup of water in the morning before I leave for work and one full cup of water sometime after I get home from work. After two weeks of doing this it became natural and I never have to "force" myself to get water in.

My doctor told me not to expect to lose anything until the first fill . . . and just consider any loss as a bonus. A lot of the liquid/mushy foods have a lot of carbs in them and you can get quite hungry during this stage. Real loss begins for most people after the first fill. Even with that, you are doing excellent. You should lose somewhere between .5 - 1 kg's a week after banding when following the plan. It sounds to me like you are doing as good or even better than you would if you had restriction. Just keep up the good work and the weight will drop :0).

Ditto on the great post. You said it perfectly. It is not easy, but it is a heck of a lot easier than going it without the band. I could always lose weight preband but could not keep it off. The band is better than any diet pill or plan in the world for me because it eliminated my biggest obstacle, constant hunger. I love my band and what it has done for me.

I had it too in the same way. There wasnt acid involved, only food/liquids. It did make me cough however in that if I was sleeping the sudden presence of food or liquid in the throat would give me a slight choking sensation. It was also the same in that it could have been food eaten many, many hours before. Sleeping with my upper body propped higher on a pillow helped, but that isn't practical for a stomach sleeper. I tried reflux meds but it didnt really address the issue. The only real help came with a slight unfill that got rid of it completely. I didn't have to lose very much fill in order to address it completely . . . and I found I could still lose weight on less of a fill.

I don't journal anymore unless my weight stops moving in the right direction. At that point I start for a period of 2 weeks which is usually enough to get me back on track. Life is too short and busy for me to journal every day but I do watch my weight closely. I think weighing in either daily or maybe weekly will help give you a warning sign to get back on track if you start gaining.

I am a natural belly sleeper too. It was not a problem until I hit 22-23 weeks were it became increasingly uncomfortable. I also found at some point that the baby seemed to start fussing when I lay on my stomach. Now I sleep in a semi belly/side positon with some pillow propping. I did ask my ob and she was fine with this.

Ibuprofen was also on my list of medicines not to take. Tylenol does nothing for me and I would probably have just as much pain relief from taking an m&m. Since then I have been given the OK to use liquid ibuprofen on a very limited use (no more than twice a month) for inflammation. When I have used them I have followed it with a glass of milk. They might give you the OK for occasional use, but you definitely need to get the approval from your doctor first.

I don't want to scare you, but I am a little concerned about your post. Throwing up black stuff without haven eaten anything plus the pain in the stomach after having an extended time of continuous problems pb'ing/vomiting could be indicative of a serious issue. The black stuff may be bile or blood and you should call your doctor immediately. I would also insist on being seen immediately. If you can't get into your band doctor right away, perhaps you should maybe consider the emergency room to have it scoped out. I would be concerned about the possibility of an ulcer or erosion. The sooner you are seen, the more damage control you can do to keep it from getting worse. Perhaps you could even go to a full liquid diet for the moment until you are seen if it can help prevent any further vomitting. Please let us know what the doctor says. I am really sorry you are suffering in this way.

Woohoo . . . go Manda!!! I think she is going to feel a gazillion times better getting back into life again. Laura, thanks for sharing the belly pic's. I should post some as well. I don't have a bump as much as it looks like someone took a bicycle pump to my midsection. I also have a bit of a roll as well, lol. I swear it looks more like I have been hanging out on the street corner near the local dunkin donuts more then a baby bump. Other than my close friends who always say how I am looking nice and pregnant, and my husband who has been trained on the "correct" response to how pregnant I look each day, lol, no one notices I am pregnant at all. I have never had a single person ask me when I was due or any such thing.

It is hard to force yourself to slow down. I think the majority of us have learned to do it by practice, practice, practice and more of a stick than carrot approach. Going too fast makes you feel physically ill or even causes you to get stuck or PB. A few bad episodes makes you start consciously slowing down on a regular basis. Drinking is more difficult to slow down because you are used to drinking normally. At least with eating you can set down your fork between bites. This might sound cheesy, but perhaps a tiny little 1, 2 or 3 minute mini-hourglass might help. Once you get used to eating/drinking slower, it becomes habit and isn't so difficult.

This hunger is absolutely normal for the majority of us. I wouldn't suggest changing the progression of your diet without speaking with your doctor and getting the OK. However, doctors do sometimes allow you to progress a little quicker if you are very hungry.

Both the chicken and the dumplings separately are things that are easy for bandsters to get stuck on. Put them together and it could be a double whammy. Since it was so painful and lasted so long, you are likely to have some stomach swelling which makes it likely for other foods that normal don't make you stuck may not cause a problem for a day or two. I also agree with going on liquids for a day or two and have a mushy or two first before trying something solid again. If you get stuck again it can cause more harm and your are more prone to getting stuck after a previous pb.

I had the port soreness both at 2 weeks and 4 weeks. It sounds normal, but I will still suggest giving your doctor a call just in case. Also keep an eye out for signs of infection like increased swelling at the site or extra redness or if the wound feels hot to the touch. We all go through feeling of weakness at the beginning. It helped me to increase Protein consumption. Some of the feelings of weakness are also related to healing after surgery as well as dietary changes. It is normal to feel a little weak in the beginning. If you call your doctor, they may be able to suggest small dietary modifications that might help you to feel a little better.

