Went bra shopping today. Walked in wearing a 36H (which I knew was too big after losing 30 lbs since my last bra purchase); walked out with a 34DDD. Check out the difference.

Old bra:



New bra:




And I just have to brag for a second that I tried on some 8P capris and they fit (at 15 weeks pregnant!)




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this might be exciting

My parents came up last week and spent several days with us, helping us get settled into our new house.  Mostly, they watched the kids while we got stuff done.  It was so nice!

My dad loved playing with my husband's new iPad so he decided to order one for my mom's birthday.  Don't you love getting things for your birthday that your husband wants?  Hehehe.  Before leaving, he said, "You know your mom will probably need you on-call as tech support, right?"

Sure.....(eyeroll).

So the very day after leaving, I got a text from my dad that said, "Call me when you get a chance."

Here we go, I thought, slightly annoyed.  I mean, if my 4 year old can figure out an iPad, why can't my parents?

So I called my dad.

He had questions about surgery.  He is thinking about getting it himself.  I was so surprised!

So I asked, "Do you want this or does Mom?"

He said, "Oh I'm just so impressed with how great you look that I'm thinking about getting it too."

Let me back up for a second and say that my mom had high hopes when I got my surgery last summer that Dad would see my success and want it too.  But so far he had said nothing.

When my parents were in town, my mom caught me alone and asked if Dad had mentioned wanting to get surgery.  I said "no."  She asked me if I could talk to him.  Now, honestly, I'm not one to push anybody into anything, especially something like WLS.  But I agreed, just to make her happy, but I didn't plan on saying much to him.

About an hour before they left town, my dad and I were driving back to my house and about 2 blocks before arriving home, I asked, "Have you thought about having surgery?"  There was a kind of long uncomfortable pause (he always takes a long time to answer ANY question).....so I filled the silence by joking, "Is Mom still thinking about you having surgery?"  His only response was that my mom has not bothered him about it at all.  So then I just told him that it was the best decision I ever made and that it is so much easier to manage my weight now.  It still requires effort and thought, but it doesn't require perfection to be successful.

And I told him how I never feel deprived.  Food tastes richer, flavors taste more bold, sweets taste sweeter, so that makes me satisfied with less.  Have I ever mentioned that to y'all?  Plus, hunger comes on more gradual.  It used to come on quick, strong, and without warning.  Now it comes on gradually so I can start thinking of a healthy snack before getting desperate and grabbing the quickest thing.

Anyway, that's about all I said, at the most, I might have said less, but my dad said nothing.  To tell you the truth, I pretty much instantly regretted saying anything because I was afraid I'd hurt his feelings.

So I was super surprised when I called and that's what he wanted to talk about!

He'd already been on the internet trying to figure out if Medicare would cover the sleeve.  He also has private insurance, so he was trying to figure out which insurance company to go through.  I told him to just ask the surgeon, that they were used to jumping through insurance hoops and that they would know the best way to go about it.  I told him to call the office and schedule himself for one of those information sessions.

My guess is that my dad's BMI is between 35-40 (he didn't say).  But he has hypertension, high cholesterol, and acid relflux.  He said he wakes up a lot at night so I suggested getting a sleep study because sleep apnea almost guarantees qualifying for surgery (or so I've heard).

I'm so excited for him.  And it has nothing to do with "looking better" or anything like that.  I  know how much BETTER I feel---no back pain, less fatigue, etc.  I can just DO MORE than ever.  I can run around the yard with my kids!  And I'm thrilled he could soon experience the same thing.  :)



 

Texas Texas, yee haw.

Ohmygosh.  I've been gone so long I don't even know where to start.

We have moved to Texas from Pittsburgh.  Most boxes are unpacked but we still don't have anything hanging on our walls.....in due time.  Yes?

My four year old asks me (almost daily) if we can go back to "Picks-Bird."  I told him when he turns 6 we'll go back.  :(  He really misses his friends, especially our next-door-neighbor's son.

Next week both of my boys will be going to daycare when I start working.  I don't know who is more excited about that---me or my 4 year old!!

When we first got here, our first priority was finding a suitable daycare.  After looking at 3 places, I was on the verge of tears.  The first place was my "dream" place, because it was next door to a gym.  I had this fantasy of hitting the gym straight after work before picking up my kids.  But after seeing the toddler room, I knew I had to let go of my perfect fantasy.  It was a tiny room---about half the size of my dining room, with NO TOYS.  Can you believe that?  No toys!!  Sure, the kids get shuffled around to different locations throughout the day but NO THANKS.  The next place was basically the same.  Small and cramped with too many kids.  The third place was okay but didn't take infants (important for later this year).

