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Pregnant plus size Mams, come here!!

32K views 441 replies 96 participants last post by  deany 
#1 ·
In the thread for plus size pregnancy pics there's been an interest in having a forum for plus size pregnancy chatter, so I'm hoping this can be it!!

Come on plus size mamas that are pregnant...ask questions, get support, etc.
 
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#2 ·
I'm Sara. MN Mom of a DD, 6, DS, 4 3/4, then I had 2 miscarriages and then DS, 2 and I'm a little over 22 weeks pregnant with our next baby.

I'm around a size 18 prepregnancy, but according to the weight charts, for my height (5') and weight I'm about 60 pounds overweight.

I have a little gripe. I started my pregnant about 180 pounds. I'm planning a homebirth with a midwife. At the first appointment, she mentioned how important diet/exercise is for a healthy pregnancy and basically said if I don't gain any weight for the pregnancy that is just fine since I'm starting out quite a bit more than I need to be at. Ok, yeah, like I didn't know I was overweight.
:

Anyways, so the second appointment I had gained about a half pound, she discussed with my my nutrition and I said it wasn't good but I would work on it. So then I had my next appointment yesterday. I gained about 2 pounds so a total gain of about 2 1/2 pounds(by the way I'm not trying to not gain weight, it's just what is happening so far, chasing 3 other children probably has something to do with it!!). SO my thoughts is not a big weight gain, I'm doing good according to her standards. So then she asks how nutrition is going, I said it is going better, I"m trying to get more calcium and protein, fruits, salads, etc. She says that's good and then asks if I eat out at fast food restaurants. I said sometimes, like once a week when we are running around we'll stop. She goes on to tell me how horrible McDonalds is for me and that if I have to go there to have a salad but no fries or Big Macs(not that I eat Big Macs, she just made the comment)...wouldn't the fact that I haven't gained much show that I'm not gorging myself on burgers, fries, ice cream, etc.? It kind of bothered me. I'm sorry but if I'm running around in the car how the heck am I supposed to eat a salad?
:

So I'm curious what your doctors and/or midwifes have said about your weight gain for pregnancy?

Thanks for letting me vent.
: Sara
 
#3 ·
That sounds a little silly to me. How can you have a bean growing and not gain any weight??

I was about 190 pre-pregnancy and my doctor hasn't said anything to me about my weight being an issue. He just said to make sure that I am eating healthy and taking my vitamins and baby will be just fine. I have gained 2 pounds and I am 17.5 weeks along now.

I am sure you are doing just fine and no one should make you feel bad about stopping by McD's or where ever once a week. You know how to take care of yourself
 
#5 ·
my name is monique, I'm 23, and I'm not pregnant, but I have a 9mth old ds named roman. I'm here pretty much to provide some support, advice etc to you ladies.

I'm about 260lb, I was 270 before i got pregnant, gained 13lbs the whole pregnancy (even though i didnt limit my food, ate mcd's, chocolate etc) and ds was born 8lb 9oz, 2 weeks pp i was 20lbs lighter than my prepregnancy weight, but now I've gained 10 of it back.

I had a pretty non eventful pregnancy, no complications, i refused my second gestational diabetes test. My OB was kind of annoying and size unfreindly, but I just didn't listen to him. I was induced at 41weeks (with my 2 doulas in attendance) and had an intervention filled chaotic vaginal birth where my birth plan wasn't followed at all (thankfully both me and ds came out fine from it). And because of that I am determined to have a homebirth with my next child.

so thats all about me, hi
 
#6 ·
Hi,

I also would fit here. I am 18 weeks pregnant and have a son who is 3. It seems your midwife has a problem with your weight and I would just be careful, I think that is what lead mine with my son to be really uneasy at the end and I gained 11 pounds the whole pregnancy with him.

