Baby weight- for all the post surgery moms

OK- here's the question: For those of you who had children after you had surgery, how was the experience of gaining weight, then trying to lose it?  I want to get pregnant this year and know that I can do this and that I can lose the weight after gaining it.  I have maintained my loss within a five pound range for two years now and I want to have children and know that I can go back to my pre-baby weight.  I just want to get affirmations that this type of thing is possible.  I know that many have trouble, but I want to get some positive feedback as well.  This would be motivating for me- not just hearing people's negative experiences, but the positive ones as well. Thanks, Rachel

Hi Rachel,  I had my surgery october of 02, and my baby was born 6 weeks early in april of 05.  When I got pregnant, I was underweight, had issues with losing, but I gained 56 pounds.....yes....56! I started at 124 but remember, i was underweight, and now, I am 136.  It took me about 5 months to lose all the weight. She is worth every single pound.  I got divorced (lost 280 pounds! LOL) and now my fiance' and I are planning our pregnancy.  Will be our fourth, but his first.  You can lose the weight after the baby.  Have fun and good luck to you anf your family! Rebecca take a look  http://picturetrail.com/its_rebecca

I found out I was pg with our 3rd when I was 2 1/2 years out.  Huge surprise and I really could not handle the thought of gaining weight.  I didn't gain for the first 5 - 6 months, but then BOOM!  I gained about 30 total.  I lost maybe 10 after giving brith and am still struggling right now - almost 8 months later.  I blame myself for making poor choices and being a carb addict and drinking way too much with my food and simply not following ANY WLS rules.  I have lost another 8 pounds in the past 2 weeks by doing the 5dpt and really sticking to a protien diet.  I feel so much better.  So, YES, it can be done.   I am actually excited to be losing again and focusing on the positive of being HEALTHY again instead of complaining about having "baby weight" still on me - that was a cop-out.  I was headed in a bad direction before I got pg so it was probably inevitable that I would gain.  And as much of a surprise as she was, sour little Jaclyn ROCKS our world and we adore her.  Good luck with the baby-dancing and I will send baby-dust your way! (oh, btw, be prepared for ALL kinds of weird comments on being pg after WLS - for some reason, most people think it's not "possible".  I can't tell you how many times I had to explain things to people)

I got pregnant 17 mos post-op. I gained only 15 pounds. You will find a variance on what people gain during their pregnancies. (there is a forum here, post-op pregnancy). Honestly, I didn't do much different as far as eating while I was preggo. While I WAS able to eat more (which is hard to wrap your mind around), for the most part I followed the same 'rules' as I had before. The protein, no drinking with meals, etc. I also made VERY sure to drink LOTS of water, as it helps so you don't get much swelling. So like I said, I gained around 16 pounds (175 when I got preggo, 191 the day before I delivered). I lost 24 after she was born, so I was like YIPPEE those were my bonus pounds!!!  She is 19 mos old now, I will be 4 years post-op in May...and this morning I weighed 164. So not a bad deal, eh? I think as long as you are mindful of your eating and don't succumb to the "eating for 2" mentality, you will be fine. I know of others who gained MUCH more than myself, the 40-60 pound range, and were able to get all of the weight off as well. Good luck!