eejaydiva

I am currently 8 months preggo, due in about 5 weeks and I did not unfill. I have roughly 6.5cc in a 10 cc band and I'm up 30 lbs so far...sad but true. I didn't gain an ounce for the first 3 months or so, but appetite is a tricky thing and I have been eating nutritiously, just lots of food. All the veggies, fruits, whole grains, and Proteins, but plenty of sweets cravings have meant ice cream, Starbucks, etc in there too. While I'm not thrilled at my gain, I have one goal, and that is to enjoy pregnancy like any other woman, midnight donut cravings and all...our baby was measuring on the small side for several months and has only recently caught up. I think the weight gain was a number of reasons, mainly I ate alot more, but there are other factors. When pregnant, you should limit your artificial sweeteners and such, so I'm back to eating real yogurt, real sugar, etc. "Lite" variations of tons of foods like salad dressing, mayo, ketchup, etc all contain artificial sweeteners, so I switched to the real ones for the time being. As well, I craved beef alot, not chicken, which is healthier and leaner. (Turns out I'm Iron deficient, thus the red meat cravings)

There are tons of bandsters who have initial tightness in early pregnancy due to hormonal changes, bloat, gas, etc. If you can "power" past these, alot of us who keep our fill or only get a little bit taken out find that we tend to do fine the rest of pregnancy. Mine has had days where it's tight, but not so tight I'm on liquids or anything, just so tight that I have to take a test bite, wait, eat slowly, smaller portions, etc.

Good luck!

YAY Cherry! Keep us posted girl! We had our 34 wk exam on Monday and got an ultrasound, he's right on schedule, measuring to be a good-sized baby, probably around 8 lbs if I deliver at 40 wks, however I get a non-stress test around 39 weeks to see if he's doing ok, then they'll let me go as far as 1 week overdue, but either way, we should have this baby by August 4th or so! It's weird to know he's gonna be here soon! We also found out that I have anterior placenta, meaning we FINALLY have a reason figured out as to why it's like he only moves a little bit! 4 ultrasounds and someone finally tells us that we've been worrying for nothing, he's just under and behind the placenta, so i can't feel him as much.

In other, much blessed news, my BFF who has been TTC for over a year now is pregnant! She's had many miscarriages and was on Clomid, so it's a miracle! We are crossing our fingers and praying alot that this baby sticks, they are watching her very closely this time and have her on meds to prevent a loss...so please send happy thoughts our way!

Hello, one of my bff's kinda had your same journey. No PCOS, but "interrupted ovulation" meaning she skipped it certain months with no explanation. They started TTC in Feb 08, and had 2 miscarriages last year. Early in Jan 09, they started keeping an eye on her bloodwork to make sure she ovulated every month. Started her on Clomid in March 09, as there were a few months where she got a period but didn't ovulate. Usually they only try Clomid for 2 to 4 cycles, and on month 3, which was late May/June, she got preg! So she's now about 4 wks along and they are closely monitoring her HCG and progesterone levels, keeping her on hormone supplements to prevent a miscarriage.

Keep positive and RELAX...my bff is naturally a tightly wound, tense person and I think it hurt her chances, because last month when she went on vacation, relaxed and had alot of laid back baby-making, it worked!

Good luck!

Bmads, take Benadryl in pill form. It is safe for use during prenancy and seems to help calm the entire body, leading to less morning sickness. As well, only drink things at room temperature. My pal is having awful morning sickness right now and said those 2 things really help, as well as sipping lemonade or other sour stuff. I know that sipping sour stuff doesn't seem conducive to helping morning sickness, but it helped me the few times I was queasy.

As far as updates go, not much going on with me. I'm about 33 wks now, I feel like he dropped a bit last night, he's lower today and I have to pee alot! Also been having some annoying bouts of band tightness, but I know I shouldn't complain. Just don't want it to become a 24/7 thing, because it would suck to get to 8 months and have to have an unfill! In the past week I've had a 90 minute massage and a pedicure, it felt great to pamper a little! I even made the worrywart part of me shut up about the money. We've been saving and saving so much money these past few months to prepare for baby, it's hard to get out of that mindset!

