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[1babysmom]

UGH.  I am TOTALLY stressing over weight already.  I know I shouldn't be, but I have gained just under 50lbs each pregnancy, and while I've lost it each time, I went into this pregnancy UNABLE to lose any weight (no matter how stinking hard I tried...well, aside from simply starving myself) because of my thyroid issues (didn't ever have the problem until about 11 months PP this last time though), and I worry about how that will affect my gain this time and whether or not I can lose it afterwards.

AND, to make matters worse, I've never before started gaining until 14-16 weeks, but this time I gained like 7lbs almost IMMEDIATELY after getting pregnant.  With every other pregnancy, all 11 of them (m/c's included), I have always LOST 5-8lbs before I hit that 14/16 week point.  But not this time.  I'm already up like 10-11lbs when normally I'd have not even have regained what I lost yet!!  So I feel defeated already!!!!

I eat pretty healthy (though I could always be healthier, but honestly, I am a perfectionist and know I can't hold myself to too high of a standard otherwise I'll give up really fast...BTDT), and I work out as often as I can (though I'm just getting by already since I'm already dealing with SPD and SI joint issues, and this seems to be a point in where I'm contracting more...anybody else?).  But I just feel like if I slip up ONE time, I'm behind and there's no way of catching up.  I HATE the feeling. 

I would normally be okay with gaining the same amount again, because I gained it during a not quite as healthy pregnancy, but also two VERY healthy pregnancies.  So I figured it was just what my body needs for pregnancy.   I am also not nursing this time, sadly (last time I was tandem nursing, nursing one before that), but if I gained the same during my DD1's (obviously NOT nursing) pregnancy, I can't really think that it had much effect either way...?  But with the thyroid issue in play now, as well as the sudden gain out of nowhere, I feel like this is now unfamiliar territory and I've already failed. 

:(

[brooklyn_warbler]

I'm so sorry you feel like you are working from a disadvantage this time because of the thyroid issues.  That must be so frustrating.

Although I'm not dealing with that specifically, I hear you, lady.  I am a pretty slender person normally but I gain LOADS of weight while pregnant, despite eating quite well and working out (normally -- I'll get to that in a second).  I don't weigh myself, but I get big.  BIG!  A lot of it is water weight so it comes off quickly, but there's always a good 10-15lbs that I then have to really work on for about 9 months or so.  I feel super unattractive, and it's such a source of self-consciousness: I think every pregnant woman is absolutely breathtaking (seriously!) but I'm very unkind to myself as a pregnant woman.  And it's been exacerbated this time because between school and homeschooling, I've found no time at all to workout -- so I'm convinced I'm going to get extra huge this time.

I have a history of ED and I hear that women who are recovered often gain a bit of extra weight while pregnant and then hang on to it longer while nursing because their bodies have been conditioned over time to expect malnutrition.  So I feel extra shitty that maybe this is all self-wrought.

At the same time I feel so vain because all things considered I have easy, comfortable pregnancies, and lose all the baby weight after.  But it's hard feeling like one looks like a dinosaur -- and I also know that even when I lose the weight my body shape changes each time, so I'm worried that the third one is gonna break me!
 

[TIFF4NY]

I completely understand your frustration. Prior to this pregnancy and finding out about Hashimoto's I had just gotten myself in the habit of not regularly weighing myself. I was freeing myself from the scale. After finding out that I really did have something wrong and it wasn't all just in my head, the worry set in about weight gain for this pregnancy. I am really really worried about getting heavier than I wound up being with DD and I'm starting out a bit heavier so it's definitely possible. Of course my worry means the scale is back out in plain sight and I've been checking regularly. I hate the mindset of checking constantly and will do my best to break it after this one is born, but I really feel it's more important for me to watch closely so I can make changes if I start to creep up higher/faster than I'd like.

It's such a mind struggle for me and it's all consuming. I hate it. =(

[MommyRuth]

I've gained 15lbs so far. I'm 17w4d. I gained 55lbs with my last pregnancy. I am hoping not to gain quite as much this time, but I wonder if that's just what my body needs? Although I started this pregnancy 15lbs heavier than the last. At this point, I'm feeling fine with it. I've been eating well and getting some exercise. I guess I'm trying not to hold myself to any particular number. I'm also trying to maintain a positive body image so that will rub off on my daughter. I'm hoping to maintain this outlook throughout the rest of this pregnancy! Wish me luck!

