Leesey

Update! We are officially 36 weeks today and have between 2 and 4 weeks remaining in this pregnancy. Last ultrasound is this Saturday, but I have updated the album with pics of my last ultrasound at 32 weeks. I can't wait for her to get here!!!!! We are soooo ready!

Sorry it has been so long without an update. We have made it to our 3rd trimester with no complications, a completely healthy baby if not a little larger then average and I have not gained any weight, in fact, I've lost 46 pounds while pregnant. We discovered the sex of our child and are expecting a little girl who we will name Zoe Michele Elaine McGee. At 29 weeks exactly, I have contracted the flu but bean is still tumbling around in there and seems to be oblivious to the discomfort I am feeling out here There were alot of pics to add, so I created an album and anyone truly interested is welcome to take a peek! The only pic I included in this post is my favorite one of the latest shot of her. She has her foot and both her little hands tucked up near her face, and we watched her alternate between scratching her face with her foot, and sucking on her hands and her feet.

Guys, thank you so much for all the kind words and well wishes. As this has been an exciting and scary time we are truly touched and can only be humbled by the outpouring of support and genuine kindness you have all exhibited.

@teller0245 :I found out I was preggo on June 9th, I already had a gynecologist appointment scheduled for June 11th prior to knowing I was pregnant for a pap smear. When I met with my doctor she did a Well woman's Examination and drew blood and advised that since she was no longer an obstetrician that I find another doctor. She was going to do an ultrasound but you have to be at least 4 weeks to have your first ultrasound I was only 3 weeks and 5 days. I then scheduled with my obstetrician and saw her on June 19th. She did my first ultrasound and then drew some more blood. I was 4 weeks and 6 days. If the doctor you have is refusing to see you earlier call your insurance company and find out if there are more fees for switching doctors. I found out that I only pay the one initial co pay regardless of which obstetrician I see and how many different ones I choose. I encountered many obstetricians who wanted me to wait 8 to 12 weeks before I could even meet with them. Then I found one who was willing to see me the next day. Ask around, if it doesn't cost you extra money to see someone different then do it. I know me! I am entirely too anal about my health and my baby's health as this is my first child and knew it would just stress me out to wait that long. I also have spotted like twice and have had cramping in my lower abdomen and lower back so I thought something was wrong. So my suggestion is to find someone who treats you like a patient and not just another pregnant dollar sign.

First Ultrasound! Baby is 4 weeks and 6 days in this picture taken on Tuesday, June 19th, 2012. But today we are officially 5 weeks.

