Weight Gain - Sacramento, CA

Everyone gains weight differently and every pregnancy is different.

I gain a huge chunk of weight (between 6 and 10 pounds) at about 25 weeks, then I taper of and fluctuate between 1 pound/week or no gain toward the last 6-8 weeks. I am 36 weeks and lost one pound at 34 weeks (first time for me).

So, I would just say - eat a normal, healthy diet. Pregnancy should include only 300 extra calories per day (that amounts to 4 fig newtons and a glass of milk - NOT much!).

Excercise and make good food choices. The average 1 pound/week is just that - an AVERAGE.

Mom of 4: girl (gained 26 lbs), boy (gained 30 lbs), boy (gained 25 lbs), and baby due 10/1 (gained 23-25 lbs at 36 weeks).

I, too, was overweight with my son and my doctor said it would be just fine if I didn't gain any weight. Funny enough, I started to eat better (lots of fruit and I had an aversion to red meat so that was out!) at the beginning of my pregnancy and actually lost close to 20 pounds (I gained toward the end, though). I am proud to say I've kept 75 percent of it off.

That said, don't expect to gain weight. It's OK if you don't, so long as you and the baby are healthy! :) Mine came out 8, 9 and screaming and kicking. They said he was the healthiest baby that day.

Every pregnancy is different, but I rarely gained more than a few pounds until the sixth or seventh month. I did pack on a lot of weight the last six weeks. I kept on an extra 10-15 with each pregnancy.

Hi K.,
When I was pregnant with my two kids, pretty much the same thing happened to me. I had gain about 50 lbs with my 1st pregnacy and only lost about 10 lbs of it and then when I was having my 2nd child I lost weight instead of gaining it. So the answer to your question is that your DR. is watching you close. And with being overwight they would like to see you lose some of it before the 2nd child is born, or at least that was what my Dr. had told me. My Dr watched me very close with this. My suguestion to you is to call your Dr and leave a message for him, so that he knows you are concerned about this issue and he should be able to call and talk to you regarding it. All Dr's have different practicing techniques and some Dr's are more informative than others and things that concerns DR's are not as alarming to others. So the best advise is to talk to him or her. Like I said mine Dr was not concerned and was watching me closely and was okay that I had lost weight instead of gaining it. I didn't gain extra weight expect at the end when my son was born and that's when the water weight comes into play.

Hi K.,
The worry is not with the weight gain, but with the growth of the baby, of course. As long as your ultrasound and your OB exams are showing the baby is growing normally, you don't need to gain weight, especially if you are a little overweight to begin with. From personal experience, I gained little to no weight with all 4 of my pregnancies because I had hyperemesis every time, never stopped with the nausea and vomiting from start to finish. However, all my babies were around 7lbs each. They take what they need and leave you with the rest! But be sure and express your concerns to your OB for peace of mind about the growth of the baby. Also, ask him/her about your thyroid function. That can play a part in lack of weight gain as well. But if the baby is growing fine and all else is well, consider it a blessing you won't have more weight to lose! Hope it all goes well!
-J.

I experienced the same weight issue on my second pregnancy... you'll be fine. Like you I only gained a couple of pounds in the beginning, even lost weight some weeks however the majority of my weight gain( 25 bls total) came at the end of 7 months on. You need to gain some weight even if you start over where you want to be. With the baby comes extra fluids,blood etc...meaning added weight.
I found I lost the weight quickly soon after the baby came and started nursing... plus caring for two little ones you will be moving about like crazy! Best wishes!

with my second child i weight 5 pounds less than when i started. I think i gained the weigh before i new i was pregnant probably about 8 pounds and i was a about 20 pounds heaver than i should have been. Dont worry my baby was healthy and yours will be too. Doctor never said a thing. as long as my belly measured in ok and heart beat was good he was happy. congrats and dont worry

I have a friend who is overweight and when she was pregnant she lost weight for the first few months of her pregnancy. Her doctor said that was fine. After a few months she started to level out and wasn't losing or gaining, and then she gained. So I think your fine :).

every pregnancy is different, you should not worry about what other women gained at what point. as long as you are eating healthy and trying to get some moderate exercise daily(taking your 3-year-old for a daily walk is great for both of you) you will gain the weight. your doctor will tell you if there is a reason to worry.

I know some of the weight you gain during pregnancy is fat to later feed the baby when they are born. Maybe because you haven't lost some of the weight from the previous baby your body isn't making more. Our bodies are so amazing! Breast feeding is the best way to get the weight off. Don't worry about how much you are eating now, the baby is the main concern, but you know you can keep from eating something like a whole pint of ice cream etc. That is not good for the baby and can cause diabetes and other health problems for the baby. Good luck!

I think since you are a few pounds ovdrweight to start that you have probably lost a few lbs in the first few months but will have your baby gain in the laxt months. Not abnormal.

I was overweight. I actually lost weight for the first several months, then gained a pound or two on each visit thereafter. The baby was almost 10 pounds!

Each women, each pregnancy is going to be different. It's more important to look at your diet and activity level. With my pregnancies I gained only 8-10 lbs, starting each at my ideal weight, but my babies were very healthy. Your body is amazing and weight can redistribute itself.

Congrats on the new baby. My first two children are a little over three years apart and the age difference is great. In all my pregnancies I gained 30-35 pounds. By 22 weeks I had gained about 9 pounds. It sounds like you will be fine. I have at least four friends that have gotten pregnant again before losing the baby weight from the first. All of them gained significantly less with the second. One of them didn't even gain anything, but she was about 50 pounds overweight. All of their babies were nice and healthy. If your doctor is not worried about it I am sure you are fine. Good Luck!

That's great. You've only put on 1 lbs at 5 mo. You will put on more lbs later,mo. 6 and 7, but you will really put on a few more lbs the last month or so when the baby takes a growth spurt.

Just ask the doc at your next appt.

Keep eating healthy. At my 6 wk post appt. I had lost all the baby weight gained and another 11 lbs. I said pregnancy was great for me. Keep up the good work.

Stephanie

Hey Kim!

I was overweight with my pregnancy and they kept stressing that i was to gain no more than 15 pounds. had me scared to death because i was so afraid of not being able to give birth like they said and that I was going to have to have a c-section. I worked out pretty hard until 9 months... lifting weights until 7 months. At the very end I gained 22 pounds and lost 28 before leaving the hospital. I am now smaller than I was before I got pregnant and I have just recently returned to working out. The only thing for me was that at the end I was so worried that i had not gained enough... that my baby could be sick. So I started to eat... I only gained about 3 pounds in that last month though, but it made me feel better. Give yourself a little more breathing room and say no more than 25 pounds. There is no need to gain more than that... if you're on the thin side... no more than 30 pounds. Eat healthy small meals throughout the day and skip fast food. You don't need it and your baby doesn't want it. If you aren't someone who works out then at least walk.
Good luck!

I was so sick with morning sickness for the first five months I actually lost weight. Like you I was overweight before the pregnancy so my doctor didn't seem to mind the loss. I gained my first pound at 6 months and they definately came on quicker after that. Just remember that the excess fat storage in your body i.e. hips, thighs, stomache can support your fetus. You are fine and just continue with a smart diet and exercise. You don't have to gain a bunch of weight and in the end you can use up some of the weight you didn't lose the first time.

If I remember correctly, if you are signifigantly overweight, there is no rule that says you have to gain at all. As long as your doctor is happy with your progress, I would not worry. I think its wonderful that you have gained one pound in five months. I used to attend church with a woman who was signifigantly overweight, I would guess over a size 22 (I wont guess in pounds). She actually lost 10 pounds by the time she delivered. Her doctor was very happy with this because the more overweight a woman is when they deliver, the harder the delivery is, supposedly. I would have to agree though because I gained 90lbs with my first, because I had preecclampsia. The delivery was, for lack of a better term, tramatic. I gained 65lbs with my second. I am 5' 8". I am now down to 185lbs, which is considered obease at my height. My goal is to get to 165lbs. This is the highest end of a "healthy" weight for my height. I weighed 175lbs when I got pregnant, because I gained 10lbs of happy after being married for a year and a half. The most important thing is that you are happy and healthy. Even at 175lbs, which is "overweight" for my height, I was happy and comfortable with how I looked. My body just doesnt agree with pregnancy. I ended up on bed rest both times.

