Feeling simultaneously good and worried

[AlohaDeb]

Hi everyone,

Well I went for my first official midwife appointment this morning and it was both awesome and worrisome. It was awesome because I really liked the midwife I saw. She was very calm, knowlegable, and positive, and she said she loved Mothering magazine I also had come in for a consultation earlier and seen a different MW, and she was also cool. So far, I've seen two of the four and I like them both I'm feeling happy with having chosen this group as my caregivers! (We only moved here 6 months ago, so I was very stressed about finding caregivers who would share my vibe, esp. as this is going to be a VBAC for me.)

The bummer is that I'm only in my 14th week, and I've gained like, 12 lbs!! I'm not cuckoo over weight gain in pg, but I've never lost the extra 15 lbs from my first pg. I gained 50 lbs with DS, and I'm not a skinny-minny to begin with! My BP also was higher than normal for me -- usually I'm quite low. So I'm kinda freaking out over the weight + higher BP... that seems like a bad sign to me. I also feel like I'm getting "puffy" -- H20 retention I suspect. This just seems very early to feel this way!

Anyway, just wanted to share what's going on with me. Here's to great births and healthy mamas and babies on this forum!

--Deb

[member234098]

Ask your midwife for nutritional info. More protein for you and the new life in you should help. Also, check for iron and liver functions and be aware of GD.

[JulieF]

I'm 15 weeks, and have easily gained at least 12 pounds. I'm not too worried about it. I think our bodies are just doing whatever they need to do. I have been eating pretty healthily, though I'll admit I've also probably been eating more than 300 extra calories a day.

My husband comes from a family of big eaters (and all super skinny of course, sigh), so we're just joking that now that I've got his genetics in me, the only thing I can do is eat like his side of the family. I seem to have gained all the weight front and center, right in the belly, which is strange (e.g., I still haven't had that "thickening" around the waist everyone talks about), but, again, I feel fine and don't feel like I'm eating too much (and I have been able to go to the gym a bit), so I'm just going to go with it.

[AlohaDeb]

Thanks you two! I'm taking the GD test next week, which is pretty much the earliest possible time to take it. My MW thought we should go ahead and do that as a precautionary measure. Can't wait to drink that delicious lime-flavored drink! Wish me luck on that one!

I'm trying to chill out on the weight and high bp issue. I was being kinda lax about my diet but now I'm watching every bite I put into my mouth. And really working hard to get all that protein!

[XM]

hey, for BP, try Flaxseed oil! The baby can use the EFA's and it also lowers BP... mine went from 140/100 to 120/70 after only a couple months. I take 1000mg at bedtime... I always forget to take it in the AM or I could probably get my BP a tad lower even... HTH! I reccomended it to another mama here and she got great results from it as well.

XM

[AlohaDeb]

XM, I will try that. Can I just get it at a health food store? Do you recommend a brand?

TIA,
--Deb

[XM]

I got mine at Vitamin World. They have Organic Flax Seed Oil 120 1000mg softgels, I got it on sale and I can't remember what it was, but it was very reasonable.

Vitamin World Online

Of course, if you have a store in your area you can buy it in person and save yourself shipping charges, like I did. You can also find it at Fred Meyer or any other store that would have nutritional supplements. A bonus is that it is wonderful for babies and their growing brains!

XM

[moonglowmama]

I think the main thing about weight gain to be wary of is to be sure you're not doing sugars. The obvious ones we all know (ice cream, cookies) but you may want to look out for sneakier places like juices as well. Better to just eat the fruit.

Having said that, I think our bodies know perfectly well how to grow babies, but we do need to be responsible about what goes into them (our bodies, that is).