So 18 months ago I weighed a hell of alot, and now I weight alot less. My husband has been with me throughout it - big, small, in between and he has never waivered. We have been trying to conceive for the past 3 months. I am still terrified that I will return to the size I once was so I have kept every stitch of clothing I have had from before my weightloss. I knew this would be the month, and I had quite a few clues along the way. Firstly, I breezed through my menses. Secondly, after my menses I knew there was a brand new fresh egg and that this one was the one that would make my first child. Knowing this too the core of my being, I started talking to this future child of mine, affectionately known as "little bean." I would talk to little bean, feeling silly and nuts but also very connected to my little bean. I would eat something particularly tasty and then ask little bean if it felt as good as it tasted to me. I would take a hot shower and remark to little bean that I hope it wasn't too hot in there for it. Of course I made sure no one was around to see a non-pregnant woman talking to her abdomen because quite frankly that's crazy, so I kept my craziness to myself, not even sharing this with Merrick. My OvaCue monitor signaled to me that my little bean was mature enough to be fertilized and so I knew that May 24th through May 28th (Memorial Day Weekend) would be the opportune time to do the baby making dance with Merrick. Thirdly, on May 26th I used an ovulation prediction stick ( a little stick you pee on to confirm ovulation) and it was positive, then my Ovacue fertility confirmed ovulation as well. Fourthly, Merrick and I had already planned a romantic weekend because he and I had a 4 day weekend due to Memorial Day. We proceed to have the most amazing time both in the bedroom and out. It was just different, I was relaxed, I was very much in the moment, and it was just awesome! I return to teach my last week of school Tuesday through Friday. Fifthly, four of my students who are ascending from 8th grade to 9th in different periods throughout the day,ask me if I am pregnant. Each time I smile and say to them I don't know for sure yet. I will find out June 9th. A few responded by saying that's too long. LOL, I totally agreed with them at the time. Sixthly, school ends and I spend the 2nd through the 8th taking naps every single day and being tired despite these naps. I also, spent an excessive amount of time eating, because I was seriously hungry. On that Tuesday I buy a crap ton of fruit ( like 8 pounds worth of strawberries, mangoes, apples, and pineapples and consume all but 3 of 4 mangoes -- AND I'M STILL HUNGRY! Then I waited a full 8 days past ovulation and then I tested. They were negative. Yet, I still talked to my little bean about how "I know your in there so just keep multiplying so that I can show them your there" But even while doing this I was very disheartened, but still trying to keep hope alive. Everyday I was tracking my progesterone levels which had been falling steadily, but on my 10 day past ovulation they started rising slightly. On my 13 days past ovulation they had risen a solid 50 points. In discussion with Merrick about these numbers he would say, "So what does that mean? you pregnant?" to which my reply would be, " i don't know we gotta wait and see" or " Stop asking me that damn question, how the f**k am I supposed to know *giggle, giggle*" to which he'd smile and laugh too. So I can't wait any longer and test using two different tests. They were both negative. I meet Merrick and a coworker for lunch and during the lunch I am planning to have a cocktail. Merrick's coworker convinces me not to get a drink until I get my period and can confirm that no pregnancy has taken place. So I don't get the drink. At this point I tell Merrick well my period should be here tomorrow ( not realizing that it actually should have been there that day) and here's to a month of trying again. The next morning I have plans to meet a friend for brunch. I pee and decide to take two different pregnancy tests again for shits and giggles. I don't wait for them to finish as I am pretty sure I'm not pregnant. We are in the computer room screwing around on Diablo 3 and Merrick is rushing me out the house because at this point we are running late and he is uber hungry. So I run through the house to the bathroom, stand at the counter to brush my teeth and I look down at the pregnancy tests. There are two faint pink lines on the tests. I grab it and scream maniacally through the house MERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK. At this point he comes running because he thinks something is wrong. I say "it's positive -- do you see the second line?" He's like, "Your not pregnant that line is too faint! It should be as dark as the control line, right? And you were in the computer room for way longer then 10 minutes so it's probably to late to get a correct reading. I refuse to get all excited until I see a positive blood test" I said, "the literature online says it does not matter how faint the line is. and fine! I'll take another one using the same urine" he says, " elise i'm hungry. go get in the shower. I am not about to get my hopes up just to find out your not pregnant again" i say, "stop at the drug store we will get the one that says Pregnant or Not Pregnant" he says, "fine. GO GET IN THE SHOWER" I get in the shower and the 3rd pregnancy test I take shows up positive in less than 10 minutes and I show it to him yet again. He says " it's still a faint line" I get dressed while we discuss the entire time, about how i am worried that it's gonna be false, how my hopes have already gotten so high that if I'm not pregnant I am going to be so disappointed, I even start crying because I finally got pregnant etc. We meet the friends for brunch and he makes it real clear that he does not want anyone to know about it if we are pregnant until we are out of the 1st trimester. So I sit through brunch with this big grin on my face and I am bursting with excitement and I want to scream it from the rooftops. We leave brunch where we discuss some more about how he refuses to get excited, etc. All the way to the grocery we run the gamet of emotions. We go to Walgreen's pick up a 3 pack of Clearblue pregnancy tests that show Pregnant or Not Pregnant. We get home, I still have the pee in a container from that morning and I dip it in and sit the test down. Since I have to pee again anyway, I go grab another container and am grabbing the second pregnancy test to test with a new batch of pee. As I am grabbing it, Merrick goes into the bath room to check the tests and walks out of the bathroom with a big grin on his face that he's trying to contain and I say "I'm pregnant?" he says "no" so I go running past him into the bathroom to check it as he says, " no your pregnant" I still grab the test and look at it. and immediately turn to him and tackle him on the bed while screaming repeatedly "I TOLD YOU ." So that is how we discovered our little bean stuck lol!