[brooklyn_warbler]

Originally Posted by MommyRuth 

I've gained 15lbs so far. I'm 17w4d. I gained 55lbs with my last pregnancy. I am hoping not to gain quite as much this time, but I wonder if that's just what my body needs? Although I started this pregnancy 15lbs heavier than the last. At this point, I'm feeling fine with it. I've been eating well and getting some exercise. I guess I'm trying not to hold myself to any particular number. I'm also trying to maintain a positive body image so that will rub off on my daughter. I'm hoping to maintain this outlook throughout the rest of this pregnancy! Wish me luck!

Yes!  I am also careful to NEVER comment on my weight  or any self-consciousness around my daughter.  I really, really feel like she will get enough of that in her environment (because every woman does) and she does NOT need it to come from me too!

I think what I am experiencing now is sort of that sinking feeling of trepidation but in neither of my other pregnancies did I feel bad about myself when I actually was big.  it's funny.  It's just when I look at pictures later that I cringe a little.

[spruce]

Originally Posted by MommyRuth 

I've gained 15lbs so far. I'm 17w4d. I gained 55lbs with my last pregnancy. I am hoping not to gain quite as much this time, but I wonder if that's just what my body needs? Although I started this pregnancy 15lbs heavier than the last. At this point, I'm feeling fine with it. I've been eating well and getting some exercise. I guess I'm trying not to hold myself to any particular number. I'm also trying to maintain a positive body image so that will rub off on my daughter. I'm hoping to maintain this outlook throughout the rest of this pregnancy! Wish me luck!

Exactly! I am 16weeks 5 days, and have gained 12 lbs. I have always gained a lot of weight, but it has also always come off super fast. That doesn't help me when i am feeling like a StayPufft Marahmallow, though!

Being short, though, I am feeling already like my hips belong on a battleship for cannon support or something.

I gained 42lbs with my first, 47 With my second, something like 75 with my third (most of it was an incredible amount of retained water...wow, painful), and no idea with thE last two since I gave up scales.

[firespiritmelody]

I'm not at a point where I'm panicking about it yet, but I know it's coming. I have a terrible pattern of gaining all the pregnancy weight back -  I usually loose a bit of weight in early pregnancy (have gained a pound or two so far) and do a reasonable job of not over gaining the rest of the pregnancy and even loose it all and then some with nursing after the baby is born. BUT THEN it slowly creeps back on. It takes a while, and it's slow, but I've started every pregnancy at pretty much the same weight I ended the previous one at 4 years prior. I eat pretty good and I'm very active with my line of work, but I don't exercise enough and it just stacks back on a little bit at a time, it's so frustrating!!

Maybe once the babies arrive, we can all work together to keep each other motivated to loose the weight

[brooklyn_warbler]

Originally Posted by spruce 


Exactly! I am 16weeks 5 days, and have gained 12 lbs. I have always gained a lot of weight, but it has also always come off super fast. That doesn't help me when i am feeling like a StayPufft Marahmallow, though!
Being short, though, I am feeling already like my hips belong on a battleship for cannon support or something.
I gained 42lbs with my first, 47 With my second, something like 75 with my third (most of it was an incredible amount of retained water...wow, painful), and no idea with thE last two since I gave up scales.

LOL!  My sisters always called my legs "stay-puft marshmallow legs." 

[MommyRuth]

Originally Posted by brooklyn_warbler 

Yes!  I am also careful to NEVER comment on my weight  or any self-consciousness around my daughter.  I really, really feel like she will get enough of that in her environment (because every woman does) and she does NOT need it to come from me too!

I think what I am experiencing now is sort of that sinking feeling of trepidation but in neither of my other pregnancies did I feel bad about myself when I actually was big.  it's funny.  It's just when I look at pictures later that I cringe a little.

You're right. We get enough of that elsewhere! I'm SO glad we don't watch commercial TV! At least Netflix doesn't have commercials!

I totally get it! It's painful for me to look at the pictures from late in my pregnancy, too! My best friend jokingly called me "four-chins."

Originally Posted by spruce 


Exactly! I am 16weeks 5 days, and have gained 12 lbs. I have always gained a lot of weight, but it has also always come off super fast. That doesn't help me when i am feeling like a StayPufft Marahmallow, though!

Being short, though, I am feeling already like my hips belong on a battleship for cannon support or something.

I gained 42lbs with my first, 47 With my second, something like 75 with my third (most of it was an incredible amount of retained water...wow, painful), and no idea with thE last two since I gave up scales.

