New and maybe naive?

Hello Eveyone! I am currently 12 months out from RNY and my husband and I really want to start trying for a baby. I'm really excited but I'm afraid that there is so much I should know and be prepared for but don't. Does anyone have any good resourses to suggest so I can do my research so I can have the best pregnancy possible and take care of myself and baby at the same time? What are some really important things I should know. I don't want to go blindly into this...I'm a total "gotta have my ducks in a row kinda person lol..."
Thank you so much for anything you can suggest.

I don't know of any resources specific to post-WLS pregnancy. You basically just have to follow the guidelines of regular pregnancy and be a bit more proactive about monitoring your labs, supplements, and food intake.

There is no pregnancy "bible" in that different resources will offer different advice/recommendations. You just have to go with what feels right and works for YOU. For example, many people like to spew about how eating low-carb and being in ketosis while pregnant is somehow dangerous, yet I've never found a single solid resource to support this idea. I stayed quite low in carbs for my first entire trimester (before the holiday**** and threw me off track!), and baby and I are in perfect shape - I lost weight in my first trimester, had no morning sickness, and basically had none of the "usual" symptoms of pregnancy other than feeling a bit more tired than usual. I felt completely normal and STILL have almost no symptoms, and I'm 28.5 weeks along. By my reading of anecdotal evidence from other low-carbing moms, it is normal to NOT have swelling, morning sickness, headaches, and many of the other annoying pregnancy symptoms most women complain about.

So, read what you can and make your own decisions. Most people recommend "What to Expect When You're Expecting," but I honestly don't care for it. I have "Baby 411," which I like more, but it's still not what I would consider the be all, end all. I get a lot of info from sites like babycenter.com as well.

And if you want to really feel smart, read some pregnancy forums (outside of this one). I find the ones on babycenter.com pretty hilarious at times - it's scary to imagine some of these women reproducing and being responsible for another human life when they have to go to a public forum and ask questions like, "But if my milk doesn't come in until 2-4 days after the baby is born, won't my baby starve if we don't give him formula??" It's not necessarily a stupid question, but I DO think it's stupid that someone had to ASK the question on a forum since the answer is easy to find in any number of resources, including for free online! [end mini-rant]

Congrats on being 1 year out from your RNY.  I would start with talking to your bariatric surgeon about your desire to have a baby.  Most bari surgeons suggest waiting 18-24 months post op before starting to trying to conceive.  However, each patient and each surgeon is different.  I would strongly suggest that you talk to your bari surgeon first.  Then talk to your OB.  Ask him/her if she's got experience with WLS pregnancies.  There really isn't a whole bunch that is different for WLS preggers vs. non-WLS preggers outside of the nutrition factor.  As RNY preggo mommies, we just need to be more rigorous about our nutrition and vitamin intake.  Typically we have our vitamins checked once a trimester (sometimes more for some people.)

Bottom line, each person is different and you need to talk to your bari surgeon first, and then your OB.  If your OB as NO experience working with a post-op WLS patient during pregnancy, ask your bari surgeon for a recommendation for an OB who does have experience with WLS patients.

Good luck to you!

Thank you both so much for your reply. I only wish finding someone with experience around here was easy. Finding a doctor who will take a patient is hard enough let alone finding one with experience with wls! The doctor that performs the surgery does just that and then turns you over to your family doctor for after care. I'm lucky that my doctor is willing to learn with me..I'm his second wls patient and his first that wants to have a baby...so I guess we will learn together. I'm going to stalk this web site and soak up as much as I can and like you guys say, do what feels right for me. I had a very normal pregnancy the first time before wls so I guess I do have some idea, I just had it in my head for some reason that this was totally different. I look forward to chatting with all of you and wish all of you the very best with your journey.

I don't think I'm quite ready to start just yet but I want to get the knowledge I need. I'd really like to reach my weightloss goal before we start trying for baby.

Take care all.

Ugh... I live in N. California in the heart of silicon valley. We have the best of the best of everything here. I can't imagine living somewhere where there are no specialists and docs hand you off like farm animals. Sorry about that. Waiting more time until you reach your goal is a great idea. Keep focused on your health.

I never went back to my surgeon's office after I had my drains removed a week after Ieft the hospital. I've done all of my "aftercare" with my regular doc. I also don't think it's imperative to find an OB with WLS experience as long as you have your regular doc that you can also check in with. My OB does OB stuff, and I get lab orders from my PCP (general physician). I don't expect my OB to a WLS expert, just as I wouldn't expect my surgeon to be a pregnancy expert. Keep up the good relationship with your regular doctor, and I think you'll be just fine  :)