I myself am not in my 40's, but I will share as well. My cousin and his wife are both 43. They got pregnant no problems first time at age 39 and had a healthy boy. Last 2 years following that birth, they have had 3 miscarriages and 1 sucessful pregancy. Their 2nd child has mild case of Autism called Asperger's syndrome, and was born with a deformed limb. Since they knew that no birth defect would cause them to terminate, they had no extra pregnancy screening, but they did catch the deformed limb in a few ultrasounds.

I did several years working in a genetic counselor's office. Having a baby over the age of about 38 raises your chances of birth defects higher than that of having a child with a first cousin, up to around 11% of all sucessful births. I would advise you to keep a few things in mind. That 11% figure is only a measure of all sucessful births. Ones that end in termination or miscarriage may make the number even higher. However, this is the year 2009. Many of the statisics we have are the results of the 1970's thru the 1990's when we didn't know as much about carrying for women of advanced maternal age, nutrition, genetic screening, fertility, medical risk factors, etc.

If you are in good health, not on high-risk medications, and seek out early, high-rate care for yourself and baby, then I think you'll have good luck.

YAY!!! She is so beautiful, congrats Heather (and hubby!) :tongue2:

Welling up again, OMG I am so emotional! Sheesh! I was thinking about you all day yesterday and kept checking the thread to see if any news had been posted. Blessings and abundance on your little family. HUGS!

dewl, that is awesome for you guys! we used ovulation test strips for about 2 months so we could pinpoint my fertile phase, then just gave up and had sex every day for a week during that time. it only took us about 5 months to conceive!

OMG! Heather is in labor!! It's baby day for Heather, finally!!!! Awesome, downright amazing to think you're somewhere in labor right now!!!

Awww, I'm welling up!

Woo hoo Heather! I bet this is it dollface. Leaking Water can usually be only 1 or 2 things, and all of them are related to impending labor. Some women experience a lubrication effect, their vagina will get itself ready for labor, or of course the other obvious sign is your water breaking. Did you know most women's water breaks in bed? Of course, I'm only talking about those women who actually have theirs break, not the ones who get it broken manually by the doctor during labor. If you're dribbling little bits here and there, the baby's head may be floating around on the cervix and a bit of water leaks whenever she moves a bit.

Keep us posted! I myself have been very up and down this week, little things bugging me for no reason, etc. I have 8 weeks left, so I hope this isn't a permanent state of mind until baby arrives! I'm so emotional and borderline depressed!

Cherry, so sorry you're having such an emotionally traumatic week. Try to remember that while it feels like it now, you will not feel or be this way forever. I'm sure being big and pregnant with a toddler hanging around would exhaust anyone! Is there any way you can get a day off of mommy duty by asking hubby or a family friend to keep kiddo all day while you have some fun? It could be as easy as getting a massage and then sitting in a coffee shop all afternoon, reading a book. Try to go easy on yourself and hopefully that'll also mean you'll go easy on the people around you, but either way, it will be ok soon! This is a temporary state.

Heather, that's good to hear everything is going well! I'm glad your little girl is doing well. I myself am starting to really think I have a lazy baby. I'm 32 weeks today, and he still hardly moves at all! Most of my friends are sick of the constant movement at this stage. He moves intermittently during the day enough so I don't worry, but I'd love a really active phase. Only hubby and 1 girlfriend have felt him so far...ugh! We see the new OBGYN today for the first time, so I'll be asking him.

Hmmm, now you've all got me wondering if I've been tested or if/when I will be tested for it. It seems like something that happens in late pregnancy since you are all ahead of me, but my girlfriend who is about 17 wks along just told me she has it and will have to do the IV antibiotics during labor as well. She has been majorly sick this pregnancy with flu and cold symptoms, so maybe they tested her early because she had strep symptoms? Is it part of normal pregnancy testing, or do you have to exhibit strep symptoms?

