Oh, baby!

Hello,

I was sleeved on 2/4/13 and on 10/31 discovered that my husband and I are expecting a baby.  Yes, we know the risks (he was sleeved too) and I was on two preventive medications, but VSG makes you super fertile. From Feb to October  I was down 140 lbs (384 to 244, size 26 to 16)and now my diet has completely changed. I had to increase carbs to deal with morning sickness. Staying on my normal vsg diet would make me pass out with sugar crashes. I'm already struggling with this ability to eat more (I miss the one ounce stage) and now I starve 24.7. I was just wondering if anyone else has ever been in this situation, were you able to recover? I know I will gain a few with this little miracle, but it's still scary. Anyone else with me??

First off, congratulations!  Even with less tha ideal timing, a baby is still something to celebrate.  I got pregnant 6 months out from my sleeve surgery, only difference was that I mostly did it on purpose.  I was just about at my goal weight of a normal BMI and I had no issues with fluids, protein, or vitamin levels, so we decided to go off birth control and let nature take its course... about a minute later I was pregnant.  Anyway, I was definitely still in the very little portion phase when I first got pregnant, and that changed quite a bit throughout the course of my pregnancy.  I'll never know how much of that was due to the pregnancy vs just increased time from surgery.  After having the baby, I nursed for almost a year and managed to lose the extra 10 lbs that I had wanted to get rid of from my pre pregnancy weight with little to no issue.  Luckily I didn't deal with morning sickness at all, but I definitely ate a lot of foods that I wouldn't have in the first 6 months post op!  Despite my indulgences, I only gained about 18 lbs and I never really did anything other than breastfeeding to lose the weight, it pretty much just came off on its own.  My restriction is still quite good, but I've been pregnant or nursing more often than not (having my second post op baby next month) so it is hard for me to say just how much of the restriction loss is from pregnancy and how much is just a normal occurence.  I know lots of people on here say that they have less restriction while pregnant and nursing, and that it comes back eventually.  Regardless, yes, gaining weight is scary, but it doesn't mean you can't go back to losing once the baby is here.  Especially if you go back to the type of diet you had early out from surgery, I always found that it was still fairly easy to drop lbs.  Even on days when I feel like I'm endlessly hungry, or that I've eaten a "ton" I look at what the people around me are eating and I realize that my portions are still really small in comparison.  Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great.

I had RNY 2/5/13....was using 2 methods of birth control and got pregnant in August 2013---due June 10 with our first!  I was fine for 6 weeks (didn't even know I was prego since we were def not trying). Week 7 I got sick. Thought it was the flu and then in week 9 figured it out when I didn't get better.  I have not had any vomiting at all thankfully. However, that said from about 9 to 17 weeks I was miserable nauseated.  I was having to eat literally every hour and I was having to eat things I thought (and promised myself) I would never eat again after surgery like Cheez-its.  For about 4 weeks those were one of the only things I could eat that didn't make me debilitatingly nauseated. For me it was more of a head issue I think---since I thought eating "bad" would make me gain back my 120 pounds over night (i mean---I KNEW it wouldn't happen like that but my head was telling me otherwise). If I didn't eat every hour I would get major blood sugar crashes. I would get sweaty, start shaking, get headaches. It was horrible. I saw the surgeon and dietician to figure out what on earth I could do to stop this. So, we just made a plan that I would pretty much eat all day long (another head issue to get over since in prep for surgery we are told NOT to snack all day).  I could not do protein shakes or greek yogurt (which I normally love). I had to eat a handful of nuts or crackers or a banana or string cheese every hour. No joke and I still felt pretty bad most of the time. I didn't know if it was the surgery or if I just would have been that way normally. Anyways, at week 17 it started getting better and now at week 22 I am only nauseated once in a while. I still try to take little bites of the most nutritious things I can every couple of hours....but I can noq got 3-4 hours without getting those crashes/icky feeling.  The dietician and surgeon both told me to eat whatever it was that didn't make me sick and not to feel bad about it....that I had to be more concerned with feeding the baby...and that I could go back to my strict diet after baby was born. So, I did eat more carbs (stopped eating bread previously but had to start again because wheat bread with peanut butter I could tolerate), I ate crackers, and even a few french fries when I had that craving.  The good news is...because my small pouch just a couple bites of those things satisfied and filled...and even though I had to eat every hour I still didn't eat much at a time so over the course of the day I really didn't eat THAT many more carbs or THAT much "junk" food (my head told me i did but when I actually tracked what I ate it wasn't THAT bad).  I am at the same weight right now as I was when I got pregnant--which is good with me. My surgeon doesn't want me to gain more than 10-15 the entire time so that is my goal.  I promise it gets better...just have to be patient and always have snacks with you (those crashes aren't good for the baby).  It feels wrong to eat that much...but it's ok. :)  In less than 9 months we will both forget the awful feelings and be so overjoyed (and tired) it will be totally worth it. :) Good luck.