concerned

Ok, just some background.  I am 31 years old, no children as of yet. I will be 32 in December. I am newly sleeved about 3 1/2 weeks out now. I've have been previously pregnant once but the result was a molar pregnancy and I had to have an emergency d&c.That was about 2 years ago. Anyway, I was on depo for the last 2 years, I got off it in January and started having a normal period shortly before surgery. I was kinda sorta ttc before I had surgery but when it didn't happen I was careful and said I'll just wait until after surgery. My main concern is my age. I was reading articles about fertility decreasing after age 30 and after 35 there are higher risks with the baby and pregnancy. If I have to wait until I'm 18 months out from surgery, assuming I get pregnant right away, that will put me at like 34. And I hope to have at least two children but I am really concerned that my age, plus wls, plus previous pregancy failure will equal failed pregnancies. So, I want to know what you guys would suggest about when I should start ttc. I was thinking at the beginning of next year, when I'm about 8 months out, stabilized and assuming I'm in maintenance at that point. I am not on hormonal bc right now, just using condoms. My thought is, I want my periods to be as normal as possible and no hormonal bc (depo is the devil). I figure that will make it easier when I start ttc. I just really want to be a mother soon. What are your thoughts?

Lots of people around here can tell you that having WLS increases your chance of pregnancy big time. I'd be careful. You don't want to be pregnant before a year out. Has it happened before..yes.. but it is more stressful for the mother and the growing baby. There are lots of mid 30's to late 30's who got pregnant just fine as well. Dont think of the time you have to wait as wasted. Think of it as getting everything just perfect so baby has the healthiest place to bake for 40 wks.

I say talk to your surgeon and OB. I have heard of some ladies that get the go ahead to start trying a bit before the year mark due to their weight loss and stabilization and age. Its possible they will give you the go ahead a bit early. Try to think about this as doing the best thing you could do for your baby and fertility! Getting the extra weight off will increase your fertility and your health while pregnant.

Hi there!  I would wait the 12-18 months the doctors recommends!  As another poster stated, once you have weight loss surgery, your chances of becoming pregnant are much greater!  Plus you want to be in the best condition you can be to have a healthy and safe 40 week pregnancy!  As far as your age is concerned, many woman including myself have had successful pregnancies past the 35 year mark without problems and complications!  I'm currently 38 years old expecting my 2nd baby post-op and my last pregnancy I turned 35 while pregnant.  They did send me to the Maternal Fetal Medicine which deals with high risk pregnancy due to my age and the RNY surgery, but not for any other reason than those!  This is my 4th pregnancy, 2 pre-op and now the 2nd post-op and all have been pretty uneventful (except this last one I had some bleeding occur at 15 weeks and 17 weeks....but all is well as of today)!  Honestly, I would have to say carrying these past 2 babies have been more enjoyable as I'm not carrying around all that extra weight and actually have a cute baby bump!  Not to mention, I'm in much better health regardless of my age!

Talk you your surgeon and OB.  Tell them your concerns and see what they say.  I got pregnant just after 6 months out from VSG and I've had a totally uneventful pregnancy so far.  My OB does not have any sleeve related concerns and my surgeons office was very supportive as well.  When I got pregnant, all of my labs were great and my weight loss had pretty much stabilized (I was just about 5 lbs away from a normal BMI).  Definitely talk to your doctors and together you can make the best decision to make sure that you and the baby are both healthy!

Thanks guys for the responses. I will wait it out. Really thinking about it, if I try start trying at 8 months out, what's another 4 months of waiting in the grand scheme of things. I want to make sure my baby is healthy. Maybe I am just being a little paranoid but I just can' t wait to have my baby. It's like I already love him and he is not even conceived yet...does that make sense.(hoping for a boy, but blessing either way) Thanks again.

WAIT!! I am 36 and just had twins. I had my other daughter 18 months ago when I was 35. Its not that big of a change to not do the whole time of waiting and getting healthy. I have been pregnant about 11 times and had 4 pregnancies make it to have my 5 babies. It is more important to get healthy first

Definitely wait.  I'm 40 and I'm TTC now.  But I tell you... once I dropped 130 lbs after my RNY I finally became a healthy adult!  Something I've never been cuz I starting my "super morbidly obese" journey when I was 8 years old and my cycles were NEVER regular.  Now that I'm healthy... and 40... all my fertility labs look really good.  Wait... work with your bari surgeon... and wait.  34 is not old to have a baby.  Heck... 40 isn't old anymore.  Trust me... the healthier and stable you are in your new body, the better off you will be in your pregnancy and your future children will be as well.

I see the consensus is to wait. That is why I came to this board to reassure myself that is the best thing.  I guess being 31 almost 32 with no children has me feeling like time is running out if I plan to have multiple children. But most importantly I want a healthy baby and pregnancy. So I can spend this time preparing as best as I can. I am taking extra folic acid even this early out just to get in the habit of having it. I think I will incorporate a fish oil as well. I'll try to start trying at least one year out if cleared by my docs. Thanks gals. I will keep everyone posted.

I'm 34 and about to have my first post op baby...I think you're doing the smart thing by waiting it out :-)