Anyway, FINALLY we found a great place where I feel totally comfortable leaving my boys.  Luckily, they will even have a spot for my third baby.  It's a faith-based program located inside of a church so there is plenty of space and tons of toys.  They read Bible stories every day and pray before meals although it is not affiliated with any one denomination (although the church is Assembly of God).  During the summer months they even have splash & sprinkler play and small wading pools for the kids to play in.  It reminds me of the Presbyterian church we attended in Pittsburgh.  I hope the boys will enjoy it, but, either way, at least my 4 year old is old enough to tell me what's going on if he's not happy.  He did great in Pittsburgh at both preschool and Parents' Morning Out, so if he doesn't like this place I'll know something is up.

Later that day, I had a CPR class to attend, as my license had expired.  It was at this old guy's house and I was the only "pupil."  Kinda weird.  But he was nice and his old buddy was sitting on the couch sipping coffee next to me.  His wife was in another room watching TV.  The man mentioned he does a lot of classes at daycares so I immediately asked him what he thought the best places in town were.  He rattled off three different churches and one was the place we'd chosen.  Hallelujah!

Okay, back to my weight as this *IS* the point of my blog.

After spending about 2 weeks eating fast food and living "on the road," I was so nervous to step on the scale.  I'm now almost 15 weeks pregnant and felt huge by the time I was able to weigh myself.

I held my breath and honestly expected my weight to jump from 144 to 152 because I just "felt" bigger.

In the past it was not out of the question to gain 5+ lbs after two weeks of eating out or eating food that was mostly prepared by the grocery store or at least easy-to-prepare-boxed-foods.

But nope, my weight was actually DOWN.  Not by much, at 142.5, but it has remained there for the last week.

Yay!  That puts me only 1 pound over my lowest weight since surgery!  My pregnant BMI (according to the app I discussed in the last post) is now 24.1.

Now I'm starting to have a fantasy that I'll be down to a BMI of 23 by the time this pregnancy is over!  Which means I can get up to 163 lbs by week 39.  At this rate, I think I can do it.  :)

My belly has started to pop out a little bit.  So I feel bigger.  I can no longer look down and see my princess parts.  Ahhh heck!  What am I talking about??  I could barely see them before due to saggy skin hanging over my c-section scars.  But I could see them.  Now I can't.

Yesterday I had to go for a physical & drug test before starting my job next week.  Standing on the scale feels so different now.  It's kinda like being naked in front of my husband.  I'm not exactly PROUD to be this size, but I'm NOT ASHAMED either.  That is just so awesome.

New App

I love tracking my weight on my iPhone.  The day before my 35th birthday, I finally fell into the "normal" BMI category.....albeit barely.  Since then, I've gained 2 pounds and am currently 12 weeks pregnant.  My weight tracker app now shows me back in the "overweight" category.  BOO.  Hiss.

So I went to the app store and typed in "Pregnancy Weight Tracker."  This is what I found.  I'm putting up the picture because, as you can see, I cannot read the full title of the app!





It was $1.99.  For some reason, I had to have it.  This way, I can see if my pregnancy weight is "normal" or "overweight."  As you can see, I practically straddle the line.  Here I am, at week 12 weighing 143.  Now this app, hallelujah, shows me back in the green zone baby.  Yes!  By the hair of my chinny chin chin.




On other page in the app, you can track your weight as the pregnancy goes on.  So, as you can see below, I started at week 0, weighing 147.  That dot is in the yellow "overweight" zone.  But then, thanks to my sleeve, Strep Throat, and morning sickness, I lost 6 pounds not long after getting pregnant---putting my next two dots in the the "normal" green zone.  Then I gained back 2 over the next month.  It doesn't show as a "gain" on the graph because my BMI stayed even.....get it?  So if you're gaining weight on track, it will actually show a steady line across......

I say "so" a lot, I've noticed.  Please forgive me.

So!

I played around with this app today and if I stay under 175 by week 40, I'll be in the green zone (barely).  Honestly, I doubt I'll be able to gain that much (knock on wood everyone!) NOR, do I want to.  My goal is 165 lbs or less---which is easy to say right now when morning sickness zaps my desire to eat 75% of the time.  BUT, when I do have the desire to eat---I can eat more, which I discussed in the last post.  And unfortunately, I know I'll get my appetite back in the second trimester, which is fast approaching!




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Pregnancy = Less Restriction

So.....what have I noticed so far?

Before I was pregnant, I had great restriction.  I could eat one small slice of pizza (thin or hand-tossed, NOT pan) or half a kiddie hamburger.  And maybe 5 french fries (at the most).  I know, I know, these aren't great food choices, but I'm purposefully choosing those foods to report because everyone knows exactly what kind of serving size I'm referring to.

NOW that I'm pregnant, I can eat more of everything, without getting uncomfortable.  I can eat almost two small slices of pizza or the entire child-sized hamburger (not all of it, but almost).  Still, not huge portions.....but the fact that it's almost double---that concerns me.

