Love is in the air

Happy February to my fellow and prospective banders!!! The past couple of weeks have been quite stressful!! I hope that you all are doing well...
Let me update you on my progress! I am at a weight of of 309 lbs. I have lost 48 lbs since beginning my banding process and I'm ecstatic!! I have actually lost almost 8 pounds since finding out about my pregnancy so I am very pleased!! I have not had any issues taking my vitamins with the band which is great.  My doctor actually gave me some samples of chewable prenatal vitamins since I do have the band...they are pretty gross but I am able to swallow them without issue. I have had some concerns so far with this pregnancy but I do not believe that they are related to my band.  I have experienced some spotting, which I never did with my first child.  It has been a little scary and I have worried a lot (I know, that doesn't help matters!). My OB-Gyn has been very happy with my progression so far and is happy to leave things where they are so long as there are no band-related complications.  I do have to wonder if my port will show once my belly is bigger and tighter.  Lots to look forward to! :)
Friday is weigh day and I also have a dr. visit.  Those are always exciting!! Hopefully I will be able to report another loss. I have been told a couple of times over the past week how great I'm looking and that always makes me feel so good.  My husband issued the best compliment the other night, while I was preparing dinner nonetheless!! It's great to see those numbers on the scale drop but a comment from a friend or a loved one sure does make me smile!!


Have a great week all - lots of well wishes being sent out to my new followers who are pursuing a band. Best of luck!!
XOXO ~ Mon

I'm back...

My, oh, my!! It has been way too long since my last post!! There are so many things that I need to catch you up on...where to begin???

1. After some ups and downs through the candy filled holidays I met my first goal of 30 pounds by Christmas. On Dec. 16th I had lost 30.4 pounds since getting my band.  I was ecstatic!!!

2.  On the same day that I met my first goal, I found out that I'm pregnant!! :) My huband, Aivry and I are going to have a new little Lemon drop in August. 

3.  In addition to all of that excitement, I also decided to begin working on my Master's Degree (before I found out about the new addition coming) and I have completed one class and just started another.

So that catches you up on the big things.  My weight loss has not been great since finding out that I am pregnant.  I am down 34 pounds post surgery and a total of 44 since my lap band journey began. I have spoken to my doctor and we have decided that we will try to leave my band as is for the time being.  Right now, I only have 3 cc's in my band and I am able to eat normally (for a bander).  I have been very nauseous but I have not vomitted and I am thankful for that.  As long as there are no other issues, I'm hoping that my band can help me maintain my current weight or at least something close throughout my pregnancy.  I am terrified of gaining a bunch of weight - with my son, I gained 60 pounds!! Of course, that is because I ate everything in site!! I am trying to be very focused and mindful of what I am eating and I am continuing to weigh weekly to keep a close eye on my progress.  I have not put in all of the work thus far, to throw it away now.

Between work, family, my Master's program, and being incredibly tired all of the time - I am quite busy right now.  I am going to try to make my blog a priority and update it at least once a week.  At least that way I can keep track of my progress on here and I hope to get feedback from any other banders out there who have gone through a pregnancy with a lap band.  I have lots of questions about how that all works during delivery and afterwards. Any advice or insight is welcome.  Thanks for catching up with me...blessings to all!

Halloween needs to go away!!

I have been a slacker!!! I did not mean to abandon my blog for almost two weeks, but that is exactly what I have done!! Forgive me!  Let me update here....

I weighed in on 10/14 with a 1.4 pound loss..yay!! It took me about a week and a half to adjust to my fill amount.  Finally I began to fill normal again and I was able to eat more normal - well, normal for a bandster! My mom came in the weekend of the 15th and Troy took me out for a birthday dinner.  For the first time since being banded I ate steak!! Yes, I said STEAK!!!! We went to Saltgrass Steak house and shared a steak, salad, and some wonderfully yummy potatoes.  Of course, I was not able to eat much...but I took my time and the steak went down very easily.  For some reason, I was worried about eating steak - knowing that my Dr. said red meat is hard for some to eat post surgery. No problems here! YAY!!! After dinner we went to the movies (no popcorn) and saw Courageous.  GREAT MOVIE!!! If you have children, I highly recommend it!! After our movie, we got some frozen yogurt and headed back home.  It was a great evening!!! Then came Sunday...

