Weight gain

[seamonster]

How much weight did you gain with your pregnancies? Did you gain the reccomended 25-35? More/less? How difficult did you find it was to get the weight off after your pregnancy?

Another question -- if you're 20-30 pounds overweight to begin with, do you need to gain as much with your pregnancy? (This doesn't apply to me -- I'm just curious.) I know people who are underweight often have to gain more than 35lbs, I just wasn't sure if the opposite was true. I've heard all sorts of different answers.

 

[HeatherJay]

With my first I gained 26 pounds. It was surprisingly easy for me to drop the weight afterwards. I even got down to a lower weight than when I'd gotten pregnant to begin with.

With my second, I gained 35 pounds. It wasn't quite as easy to lose weight with her, but I lost the top 20 pounds right away, anyway. Still working on those last 15...5 years later.

 

[oliveplants]

With my first, I was dead even (0 gain). That worked out to weight loss after the birth. Easy! It helps to lose weight when you throw up for a week straight, don't feel like eating for 3 months, and then don't have anywhere to put the food.

The others varied a bit. I think I gained about 15lbs with #4. Hard to lose.

So far this time (at 34 weeks) I've gained 8 lbs; 6 of those were this last month. So I have hopes of not being heavier after the birth than I was before the pregnancy.

(I am overweight. Dr seems to prefer I don't gain much.)

 

[katelyn]

I gained 51 lbs. with Natalie. It took some time to lose the weight, but I wouldn't say it was hard - with breastfeeding I never dieted (although tried to eat at least kind of healthy) and lost all the weight and then some...ended up 25-30 lbs. under my pre-pregnancy weight.

This time I've gained 15 lbs. so far, at 17 weeks. I'm guessing I'll gain about 40 lbs. total.

 

[Linnis]

25-35 is for a person of a normal weight, if you are underweight you should gain more if you are overweight you should gain less.

I was underweight when I started, so my doctor wants me to gain between 35-50 lbs by the time I'm to term. I'm six months pregnant and I've gained 23 lbs so far.

I'm supposed to eat a lot more calories than most. I'd probably be heavier but I refuse to eat junk simply because it's high in empty calories. I'd rather eat healthy even if I don't gain at much because I feel it's healthier than eating high fat foods just to reach my calorie and weight goals.

I don't know how well I'll be taking the weight off, I actually wouldn't mind keeping 10 lbs of this when I'm done.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

With my first I gained 42lbs, most of that in the last trimester. I lost 27lbs just in the birth alone so 25lbs would have been too little for me to gain. I didn't have a problem losing the weight with breastfeeding. I started out average weight and height (130lbs and 5' 6"). With this pregnancy I've gained 20lbs so far at almost 30 weeks. I'm not worried about how much I gain as I am eating healthily.

 

[Leanna]

I've never dieted before and so I figured when they told me I was "underweight" I pretty much rolled my eyes. I'm not going to *try* to gain excess fat just because I don't fit into their little charts. I never did, never will, I would still rank as "underweight" right now and I have already gained a few pounds for the new baby. I just ate when I was hungry and listened to my body.... well, that's what I do now too. I gained 30 pounds with David, and I expect I'll gain about the same with this one. Of course it could be more because its whatever my body tells me to gain. After the birth I think it took me 3-4 months to lose the weight, but my hips had expanded a little bit and so I never did fit into my prepregnancy pants again. I could get them on but not button them. That was disappointing for me because I had a lot of nice clothes and now they go to waste.

 

[New Creation]

With my first I gained 42lbs, most of that in the last trimester. I lost 27lbs just in the birth alone so 25lbs would have been too little for me to gain. .

Wow! You lost 27 pounds with the birth? Can I ask how you lost so much? If it's none of my business, just let me know. I'm just kind of hopeful that that might happen to me too!
I have gained about 43 pounds so far and I'm due in a week. I also have gestational diabetes.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Wow! You lost 27 pounds with the birth? Can I ask how you lost so much? If it's none of my business, just let me know. I'm just kind of hopeful that that might happen to me too!
I have gained about 43 pounds so far and I'm due in a week. I also have gestational diabetes.

