Our New Journey: September 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011

1 week Post Op

So I am still moving slow and boy does the port site hurt when I move funny. But I am feeling a lot better than last week. I can't take the calcium as it makes me horribly nauseous! I am going to order a different brand and takes them a little at a time during the day and hope that helps. My incisions are looking better too. Phew! I have lost 16 lbs as of today, that is since Friday, Sept 16th. I started out only being able to get down 1/2 cup of food (soup, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese or yogurt) and now I can take in 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups. I was taking in about 500 calories last week and am up to almost 800 calories now. I am on a very protein rich diet (from protein powder and dairy) and they say it helps the healing too. Anyhow, things are pretty good. I am hanging in there and Bill is taking good care of me and the kids! I thank God for such a wonderful husband!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Kelli's Road to being healthy and skinny!

So I have been wanting the Lap Band for a while now. I have friends that have had it done. I consulted with a doctor about it before having Nathan and decided to wait until we were done having kids. So this summer we decided to look into it here in CO and see what our cost would be and see if we could afford it. Thank goodness Bill's insurance has good coverage on it and we figured out that we could do it. I met with a doctor in August and scheduled the surgery for Sept 19th! I had to see a nutritianist, a psycologist, and take a nutritian class as well. Before the surgery they want you to wean yourself off of caffeine and anti-inflamorties. I didn't learn this until the week before but it was all good. 3 days before surgery I had to start an all liquid diet. I could ONLY have broth, water, sugar free flavored water, crystal light, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles and diet ocean spray. That was IT for 3 days! I swear I thought I would die a few times. I told Bill that my stomach was eating itself. LOL Anyhow the morning of surgery finally came. We checked in and they hooked me up to IV. They wheeled me up to pre-op. The anethesiologist, the doctor and the head nurse came and spoke to me and the nurse wheeled me to OR while Bill went to the waiting room. All I remember was moving to the operating table and the anethesiologist asking me a couple questions and I started to tear up and that is all I remember. I think he decided that was about the right time to knock me out! LOL They didn't want a blubbering idiot on the table. :) Anyhow, I woke up in what seemed like a few minutes but it was 2 hrs. My throat hurt and my stomach was tight. It felt like I had been punched. They got me up and walking about an hour after waking up. I got a popsicle which was delicious and then I got dressed. They sent me home about 2pm and put me on percoset. I told them that vicodin didn't work for me when I had back surgery so we opted for something else. It works great for me. :) I am sleeping on our couch as getting in and out of bed was way to hard and hurt my incisions. The incisions are still tender and the one with the port stitched inside hurts the worst. But I pulled out my old maternity belt and that is helping a ton! I am up and walking as much as I can. I am eating my pureed diet (for 2 weeks but at least it is food), and I am sleeping good so I think recovery will be just fine. I lost 10 lbs on the liquid diet and actually gained a few pounds back after surgery but I think it is my body in shock of getting food again. I am not able to eat much. Yesterday I had about 1/4 cup of cream of wheat, 8 oz of protein shake, 1 cup of soup with protein powder and a sugar free popsicle. That was it all day. About 530 calories. I will post pictures here of my progress! To start, here is the before. As horendous as these pix are, they were necessary! I hate how I look and I hate these pix!

I will try and post about every week with new pix, how I am feeling and what I am eating.

A long time coming...

So sorry for not keeping up on this. After the last post we had a birthday party for Lexi here in Longmont. Then Lexi took a plane ride to CA with Nana and Papa. The next week Nathan and I drove to CA and we spent 2 weeks in CA visiting friends and family. Once we got home, we had a few days before Lexi started Kindergarten. All the while, I started a home business making baby items (accessories) to keep me even busier. Things are going well. Lexi likes school, she is still doing well in karate. She actually moved up into a core class and is no longer a "Little Dragon". I haven't signed her back up for swimming and I dread that it is too late now. Nathan is growing fast. Last time I weighed him he was 20 lbs. He is now 11 months old, crawls like a speeding bullet, stands on his own ALL the time now but still hasn't walked. I think it is just a week or so from that though. He has 6 teeth and another on its way. Bill's mom and step dad just came for a visit to help us out. You see, I had Gastric Lap Band surgery on Monday. It is something that I have been wanting for a long time. I am going to start posting here about my progress. That will be in the next post. While Bill's parents were here, we drove to Estes Park and I fell in love with the adorable little town. It is in the mountains, has a ton of quaint little shops and lots to do. I can't wait until Nathan is a little older and we can go for a weekend and hike, shop, and do other fun outdoor things. Here are some recent pix to keep you up to date: