Major Weight Gain

[PixieAlly]

Oh My God....I just found out I gained 7.5 pounds in TEN days It's just not right! I have now shot right off of my target weight gain chart. Hopefully most of it is water weight cuz my right foot/ankle is so swollen most of the time I look like I have an elephant foot...my shoe doesn't fit anymore. This is insane, I don't think I ever gained so fast in my life. Anyone else have this kind of weight gain towards the end?

Ally

[dharmagrlpa]

Pixie,

I've had this weight gain my ENTIRE pregnancy. I am looking at a 60 lb overall gain at least.

Holy colon cleanse batman!! I am in some serious need of detoxing my system....

If your doc is not concerned, than you should not be!!

[DBZ]

If you have swelling in just one leg then you need to give your mw/ob a call. It could be a blood clot.

[milky_mama]

I gained eight pounds in one week during my first pregnancy! I gained a little over sixty pounds total. The drs were always giving me a hard time about weight gain, etc. This time around I never looked at the scale and never asked about my weight. I felt as long as I felt good and my stats were good (blood pressure, etc.) then I would just let my body do what it needed to do.

[gretasmommy]

I would call and make sure it's not pre-eclampsia . . . .just to be on the safe side! For me, it would be the Ben and Jerry's!!!

Call and be safe . . .hope all goes well . . . we are at the end!!! Yay!!!! Whatever it is won't last long!

[takasmom]

FWIW I was having swelling that was asymmetric (noticeably more on my right side) and both the acupuncturist and my MW said it was bc the baby is lying on that side...

If it is the number itself you are worried about I don't think you could gain 7.5 *REAL* pounds (ie of fat) in 10 days. It is probably fluid and will easily be shed afterwards. Is your HCP concerned at all?

[Smokering]

Slightly OT, but is it weird that my midwife hasn't weighed me since the beginning of my pregnancy? I don't have scales at home, and honestly have no idea how much weight I've gained. I don't seem to have gained fat except for on my tummy (and swollen ankles, but that's water I assume). Is she just not bothering to weigh me because I look 'normal', or is weighing pregnant women a specifically American thing, or what?

[healthnutmama]

I agree that it would be difficult to truly gain 7lbs in 10 days. It is most likely water weight and will shed quickly.

Smokering, I haven't been officially weighed my entire pregnancy. I did read somewhere that outside of the US weighing isn't as common unless gain seems grossly high or low. Actually, I'm fairly certain that I read that in an edition of Mothering Magazine recently. If you seem healthy otherwise, and you are comfortable with it, I wouldn't worry about it. That's just my .02 though!

[~ani~]

Smokering and healthnutmama - I live in France and have been weighed every single visit. Random people here regularly ask me how much I've gained! Until 25w I was being seen by a gynecologist (non-ob) and she even got worried about my fast weight gain and sent me to a dietitian. Then I switched to my midwife who will attend the birth - who still weighs me every single time - she never says anything about it but definitely writes down my kilos...

PixieAlly - I would signal the asymetry and sudden overall gain to your HCP!

PS I've gained at least 40lbs so far! probably will be 45 by dd...

[Smokering]

Hmm, interesting! I've only had one person make weight gain comments--she's a tiny Filipino woman, who twice has seen fit to pinch my arm flesh and tell me how good it is that I haven't gained much weight. If she does it again I'm not sure I can be polite... she's also one of the few people who's dared to try patting my tummy. Grrr. Maybe she has a higher cultural context of being concerned about pregnancy weight gain, though?

[New_Natural_Mom]

I believe I have gained roughly 44lbs. One mw at the practice told me to watch my weight (what like I should diet??) but my main midwife said she wasn't worried about it. I am of the opinion that if I am not gorging myself and eating mostly healthy foods, so be it.

[Catherine12]

I've always gained a lot at the end - real weight, too, not swelling. I gained 40 pounds with each of my first two pregnancies, and have gained slightly more than that this time. My mws have always said this was fine, and I have so far not had trouble getting back to my normal weight after the baby was born. I think it's just your body getting ready to lactate - making milk takes a lot of calories.

[PixieAlly]

I know it's not a blood clot because I am sure my midwife would of told me that while I was there getting weighed...also in the morning it is fine and by evening it's like an elephant's foot LOL Probably doesn't help that I sit at a desk all day but there is no way for me to get my foot elevated here and still be able to be on the phone and computer. I've already gone to a reduced work day but my foot still swells up like crazy every night and it seems like it is getting bigger each day. My left foot pretty much stays the same. At least my BP was actually lower then it was last week (and still in the "normal" range) so I don't think it's pre-e.