What will my 3 year old think?

I am having the RNY in December and I am very happy! My husband is supportive, but we are at a loss for what to tell our 3 ½ year old girl. Should I tell her? She's not stupid so I know she'll notice something when I start losing a bunch of weight. If I tell her, how much and what should I tell her? We come from a family of large people, and I have been concerned for her ever since she was born. My biggest fear for her is that she'll grow up to be just like me...5 ft and 270. On the other hand, I don't want her to develop a negative body image. I'm afraid that she'll notice how little I'm eating and think she has to do that too. So, in one way, I'm afraid she'll grow up to be obese like me, and then I'm also afraid she'll develop anorexia because I won't be eating normally anymore. She's perfectly normal now, and we keep her busy in swim and dance classes. Any ideas, comments or suggestions? I really appreciate it!

As far as what to tell her, tell her you are going to the doctors to get fixed. Keep it simple. You dont want to worry her. I have a three year old and will be going through surgery in late Nov early Dec as well. As far as the weight loss she may not notice it as much as you think. She will see you everyday. When people see you daily they dont notice weight loss as much. One day she may realize you arent as squishy anymore but very soon she wont have any memory of you being large. As far as worrying about her weight, I was worried to because my son is on the chunky side (always has been since birth) but my daughter is not. One thing to take into consideration though is you food choices will be better then before and you will not always have to make yourself something seperate from the rest so in turn their food choices will improve as well. As you progress in your diet you will start to make healthy meals for the whole family and everyone will benefit. There is nothing wrong with making a lifestyle change that your whole family can benefit from. If you are making a healthy lowfat chicken dish, they all can enjoy it and adopt better eating habits. Heck when you drink water, she will wan****er and may even prefer it to soda or juice which is awesome, why because mom likes water. You will eventually be able to eat more than the standard two ounces and she may not notice how much you arent eating but the food choices you are making. Just try not to stress so much on the what ifs and do your best. I was worried about it as well but a friend who had GB said the same thing to me, how did she know, because she had been there and done that. Now her whole family is eating much healthier and the kids dont really notice the change anymore. The key is finding really great recipies and tips. My kids already prefer koolaid with splenda over surger and tukey bacon to regular. They prefer their food baked or boiled as opposed to fried. The hubby is even taking to some of the changes I have implamented. So try not to sweat it and things will fall into place ok.

I had the surgery on June 10th of this year. I just told my 3 1/2 year old that I was going in to have my tummy fixed. I would be sore for a while and couldn't pick her up, but that I'll be better in just a while. Kamryn did better than I could have ever imagined. I had the same thoughts about how to approach the topic with her as well. I figured that simple honesty would be best. She used to call me "Big Momma" and now just calls me Momma. I love it. I'm down 110 pounds and am feeling great. She has noticed my weight loss, but not the amount of food I eat. She doesn't even notice the food changes because we did it slowly and my husband still fixes her some of the foods I can't eat. Which I think is good in moderation and as a mix of healthful foods from me. Oh, and on her 4th birthday I realized that she had completely accepted my food changes because she asked for angel food cake with "special" icing on it. (which is a Splenda icing, she just loves!) I hope all goes well. Also, keeping your family active will help you keep active too, after your surgery, you'll have alot more energy to "DO" that you probley don't have now. Take care!