WLS Pregnancy questions LOTS, pls help

HI OH family.  I am a gastric bypass patient, lost 119 lbs, current wt of 181.  I had my surgery in Nov 09 and now I am pregnant.  Yep, thats quick at 6 mos, but it is what it is and its a blessing. I am 9 wks.  I have some questions b/c my kids are 7 yrs apart, 2 boys 15 and 7, and I dont know if what I am feeling is b/c of the WLS or plain ole pregnancy.

1. Is morning sickness suppose to be real bad.  I am yearning for food, but to even think about it makes me sick.

2.  I dont throw up, I dry heeve. Normal?

3.  I have to admit i have been slacking on my protein, vitamins and exercising due to heavy fatigue and nausea.  Anyone else go through that?

4. Did anyone get pregnant so quickly after your WLS? If so, what did your doctor say?  Am I in for a tongue lashing?  I have my 7 month checkup in 3 wks.

5. Is the second trimester better than this when you had WLS????

6. How much weight did you gain during pregnacy.  Break it down.  As soon as the morning sickness started I went from 193 to 181 and been here for about 3 days.  

7. Again I am at 181, is that too much weight to be pregnant at?

8. Did/is anyone breastfeeding?

9. Are WLS babies full term? high risk? what the average WLS baby wt? 

10.  I go into a deepppppp sleep when I sleep. So deep when I wake up I literally have to lay there at least 30 mins for the heaviness of my body to subside.

11.  Did you show sooner?  I think I am due to the extra flab from the quick weight loss that sits on my abs.  It didnt look bad before the preg, but now that my uterus is moving up, I cannot hold my stomach in anymore.

Ok that is enough now.  O yeah, I would love to have an angel. I need the motivation.

Niki

 

Hi Niki,
in a nutshell, WLS usually has nothing to do with your pregnancy. 
I got pregnant with my daughter 10 months out of surgery.  I had lost 149 before getting pregnant. 
You will be fine.  Many women on here have gotten pregnant too soon.  You won't be the last!  lol

1. you can have ms or not.  I didn't with my first post op baby, but this one I did.  I never got sick though. 

2. pretty sure it's normal to dry heave since your pouch empties sooner than your stomache would have.

3. That's normal, just try not to miss your vitamins and protein. 

4. already answered....at the top

5. 2nd trimester was the easiest for me.  I was still tired throughout this whole pregnancy though. I am anemic...could be why!

6. with my first post op baby I gained a total of 45 pounds.  lost 30 within the first week of having her.  This pregnancy I have gained a total of 39 so far.  I have 2 weeks left.

7. you can be at whatever weight...you will be fine.  I started this pregnancy at 194.  You are fine.

8. I BF my last baby until she was 13 months old.  I plan on BFing this baby too. 

9. WLS babies vary.  Mine was 39 weeks, had to have her c section.  This one I will also have section at 39 weeks if he doesn't come early.  There really is no way of knowing when the baby comes with having surgery or not.  My first was over 10 pounds, he was before surgery.  My daughter was after surgery and she was 8pounds 11 oz.  This one I think is going to be a big boy as well. 

10.  no question?

11.  I think it depends on how many children you have had before.  Also yes, the extra skin could make you look pregnant sooner.  I think I did. 

Good luck!
I am not a high risk patient even for my age and having WLS.  I think it just depends on what your ob says.  Some that don't know much about WLS might automatically put you in the catagory...but mine never did and I am at a different practice then when I had my daughter.

Congrats!!!

Bambi

 First of all Congrats! I only know a few answers.... 


181... that's awesome~ I think you'll do great.  

Highrisk Dr.... I have one for other reasons but he puts my gastric bypass surgery in with my incompetent cervix problems that I already have. He's afraid I won't gain very much so we run lots of test just to make sure that I'm not deficient. 

I usually only dry heeved.

I can't seem to tolerate much protein or milk. No issue there. Make sure you up your folic acid on vitamins.

I had the same issue with sleep. You will get out of it in the 2nd trimester. 

I showed a bit sooner because it's not the first pregnancy. I had a bit of layer of fat too. Instead of having a rounder belly it looks like I have a cupcake top instead. I hate the stage right now. 

Hello Niki! Congratulations!

