I never wanted to tell my kids about the surgery. I decided to tell my oldest she's 13 after seeing so many other parents share. My surgery is tomorrow and now she's crying about it. I feel terrible

Do you still feel that buyer's remorse?
That's awesome how your kids got involved.. love it

Not a bit. I do regret not doing it five years ago when I started to look into it.

My soon-to-be 11 year old has known from two months in since I had to do the 6-month pre-op and a lot of office visits. I incorporated that help of the doctor so when we went to my visits if he had any questions they were willing to answer them for him and he was fine with everything. He often reminded mommy that he didn't think she was fat but he understood she needed to do what she had to to be healthier. As we got closer to the date he became more anxious which was expected; as he did have more questions and the doctors were really nice to answer them for him and even gave him a plan as to how he can help mommy be successful. I know some people thought he really didn't need to know what was going on however I'm a social worker and have worked with kids and they are very insightful, what affects their parents a lot of times negatively affect them and if they do not have the right outlet to express their feelings and concerns or at least talk about what they are feeling it doesn't turn out well for them. I had my surgery on Tuesday while he was at school when he got to the hospital he had no idea that I had already completed my surgery because I was doing so well, just sleepy. He's been with his dad every since Wednesday but has called me from school and the after-school program to check on me and make sure I was getting my walking in and that I was getting all of my protein in. He will be back home tomorrow and his plan is to walk with me around the neighborhood as long as I can tolerate it. So, if your child is mature enough to understand that you need to be healthier for yourself in order to better care for them in the long run I think they will be understanding and willing to help you make the life changes that need to be made.

My 11 year old was worried. His grandmither had a panniculectomy a couple years ago, so when he heard I was getting stomach surgery, he said, "but I don't want you getting your belly button taken off!"

I went and got 5 bandaids and put them on my belly, showing how I will look after surgery. I explained the doctor was going to shrink the inside stomach so I can't eat so much anymore, so I would be healthier. He was ok with that.

Here's hoping I won't need an extensive tummy tuck!