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Weight gain in the first trimester

3K views 33 replies 16 participants last post by  Ble530 
#1 ·
So I know it's not healthy to focus on weight gain and of course the ultimate goal is to grow a healthy baby. But I am feeling a little discouraged that I have already gained about 4 lbs at 6 weeks. I usually gain in the first trimester but I can't recall gaining this much so early. I already have cut out refined sugar and eat a high protein, low carb diet and am eating healthier than I have in my previous two pregnancies so I'm not sure what the deal is. My inability to lose a couple pounds was actually the first clue I was pregnant.
 
#2 ·
I feel for you but try to let it go! We put so much emphasis on this number but unless you have diabetes, blood pressure issues, etc. you are going to gain what you need to grow a beautiful healthy baby if you make healthy choices and enjoy moderate activity. Also, weight gain in pregnancy is rarely a linear pattern, some women gain lots in the beginning, and less at the end, etc. so this may just be your way of doing things!

For me personally, I gained almost 80 lbs with my first child (she was 8-15 and I returned to pre-pregnancy weight by 2-3 mos pp). But it stressed me out SO MUCH that I have declined weighing myself at my prenatal appointments in my subsequent pregnancies (and will for this one too) and don't weigh at home.
 
#4 ·
Thank you ladies! I know you are right. And I do tend to gain about ten pounds in my first trimesters and it always freaks me out. I think part of it is just all the reading about what you're supposed to gain (I always gain more) and part of it is already not fitting into my jeans (really, already). But I know it is just my pattern and that, as long as I am choosing healthy options, this is what my body and baby need. It helps hearing your kind words. I think I need to put the scale away and just focus on healthy choices knowing it will come off.
 
#5 ·
...and part of it is already not fitting into my jeans (really, already).
I don't fit into my jeans either and I'm only 5 wks, 2 days. AND, I'm really slim and only gain about 25-30 pounds by the end of my pregnancies. I guess it's bloating?? I've been in stretchy leggings for 2 weeks already - ridiculous, but I can't stand having anything squeezing my belly already.
 
#6 ·
Our bodies change so soon! Especially when it's not the first. :) I know our babe is only the size of a poppy seed, haha! But I just feel uncomfortable when wearing anything with a button or zipper. Leggings all the way most days, plus I have one pair of jeans with a foldover waist (that are not maternity but could be!) if I want to look more "dressed"
 
#9 ·
I posted about this in my own DDC (I'm due the last few days of June, so I am close in dates to many of you, too). I was really worried about it and was told that blood volume, constipation, and the food in my stomach (eating constantly from m.s.) all add pounds that aren't even "weight." I decided to try to follow advice like that above - try to be as healthy and active as I can manage at this point and not let the numbers control me. But yes, my pants don't button and I look very "voluminous" and I am only 9 weeks
 
#10 ·
Don't stress! It'll balance out. My "belly" is mostly bloat right now anyway. I've gained a few pounds already, but my weight also fluxes a good bit I feel like, and I eat healthy and "normal" and exercise. Make sure you're staying active, but again, don't stress. 25-35 lbs is "normal" and you're a LONG ways away from that :)
 
#11 ·
I've already gained 12 pounds at least, maybe even more. I'm feeling pretty sad about it but I really struggle with body image during pregnancy and postpartum /breastfeeding since nursing makes it very hard to lose the weight (and I always gain 50lbs).
Trying to figure out ways to feel attractive. It's hard in combination with first trimester angst I anyways get.
 
#12 ·
I'm up about 15lbs at 15 weeks. I gain weight before I even poas. I know there are some things I could do better, but my body collects and hangs on to fat until I stop nursing. Lose weight while nursing? No such thing for me. (I also get my cycle back and regular 6 weeks pp even with exclusively nursing on demand). I have gained 50lbs, 60lbs, and 40lbs with my previous pregnancies. No GD and healthy babies in the 7-8lb range. I've decided to just accept it and not worry about it. Every one really is different. It stinks when you try really hard to not gain weight and still do, it's quite discouraging. So I'm avoiding doing that this time.
 
#13 ·
I've always had very healthy pregnancies and 3 healthy babies (but big, over 9#) so I shouldn't care about it either but when it's two full years since I was not pregnant or breastfeeding and I know it will be a few more, it's kind of a bummer to not be able to feel attractive and wear my regular clothes and feel slim for over five consecutive years and still try to feel attractive. At least my wedding is out of the way as of five months ago so I can stop worrying about not feeling attractive as a bride, that's a bit of pressure off.
I also gave up chemical(bleach) highlights in my dark ash blonde hair a year ago (I dyed my hair an all over color that closely matched my roots and just quit, and although it blends well as it grows out, my natural color would lighten by the time it hits shoulder and a couple summers in the sun but my dye job aimed at my roots shade is pretty dark-I guess most people with dark ash blonde hair have pretty dark roots and it lightens as it berries over the years if you grow it long) and I'm still having a hard time looking at myself in the mirror with "dark" hair compared to blonde highlighted hair and feeling as pretty. I know I did the right thing by stopping the endless cycle of dealing with smelly chemicals for my health and the condition of my hair, but it's still hard not to feel like I look more drab.
My family in the US who had never seen me not blonde did not react positively.