I like the idea of giving up the scale! I was appreciative that the midwife didn't bat an eye at the fact that I've gained 15 so far. I do want to make sure I'm gaining steadily, and not all at once, but I suppose that's the way it'll happen naturally, anyway. I definitely lost the weight from my first pregnancy over the first year. I was still extremely hungry while nursing in the beginning, but as we went along, my appetite lessened and the weight came off.

[1babysmom]

I don't think I could give up my scale, I feel like I need it to monitor this issue.  Because that's the thing this time, I don't feel like these weight changes ARE "natural" for me.  With my last 3 successful pregnancies (actually even with my m/c's that went far enough to be able to track gain), I gained the exact same at the exact same rate (and lost the exact same in the beginning, too).  VERY different pregnancies, as well.  And I know "every pregnancy is different", but I feel with the way my thyroid was obviously affecting me before this one, and the very obvious differences so far, that this is going to be a battle that wouldn't be there "naturally", you know?

It's very depressing to me, actually.  Because I don't feel like it would be healthy for me to gain what I've gained the last times if I'm not able to lose it afterwards this time...that wouldn't be a healthy weight for me and I know it would affect me.

I, too, try not to say anything in front of my daughters.

[bambihelton]

At first, I really wasn't too concerned with weight gain. I'm young, so my mindset was basically that I could "lose it all after the baby comes." I guess I'm getting a little more realistic now. Before I got pregnant, I had lost about 15 pounds... and was still doing an intense workout and clean eating every day. When I got pregnant, I knew that I needed more calories to sustain a growing life inside of me(I was only eating 1200 calories a day), so I changed my eating habits quite a bit... and now they're just all out of wack with my cravings and whatnot. 

I've only gained five pounds so far... which actually surprises me because of the drastic change in my diet. However, my shape is changing so much that I just want to cry. I've changed from a pretty flat stomach to... blah. It's not even a pretty, firm belly. It's just ... there. And I feel like I'm never going to look pregnant, but keep this gross looking saggy mess. I drink about a gallon and a half of water a day, so I'm pretty sure a lot of it is bloat and retained water, but it's really starting to cause some anxiety about my self image... 
 

[TIFF4NY]

Originally Posted by bambihelton 

However, my shape is changing so much that I just want to cry. I've changed from a pretty flat stomach to... blah. It's not even a pretty, firm belly. It's just ... there. And I feel like I'm never going to look pregnant, but keep this gross looking saggy mess.
 

I totally know what you are talking about. My belly started doing the loose skin sag thing pretty quickly and it's still kind of in that phase depending on what I'm wearing. I can't wait for it to pop out a bit more so I can be proud of looking obviously pregnant. Don't be hard on yourself though! Focus on enjoying the pregnancy and the growing life inside of you. It's all worth it.

[at_the_hip]

The weight gain issue is a hard one...I am with you ladies.  I have gained way more than average with all of my previous pregnancies.  When I am not pg I have a very high metabolism but once I am pg I can't LOOK at a donut without gaining a lb!!  LOL 

This time around I've been really sick which is part of it but the biggest change has been monitoring my calorie intake.  That is what made the biggest difference this time around.  Every other time i'd be up at LEAST 15 lbs already at 16w but I am still a few lbs below my starting weight.  Being sick is a part of that but keeping track of my calories has really made me aware of where I would accidentally eat too much...it has helped me contol portions more responsibly and eat whatever I want...just not too much.  Does that make sense?  It always has changed my choices at times...ie a big muffin can have between 800 and 1200 +++ calories!  A milkshake can easily have over a 1000.  Considering that's about half of what I need in a day (even if it isn't often), you can see how one 'bad' choice in a day or even a few days a week can really add up.  Drinks can be apart of this...and even something as simple as candies to deal with morning sickness (I liked to suck on wine gums until I realised how many totally empty calories I could take in this way...I'd rather have a donut than that!).

[at_the_hip]

PS - I use babyfit to keep track...you put in your pre-pg weight and it gives you a calorie range through your pg and you can track your daily calories.  They have you at a lower level during your first trimester, and then you move to the upper range for the rest of your pg, which should have you gaining around ..5-1 lb a week on average.

There's also a great calculator to give you an idea of how many calories you need per trimester here:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/pregnancy_calorie_calculator.htm

This one is a little different in that it has you eating less in the 2nd trimester compared the 3rd.

[bmcneal]

Originally Posted by bambihelton 

At first, I really wasn't too concerned with weight gain. I'm young, so my mindset was basically that I could "lose it all after the baby comes." I guess I'm getting a little more realistic now. Before I got pregnant, I had lost about 15 pounds... and was still doing an intense workout and clean eating every day. When I got pregnant, I knew that I needed more calories to sustain a growing life inside of me(I was only eating 1200 calories a day), so I changed my eating habits quite a bit... and now they're just all out of wack with my cravings and whatnot. 

