2008! Plus-sized and Pregnant Tribe! - Page 7

[khanni]

I forgot to mention that I stopped answering the phone and put a message on the machine that said something like: "The bun is still in the oven. If you are calling for some other reason, please leave a message. Otherwise, I will let you know." This made me feel lots better, too.

[Teenytoona]

Oh yeah, I'm still working. I am still debating whether to take time off now or not. I'm thinking I will start leave after the full moon next week if I've not had the babe by then. I don't want to waste precious leave time without the baby. I have a hard time driving to work and not nodding off, so Mr Toona has been a champ about dropping me off at work!

Thanks for the information on your little girl!! How wonderful she sounds! You sound like you did a great job growing her, she sounds like one to be proud of!

My sister went to 42 weeks with her 3 (and ended up with a 9lber, 9lb 4ozer and a 9lb 7 ozer), my mom went over with 7 of her 8, so I figure it's probably in my genes! I'm just getting excited. It might be worth it to consider going on leave soon, because I don't think the questions help my internal peace! Fortunately, I'm not getting TONS of phone calls, and that, I appreciate!

[khanni]

Hi everyone!

I hope you all are well. I'll be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and although I could still go another 5 weeks, I feel excited that I am at the stage where I am "allowed" to have the baby. I also had my last day at work yesterday, so I'm really happy about that.

So, has anybody else been told they weren't very big during their pregnancy? It's the most bizarre thing to me. People kept telling me that my last pregnancy, and I've gotten it twice in the past week or so. I've never in my life been called "not very big"--of course, they're not referring to me, but to my belly. Meanwhile, my belly has been measuring ahead, and I think I'm as big as anybody else with the same number of weeks...I just don't look as big because I'm 5'8" and a plus-size woman!

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base. Hope everyone's well.

[julesinottawa]

Question about shoulder dystocia. Is this a plus sized issue? I never heard the term until very recently I read it in a couple spots in this thread but I think my son may have had this. His head came out but his shoulders got stuck and there were some tense moments during his birth. After he was born, he had to have an xray because he wasn't moving one of his arms. Everything turned out fine but now I'm wondering if this might happen again. My daughter was born at 35.5 weeks and was 7lb3oz so no issue with her. My son was born at 40 weeks and was 9lbs 9oz. Now I'll be 38 for the birth, I'm still plus sized and finding this to be a bit of a concern. Because I had the OB on call deliver my son, I never saw that OB again so never had a chance to ask about it. I always assumed that I was just stupid to let them break my water and that if I had been more patient, he wouldn't have got stuck. Now that I've heard the term shoulder dystocia it sounds like what we went through. Anyone have any opinions or ideas?

[khanni]

I think the shoulder dystocia issue is a large-baby issue more than a plus-sized issue.

Anyway, what you're describing does sound like shoulder dystocia. I remembered in reading Ina May Gaskin's book that she had great success (I think something like 100%) getting baby's unstuck from shoulder dystocia by having them get into hands and knees position. Did the Drs have you try that. If it happens again, I would insist on getting on hands and knees to get the LO out.

Here, I did a google search on Ina May Gaskin Shoulder Dystocia. The hands-and-knees part comes in the Case Report (about 1/3 down). I didn't understand most of the article before that part:

http://www.thefarm.org/midwives/dystocia.html

[~Megan~]

I had a conversation with my mom that went something like this:

Me-Well from being so sick and not hardly eating for 6 days I feel like my stomach has shrunk! All I had today was 1.5 tunafish sandwiches and some water and I feel completely stuffed!

Mom-Well, that's good right?

Me- What?! (realizing she means because I'm overweight) Mom! I DO NOT OVEREAT!

Mom- Oh.

Me- On days that I count my calories I usually come in under 1000. If anything I'm under eating for being pregnant and still nursing.

Mom- Well then what's wrong with you? Is it your thyroid?

Me- I have no idea.

Then asked dd if she wanted to talk to grandma.

Seriously. My sister is bulemic. My mom often skips meals and only eats 2 meals a day, one often just being a salad. And they think I'm the one with the problem because I'm over weight.

BTW, I know I should eat more. I often get busy and don't eat enough which may be why my body holds onto fat.

[DBZ]

Geez are your mom and your sister clones of mine? Ugh. My mom would have said the same stuff and my sister is bulemic.

[jennifer_lc1]

Hello mamas!

My name is Jennifer, I'm 23, and I will be having my first baby in August I just wanted to pop in and ask a few questions.

