Weight gain question

[Called2Grace]

I know that there has been a lot of discussion in relation to weight gain, well I've just come back from my 20 week apt with my Dr and I haven't gained anything, and his scales read less than mine!

Apparently I am 57kg (that is approx 125.5lbs). He said that even though I haven't gained any, the baby is getting all it needs from my stores as growth wise, he is where he should be, and my uterus is also where it should be.

Although he didn't really seem that concerned, of course I am worrying about it....I think the best thing for me to do is to increase the amount that I eat, but also to make sure that it is good stuff.

So after having KFC and an icecream for lunch I am now having an apple

I think the average "good" weight gain is about 10-15 kg, so that means that I need to put on about half a kg each week over the next 20 weeks!

I suppose the fact that I haven't put on any weight is why I don't really look pregnant to people that don't know me. (I just look like I have a bigger belly!)

My main concern is that the reason that I am feeling so crappy is becuase if the baby is taking everything from my stores, there isn't anything left over for me. So maybe if I try to eat more and better then I won't feel so crappy.
What do you think?

 

[Assisi]

I hadn't gained at 20 weeks either and my weight was still 53 kg (117lbs). I know what you mean about worry! I worried that baby would be too small and not growing, but I was wrong. People say that weight gain is not all that important, but when you're at the lower end of the weight spectrum to start out with rather than the upper end, it does feel like it matters.

Your baby measured perfect at your scan, that's a really promising thing. I kept up my usual eating habits and I started gaining not long after the 20 week mark. I get 'growth spurts' now. I always find that making sure I'm getting enough of all the good things helps me to feel better - so sure, try to eat better if you think you can. It can't hurt.

What happened in your last pregnancy?

 

[Leanna]

I think that you are only 20 weeks and you shouldnt worry because you are likely going to gain from now on without trying.... especially weeks 24-28 are a weight gainer for most women. I would not make yourself eat or try to gain weight. Trust your body. Eat when you are hungry, and make sure you are getting your vitamins and especially calcium so that your bones don't suffer.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

I agree with Leanna. With my first I didn't gain weight until the second half of my pregnancy. I don't see why in the US there is such an emphasis on weight gain. My sister in the UK wasn't even weighed her whole pregnancy because they realise over there that how much weight you put on/don't put on is not as important as overall health and that the baby is growing well. If you try to force your body to gain/lose weight in pregnancy you're just going to move into the unhealthy side of things for your body. Just eat healthy and take your prenatal and don't worry about the scale.

 

[jgonz]

I also agree with Leanna, let your body telll you when it's hungry, then eat heatlhy stuff.

If you Try to put on weight and eat a lot of fatty foods and calories, you're just going to have to work to get that weight off after the baby comes....

If you're worried about your own nutritional stores being depleted, then eat healthy and take supplements (prenatal vitamins, green food tablet, Vit.C, Vit.E (400- 800iu per day), calcium, magnesium (as many mgs as you take of calcium), B-Complex...

 

[Called2Grace]

My diet is pretty poor though. I am thinking more about eating better on a whole not just fatty foods.
Now that I think about it I don't think I really gained much with Susie until the second part and then I blew up like a balloon (lots of fluid!) I still gag when I take my vit suppliments though which makes it a real turn off!

 

[jgonz]

I've only gained about 10lbs and I'll be 35 wks tomorrow... Your body is going to gain what it needs. (The most I've ever gained with any of my pregnancies was 45- but that was a LOT of chocolate. And I paid for that later. Usually it was around 25- 30, with my last pregnancy ending at 13lbs. We'll see where I end up with this one.)

 

[Leanna]

At my appointment today, I am 9 pounds heavier than I was at this point in my last pregnancy..... baby is about the same..... I wish I hadn't gained this much, it is just more to lose later

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

I am 4 lbs more now than I was at full term with my other two and I still have 9 weeks to go! I'm at the heaviest I've ever been in my life. Darn that month in England eating chocolate - I should have had more restraint!

 

[Assisi]

Called2Grace, it's so hard to be good about your diet when you're pregnant and sick. But in my experience it makes all the difference in the world! I now know that the self control I need to eat well really pays off.

Over Easter our parents gave us lots of chocolate and cheese, and I bought too many Hot Cross Buns (I thought our guests would eat more of them than they did). Add to this that our grocery budget is loooow at the moment because of a party we had and our entertaining over Easter, and the result is a bad bad diet for a week. I spent the whole week with morning sickness, first trimester style. The carbs in the Hot Cross Buns would make me feel better for that little bit (like carbs always do with m/s), but in the long run it wasn't working for me. When I switched back to proper food, wholemeal bread, fresh juice, real fruit and vege, meat and milk (our internet bill came in less than expected and I went food shopping yesterday!) I just started to feel 100% better. Now I'm less sick, less tired...more of my old self. Diet makes all the difference in the world. I hope it makes a difference to you.