I've only gained five pounds so far... which actually surprises me because of the drastic change in my diet. However, my shape is changing so much that I just want to cry. I've changed from a pretty flat stomach to... blah. It's not even a pretty, firm belly. It's just ... there. And I feel like I'm never going to look pregnant, but keep this gross looking saggy mess. I drink about a gallon and a half of water a day, so I'm pretty sure a lot of it is bloat and retained water, but it's really starting to cause some anxiety about my self image... 
 

This. At my appointment last week, to get a HB, the OB had to hold my stomach... sag up.  No one said anything (thankfully) but it was very, very uncomfortable for me, and made me feel really really disgusting.  It really upset me, and I don't know why, because even though I've been bigger 99% of my adult life, I've always been fairly comfortable with myself, and now I can't stop thinking about how gross/disappointing/yucky that felt.

I'm having the opposite problem than y'all, though. No matter how much I eat, I can't seem to gain any weight. Even though the doctor didn't/hasn't said anything, I'm still worrying a little.

[TIFF4NY]

How is everyone doing with this?

Since starting on medication for my hashimotos I have gained maybe 4lbs at 18w2d. It really depends on the day but no matter what I have eaten that day or the day before, my numbers drop back right down where they were the day before. I'm really really hoping this pattern keeps up and I wind up less than I started after birth. I've got a long road ahead of me after this baby but I'm encouraged now that I know there was actually something working against me.

I am still nervous about gaining too much so I've taken to weighing myself once every day or two. I know it's important for me to keep this in check so I'm okay with checking regularly. After the baby is born though, the scale will go back to being a very very rare thing. Like I said above, I had just gotten into the habit of not weighing myself and it was a great, freeing feeling. But I just know I'll need to keep tabs at least occasionally to really understand if my medication/nutrition/exercise is helping.

[BeanBean06]

I was really worried abt weight gain when I found out I was pregnant! I recently (last year) lost nearly 80lbs and I was not to my goal weight, so I was really worried the pregnancy would bring a lot of that back. However I lost like 15 lbs in the first tri. And am still (as far as I know, I don't weigh at home) down abt 5. I have a feeling tho with all this bed rest I'm going to end up gaining more than I'd like... I seriously can't wait to get back to working out after baby arrives! I'm so looking forward to it

[1babysmom]

I've been able to keep from gaining TOO much more....I'm only up maybe a lb or so in the last 2 weeks, but I feel SO restricted, like I can't ever eat anything I want or if I'm feeling to sick or to sore to exercise then it's over, I'm gaining, tough cookies for me.  I hate that.  It's just so defeating!  Like I mentioned before, I'm already up like at least 10-12 lbs this time at 17 weeks, when normally I'd have gained like a few lbs max from my starting weight by now.  To keep on track with my previous pregnancies, I can't gain a single additional pound this time until 24 weeks!!  Uuuuugh. 

I don't know if my gain this time was related to the thyroid issues or the meds (because my thyroid numbers and my antibodies were all well controlled by the time I got pg).  So not knowing leaves me feeling really unsure about how to manage my weight!

[SplashingPuddle]

I didn't have a scale during my first pregnancy and I don't for this one.  I am not sure if I lost the weight between pregnancies, but my guess is I kept at least 20lbs which I don't mind since I actually notice that I am warmer in the winters if a weigh a bit more =)  My midwife never asked for weights last time or this time.  I have definitely already started to gain weight with this pregnancy, which I am also enjoying. I notice my partner is colder (we heat mainly with wood stove), while I am getting the benefits of being pregnant in winter.  Weight is something that rarely crosses my mind generally, but in pregnancy I enjoy the extra weight.

[at_the_hip]

This week is the first week I have felt well enough to drink water and am eating more often as well...so I have gained the weight I have lost back now (was 5-6 lbs down).  That seems like a lot in the past couple of weeks.  :S  However, by now (18w) I am usually up 15-18 lbs so I figure I have a bit of a head start.  I have to admit Halloween through me for  a bit of a loop and I'm not sure that the weight I gained back the last two weeks was healthy.  :(  I am reining it back and hopefully that will slow things back down.  I gain weight SO easily while pregnant...my self-control is pathetic because normally I can eat whatever I want.  LOL  I have never gained below 50 lbs so we shall see.  A couple of my pgs it was more like 80.  I do lose it but feel gross during.