SAHMs...

[kristilaw 0]

I just wanted to hear from some other stay at home moms (or dads!!) who have been banded or plan to be soon...I am nervous about the weight restrictions for lifting. My doctor said that I could lift 15-20 lbs for very short periods, but I have a squirrel-y 15 month old (and a 3 year old and a 4 year old!). I am just nervous about jarring something loose! :huh2: What strategies did you use to handle the little ones? (I will be enlisting help where I can, btw!) Thanks!

[MacMadame 81]

I'm surprised you didn't get any responses to this. I'm not a SAHM and my youngest is 10 so I can't answer you, but maybe if I bump the thread up someone else will notice it and have a good answer.

[kristilaw 0]

Thanks! (and congrats on your progess!!)

[scrppnmm 0]

OKay I am not the one that is having the lap band, my hubby is, but I have had surgeries in the past with lifting restrictions when ours were little. The best I could do was sit on the couch and have them crawl up to me there and explain to them that I could not lift them for a little while, they were really carefull not to hurt me, didn't go anywhere with them during the time I could not lift them, if I did I had someone with me to lift them. Hope this helps.

[heartfire 4]

I just wanted to hear from some other stay at home moms (or dads!!) who have been banded or plan to be soon...I am nervous about the weight restrictions for lifting. My doctor said that I could lift 15-20 lbs for very short periods, but I have a squirrel-y 15 month old (and a 3 year old and a 4 year old!). I am just nervous about jarring something loose! :thumbup: What strategies did you use to handle the little ones? (I will be enlisting help where I can, btw!) Thanks!

Sheesh! I've been on here everyday this week and can't believe I didn't see this sooner! Glad Mac bumped you up!

Anyway. When I had my surgery in August my DD had just turned 2 in May. I started weeks before surgery telling her that mama was going to have surgery on her tummy and we had to be careful for awhile. Told her I wasn't going to be able to pick her up (I had a 10lb lifting restriction for 6 weeks) and that she was going to need to be a big help to mama.

In the weeks leading up to surgery, I decreased how often I picked her up. We practiced her climbing on to our bed and getting on to the changing pad, planting her feet and lifting her butt up so I could swap diapers. I couldn't even lift her by her feet to clean her b/c she weighed 30lbs. Half of her was over my restriction! We taught her to pull her legs up to her head by grabbing behind her knees for me and get her butt exposed so I could clean her. I could help by pushing her legs towards her, but I couldn't LIFT her! She practiced getting in and out of the tub herself, climbing up to get on my lap, getting her clothes out of her drawers so I could help her dress, etc. She has an old dresser and the drawers stick a little, I couldn't pull on them, it hurt. DD is really strong and was able to do it! Go figure!

DH and I switched vehicles for awhile after surgery. He took my truck and I took his car and we had DD practice climbing in and out of the car and seat on her own so all I had to do was make sure she was in correctly and then belt her in.

DH went shopping with me (he usually does but not always) so he could put DD in and out of the cart and carry groceries. A gallon of milk is about 10lbs to give you an idea of how restrictive that is. Bags that I normally pack at the store are at least 20!

One thing that I did before surgery that helped a lot was to think about every single little thing I did as I went about my normal day. Laundry was something else I couldn't do. Machines are downstairs in the garage. No way could I carry a full basket to and from the machines. Too heavy. Also, pulling heavy, wet clothes out of the washer was NOT going to happen!

One thing we didn't think about was what if DD fell. I couldn't catch her. Too much weight pulling on me. Tho I did do so when she fell off of my lap. That hurt! Also, DD sliped while playing on one of her toys (wood fire truck) and got stuck. I had to help her out which meant pulling on her. She was trying to help as much as possible but still... And of course both times it was when we were on our own!

Luckily I had a lot of help. My mom came down for surgery to stay with DD and then thru the 1st week. DH was able to be with me for surgery but he had to go to work the next day. When his 3 day shift was over (he's a fireman) he was home for 2 weeks (happened to have vacation then). Then my mom came back down when he went back to work to help me those 3 days he was gone. I had my 1st post-surgery appt and the drive is an hour each way so she wanted to drive that for me. So I was good for about 4 weeks between DH and my mom. The first shift on my own with DD was a little scary. DH and mom kept calling to make sure we were okay!

I definitely had it easy. You, on the other hand, have your hands full on a good day!! If you can get as much help as possible those first few weeks, that would be really good. The thing with lifting is popping stitches where your port is placed in your abdomen. You'll also have stitches involving the band and your stomach but those are a little more protected. It's really the stitching in the muscle wall with the port. If you pop those stitches before things are healed, you're facing a flipped port and revision surgery.

When you pick your kids up, you're using a lot of the stomach muscles. Even if you're using your legs and back, you still use a lot of those front muscles. You've GOT to be careful! It's that initial pick UP that's going to cause problems. You can FEEL it! Even after the 6 weeks, I was so careful. Every time I'd pick DD up I could feel everything in there. I'd actually have her climb up on something so all I had to do was take her. Carrying her was okay for a bit but it was the picking UP that was freaking me out. Carrying can be hard just b/c you're still healing, still swelling, still sore, etc. Also, DD would sometimes hit my port and that hurts. Still does if we're not careful. When I swell up (still do at night sometimes) the kitchen counters get a lot closer and I hit my port area! Ouch!

OH! Just thought of something else. Get a small, squishy pillow. I took one of my DD's sleeping pillows. She never used it anyway. Came home from surgery with it. You'll want something between you and EVERYTHING else for awhile. Put it between your stomach and the seatbelt, between you and a kid climbing into your lap, when you sleep, if you and DH run into each other or you've got a munchkin climbing into bed with you- you're going to want that pillow. I would sleep with it even for my naps, it'd help to not turn over so easy. I had to wake up to turn VERY carefully. The pillow helped remind me that I just couldn't flip over. Trust me, that little pillow is going to be your new best friend for a couple of weeks!!

Okay, that's all I can think of for now! LOL! If you have any questions after you read my mini novel here, just holler! :w00t: