congrats on being 28 weeks! exciting! :) i was 173lbs and got preggers at 183lbs. the day i gave birth i was about 210. i was happy that i kept my weight in check. i wanted to get down to 160 before getting pregnant so that i would have 30lbs of wiggle room before being in the 200s but thats ok. i only gained about 25lbs which is very normal. and i ate tons of donuts. lol. i totally was bad. i'll be better with my next pregnancy. but anyway. the day after i gave birth i weighed 195lbs. amazing huh? i was breastfeeding and not sleeping and i probably could have lost the weight over the next months but to be honest i ate like crap. i was stressed, sleep deprived, on an emotional rollercoaster (our little guy had some issues when he was newborn), those things far outweighed my weight issues. i started to grab whatever was readily available. i lived off funions. and junk food. fast food. and i ballooned up during the following months. i got up to 215lbs. no bueno. it took me a LONG time to get myself back in check. why? because i had a baby to worry about and i was not a priority. when he was a year old thats when i was finally like, ok, he's old enough, i know he's ok....i can step back and focus more on me now. and i've been slowly and steadily getting back in shape. currently at 186lbs....trying to get back to 173lbs. and ultimately my goal is 140lbs. i want to also have my panni removed. i am giving myself till next spring (that will be a year) and hopefully i can have the surgery, then i can start on baby #2. and that pregnancy will be different.

here's my advice to you regarding weight. this is from a woman who's been there.

your body will completely change. everything is just gonna sit differently on you. you're gonna be lumpy and mushy (thats all the fluid and hormones, that will last for a few months if not more, i was still like that at 6 months). your sides will be narrower but your stomach will stick out more. forever. thats part of being a mom. not that you can't have a flat stomach, you'll have to work hard to get one but even then you'll have a tiny little pooch of skin. you're gonna feel like who is this person? you're gonna feel like you lost yourself. that is completely normal. we do lose ourselves completely. we give ourselves to our children. thats our job. my best advice to you is don't stress about how you look. know that you're gonna feel ugly for a while. thats ok. concentrate everything on that precious baby who needs you. enjoy, i can't stress this enough, enjoy that time, you will never get it back. enjoy your baby. concentrate on doing what you need to do for the baby. you will have time for yourself later.

also you should know that most women (wls or not) take a year AT LEAST to lose the weight. don't expect it to come right off. 9/10 times it won't. know that it is completely normal for it to take a while before you're even ready to start getting the weight off. some of my friends, their kids were 2 when they finally started to lose weight again. it takes time. its totally normal.

breastfeed. it burns calories. BUT i makes you super hungry and super thirsty. drink LOTS of water (i'm sure you already do) and try to make healthy choices. now, you won't be in any state of mind to make healthy choices when you haven't slept, your baby is crying, your nips hurt, you're starving, etc. so my advice is ask your family to make you some meals that you can keep in the freezer (casseroles, etc, things that will last a while) so you can just heat as needed. because you will have no time or energy to cook. having a nice homemade meal will keep you on track. try to keep healthy snacks on hand as well. precut fruits, nuts, cheeses, crackers, whatever. you don't have to eat carrot sticks but pretty much anything that isn't potato chips (like i did). tuna and crackers, sandwiches even. trust me, you will be so thankful there is stuff already prepared for you. so you won't have to do any work. tell your mom or your mother in law to help out with that. they wanna take care of us and i think some of the best things they can do is make us food and clean our house because god knows we won't be doing that for a long time. girl your house won't be clean for a while. lol. but who cares? like i said, that baby is priority #1.

i had low iron as well.  my midwife wanted me to eat beets and organ meat. ugh. lol. but i just doubled up my chewable iron and that seemed to be ok. i'm not sure which surgery you had so our situations might be different. i had VSG.

anyway good luck sweety!! as far as the weight the best thing you can do is make good choices now and make sure you have real food stocked up for after baby comes. and it will be what it will be. spend the first 6 months (at least, if not 1yr) just focused on that baby. the weight you can deal with later. as long as you don't go off the rails like i did, you'll be fine.

Hi!  I am 27wks and I too have low iron despite taking meds, though I must admit I am not the best at remembering to take them :-/ I have an appt with a hematologist to take about levels on the 11th. My hemoglobin and hematocrit and rbc are low and a few others are off as well. 

Good luck,  keep us updated! I will do the same :-)

With deep sadness........we honor Dr. Alberto Aceves.

Whooo hooooo, I PASSED! My level was only a 86 and anything under 130 is passing!  Yay for not having GD :-)

In preparation for the ObesityHelp National Conference 2014, are you ready for another giveaway? 

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