I had a lot of bloodwork the past few visits because they found I'm deficient in B12, I lack the stomach chemicals necessary to absorb it, so it's called pernicious anemia and is probably something I've had my whole life, not caused by pregnancy. Usually they test your B12 levels when women have had a gastric bypass or other surgery that messes with the small bowel, because that is how you become deficient, the bowel gets slight damage during bypass surgery. Lap band doesn't go anywhere near the bowel, so it looks like I'm just one of the few that have a genetic issue absorbing B12...lovely. My doc was following gastric bypass guidelines and got lucky and tested me for it, but it's not something bandsters usually have an issue with, so I'm just considering it a happy coincidence that we caught it. So now I'm on a prescription supplement until after delivery, normal B12 from a Vitamin store wouldn't work, I have to take the one infused with Iron, folate, and something called intrinsic factor, which is the chemical my tummy is lacking that allows me to absorb B12.

Yuck! That sucks, I'm sorry! You have less than 3 weeks to go, hopefully that kid is ready to pop out. I know its been a long stretch between pregnancies for you, but is this one reviving old memories or physical sensations from your last one?

Our friends are coming over tomorrow nite for a movie, I'm excited because we're gonna watch the old 80's classic Parenthood, with Steve Martin. They are currently about 5 months preg and we're almost 8 months, and this will be everyone's first kid, transistion from young married couples into moms and dads, so we thought we'd rent a silly movie to get excited for it!

I am at that stage where I live for the night every few days where I can ask hubby for a back, foot or neck rub, as long as I have given him a few days off....I think I get a backrub tonight too, thanks Lord!:thumbup:

Heather, bananas and regular old Gatorade are excellent for warding off the leg cramps/ Charlie Horses that most preggos get. The elderly are very prone to these as well since our bodies don't process sodium and potassium as well when we're older. It is very common in nursing homes to give residents bananas and Gatorade together a few hours before bed. Try it and let me know? I had my first Charlie Horse the other night, and oh man did it hurt!

As far as the other news, that is amazing that you're so close and I hope that Memorial Day weekend is memorable to you for other reasons! Get that baby out! WOO!!

Hugs and hellos to everyone else, not much going on with me this week, gonna have another weekend of trying to get house stuff done, weeding and such! Blah...I find I am getting more hormonal and emotional lately, it's very easy to upset me and I get moody for longer stretches, very much like it was the first 11 wks or so...hmmm.

Just one more question, your profile says your age is 60...is that a joke? Hoping so...

Congrats and don't be bummed! God has a plan for this child, which is why it has to be created now, instead of later! To be honest, I didn't do anything different my first trimester. I got lucky and had very little morning sickness, so band-wise, I was fine. 10 weeks to go, and I still have not needed an unfill. The hormones and baby's growth will definitely cause your band to have up and down days, tight and less tight, etc. A lot of preggo bandsters got unfilled, if not completely, then at least some taken out. I have kept my whole fill, but you'll have to see how you do. If you are vomiting alot or go for days on end being super tight, that will be a personal decision.

It'll be ok, your brain just needs time to adjust to what your body already knows.

PUH-LEEZ tell me I am not overreacting. I just switched doctors. For the past 7 months of my care, my single-doc practice has been good, but not great. I've gone to the same guy for 6 yrs, but lately my doc has been constantly late to appointments, and then he rushes thru them. It makes sense, if you are 25 min late to see your 9 am appt, then your 9:30 one is also waiting. I mean, he's ALWAYS in a delivery lately or at the hospital checking on someone. It seems odd that this was never the case for the past 6 yrs of regular treatments/pap smears/appointments, but lately all of my preg appts are delayed. He also has been bad about returning phone calls/messages and last week called me on the phone and talked for several minutes about anemia, treatment, etc. I finally interrupted him and said I had no idea what was going on...he had thought he called another patient & was talking to me about her care, very nice.

So basically, he's been slipping in quality. I just saw him on the 11th, appt goes fine, other than being 45 min behind schedule. I get home that night to find a letter from him to all his "expecting moms" stating that he's sold his practice, a new doc will be taking over soon, and that as a result of a loyalty clause, he can only deliver at 1 hospital now. Of course, it's not OUR hospital...it's 30 miles away, older, run-down, etc. Not to mention, we've already pre-checked in, taken baby classes, and toured our gorgeous, state of the art, new hospital where he usually delivers. Not only did he say nothing during the exam, but this was all effective April 1, and he sends a letter in the 2nd week of May?!? I called and was hoping to be told that his patients who were already nearing delivery or whatnot would be allowed to still deliver at their hospital of choice, but no. He said flat out that he can't. I was so upset. I live in a big city, I should not have to drive 30 miles to a hospital for delivery, that's something I would be fine with if i lived in the sticks or a small town, but sheesh.