So that plus the spare tire/bloat from hell look I'm sporting during this stage of pregnancy without an obvious bump, and i feel quite hideous and see pics from 2012 where I'm the size tall size 2 with the waist length bright blonde hair and I wonder if I'll ever be pretty like that again in my life!!!

First trimester angst, everything is so so out of proportion in my mind!! And even if it is all accurate, it's for such a good cause. I went through this a decade ago and all the weight fell off after breastfeeding was over and I felt great about myself again, better than ever. And I was happy I nursed my babies past their third birthdays including a year and a half of tandem nursing. So I logically know that it's all for the good and this too will pass.

But I look in the mirror and want to cry. It's so dumb but the sadness is palpable. So glad we can commiserate!
 
#16 ·
...and I'm still having a hard time looking at myself in the mirror with "dark" hair compared to blonde highlighted hair and feeling as pretty. I know I did the right thing by stopping the endless cycle of dealing with smelly chemicals for my health and the condition of my hair, but it's still hard not to feel like I look more drab.

But I look in the mirror and want to cry. It's so dumb but the sadness is palpable. So glad we can commiserate!
How I wish I had dark hair! I started having threads of gray in my late teens, maybe 20 years old, and it's just been progressing ever since (I'm now 37.)

I used a natural hair color up until my last pregnancy (2010) and then let it grow out. I hacked all of my very long hair off up to my ears (so sad, my then 7 year old daughter cried.)

I've had a couple of experiences that I wish I could let go of but that I really struggle with. The first was a young girl, maybe 5 years old, at the playground when I was with my toddler over the summer. She asked if I was his grandmother. Also this past summer, I was in line at the library with my 3 year old when a young man (maybe Haitian?) asked if I was my son's mother or grandmother. I was so taken aback that I struggled even to respond but managed to croak out that I was his mother. I figured that where he came from, perhaps it was very uncommon for women to turn gray at a young age.

Now that my bump is becoming more obvious, I'm really, really struggling to see my true self without attempting to see myself as the world sees me. I'm trying to prepare for the stares and even the thoughtless questions and remarks from children and careless strangers.

On another level, I think I've let the gray interfere with how I think of myself - meaning, I feel too old to have another baby (at 37!) and how can I make a healthy baby when I'm sooo old?
I know it's all society's pressure to never let down our guard against aging; fight it until the end!

I want to look youthful because pregnancy = fertility and fertility = youth, right?

Everyone tells me that my face is so young and my hair doesn't make me look old. It's very long again, something I've wanted ever since I cut it off. I have a thick silver streak in the front, running the length of the left side of my face. In the summer, when my skin is tanned, it's not so bad but when I'm so pale in winter, it's hard not to look washed out.

I see pictures of women with blond hair who blur the line between blond and gray and think how much easier it is for them to "let it go" because it blends so smoothly. And I wonder if I should color my hair that ash-blond-gray. Or should I add some low-lights to lessen the intensity of the gray?
And mostly, I want to not "fight" it because it's nature and it's who I am. (I'm also very low-maintenance and keeping up with roots is quite a commitment!)

I have no weight issues, pregnant or not, but this is my struggle.
 
#17 ·
Meta - I think it's awesome you have Gray hair and aren't dying it. I don't plan on dying mine and I really, really wish more women would do the same so it would become normal. My hair is brown and so far I only have a few random gray hairs at age 32. I honestly can't see myself dying it ever. I don't wear any make up, I don't use styling products, I barely even get my hair cut. Anyway, everyone tells me I'll change my mind once the gray comes in, but I doubt it.
 
#18 ·
Whew, I am thicker these days. I can tell I am pregnant visually but I have to be in the right frame of mind and remember that my belly was not always this round! The other day, I was about to get into the shower and I realized, wow, I am so much thicker than I have ever been. I had a whole day to mull that over. Just getting used to the fact that, for now, I am not growing out as much as up! It makes for a mental adjustment of all the changes that are happening for me. I am so hungry all the time. I am eating and eating. I can't eat too much at a time and this is getting old! The consequences of not eating, of course, are the MS and so I am thankful to be at a place where eating will relieve the nausea but still perilously close to vomiting most days.