1. I had pretty bad morning sickness up until about halfway thru my 2nd trimester. I only dry heaved. I never actually threw anything up unless I got sick immediately after I ate. My morning sickness came back a little bit around the end of my 3rd trimester also so don't be alarmed if that happens to you also. I hear it's pretty common.

2. See above. lol!

3. Protein was hard for me because I had severe food aversion in my 1st trimester but you really have to try your best to get it in any way you can! As for vitamins - there is NO reason to miss/skip those! You and your baby depend on those to be healthy! They are VERY important always but especially when you are pregnant!!

4. I got pregnant while on birth control at 2 1/2mo post op. I didn't get yelled at even though I really thought I would. I would go off on your doctor or nurses if anyone gives you a hard time!! This happens more often than you think!! We become SO fertile with our weight loss that it can happen so easily and some of us don't realize how easy!

5. The 2nd trimester is the honeymoon stage of pregnancy for most women. Enjoy it!!

6. I didn't gain a pound while pregnant. I lost about 80lbs actually. My weight loss halted once I got to my 3rd trimester but then more fell off after delivery!

7. 181lbs isn't too much to weigh! You are sooo much more healthy than you would have been pre WLS!!

8. I breastfeed 90% exclusively and it is sooo amazing! I love it!! If you have the option of taking a breastfeeding class through your hospital I recommend it! It was very helpful!

9. WLS babies are just like any other baby! There has been no study that shows that WLS babies tend to be smaller/bigger or full term/premature. My baby girl was 40 weeks 1 day and 9lbs 5oz. Perfectly healthy!

10. No advice on this one but if you find yourself on your tummy don't freak out!! If you are hurting the baby by sleeping on your tummy your body will tell you to roll over.

11. I couldn't hold my stomach in either! My baby bump was taking the place of all the weight I was losing from my WLS so I just looked fat until I was like 36 weeks! It was pretty funny when I got back from my leave and I looked like I had seriously lost 150lbs over night!

I can be your angel if you would like! I have never been an angel before and I think it would be fun!

-Ashlie

1. Well the MS sucks, but this is my first baby. Only thing that helped was keeping something in my pouch. Oyster crackers are a god send, eat 2-3 every 10 minutes or so. Diet ginger ale helped too, oh warm - not cold

2.  I have quite a few friends that can't actually vomit anymore

3.  Get in as much of your protein and your vitamins as you can. baby is going to get what they need but you need to keep yourself healthy too. Make sure you are getting your fluids.

4. You'll be fine - things happen! Just make sure you add good carbs into your diet right away

5. My 2nd and most of my 3rd were great. It wasn't until the last maybe 2 weeks I was run down again

6. I started at 198, lost  15 pounds in the first trimester, gained it back in the 2nd and gained a total of 26 additional pounds. I lost all of that within a week of delivering and was down to 186 pounds 13 days after delivery.

7. You are fine!

8. I did for a short while but stopped, we were having problems and Mommy had a breakdown

9. WLS doesn't have any effect on when your baby will come. I am 3 1/2 years out and my baby weighed 8 pounds

10.  Not sure what the question is here but your body will do what it needs to. When you need to move you will. And believe me, sooner or later you are going to be up during the night 100 times to pee and you will adjst lol

11.  I don't know if you show sooner because this is my first but I was in maternity pants by 8 weeks because my regular pants were just way tight. I still have a good size muffin top and was worried that would make it so I didn't show as much. Pants with a full belly panel work wonders! The Motherhood Maternity "secret belly" pants are the best!

Good luck!

 Thanks for posting this it answered a lot of questions that I was wondering too. I am almost 6 months out and just found I was pregnant, I was really worried too but being on this forum helps. I don't have any answers to the questions cause I am going through this too, so maybe we can be buddies to share our experiences with each other. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

1.  It can be awful.  I had it bad with my daughter, but not at all with this baby.

2.  Normal, I did with my daughter.  It sucks, though!

3.  Don't even stress the exercise.  Do really try to get in the protein and vitamins, though, you will feel better and have a healthier baby and healthier you.

4.  You may get a tongue lashing but I doubt it.  Keep a thick skin.  It will be OK.

5.  I am in the second trimester and damn tired and a little achy sometimes but nothing terrible.  So far, so good.

6.  I'm down a few pounds since getting pregnant.  (I'm 16 weeks.)

7.  No.  You're fine.  I had a fairly healthy pregnancy and healthy baby at twice what you weigh now.  You're golden!  Try not to lose rapidly while pregnant, though, but some loss might be unavoidable.