When I'm at home, I feel like I'm managing this newly found hunger pretty well.  It means I eat more fruits and veggies---which is a good thing.  But, it takes more effort to make good choices when faced with said hunger.  Especially when I'm out in public, at a friend's house, or at a restaurant.  And that's kinda scary for me.  Again, I'm still at only a 2 pound gain over my lowest weight.  But still.  It's scary for me.

Over the weekend, I went to a child's birthday party and ate 5-6 baby carrots with hummus.  One strawberry.  Several grapes.  Three chunks of pineapple.  A small slice of pizza.  And finally--a slice of birthday cake.  Before getting pregnant, there is NO WAY I would've:

a) been hungry enough to eat that much (especially because pineapple is so filling in a sleevie tummy)

b) had room in my sleeve to consume that much if I'd wanted to

At first I wondered if this "phenomenon" was in my head.  Am I simply guilty of giving myself "permission" to eat for two?  OR---is it simply that I'm getting further and further out from surgery?  After all, my surgeon did say that my sleeve would allow me to eat 1/4C in the beginning but that my sleeve would stretch over the course of a year to accomodate 1C of food in one sitting.  So hmmmm.

After contemplating these possibilities for a while, I googled.  

Last night, I came across this video: here.  This is a woman who had VSG and reached her goal weight before getting pregnant.  She reported this SAME issue (less restriction while pregnant) but happily reports that after she gave birth, she IMMEDIATELY returned to her former level of restriction.  

After finding that video, I felt somewhat relieved.  It feels great to know I'm not the ONLY person out there who feels like my restriction is less.  So maybe it's not my imagination.  AND, like the gal in the video, I'm hoping to get that restriction back after the pregnancy is over. 

Pregnant after VSG

I'm Puhhh-REG-nant!  (That was my Oprah voice).

11 weeks as of Saturday.

So, I got pregnant about 5.5 months after having VSG and a little before hitting my goal weight.  I just looked through my weight logs and I weighed about 149 when I conceived.  I hit 141 on Feb. 13.  Honestly, losing 8 more pounds between conception and then was a combination of my sleeve, morning sickness, and getting Strep Throat.  Nevertheless!  I hit goal.

So yes, baby #3 is very exciting.  Kinda scary too.  I've been through this twice before----but I hadn't had WLS at the time.

There aren't a lot of people who've had VSG out there broadcasting their experiences to the rest of the world.  There is a gal on Vertical Sleeve Talk (.com) that has posted a ton of stuff on the message boards but I don't have the patience to cull through a bazillion topics.

So here I am with my Blogland Megaphone, ready to report anything and everything you want to know.

My due date is Saturday, Sept. 22, but I'll be a repeat c-section, so the birth be about a week earlier than that, I'm guessing.  Probably Monday Sept. 17 because hospitals don't like to schedule things on weekends.  But who knows?  I can't find my magic eight ball.

Oh and why did I say this is this "kinda scary"?  Because I'll gain weight, duh.....  Am I worried about vitamin deficiencies or, uhhhhh, important things, such as---my BABY?  No not really.  My OB isn't.

So, I'm focusing my energy on worrying about weight gain.  

Yes, I know I sound silly and petty, but I gained 50 pounds the last two times.  You might even say I gained 70 with my first child.  The morning sickness with my oldest was so severe I lost 17 pounds in the first trimester (had no idea I was pregnant).  So, after I realized I was pregnant at almost 20 weeks, I gained ALL that back, plus 50 MORE.  I never know what to say when people ask how much I gained.  Sometimes I say "70" and sometimes I say "50."

As for this pregnancy, I'm currently 2 pounds higher than my low of 141 lbs.  So, not too shabby, but I admit it is painful to see the number going up.  I know, I know, I should expect it!  That's what happens when you have a baby.  You gain weight!  But it isn't easy.  I will be so thrilled if I can keep my weight gain to the standard 25 pounds.

Here's my little 11 weeker.  :)

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70 pounds

So yeah, as of at least a month ago, I've lost 70 pounds.  (From 211 to 141 lbs).  I lost about 30 before surgery and 40 after.  

As a matter of fact, I'm now 105 pounds lighter than when I was pregnant with my younger son.  The highest weight I ever saw was 246 lbs and I had a few weeks to go.  I remember feeling SO TERRIBLE and SO EXHAUSTED the last two months of pregnancy.  My body just ached all over.  And it's no wonder, really.  I think anybody would be exhausted hauling around 105 pounds of excess weight.  And you know I'm only 5 ft. 3, right?

This pic is what 70 lbs looks like!  My older son weighed 40 pounds at his 4 year well-child check up.  My  younger son weighs 30 lbs.  A few days ago, I picked up my little guy to carry him down the stairs.  Then my older son grabbed onto my back to hitch a ride.  Wow!  That's a lot of weight.  My knees definitely felt the strain!!





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