wear braids!!!!! WEAR BRAIDS!!!! I got my sleeve on dec 8th 2010 I have lost 200 pounds and I am still losing. My hair is also natural and I believe that is why I have not lost hair but I did experience some thinning in the front but nothing significant. I too have met other people who have had a lapband and they have had it for a significantly longer time and still have not lost over 50 pounds (and not gained it back). I did not have significant scarring or keloids so my scars are itty bitty. any other questions just ask

So I am a little over five months out from surgery and I have lost a total of 191 pounds thus far!!!! I started at 410 pounds on my initial weightloss journey. Life is good! and the crazy part is I am STILL losing. I smashed through my upper goal weight of 250 pounds a while ago and I totally didnt expect for it to happen this soon. I work out twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening after work. I don't count anything I eat, I do drink alot of Water but I also drink soda, juice or anything else i want. I take Protein first and whatever else i want after. i take Vitamins, and I am truly, truly doing well. Thank you all for the help and the forward motion!!!

Give me the vanity sizes -- I went from a size 34 womens to a size 24 womens in what will be 3 months on March 8th so WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! in 3 more months I hope to be down another 10 sizes, LOL!

That number comes from a research study that can be located on the internet that discusses how people can lose 65% of their weight loss the first year, another 45% the second year and it is supposed to taper off after the second year at under 25%. These percentages are again based on all of the people who participated in the study. There is no finite percentage of what you will lose, this is just the mean ( the average amount of their weight lose). You could lose much more or much less, the person who has ultimate control over that is you.

Also when we are talking about 65%, this is not of your total weight this is of the unhealthy weight. For example, I was 410 pounds prior to my surgery, healthy weight for me is between 220 and 180 pounds. If you subtract 220 from 410 and also 180 from 410, you will get a range of the total amount of weight I need to lose, which is between 190 and 230 pounds. Based on the research study, if I am in line with those who participated in the study I should lose between 123.5 pounds and 149.5 pounds the first year, I got these numbers by multiplying 190 and 230 by .65. This is my weight loss only for the first year. the second year my starting weight should be between 286.5 and 260.5. Then the math starts all over again - my total excess weight will be between 67 and 118. So for my second year I would need to lose between 6 and 10 pounds per month. If all goes well my second year then at its conclusion I should have reached my goal weight. If it is lower then these projections I promise I will not complain, LOL.

But I use these numbers to determine if I am on schedule, behind schedule, or ahead of schedule on my weightloss. Again it is also important to note that you do not lose weight continuously rather it ebbs and flows. But here is how I do it, This may not be good for everyone, this is just my method. After calculating those numbers to meet my 65% I then divided them by 12 for the months in the year. So each month I should lose between 11 pounds and 13 pounds. If I lose above that then I am ahead of schedule, which is what I aim for. Heading into month 3 I am WELL ahead of these numbers, but this is normal in the first 6 months of the life. Pace yourself, follow your medical team's advice, and get your Vitamins, Protein and Water in and you will be just fine.

same thing happened to me, it happened whenever I let myself go too long without eating. Monitor how often you are eating and what you are eating. That is what changed it for me.

Houston Texas Here, sleeved 12/8/10

DO IT. I am 25 I haven't been this size, since I was 20. If you want this, don't let it go until it's done. I had mine on 12/8/10 and I haven't looked back since I have lost 89 pounds since then. My starting weight was 410, so I still have a while to go but I am loving life, and will love it even more to come.

So, I used to have perfectly clear skin.....before surgery at least. Since surgery, my skin has gone nutz. Just on my face, I mean blemishes on top of blemishes. Any one else experience this after surgery?

I too live in Texas, and you have it exactly right, " the media has us believing" I was in Tijuana, MX 12/8/10 for my VSG and we had a police officer stationed outside of the hospital the whole time. But I never saw anything that made me feel unsafe or anything like that. Everyone was friendly including total strangers who didnt speak the same language as I do.