I'm 5'8" and around 250. I went to my first appt at 13 weeks, absolutely terrified of what would be said to me about my weight. I am healthy, young, I do exercise, I don't smoke/drink.. I'm just on the big side. I got my blood pressure taken and it was high-ish and I felt like saying that's only cause I'm nervous! Which was true and can make your numbers high but I had the fear of "no you're just fat" happening. I know no one would say it, at least I would hope not.

So my first question is

How much weight did some of you gain?/Were you given crap for it by your dr?

I've gained 15 so far and I'm almost 18wks.. I'm aiming at hopefully no more than 35-40.

For those of you that had births already, did they monitor you extra?

I feel like my dr. must think I am pretty well off.. I turned down all blood screens and I wasn't harassed, even the GD test. I've really only had my pee pee taken at both visits, blood pressure both times, and the initial ultrasound. My past visit for 17 weeks was to check the heartbeat which was fine and I got weighed.

Have any of you encountered problems b/c of your weight? Have they been normal pregnancies, as far as making it to term and delivery?

and last but not least.. WHEN DID YOU SHOW?! lol I want to look pregnant! I see it when I'm laying down but not while standing, unless you count the boobs cuz those are massive now lol!



Thanks in advance girls!

[khanni]

Hi Jennifer!

My first pregnancy, I gained 80 lbs--from 200 to 280, but I had JUST lost 80 lbs right before I got pregnant. This pregnancy, I have only gained 10-15 lbs and I'm 37.5 weeks, but I started at ~275. I've gotten no crap from my midwife--I have the same one. She is totally fine with everything.

I wanted to make sure that the doctor is using the large blood pressure cuff on you. With a regular size one, my blood pressure will read something like 147/98, which is totally off. My blood pressure usually around 100/65 when taken with a larger cuff. This is a very common mistake made with larger women, and they may be using the right cuff, just make sure.

With my first pregnancy, I went to 42 weeks, and with this one, I'm 37.5, so I'm already at term and don't feel like I'm about to give birth anytime soon. Both pregnancies have been uncomplicated.

As for when I showed, people who knew I was pregnant thought I was showing around 5 months, and those that didn't could no longer deny I was pregnant around 7 months. I know, it totally sucks. I thought I was showing at 13 weeks.

[jennifer_lc1]

That makes more sense! About the cuff size. I know my BP is not as high as they said.. I took it at wal-mart and it was way lower. Thank you so much for the tip!

I felt for real pregnant at 13 weeks and i just wish it would look for real pregnant already! I'm thinking 5 mths will be the month for me, too.

Congrats on your two babies !

[~Megan~]

How much weight did some of you gain?/Were you given crap for it by your dr? I gained 20ish lbs with my first. My doctor did pressure me a lot and commented on it often. With my second I gained the same amount of weight but my midwife did not make a big deal out of it, because there was nothing to make a deal out of! I cannot recommend enough that you look into a midwife. You will end up with a safer birth and you'll be happier!

For those of you that had births already, did they monitor you extra?
The doctor probably did but the midwife isn't afraid of fat and knows that it poses no extra risk.

[Chryseis]

I have been meaning to jump in for the last several weeks, but just keep forgetting, but now I'm finally joining.

I'm so not divulging my weight, but I am definitely plus-sized. I'm about 25 weeks now into my second pregnancy. I saw an OB for my last pregnancy/birth and am seeing the same one now. After reading everyone's stories I very much count myself as very lucky in having found my doctor.

My first pregnancy I gained about 80 pounds. I had lost a lot of weight before then and pretty much just gained it back. Throughout my entire pregnancy my doctor never said a word about my weight. Seriously, it was never, ever an issue. My blood pressure was fantastic and my pregnancy was pretty uneventful. She never subjected me to any additional tests, monitoring, etc. My doctor allowed me to birth pretty much any way I wanted for pretty much as long as I wanted. I did end up with a c-section, but it had nothing to do with pressure from her or my weight. It was all about position. She's even the one who brought up VBAC at my first post-partum appointment.

This pregnancy has been pretty much the same. I have not gained any weight yet this pregnancy and again, my doctor has never said a word. Actually she did make a comment once. After I brought it up. My first baby was quite large and I made a bit of a joke about staying away from the carbs and protein powder, or something random like that. And at that point she told me that she knew I was joking, but that it wasn't healthy to attempt to diet or anything during pregnancy, but that I also didn't need to gain a ton of weight. She then went on to say that she wasn't worried as my last pregnancy was so healthy and uneventful. Since then, not a word.

As for showing. I'm one of those fortunate plus-size women who look very pregnant, very soon. With my first pregnancy I was definitely pregnancy showing at about 20 weeks. With this one, it was about 15 weeks. Granted, along w/that showing, I also get HUGE by the end, but it is nice to look pregnant. I was so worried about that when I was pregnant with my daughter.