First of all, you are doing the right thing in tracking what you eat. It is so much easier to diagnose what is going on when you have honest information to work with. I agree, baby food green Beans would be a double yuck, lol. I can't do baby food. It sounds like you may not be going "mushy" enough on this phase of your diet. Liquid portions were fine but you have to be careful about progressing too quickly. pizza is definitely not mushy and the crust is a problem. Baked potato might be OK if you don't eat the skin and maybe mix a little milk in it to make it a bit creamier. You want to watch the size of the "chunks" in the chicken gumbo. Chicken is hard on bandsters stomachs early on and one of the things that give bandsters the most problems with pb'ing. As far as calories, you were probably not getting enough during the liquid phase but this is normal, but I was also very low calorie during liquids. Getting close to 1500 calories might be taking it a little too high if you do it on a regular basis. Everyone is different, but I found for me ranging from 950 - 1250 kept me losing fairly steadily.

Dear scale, Thank you for not climbing up excessively during this pregnancy even though I have been eating a lot more than is typical during banding with my band unfilled. HeatherO

I found for me, the best way to lose any bloating and get rid of excess Water weight is by drinking water. It seems to flush everything out and I always lose more weight when I kick up the water consumption a notch. Are you tracking how much water you typically drink on a daily basis?

Aarrgh, I need a fill. I feel like I am a bottomless pit once again. I have also been craving things that are none-to-healthy (peanut butter eggs). Everyday I wake up thinking this day is going to be a “reasonable” day and I somehow get lost by dinnertime. I think what I am lacking is eating things that really fill me up and last for a while. I think I need to start eating a lot more protein and salads. I have also relaxed on carbs but carbs just make me hungry in a big way. I am working on it :0). Jennifur, A new deck is better than a small vacation. It will last well into the future and imagine how much time you can enjoy relaxing out there. Michelle, It is so hard to tell in advance if a person will be offended or appreciate the cleaning. It is so dependent on personality. If it were me, I would feel deeply ashamed that my house was so bad that someone would feel the need to clean it for me . . . but I am a woman as well, so maybe that is normal. I remember the first year I had Thanksgiving at my house, a friend wiped down my refrigerator handles, they were smudged and needed it but somehow I didn’t see it. I must have been 19 or 20 years old and I know I blushed right down to my toes. It is great that you talked to him about it, because it could be that he is still overwhelmed in his grief and when things get that far out of hand it seems almost impossible to start correcting it. Trash all over the floor is not normal, especially when it takes as much effort to drop it on the floor as to drop it in the trash. I agree with Kat that trash on the floor makes it very likely that sheets aren’t being changed and toilets are growing lots of bacteria. I also agree with Laura on suggesting the housekeeper thing, at least for the time being until he is back on his feet more solidly. It sounds more like disfunction than just a lack of attention to cleaning details. Perhaps part of what he needs is a plan as well . . . two men and a 10 year old could come up with a workable plan to cover certain aspects of keeping the house up. I also think the 10 year old should take part in this weekly working together to get things back inline, even if it is just small tasks. Kat, you sound like you are feeling so much better in your posts now that Manda is home and life is evening out a little bit. It is great that you can take a little time for yourself as well. Pam, I went to San Diego in March of last year and it was awesome. I am sooo jealous. I wish I could afford to live there, lol. Terry, Even if the Mediterranean sounds like a pipe dream, it is definitely truly worth it. I have been in the general area three times in the last three years, even if it wasn’t a cruise, and nothing compares to it. It would be a once in a lifetime experience to remember. Laura, I haven’t bothered with the birthing classes. I guess since I have been there and done that, and I am not feeling particularly nervous about the whole thing, I might be fine. Perhaps my husband will benefit from them since he has not gone through the experience. Do you feel like you are getting anything worthwhile out of them at all? I hope the trip to the allergist helps, being stuffy and irritated on top of being very pregnant is no joy.

Congratulations chimboree26 on your happy news!!! We will be looking forward to hearing regular updates on your progress. MMM, congrats on your daughter as well. It will be so much fun to spoil the baby without all of the sleepless nights, lol. Is this your first grandbaby?

I had a different dilemma with telling my 16 year old son. I wasn't sure how receptive he would be. I have asked him over the years in the past if he wanted a brother and sister . . . and "not really" was the reply. He was OK with being an only child. So I took him out for lunch on a day he didn't have school. I started with "there is something I need to tell you about, but I am not sure how to say it" . . . he said, "oh, your pregnant" in about the same tone of voice as he would have joked "oh, your going to be abducted by aliens." I could tell he really didn't think that was it, he was just throwing something out there. I said "uh . . . yeahhh" and his mouth dropped open, lol. He really was quite shocked. After 16 years when you are nearing adulthood and starting to think about college, you really don't think of your parents as capable of bearing children (and we certainly don't want to think about the birds and the bees), lol. So after that, we discussed fears about the future, and lifestyle changes, and how his life would be affected. Later we got into would the baby look like him, and how soon would the baby be able to talk, and more of the interesting conversation. For me, telling my almost adult child was the hardest part. I had to try the direct approach. If I would have tried a cutesy approach and surprise him with the news, I think it would not have been as effective as a heart-to-heart. He is happy and excited now, so it's all good.

I love that!!! What a cute option.

I can't wait to see pics. I am also looking forward to the stages of social smiles and different coos. They become so much more interesting and dynamic at those stages. Do you like the bumbo seat? I thought it looked like a good thing to have. Thanks for your advice on slings. I think that is why I have been asking so many people questions lately. With my first baby, the things I thought I needed I didn't need or didn't use. I wanted to avoid some of that this go round.