25 sleeved 12/8/10

ATLGirl: Thank you for sharing your opinion. I was not looking for a particular answer, merely an answer to the question asked. Either someone has it or they don't. I think I clearly expressed my feelings on the issue w/o targeting anyone in particular. No need to "guess" about what I meant or asked for because my question was clearly stated.

Former_vbg: As mentioned dearly, I did not target anyone in particular which is what gave that person the opportunity to edit their response, which btw they did. Hence the reason you did not see said comment.

SarahD: I agree completely with your statement " Ultimately we all make our own choices about what we chose to put in our mouths and no one else is in control of that. I believe you have to do what is comfortable for you and base that upon advice from your team."

But it is again funny how those who have chosen to respond to the post recently have yet to address the actual question at hand...

Mommy2Girls - lol trust me I know the feeling.

Eureka - I tried the toast trick with a small slice of rye bread and it worked wonders! I had to double toast it so it was nice and crunchy but it most certainly worked! YAYYYY.

Kris - I was definitely a carb girl too and a sweets monster. The sweets were easy to cut out the carbs not so much. I had to literally go through and find substitutes for the standard things like mashed potatos and rice. Once I got accustomed to it, I was fine.

Tiffykins and Chilo1 - I hope to get where you are one day!

I paid 4500 for everything in Tijuana MX on 12/8/10

I think it's funny that some imply that you are unhealthy simply because you do not do things exactly as they do. I mean honestly, how many times have we seen that many nutritionist have different people on different plans.

I am a 6'2 tall woman who is not slight of build, is it not possible that my body requires something more or less then someone who is much smaller? Is it not possible that my team of people ( doctor, nutritionist, and trainer) know more about how to craft a diet that more thoroughly reflects what I specifically need then someone following a standard plan thrown out at WLS patients?

I asked about how to make bread more tolerable for my diet. I did not ask for judgement, nor for snide comments intended to just make you feel better about yourself. Newsflash -- we all needed weightloss surgery hence food was a problem for ALL of us. We are ALL on a journey to be a healthier person.

twogirlsandaboy,

I have been able to eat anything else I wanted to eat red meat, chicken, pork, Pasta, rice, etc. The key is to eat Protein first and keep your carbs low. I have lost 62 pounds since my surgery date because I get all my Protein in and all of my Water, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and I take my Vitamins. So that's a little background info into my diet. Outside of this sometimes I crave bread. I will try toasting the bread a little more then I normally do to see how that works thanks for the tip!

wow you had surgery just 2 days after me and I am not allowed bread yet. I know that Nut have different time tables but maybe it is just too early. I also heard that if you dont tolerate something wait a week and try it again. Also heard that if you toast the bread sometimes it goes down better it doesnt gum up. Give it time.

Let's hope so Lila!

I've heard that most food intolerances resolve by the first year mark (if not sooner), so rest assured, it won't be forever :-)

I've tried it multiple ways - tortillas, crackers, sandwich bread, by itself, with other items, toasted, not toasted, etc. I'm hoping at a year out it will be better but I'm dying here.

Hi Leesy,

I am newly sleeved and also a bread lover. There is actually a word not used much -- artolater -- it means a worshiper of bread. I guess that's us! I know bread is not supposed to be a major part of a meal, but out of curiosity when you've tried it has it been on it's own or part of something else, say a little sandwich or an egg on toast? Also is it any bread or regular sandwich bread? Have you tried tortillas or pita bread with the same result? Or how about a cracker or pita chip? I'm just curious. Best to you in your weight loss journey!

Okay so I had surgery 12/8/10 5 weeks and 2 days ago and I still can not eat bread. People I love bread. The minute I swallow it, it then comes back up. HELP!

I live in Northwest Houston and I was just sleeved on December 8th, 2010. I had my surgery done in Mexico. Would totally love a support group!

Try dates that dont revolve around food, movies, plays, the zoo etc.