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by ~Megan~

Well from being so sick and not hardly eating for 6 days I feel like my stomach has shrunk! All I had today was 1.5 tunafish sandwiches and some water and I feel completely stuffed!

I'm worried because I'm not eating that much either... I know I'm supposed to, but food often doesn't sound good.

[~Megan~]

Originally Posted by spiderdust

I'm worried because I'm not eating that much either... I know I'm supposed to, but food often doesn't sound good.

I think that in the first trimester that's pretty common. You don't need a lot of extra right now. You can make up for later in the pregnancy with healthy eating.

[spiderdust]

It's difficult telling my daughter to finish her food when I barely want to eat!

Sometimes food will sound good for a while. I'll get a mental burst of energy and think, "Maybe I can make a batch of breakfasts and stick them in the freezer. I could make some pancakes, cook some bacon or sausage, a batch of French toast... augh, I'm tired."

And then I don't do it and groggily try to figure out what to do in the mornings. I can't manage the energy to cook much then, much less stand over the skillet and smell food, so I just end up pulling out some cereal or yogurt.

[Sheekara]

34 weeks today and if I'm wearing my regular clothes I still don't look pregnant, I just look like I have gained more weight. : My midwife decided not to weigh me, so I haven't stepped on a scale once through my pregnancy. She said that plus size moms gain weigh differently (or don't gain much at all) so she wasn't worried about it in the least. It really bothers my mother though. For the longest time she kept asking me, "Have you gained any weight" Well, gee mom, I dunno I haven't stepped on a scale to find out. "Well you could tell by how your clothes fit." Ummmmm My breasts are larger and my belly is growing. My clothes aren't going to fit!

My bp has always run a bit on the high side but it is WELL with in normal and acceptable ranges. It has been consistent through out my whole pregnancy so my midwife sees absolutely no problem. I am soooo sooo thankful that I found a midwife that can legally do my homebirth and isn't all freaked out about my weight or my bp. The Dr's here (including our family doc) classify me as "high risk". Partly because of my weight and the other part because I am 35.

I better try to get some more sleep. I've only had about 2 1/2 hours and the alarm goes off in another 2 1/2.

[Teenytoona]

Hi Beautiful mommas!! I"ve got my baby finally! Senara Elena was born 2-27-08 at 4:14 am after 26 hours of labor. We planned a homebirth, and worked really really hard on it, but she wiped her momma out and we trucked off to the hospital. SHe was an eyebrow presentation, mainly (my mw thinks) because she does NOT like to put her hands down. My MW explained it as if one's trying to put a turtle neck over a head, with hands in the way. I was pushing at home, and my ctx were really low, the whole time. So at the hospital they gave me and epi and pitocin. Finally got some rest and my whole uterus started kicking in, rather than just the lowest part. SHe was born beautifully, screaming and healthy as can be - to the amazement of the medical staff, it seemed. They were expecting something horrendous, by the looks on their faces. They didn't seem to understand that I did have prenatal care vis-a-vis my CPM, but never heard any weight things (like she's too fat to have this baby). In fact they were surprised by how well I pushed this little peach out. Oh, that's what I call her, my little peach. And so much for worrying about big mommas= big babies. She was 7lbs 7 oz and 21.5 inches long. At her 5 day checkup with my MW, she was up to 8 lbs 2 oz. She nurses like mad and my milk came in by friday morning.

I can't put any pictures up because for some reason everytime I got to a photo site, I can't getthem on... wierd, but I will keep at it and post her cutenessness soon!!!

[khanni]

Hooray Teeny! Congratulations! I've been wondering about you, but of course, didn't want to ask! She's a long, thin little peach, isn't she? I can't wait to see pictures!

[hjdmom24]

Intro here

My name is Holly- I am a single mother of 3 with one on the way due to my ex leaving me before I knew I was pregnant.(not that I would have wanted him to stay for that reason anyways.) I am seriously overweight- I had wanted to lose weight before becoming pregnant-for health and because I never got to sport a "cute baby bump". In my 1st pregnacy I gained 70 lbs which I never took off. With my 2nd & 3rd I lost weight up until my last month so when i delivered I was actually at a lower weight then when I started. But then I gained alot after
So far with this one I have been steadily gaining and I'm scared because I am now back to my highest ever weight and I still have 4 months to go. It's my own fault because my eating is totally out of control.
Anyhow I am glad to have found this community and look forward to getting to know you all better. Holly

[clutterbug]

Congratulations, Teenytoona!