It was just how much everything weighed I guess. My daughter was 8lbs 4oz, then there was the weight of the placenta, amniotic fliud, water rentention, etc. That added up to losing 27lbs. I then lost the rest through breastfeeding.

 

[giddybiscuit]

I gained 30 lbs. and lost it all, plus four more pounds, within a few months after my baby was born. I didn't do anything to lose the weight; it just came off, probably because of breastfeeding. I was at a healthy weight (on the low end, though) before I got pregnant.

 

[RoseofLima]

I always seem to gain a ton of weight when I am pregnant (40-60lbs.)...I often have to eat all day long during my first trimester or I feel ill...and usually it is mild things that pack on weight like pasta and potatoes and fruit...

I never lose any weight while I am nursing, on avergae I lose 15-20 pounds at birth....

I gave up on fitting into clothes as oftne as I am pregnant- nearly all of my clothes now are skirts with thin elastic waistbands, to accomadate my ever changing size.

 

[New Creation]

It was just how much everything weighed I guess. My daughter was 8lbs 4oz, then there was the weight of the placenta, amniotic fliud, water rentention, etc. That added up to losing 27lbs. I then lost the rest through breastfeeding.

Sounds good to me. I figured the child will be 8 or 9 pounds, 5 for the placenta- forgot about the amniotic fluid and water retention. Does that stop immediately after pregnancy?

 

[Leanna]

When I went home from the hospital I still looked 6 months pregnant, just my belly wasn't "tight" anymore just flabby. Be sure to bring nice big comfy clothes! I didn't bring big enough clothes, they were maternity but I hadn't counted on how swollen my backside was.

 

[Linnis]

Everyone I know says to bring yoga pants or some other kind of strechy pants.

 

[jgonz]

I wore maternity clothes back home after each of my births.

I gained 25 lbs with my first baby, and it went up from there until #6 when I gained 45 lbs. I was not healthy while pregnant with him, and ate a lot of junk. I never did lose the weight either~ I went home from the hospital weighing the Same as when I was before I had the baby.... and gained weight during his first year. I finally realized my thyroid was screwed up.

After dealing with my thryoid and exercising for 7 months in a row and not losing any weight... I figured the goal was to be Healthy, and not worry about my weight anymore.

My last 3 pregnancies I only gained 18, 15, and 13 lbs respectively. After each baby I lost Exactly the amount I had gained~ and no more. *sigh*

One tip to Any and All reading my post~ It doesn't matter how much weight you gain or lose... Make sure you eat Healthy, and plenty of the "good" fats or the baby (and you) will end up suffering.

 

[Cright]

I'll be 24 weeks tomorrow.

I'm down .5 lbs from when I got pregnant. I started out not being able to eat from weeks 6 until 20 pretty much. I had 24 hour neasuea and was throwing up anything I ate after about 3pm. So I only ate during the day and kept it light. I was down 11 lbs. Now obviously I'm gaining because I have 10.5 of that back.

My old Dr. was not concerned as well is my midwife. I'm over weight to begin with and am gaining now, so that's all good. If I stayed down all that weight or were still losing they'd have a problem with it i'm sure.

They've told me I should gain 15-25 w/ this pregnancy. Since it's my first I have no idea if that's what it will amount to or if I'll lose it all right away. I'll see when I get there. I'm not going to stress over it, just make sure I'm eating good stuff.

 

[New Creation]

Just eat healthy Carina, and make sure you're taking a vitamin supplement and you and baby will be fine!

 

[Leanna]

Everyone I know says to bring yoga pants or some other kind of strechy pants.

Yes and everything I read said to bring maternity clothes that fit you ok at about 6 or 7 months. Ha!!! I was so swollen in my backside from the tearing that I had to have Wes bring overalls because I couldn't fit into ANY of my maternity clothes to go home in.

The good news is that didn't have any effect on me losing the weight after that, because it was just swollen not fat.