Hello K.,
I wouldn't worry too much about the weight gain at this point, you have 18 weeks left and that's a lot of time to gain 10lbs. In the last trimester you will start gaining at least a lb a week which should get you really close to that 15 lb. If your ob doesn't seem too concerned, and you've talked to him/her it should be fine. I'm sure with a second one you burn more calories chasing the first one around, rather then sitting on the couch eating ice cream like I did with my one and only=o)

Hi K.,

I think if there was a problem, your doctor would have addressed it with you. I thought I would let you know about my business in case you were able or interested in working out while pregnant. I teach Baby Boot Camp which is premier stroller fitness for prenatal and post partum moms. The classes are offered in Plumas Lake and Yuba City. You can expect a 55 minute gym quality work out while spending time with your child.

If you are intested, you can get more info at www.babybootcamp.com or send me an email!

J.

Well it's been ages since, though it's quite possible that you need not gain any weight. So long as you eat healthfully and remain active the baby should be fine.

Best of luck,
L.

Get the marvelous book "What to Eat When You're Expecting." It makes it incredibly easy to make sure that you and your baby are getting the nutrition you need. I found out I needed to eat for three during my third month, and did everything according to this book. My twins were born at 8 and 9 pounds. Good luck!

Hi K.,

I was overweight when I became pregnant with my daughter but actually started losing weight during the pregnancy. I had changed my diet and cut out the glasses of wine. My Doctor told me I was losing fat weight, not healthy weight. Ask your Doctor what he or she thinks?

Good Luck!
Patti b

I think the weight rules are a bit too stringent, and their major failing is that they look more at numbers than nutrients. I know the docs don't like more than a certain # of lbs but they are conducting their practise in an environment of fear of lawsuits so they take the CYA road and tell their moms to do what is ultimately the safest for the practise. If you don't have a clear cut case of diabetes, and are eating nutrient dense foods and not a bunch of junk, you will be growing a healthy baby that is a normal size for your body.

At this point, any further ultrasounds will be less and less and less accurate. They aren't that accurate to start and as the baby gets bigger they get worse. I had one baby who was supposedly 7+ lb come out at 5lb 13oz. Late ultrasounds are accurate to "+/- 2lb" so that means there's a four lb range the baby could be... in other words, it isn't really more accurate than a guess.

Here's some insight on the weight issue in the words of a midwife -

"My thing with clients is "How do you eat? What do you eat?"

I am not concerned as much with numbers on a scale as I am with PROPER nutrition throughout pregnancy. I am amazed at how many women do not have any idea about correct diet throughout pregnancy and what a difference it makes in their general health as well as the labor , delivery and post partum period.

I do have my clients weigh themselves each visit, but I also keep a close check on how they are doing with their eating habits. ON AN AVERAGE, my clients gain between 25-45 lbs. But, if they are taking in what they need to be, their body will determine the pounds gained. Many women have a "JUMP" somewhere in their second trimester. I have seen it over and over. So, I'm not concerned when a mom comes in between four and six months and has gained seven to ten pounds in a month. I would be concerned if she did that every time, but knowing what the body needs at different stages of pregnancy helps monitor the overall picture.

By the way, the babies born to these women average between 8 - 10 pounds. Healthy and no problems with birthing. They are off to a good start.

My bottom line: Don't JUST look at the numbers, look at the intake."

Kimberly,

I just recently gave birth to my son (3 months ago). I had a very normal pregnancy and was told by my doc to gain 20-25lbs while pregnant. By the fifth month I think I had only put on 2 or 3 lbs. There were some appts. that I didn't gain any weight. My doctor said that it was completely normal, as long as I was not losing any weight. I wouldn't worry unless your doc says something about it. My baby saved all the weight gain til the very end of my pregnancy. Just a warning, watch out for stretch marks.
Take care and I hope everything goes well.

I too was in the same boat! I gained a ton with my first, she is only 20 months and I am now 6+ months pregnant. I was really slow to gain any weight and I took it as a blessing. I have heard from many moms with the same issue that sometimes when we are lucky our bodies just balance out the excess weight we were carrying and put it towards the baby. I have gained only in my last few visits and was even thinking that was not a good thing, so i would not worry!

I didn't have this exact issue, but what I can tell you is that even starting out at the same weight to begin with, my 2 pregnancies were totally different in terms of weight gain. The first time I gained 75 pounds. I managed to lose most of it, and then the second time I gained 30 pounds. (And I swear I did nothing different!) That second time my baby was a pound bigger than the first. It's my opinion that the second time around, your body knows what it's doing and doesn't feel the need to stash away quite so much weight. I wouldn't worry about it. As long as your ultrasounds show that the baby is doing well, you have nothing to worry about. Just keep eating healthy and you will be fine! Best of luck to you!