Need help gaining weight!

[suazie1]

I was so upset after my appointment with my CNM this morning!  She said that I need to gain more weight.  I am at 29 weeks and my fundal height was  measuring 26.  I have gained about 9-10 pounds since the begining of the pregnancy.  I am tall and slim and usually have a hard time gaining weight anyyway.  This is my second pregnancy and I didn't gain alot with my first. but I gained the average 25 pounds or so by the end of the pregnancy.  So I really don't want to put my baby at any risk.  Baby is very active though! She also wants to send me for another ultrasound.  She seemed so concerned...I cried all the way home.

I said all that to say..does anyone know of what can help me gain a little more weight in this last trimester?  Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[Jaimee]

I also have trouble gaining weight, especially during pregnancy and have also been consistently "behind" in fundal height through both my pregnancies.  I gained 26 with my first and 22 with my second.  I gave birth to two healthy babies weighing 7lb1oz and 8lbs2oz.  I also had a CNM for my first pregnancy and most of my second.  They tend to get more concerned because of the protocols they have to follow for their licensure.  They usually have you do food diaries to keep track of your protein intake (which should be around 60g a day) first.  But, when you fall behind a certain amount for several weeks (usually 3-4 cm) then they must order a growth sono. 

This is your second baby, so can you remember your growth pattern with your first?  Did you fall behind part way through and then catch up?  Did you have periods of no fundal growth followed by a leap in growth?  If you can recall your pattern, this should help quell some of your midwife's concerns.  You could offer to do a food diary instead of having the growth sono.  Remember that sono's in the third tri are highly inaccurate so you can't really trust the weight estimate.  It can help rule out other issues that *could* be happening with the placenta.

But, I want to throw out there that you may just grow babies in a different way and that way is not bad or wrong.  If you know that you're eating enough, stand up for yourself and your body.  I switched to a CPM near the end of my second pregnancy and was much happier.  She didn't even weigh me and was totally unphased by my fundal height.

As for foods... focus on high calorie/high protein foods like avocado, nuts/nut butters, meat if you eat it, cottage cheese, etc.  Good luck!

[suazie1]

Thanks for replying Jaimie...I had the same CNM with my last pregnancy two years ago. I feel that this time around she seems even more pressured to follow alot of protocol.  I have a copy of my records from last pregnancy and my fundal height was consistently on target and sometimes even 1 cm ahead. I gained a total of 28 pound with the first and consistently gained weight.  I started both pregnancies about the same weight( about 150 lbs).  By the 29th week last pregnancy I was already 165 lbs...this time I am only about 159. I am eating normally and regulary with snacks, so I can't figure out the problem.  When I go for ultrasound on Thursday...we'll see and like you said ultrasound is not that accurate at this point anyway.

[Jaimee]

Well, if this is not how you normally grow babies, then a sono is probably a good idea to rule out issues like IUGR and placental problems.  But, it might be worth it for you to also keep a food diary for a week.  It really forces you to examine what you're eating and perhaps with another kid running around you haven't been eating as much as you think.  Are you nursing as well?  That takes another 500 calories a day!  For those of us that already have issues gaining weight it is imperative that we are eating enough protein and good fats to keep up.  In the 3rd tri, they say you only need about 300 more calories a day than you usually do, but I found I had to eat upwards of 2700-3000 calories, which is not easy to do on a vegetarian diet!

Good luck and I'm sure everything is fine with the baby!

[Shami]

Sorry you are going through this. if you already feel full and cannot eat more, try adding more good fats to your diet. Put an extra tablespoon of olive oil in your salad or on cooked veggies. Add extra pats of butter to your veggies or even on top of a steak. Try eating coconut oil. Buy a good brand of virgin unprocessed coconut oil and add it into smoothies, or spread it on cinnamon raisin bread. love it on Ezekiel 4:9 bread. it's a sprouted bread you can find in your frozen healthy section. Make smoothies with full fat coconut milk and full fat greek yogurt and whatever fruit you like, yum! Eat 1/2 an avocado every day and add seeds or nuts to your salads or oatmeal. If you like butternut squash, i like to bake one up, scoop it out and keep it in the fridge for snacks. You can add butter or coconut oil and nuts and cinnamon for a high calorie snack. Find a good clean bacon with no nitrates and eat 2 slices a day in your salad or on a burger or with eggs.

[Jaimee]

I'm not sure if this applies here or not, but I have my own personal theory that sometimes providers do not measure correctly.  I think that with slender/smaller framed women, the baby can get way down there and make measuring accurately difficult.  It's just a theory.   Maybe I actually was that far behind.  It just seems odd to me that I could grow an 8lb baby with my uterus being 4cm too small.  I look forward to hearing how things go tomorrow.

[suazie1]

Thanks for your replies.  I had my ultrasound this afternoon and all is well with the baby.  Actually the baby was measuring ahead of my 29 weeks. the peri thinks I am on my to a 8 or 9 lb baby if I go to full term.  So I am really happy about that.   My midwife will be shocked!  ha! The peri also explained that if at my measurements the baby was traverse ( which I actually think it was), then I would have measured low.  The baby was head down in the ultrasound though. I think she was in a bit of a hurry on that day and didn't even consider feeling my stomach to see how the baby was lying.  Also I have gained one pound a week in the past four weeks even though overall I haven't gained alot, I think I was on the right track the last four weeks.  These are the things I think she should have considered.

I eat a pretty well-balanced diet and I don't eat lots of junk food and I usually prepare food at home.  I do eat avacado and peanut butter and alot of the stuff you guys mentioned, as well as meat. My husband thinks I am constantly eating.  So I couldn't imagine what I was doing wrong...seems like baby is thriving.  I still want to gain weight though, just because I want extra fat for when I start breastfeeding this baby. I only breast feed my daughter for about a year, so I am not right now.  I do work outside the home and my DD is in daycare so I'm not chasing her all day.  I am 5 ft 10 and started at a normal weight of 150 lbs.  I guess I am just one of those exceptions.

[Shami]

Great news! Congrats!

[Jaimee]

Awesome news!!  And frankly, exactly what I expected.  Hopefully your midwife will stop freaking out and not make you needlessly worry anymore.

[ryleeee]

i am 33 weeks and i have gained maybe 17 lbs total (i lost 10 and then gained it back plus 7)...my midwives aren't concerned about it at ALL. (thankfully!)
with my son i only gained 34 lbs total (i initially lost 15 and then gained that back plus 20 lbs) and he was 8.3 oz and 1.5 weeks early (induced)...