Earlier in the pregnancy, I felt strangely lean because of the hunger, like being hungry all the time and having a belly to fill translated somehow this way. Recently, this has drastically changed and I feel big. My biggest pair of pants that I can wear out I have to unbutton when I sit down and lean back in. It is just crazy.

I, too, am not a scale person. I have not jumped on the scale and don't look forward to it. It will happen at some point and I will get over it as i am having to do with all sorts of things these days but for now, I will temper this adjustment by not going there.

I hope to even out the gain and cannot wait to begin showing in earnest so that I can move out of the thick stage and into a belly stage more defined!

btw, as far as my adoration and admiration of women's bodies in all shapes and sizes; I have had the blessing of assisting women of all colors, shapes, sizes, hair styles and personalities. The strength and the agility of women is the most remarkable and lasting impressions I have. Our bodies are so amazing and pregnancy and birth, nursing and nurturing are some of the most remarkable times for me in witnessing a women's life. Cool to be sharing this with you all on the other side of things. I am always taken aback when I hear your stories of people lacking sensitivity. Yes, I too have been there. And still, I am sorry to hear it. It makes the light have to shine even brighter from the inside out.

happy New Year Everyone.
 
#19 ·
I haven't had my second check-up yet so I don't know how much I've gained (I don't have a scale at home) - but I'm guessing around 10 lbs. My nausea has been severe enough to keep me from exercising and the only time I feel better is when I'm eating carby yummy things like tater tots. I also have had an aversion to water and so I've been drinking sugary things like iced tea and juice. Ugh.
 
#20 ·
I have lots of gray too. My hair is dark so the grey is streaking it big time. I keep telling myself that old ladies don't get pregnant and I'm pregnant, I can't be old! LOL!! :) My husband shaved his musty and beard off last week and he looks like he shaved 10 years off of his face when he did it. I'm just waiting for someone to ask him what he's doing with the old lady! :) LOL
 
#21 ·
I have dark hair and a few grays and I am in my 20s. My mom had beautiful gray streak in her hair for years and I really want mine to gray in the same pattern.

Speaking of beards, DS saw me plucking out chin hairs (I prefer to call them "very stray eyebrows") and asked why. He told me I should be happy being the way I am, and ask God to make my beard even better. So I was like, uhh ok. And he goes, "ok, so bow your head right now and ask God for a big beard."
 
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#22 ·
I have dark hair and a few grays and I am in my 20s. My mom had beautiful gray streak in her hair for years and I really want mine to gray in the same pattern.

Speaking of beards, DS saw me plucking out chin hairs (I prefer to call them "very stray eyebrows") and asked why. He told me I should be happy being the way I am, and ask God to make my beard even better. So I was like, uhh ok. And he goes, "ok, so bow your head right now and ask God for a big beard."
LOL, Funny and sweet.
 
#24 ·
I am SO GLAD that pregnancy seems to be the culprit and it will get better. I couldn't remember from DS if this happened but it does seem to be a recent occurrence. I need to make someone swear to manage my whiskers if anything should happen to me. Great plan.
 
#25 ·
I've lost about 10lbs in T1. That's how it usually goes for me. You can hate me it's ok. I feel like I look better since becoming pregnant. I only gained 12lbs with my last one and he was 9lbs when he was born.


Typed with fat fingers. Children stole my brain.
 
#26 ·
I've lost about 10lbs in T1. That's how it usually goes for me. You can hate me it's ok. I feel like I look better since becoming pregnant. I only gained 12lbs with my last one and he was 9lbs when he was born.

Typed with fat fingers. Children stole my brain.
I think I've gained close to 8 lbs! DH said my butt is getting nice and full - and the boobies. :) I actually thought for the first time last night that perhaps I'm finally getting the "glow." Or maybe I was just glowing from relief and love after seeing a healthy babe. :love
 
#29 ·
I find it fascinating all the different amounts and patterns of weight gain that result in a healthy baby at the end...

I am a big gainer! Least I've gained was 60 lbs and most was 85. No health conditions, normal-large babies and easy return to pre pregnancy size.

Currently I'm up 7-8 lbs at 10 weeks. I wonder if my gain or baby size will be different this time since my diet and lifestyle are a lot healthier now.
 
#30 ·
I was completely shocked to see that I had only gained 1.8 pounds (and after a big meal and with my shoes on at that) at my 11.5 week midwife appointment on Monday (like many of you, I don't have a scale at home). I was pretty sure I had gained 7 or 8 pounds at least from the way my clothes are fitting. But my breasts haven't grown at all...still exactly the same 34C they started off. I'm not complaining, but I do find it odd (and it makes me more inclined to think that I'm having a boy, since breasts grow more with girls). It is interesting how differently all of our bodies respond to the changes of pregnancy!
 
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