Pre-TTC

Okay, so I have been watching what I eat, getting back to exercising, and being good to myself. I was 286 pounds at my last check-up in early Feb and have been working hard since then. A little back story is that my highest weight was 366 pre-6 month surgery requirements, 325 the day of surgery, 240 at my lowest, and was up to 286 as noted above. Now I have started taking a pre-natal and I am emotionally and financially ready to have a baby. I stopped my birth control (NuvaRing) in mid-Jan and have been using condoms since.

What are people's thoughts on weight loss and such before getting pregnant? I know ideally I should be at a perfect weight but I have no medical comorbidities anymore, I got my period naturally for the first time as an adult not on birth control, so that tells me my PCOS is possibly taken care of as well. Should I am for a certain weight? I want to give my baby the best chance for success but I am also pushing thirty and my biological clock is ticking like a time bomb in my head. Let me know what you all think...

Hey there!
Have you talked to your OB/GYN about your desire to start TTC? If so, what did he/she say?
I am very pro overweight women having babies. My OB/GYN has always been very supportive of me TTC despite my weight. I'm on hold for now because I had a revision from band to sleeve 5 months ago, but prior to that I was TTC for about half a year. I couldn't get pregnant due to PCOS. I am really hoping that my weight loss will make my dreams of motherhood a reality!

There is a great website for plus size pregnancy: http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/

There are benefits of losing weight before TTC. Even 5-10% reduction in body weight can have a huge positive impact on your health during pregnancy. What do YOU want?

I think its a very personal decision and you should talk to your doctor about it! If your doctor does not support you, it may be worth finding a doctor who does. That is my opinion. 
Good luck!
-Nikki

So losing weight is a great help with PCOS.  You will always have it but the side effects are lessened with weight loss. 

I agree that even 10% is a great factor in getting pregnant.  It does things to the body that seem to 'sync' it.

Good luck in your TTC. 

Hi!
My son is now 10 weeks old. I weighed 148 when I got pregnant with him. Unfortunately I don't weigh 148 right now, but I plan on getting back there soon. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have been pregnant at my highest weight. I was very miserable for the last few months. I couldn't breathe, walk, move, sleep, etc etc. I'm not a whiney person at all, but I was absolutely miserable. With that being said, you know how your body feels and what you can withstand. If you feel great and your dr gives you the go-ahead then I say go for it. If I were going to try to have another one right now, I'd personally wait until I was back down to my ideal weight so that I wouldn't go into the pregnancy already feeling bad. It really does take a lot out of your body to carry a baby. I'm also 38, so I know what you mean about the time bomb issue. Lots of women in their 30's and 40's have healthy babies- I'm proof!