So I am gonna meet my new doc on June 1st...I just am still so frustrated and sad about this whole thing.:eek: What would you have done? The only other update I have is that I get these flash tummy aches past 2 days. They don't feel like gas or indigestion or menstrual cramps, but they hurt like crazy and last an hour or two...any ideas?

TWINS!?!? OMG that is awesome and crazy. I had the crazy superhuman sense of smell very early in my pregnancy and people swore I was having twins, but only 1 little bean in there, which was A-Ok with us, since this is our first baby. But congrats, oh how cool!

PVChickie, has anyone heard from ya?!? That baby should be a week old by now, how did it go? Hoping all is well!

We also bought a breast pump this weekend, it was definitely one of my sillier moments, it was so confusing! I bought the Evenflo Dual Electric one, it was about $80 at Babies R Us and was one of the highest rated ones for that price range/ease of use. I admit, all of the baby tasks have been fine with me, except breastfeeding. I struggled for a few months when I was first pregnant because I felt that my reluctance to breastfeed meant a lack of maternal instinct. All the horror stories about how difficult and draining it can be, how painful, etc just kinda made me a bit slow to warm up to the idea. Awful as it may sound, I like my breasts and relate a big part of my enjoyable "bedroom life" to them. Yes, I know God intended them for something else entirely, but having to actually realize that would be their primary function kinda took the allure out of them.

I never considered not doing it, because I believe in the research that shows it's benefits to mother and baby, but only lately have I become ok with the fact that I will be sharing a part of my body with baby for such a long time after birth. I'm hoping to do at least 6 months.

Not much else going on this week, I'm almost 7 and half months along...crazy! We will hopefully be finishing up the nursery this weekend and running some errands to get house ready for it's newest member.

You may like this site, it has a section in the center of the page where you can view pages and pages of people posting their real-life early pregnancy symptoms. I myself didn't get the veins showing until at least 6 wks along, but my breasts HURT, especially my nips. Other than that, I had very little symptoms. When I was in my Twoweekwait, I felt calm, kinda tired and just like finally we had our month. 10 days later, i was preggo.

Try this! www.twoweekwait.com

Good luck and keep us posted when you get the BFP.

Hi good friends,

You are all SO right about the weight gain. One of my biggest goals in life is to enjoy the truly memorable, rare moments. Being pregnant and getting to eat lotsa yummy food or justifying a bowl of Cereal every night before bed is one of those fun parts and I will not give that up. So I'm resigned to the fact that I may hit about 30 lbs before this over...that allows me to gain slightly more than a pound a week, very fair. Besides, there are weeks where I don't each much and don't gain at all, so hopefully it'll even out. I was like Heather and gained very little the first 4 months, so I figured it would continue that way.

I wanted to say thanks for your remarks about my surgical scars. They bother me, but I'm more confident every day that it shouldn't be a big issue to keep them under wraps. I just have loved ones that won't understand, won't respect my decision, etc.

As far as updates go, it's been kinda a crazy week. I had my work baby shower last Friday, it was a blast and we got tons of cute stuff! I will have one with friends and family next month. Also Friday, I had to rush to the OBGYN's office because I had gone 2 days without feeling the baby move and a blood test showed elevated levels of B12, which can put the baby in duress. Everything was fine, but it was a scary ride to the doctor's office! I've felt him daily since then, but the doc was great and basically said I could drive to the clinic every day if I wanted to hear the heartbeat and they wouldn't mind.

Weekend was nice and pleasant, got a maternity swimsuit for those weekends at the pool that me and my girlfriends love so much, went out to lunch and shopping with a girlfriend. Late Sunday afternoon my hubby got in a bad car accident. He is completely fine, but he totaled his car. This actually works in our favor. We had 4 or 5 yrs left of payments on it, it was starting to have expensive repairs issues (it's an Audi), and he missed his Jeep days, so now that the insurance co has declared it a total loss and paid off his car loan, we get to find him a better car, more baby-friendly and less expensive to maintain. So it looks like we're both getting new cars soon, because my trusty old Ford Focus, while an amazing and perfect car for the past 10 yrs isn't the most baby-friendly either. I'm actually a bit sentimental and sad to see it go!