I am glad to have met everyone here
 
#7 ·
You know in my opinion, I don't think only mamas that are pregnant right now would/should post, I think it would be great for plus sized mamas that aren't pregnant but have been in the past to offer advice or been there done that kind of info..kind of like what romans_mum mentioned....thanks for coming over romans_mum!! Sara
 
#8 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by steffanie3
Hi,

I also would fit here. I am 18 weeks pregnant and have a son who is 3. It seems your midwife has a problem with your weight and I would just be careful, I think that is what lead mine with my son to be really uneasy at the end and I gained 11 pounds the whole pregnancy with him.

I am glad to have met everyone here

You mentioned about my midwife having a problem with my weight, and I wanted to comment, that she's no sting bean herself!
:

I realize nutrition is important, but I think that trying to limit one's weight to no weight gain at all or trying to severly limit intake of food would be even more dangerous than gaining a few pounds, KWIM mamas!?! Sara
 
#9 ·
i tottaly agree sara, thats what I thought my whole pregnancy......I decided I don't care if I gain 60lbs...... as long as I'm eating what i feel like/crave when I feel hungry, and taking my vitamins, i am comfortable, even if my dr isnt. I feel its more important to not deny yourself anything, because the second your not pregnant anymore, you may binge on that food you denyed yourself, and end up putting on more weight.

plus, i have a theory that sometimes we crave things simply because thats what our body wants and needs. the first 3mths of my pregnancy i craved vegetables, the last three months i craved chicken.
 
#11 ·
I got that at my first WIC appt while pregnant, the nutritionist was bigger than me, and was telling ME off about my eating habits.........I felt like saying "yeah, and i bet you don't order the salad at mc'ds all the time either".

I can't ever take nutritional advice from a woman that is bigger than me and treating me like a leper because of the way i eat. that being said, most the nice thin WIC nutritionists were VERY nice and didn't tell me off.
 
#12 ·
Hey! I belong here too! I have a dd who will be 2 in about 3 weeks, and we just found out yesterday that I'm pregnant with #2. YAY!

I was around 265 when I got pregnant with dd and gained 38 pounds with her. To their credit, only one of the medwives said a word about my weight. I was following the Bradley diet and eating VERY healthily. DH actually had to get in her face about it, which of course made me feel like CRAP that she would act that way. Anyway, 2-3 weeks pp, I was down to 270. Today I'm 274.

We're planning a homebirth and I'm so afraid that any midwives I'm able to find will treat me the same way. I will NOT diet during pregnancy/breastfeeding. I WILL eat a healthy, balanced diet, but severely restricting calories is not a good idea. As one of the "good" midwives told me, you can always diet AFTER you wean.

Oh, btw, I failed the 1 hr. glucose test but passed the 3 hr. one. I never heard a word about it again until my last month, when the same medwife from above (and the ob's in the practice) said dd was HUGE and that I had been borderline GD all along and I HAD to be induced early or consent to a c/s because I'd never be able to give birth to such a gigantic baby vaginally. Because neither of us was in any distress, I refused (which pissed them off) and I DID birth my 10 lb. 9 oz. daughter vaginally. HA!! This time around I plan to refuse the GD test and will simply watch my sugar/carb intake (as usual).
 
#13 ·
thats all i did, I had a horrible reaction to the 1hr test, and normally i'm hypoglycemic, so I have to worry about the oppisite problem, not that the drs would listen to me. I told the dr when he tryed to argue with me about it, that if he was so worried, he would notice sugars in my urine, he could do a finger prick and test me on a glycometer every visit, but i would NEVER drink that stuff again. They tryed to imply to me at my 36 week visit after an ultrsound to check size, that ds was 9lbs at that point. I didn't listen to them, thankfully they never brought up a c/s, and i had a vaginal birth, with him being under 9lbs at 41weeks.
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by heathenmom
Hey! I belong here too! I have a dd who will be 2 in about 3 weeks, and we just found out yesterday that I'm pregnant with #2. YAY!

