Nervous About Weight Gain

[OctoberMommy2010]

I am getting nervous about my weight gain. I was small before getting pregnant, short (5'3") & petite (118 lbs.) I'm 28 weeks along now and have gained 23 lbs so far, so I do have a while to go. According to my calculations, I'm about 3-5 lbs over what the doctor would like to see me at. My last three appointments I've gone up 5, 5 and 7 lbs!!

I think my appetite has slowed down, it feels back to normal. I don't get a ton of exercise, so that could be a contributing factor. Anything I can do to help stick to the 1 lb per week guideline? How much weight did you gain with your first? Thanks!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think you should relax/ Some weeks are growing weeks and things even back out. And if it is any consolation, I gained 40lbs with my 42w ds2 and it was all gone by 5-6m. I was exercising...I also just really loved chocolate milk and it was like 200 calories. cup!

Beth

[luckytwenty]

This is my third pregnancy, and I've come to the conclusion that unless you eat an absurd amount of junk, you're going to gain what you need to gain. I didn't exercise or watch what I ate w/ my first preg., gained 36 lbs, and was at prepregnancy weight by 3 1/2 months. Second pregnancy, I exercised 3-5 days a week until my 7th month, gained 41 lbs, and every lb was gone by 3 1/2 months. This pregnancy, I've been eating more carefully than I did the other times, exercise 3-5 days a week, and am up pretty much a lb a week, so I'm looking at another likely 40ish lb. gain. I hope I'm as lucky as I was last time with the weight loss, but if not, I am in GREAT cardio shape for burning it off post-partum, anyway.

I have freak out moments about this topic, but I really do think that unless you're gorging yourself, you should be fine. And I have noticed that I gained more when I started out thinner (preg #2 and #3), and since you were at a great weight to begin with, you might end up putting on a bit more than the books tell you to.

In the end, what matters is that you have a healthy baby and that you don't gain so much weight that it takes a year to lose. I do have friends who gained 60-70 lbs and never lost the last 20, so I know that does happen.

[wellyes]

I've found that slender people gain a LOT more than average when pregnant, but don't have a hard time getting it off -- particularly if they nurse.

I have a coworker who gained 75 lbs and a friend who gained 60 and neither one kept the weight after the baby.

[bubbaray]

Yes, slender people gain more. I was under the care of a perinatologist with both pregnancies and he was NOT AT ALL concerned with my weight gain -- 60+ lbs with DD#1 and 40lbs with DD#2. I asked him about that and he said with my (then) slim athletic build and consistently good "numbers" (ie, blood and urine work), he was not worried.

ETA: I lost all 60lbs (and then some) within 2w PP with DD#1. I lost 40+ lbs with DD#2 by 4w PP.

[bostonsmama]

At 22.5 wks I've gained 11.5 lbs and had a 20.7 BMI pre pg (like you), and I'm just about the enter the phase where baby picks up 6-8oz of her own weight each week. I've noticed a lot bigger daily increases in the last few days, and I'm guessing it's just par for the course. I do have friends who are the exact same gestation as you and have gained 25+ lbs, but they also started out slim, and I have no doubt they'll lose post partum. One of my good friends was very tall and slim and gained 50+ lbs with her baby this March, and she's losing it very quickly. She said she worked out w/ a personal trainer 4x/wk. It is my belief that those who start slim or workout during pg do gain more--it does set you up for adequate stores for BF, and baby has his/her needs.

I just try to focus on getting the good, healthy foods I need first, and if I have room for the treats, I eat those next--and try not to worry if it gives me an extra half pound a week. I know this awesome eating ride is going to come to an end after birth (I was eating 1500 calories/day, running 3.5 miles 3x/wk and avoiding all kinds of desserts, alcohol, etc--it's not the funnest existence), so I'm enjoying having a higher metabolism while I still can!

[swissair81]

I'm 34 weeks & have gained 23 lbs. I gained 38 with DD1, about 27 with DD2 & 35ish with DS. I lost the weight with the girls (who were both born at the end of the winter), but I had more trouble with DS (who was born at the beginning of the winter). The weather messed in my weight loss plan. It consists of lost of walking. I told my DH if I haven't lost all the weight by the time it gets cold, we're buying a treadmill. I was so careful this time, because I didn't lose all my weight with DS & that just won't do.

[Katigre]

IME more petite women tend to gain more weight while pregnant. I am 5'4 and 115-120 lbs pre-pg and I gained 40 lbs with each pregnancy. My body needed the extra fat not just for pg, but also for nursing afterward (my metabolism goes into overdrive while nursing and if not for those extra pounds to burn I would have been in serious trouble weight-wise, as it was I barely managed to stay at a healthy weight).

Listen to your body and not your dr.'s prescribed notion of what you 'should' gain .

[luckytwenty]

This is making me feel a lot better. I'm also pretty petite and could never understand what the deal is with the big weight gains while friends who are pregnant eat fries and ice cream every day and have only gained 1/3 of what I have.

I only had a doctor once make a comment about my weight gain, and that was my first pregnancy when I gained 11 lbs in one month, the month of the holidays--a good deal of it was butter cookie weight, so I am glad he said something. Usually my gains are 3-5 lbs, but every single month, including the first trimester.