Last Sunday we received a phone call that my husband's step brother had been involved in an accident.  As details began to come in we also learned that he had not survived the accident.  We were devastated!! He was a young, smart, vibrant, Christian boy and his life was ended far too soon for our liking.  Aaron, who is a twin, was riding his bicycle outside of Troy's home town and was struck from behind by a woman driving a large pick-up - we were told she was texting while she was driving. Apparently she didn't see him on the shoulder of the road, in the middle of the day, with bright colored clothes on.  I won't get on my soap box here - but as you can imagine it was a very hard week for our family.  We left town on Tuesday right after school and we were out of town until Friday.  I ate terribly!! I just knew that I would gain weight with everything that was going on.  I am an emotional eater plus we ate out several times.  Some how, by the grace of God, I lost a whopping 5 pounds!!!!! To be honest, I didn't believe it.  I weighed on Friday morning at my mother-in-law's house and I was convinced that her scale was wrong.  So I came home and weighed again on my scale on Saturday morning and it said the same thing!! I could not believe it!!! I am now 10 pounds away from my first goal and I am stoked!!! The 200's are a mere 27 pounds away and I am feeling better than I have in a while!! My clothes are baggy! My face is slimming! My underwear are falling off my body! My bras don't fit! These are all wonderful feelings!

Now - this week's weigh in may be a completely different story.  Halloween is Monday and I cannot seem to keep my grubby little hands out of the candy bowl!!! Curse you candy for tasting so good!!! Last night I made cookies with my son and nephews...I have had to hide them from myself.  Have I mentioned that I have NO SELF CONTROL?!?!?!??!  It's really sad and embarrassing to be honest!!! I need to work on that...note to self.  Hahha  So I will update again on Friday - the scales dont' lie or sugar coat the truth.  We'll see if I can face it on my next weigh in!!

Until then....
Make sure to tell the ones that you love, that you do.  None of us are promised tomorrow.

Loving the support!!

My goodness gracious!!! I am overwhelmed right now - I have 13 followers!!!! I feel like a movie star!! You guys are great!! I'm so excited to share this journey with all of you and hope that I can offer support, encouragement, and help whenever you need.  Thanks for taking the time to send encouraging thoughts my way - it is so helpful to know that I'm not the only one experiencing things as they come up.  I am so appreciative!!

Thanks and good night! :)

I'm not loving it...

Last week I told you all that I got my first fill...I've had it for about a week now.  And let me just say that I am NOT loving it.  She only added 1.5 units but it is taking me forever to get adjusted to it.  I still have not had anything come back up but I have had several problems with food getting stuck.  And then I get to experience that awful burning sensation in my chest that makes my eyes water and hurts so bad!!! Yesterday it happened with tomato soup and crackers!!!! SOUP PEOPLE!!!! Actually, it think it was the cracker that got hung up, but still.  I will say that it's getting better than it was last week, but it has not been an easy transition.  I have another appointment scheduled for next week to get another fill and I will be canceling that, let me tell ya!!!
I just needed to vent - more to come when I weigh on Friday!!

Fill 'er up Joe!

I meant to post on Tuesday night, but never got around to it. I went in for my first fill on Tuesday afternoon.  I had blogged about my apprehension....it was so unnecessary!!! I was really nervous when I got there - my hands were sweaty and my stomach was doing flips!! When she was finished I was like..."that's it! You're already done!?" I'm glad it was nothing though!!! I have had a little bit of discomfort since my fill, but nothing bad and they said that it's normal.  I haven't eaten much in the way of solid foods so I'm still waiting to see if I notice a difference when I'm eating.  I have been so swamped this week at work that I have been working through lunch and usually trying to eat a yogurt between classes.  That makes for a starving Monica when school is out.  Hopefully things will slow down a little next week. The great news is that I lost 3.2 pounds!!!!!!! Go me!!!
We are headed out of town to LUbbock tonight - GO Red Raiders!! They are playing Texas A&M - hoping for a huge upset and sending those Aggies home crying! :)

First Fill Tomorrow...

Feeling a little anxious tonight - tomorrow afternoon is my first fill appointment. 
Does it hurt?
Will it make me nauseous?
Will I feel anything?
Do they numb you before the shot in the belly?
What if they can't find my port and have to poke me several times?
How far does the needle go into my stomach?
What if they put too much?

These are just a few of the thoughts that have run through my head leading up to this first adjustment.  I'm hoping that I am making a lot more out of it than I should - I guess I'll find out tomorrow!! More updates to come - good night bloggers.