8.  I breastfed my daughter and I plan to breastfeed this baby too.  I love that I don't have to buy anything (I don't pump because I stay home) and while it can be hard to get started, it's so easy to just plop down and nurse once you are in the hang of it!  Plus I hate doing dishes, LOL.

9.  I am not an expert but most studies show healthy, full-term, normal weight babies as the norm after WLS.  As for high risk, you are pretty early out so you may be higher risk than someone two years out, but high-risk pregnancy isn't the end of the world. 

10.  That sounds about right, LOL.

11.  I am showing a little but only if you know I'm pregnant - otherwise you'd just think I'm a big beer drinker, haha.

Ok girl... Here are my answers! :)


1. Is morning sickness suppose to be real bad.  I am yearning for food, but to even think about it makes me sick.  Morning sickness can be non-existent for some, and full blown all day all nigh****er makes me puke, hyperemesis. (I'm in that boat)

2.  I dont throw up, I dry heeve. Normal? I did that alot with Tristan. This time, not so much, yet. Mainly because I take stomach acid pills and I don't have anything in my pouch to vomit up, so you just heave. in my opinon, it's worse.

3.  I have to admit i have been slacking on my protein, vitamins and exercising due to heavy fatigue and nausea.  Anyone else go through that? It is important to remember those vitamins and try to get some protein in! You're baby is counting on them to grow. Not to be harsh, but it's the difference between having a sick baby and a healthy one. Yes, there are all kinds of stories where women didn't take their vitamins and smoked and drank the whole time and their kids are fine, but in my very strong opinion, it's stupid to risk your child like that. I have spent years caring for and loving disabled adults. If there is anyway to prevent it (and some research says that there is with vitamins in early pregnancy) I would. I know it's harsh and it's hard when you're so tired and have no appetite, but you have to do this for your baby. Try and find tricks that help. Drinking milk (or soy, I'm lactose intolerant), snack on some almonds, string cheese... and take those vitamins every day. I have an extra set in my purse incase I'm out and I remember that I've forgotten my pills.

4. Did anyone get pregnant so quickly after your WLS? If so, what did your doctor say?  Am I in for a tongue lashing?  I have my 7 month checkup in 3 wks. Probably, depends on your relationship with your surgeon. I got pregnant 7 months out. Mine is alot like Dr. House so when I told him he said "I don't know whether to say congrats or to turn you over my knee and spank you!" :) They are just concerned about your health.

5. Is the second trimester better than this when you had WLS???? I never made it past 15 weeks before my rny. But not really for me. It is for some people and others not. It's a pretty normal thing.

6. How much weight did you gain during pregnacy.  Break it down.  As soon as the morning sickness started I went from 193 to 181 and been here for about 3 days.  I lost 22 pounds with Tristan, I then gained it back (plus 12 more) in the third trimester. I walked out of the hospital swollen as hell, but down 8 from pre-preggo weight.

7. Again I am at 181, is that too much weight to be pregnant at? I weighed 330 when I got pregnant with Tristan. The better question is how healthy are you? Do you have high blood pressure or cholesterol, diabetes... these are all things that went a way with my rny...

8. Did/is anyone breastfeeding? Alot of post op women breastfeed. I don't produce enough so I do both until I run out. With Tristan it was at about 8 weeks. That's what we are planning this time too.

9. Are WLS babies full term? high risk? what the average WLS baby wt? They are normal. For the most part, your wls has nothing to do with your uterus! I think the only thing is that there are more of us who are high risk because we've had so many fertility problems before (and for some) and after surgery.

10.  I go into a deepppppp sleep when I sleep. So deep when I wake up I literally have to lay there at least 30 mins for the heaviness of my body to subside. I've got nothing on this one. I haven't had a deep sleep since I met my husband. He has epilepsy and will seize at night so I am prepared to jump up at a moments notice.

11.  Did you show sooner?  I think I am due to the extra flab from the quick weight loss that sits on my abs.  It didnt look bad before the preg, but now that my uterus is moving up, I cannot hold my stomach in anymore. I didn't really show until about 7/8 months, I have a long torso and Tristan laid across my hips. When he turned at 32 weeks I 'popped' out. Right now your body is loosening up. This may be why you feel big already.


Good luck in your pregnancy. :)