I was around 265 when I got pregnant with dd and gained 38 pounds with her. To their credit, only one of the medwives said a word about my weight. I was following the Bradley diet and eating VERY healthily. DH actually had to get in her face about it, which of course made me feel like CRAP that she would act that way. Anyway, 2-3 weeks pp, I was down to 270. Today I'm 274.

We're planning a homebirth and I'm so afraid that any midwives I'm able to find will treat me the same way. I will NOT diet during pregnancy/breastfeeding. I WILL eat a healthy, balanced diet, but severely restricting calories is not a good idea. As one of the "good" midwives told me, you can always diet AFTER you wean.

Oh, btw, I failed the 1 hr. glucose test but passed the 3 hr. one. I never heard a word about it again until my last month, when the same medwife from above (and the ob's in the practice) said dd was HUGE and that I had been borderline GD all along and I HAD to be induced early or consent to a c/s because I'd never be able to give birth to such a gigantic baby vaginally. Because neither of us was in any distress, I refused (which pissed them off) and I DID birth my 10 lb. 9 oz. daughter vaginally. HA!! This time around I plan to refuse the GD test and will simply watch my sugar/carb intake (as usual).
Elizabeth, Congratulations on your pregnancy!!
How exciting. And way to go Mama on birthing your 10 lb. 9 oz daughter vaginally!! Do you mind me asking what position you were in? Like squatting or what. My cousin just had a baby the other night 9 lb. 10 oz. she pushed for 2 hours apparently and the baby wasn't coming, so they gave her a c-section, and one of my aunts commented about no wonder they "HAD" to do a c-section!!
: My mom knows how I feel about unneeded interventions and I was like I know there's been women that have had bigger babies than hers born vaginally!! But if it makes my cousin and her family feel better about the situation, that's their choice!!

Sara
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by heathenmom

We're planning a homebirth and I'm so afraid that any midwives I'm able to find will treat me the same way. I will NOT diet during pregnancy/breastfeeding. I WILL eat a healthy, balanced diet, but severely restricting calories is not a good idea. As one of the "good" midwives told me, you can always diet AFTER you wean.


I am in your weight range too. There are midwives who don't feel that way and even doctors will tell you not to try and lose weight while pregnant. To me it seems more about the carbs than calories or fat.

It seemed I started out with a bunch of strikes against me, but my midwife still took me happily. I basically lined up my strikes with her that first visit and email, I really wanted to see if it was worth our time meeting. I wanted a VBAC, was RH-, overweight, and a few other things and she didn't run away so I guess she is the one! LOL
 
#16 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Saramomofmany
Do you mind me asking what position you were in?
Not a bit! It was a hospital birth and I had just about every intervention you could imagine right up to but not including the c/s.
: It felt like I was tied to the bed (I wasn't ... I don't think) so alternative positions like hands & knees weren't an option for me. I was on my back in the bed, with the head of the bed raised up so that I was nearly in a sitting position. My knees were up around my ears.


I'm completely convinced that if we had stayed home my labor would have been CONSIDERABLY shorter than the 31 hours it ended up being. Getting up out of the bed and walking around and getting in the shower helped me so much, but they required near-constant monitoring that made it really hard, plus there was meconium in my waters so I was on a constant saline flush for like 20 hours. It's hard to maneuver when you have salt water pouring out of your hooha.
:

Can you tell I have hopes for a better experience with this baby?
 
#18 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Saramomofmany
My cousin just had a baby the other night 9 lb. 10 oz. she pushed for 2 hours apparently and the baby wasn't coming, so they gave her a c-section, and one of my aunts commented about no wonder they "HAD" to do a c-section!!
:
My DH's cousin is a toothpick--tiny, tiny girl. She just had a 9lb12oz baby vaginally. It's impossible for them to know before your baby is born how big she will be and whether your body can handle it. Doctors aren't psychics! The best thing anyone can do is at least give baby an honest chance to make it out on her own.