Cherry, I am so excited to start post-baby weight loss support! I know we will do great. Fairy, how is life as a mom? I'm a first-timer like you.

bloom, I don't know your age, but keep in mind some simple statistics. It takes perfectly healthy couples aged 22-30 an average of 6 months to successfully concieve. So technically you're only on month 4, maybe month 5. I know that I went utterly bonkers TTC and it took us about 5 months. I didn't have any diagnosed fertility issues, other than totally wacky cycles, sometimes going 30, 45, or 90 days between periods. Weight loss really helped regulate my cycles, and I spent $17 a month on Answer brand ovulation test strips for about 3 months. After 3 months, I knew the days i would ovulate and got pregnant the next month.

If you're like the rest of us, chances are that you are still on your weight loss journey, and extra fat does tend to decrease your fertility, but don't worry about how long it's taking to get preg, you're still well within normal range.

Good luck and baby dust!

I agree with Anyalee! This is your body, your band, your decision. Me and my doc seem to be in the minority of stories I've heard, in that he doesn't believe in unfills during pregnancy, and neither do I. I'm almost 7 months in now, and have not unfilled. Yes, my band has tempermental days/phases where it's a bit tight, but usually it means I have to take a few bites, wait 15 min, then eat like usual. A tip: waiting until you're starving/ravenous/gurgling is gonna make your band feel tighter. There is air that gathers in your belly and it tries to travel up the band while food is traveling down, and that can make you stuck or feel tight.

If you feel good, keep that fill!

Can I just say for the umpteenth time how time is flying for us preggos?! I was so jealous of all of you that were a few months ahead of me, and I'm just about at the 7 month mark myself! Life is super busy, we are getting the nursery slowly together and tomorrow is my "work" baby shower. I am having one with the tons of fantastic women I work with, and another one with family and friends later this summer.

I have a bit of anxiety about my lap band secret, as most of our friends and family who will be at the delivery are not aware I am banded. It was and remains a private decision for me. At my appt yesterday, I discussed with the doc and he feels it won't be a very big deal to keep it under wraps during labor. My nurses will be instructed not to mention any medical issues with anyone in the room, and my tummy will be mostly covered up, so I am hopeful. The fact that this is a secret seems to get me picked on when I have confessed to it in the past on LBT, so feel free to offer your opinions, but please be nice.

Also had the diabetes test yesterday, gosh that sugary orange stuff tasted awful! It gave me the worst head and tummy ache all day!

Heather, I am OH SO HAPPY for you girl! Your preggo pic was darling! Other than lots of back aches, pregnancy so far is agreeing with me...although I'm about to hit 15 lbs gained, which sucks as that was what I hoped to gain for the whole pregnancy and I have 12 weeks left...:thumbup::crying:. Trying not to be disappointed, but I really am hungry all the time.

Hi friends,

Man, I am already having 1 helluva Monday...covering for a co-worker who is on vacation, while doing my own duties, and his stuff is several days behind..sucks! Especially because we had a super busy weekend of house projects and service providers in our house, so now it's just trying to balance checkbook, schedule even more work, get the baby room ready, etc. I am in major nesting mode! It makes matters worse that I have major pregnant brain lately, which makes me useless. Not only am I forgetful, but I am a liability to myself & others because I keep making mistakes!

My 27 week appointment was supposed to be today but it got cancelled by the office due to my doc being out for ANOTHER emergency delivery. So now I'm going in Wednesday, 3rd month in a row we had to reschedule due to a delivery, weather, delivery, etc. Whew!

Hubby is now able to feel our son thru my tummy, which has been a wonderful, major development this past week. I carry a lot of extra skin/fat there, so it was bugging me that it took til I was 6 and a half months along for him to feel it....but baby is moving more and more each day, and other than tons of back spasms, pregnancy is great!