I'm plus-sized, size 18 pre-pregnancy. I'm exactly 26 weeks along today. I cannot believe how many stretch marks I'm getting, but my mother had stretch marks all over when she was pregnant with us 3 girls, so I guess it's genetic. Other than how angry and red they are, I don't really mind them... it's not like I was going to be wearing a bikini anytime soon anyway!


This is our first baby. More than anything, I'm really, really worried about how much my bust size is going to expand... they're uncomfortable as it is.
 
#19 ·
I started out a size 18. I'm 5' 8". I **** have about 9 weeks to go and have already gained 40 lbs. i'm personally not happy with the amount of weight I have gained since I still have a cuople of months or so to go. however my dr SO FAR has not said a word to me. I was on bed rest for 5 weeks and restricted activity for about a month or so. I didnt eat perfect, but I did try to eat well.
And still do. I have a really hard time losing weight so I'm really nervous about getting back to where i started before I got preg. This pregnancy was not planned at all since I was told I would not be able to have more kids (infertility issues). I'm also really worried my dr WILL say something about my weight gain before the end.
I'm also having a lot of back problems and pubic joint pain that limits my activity quite a bit. i have two older children so I'm not chasing any younger kids around-I wouldnt be able to really chase them anyway. I am seeing a chiro for this but cant afford to as often I as I need.
anyway, I am super excited about this baby, I just want the rest of the time to pass by more quickly than it is.
 
#20 ·
Great idea for a thread! I am dissapointed that I didn't lose more weight (ok, any weight) before getting pregnant. I am more worried about my health being a plus-size pregger mamma, but I'm not sure what I'm worried about exactly. I just assume there are more risks being a plus size mamma and going through pregnancy and labour. My midwives last time around, (DS is 2.5) said not to worry, but I started out 20lbs thinner then - still plus size, but a little thinner.

Anyone know the risks of going through a pregnancy as a plus mamma?

Kathy.
 
#22 ·
I'm Gillian, Momma to Elijah 4 and Ava 2. I am 29 weeks pregnant with baby #3.

I am giving birth with a midwife at a birthing center, and he has never said anything about my weight. When I got pregnant with this baby I was 250. (did I just type that lol!) at 29 weeks I am only 258


I hope to loose weight after I give birth by taking up dancing again and joining a womens soccor league.

Neither my OB nor my midwife has ever said a word about my weight. I thing I have not gained this pregnancy, is because I have not wanted sugar, just fruits and veggies. With DS is was chocolate peanut butter ice cream and fondue!
Nice to meet everyone!
 
#23 ·
Pregnant and plus here. I'm about a size 18/20. I'm newly pregnant; due April 5. I'm about 15 lbs heavier than I started with my last one. I wanted to lose weight before, but this was kind of a surprise. I'm going to exercise and stretch more this pregnancy and take yoga like I did with my first. I think it really made a difference.

Hope you are all having good pregnancies!
 
#24 ·
Hi all,
I'm not pregnant yet but we are ttc. I am a size 24 now and 5'7''. When I was preggers with ds who is now 2.5 I was about 40lbs lighter then I am now. I have been trying to lose weight but it's so hard.
I am pretty active with my toodler so hopefully I won't have any problems ttc. With my ds I only had 1 doctor out of 4 tell me to not gain more than 15lbs. I gained 26lbs.
but had no problems at all. Vaginal birth at 41 weeks and my son weighed just over 8lbs. The one thing all the docs said was that I was measuring big.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ~gilli~
I'm Gillian, Momma to Elijah 4 and Ava 2. I am 29 weeks pregnant with baby #3.

I am giving birth with a midwife at a birthing center, and he has never said anything about my weight. When I got pregnant with this baby I was 250. (did I just type that lol!) at 29 weeks I am only 258


Gillian,

Ok, I"ve just gotta ask. Was it a typo, or do you really have a male midwife?? I didn't even know men could be midwifes, so I had to ask.
Sara
 
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