[Mizelenius]

I am pregnant with my fifth baby. I am about 12.5 weeks pregnant. I have been having morning sickness non-stop since week 07. Lately it seems to be worse than ever. Normally I gain weight fairly quickly in the first weeks-- eating is usually what helps with morning sickness for me, but nothing I've tried has helped yet (ginger, pineapple, lemon drops, crackers, small but frequent meals, avoiding dairy). Last time my ms went until 16 weeks, but I know each time is different.

I started off at 103 lbs and am down to 100 lbs. (5'1" -- not tall.) I must be gaining (despite my loss of weight) something because my belly is expanding.

I do not want to take medicine for this because I am anti-meds during PG and will usually suffer through anything, UNLESS it is affecting the baby. (Once I took Tylenol in a past PG because I had a high fever.)

So, this is my question-- at what point would not eating much/losing weight affect the baby?

 

[Ekatherina]

i had terrible ms with my two kids and lost a LOT of weight, they came out normal...i dont know if it effected them, it doesn't seem to though. this baby also a lot of ms and weight loss but i am not worrying as well, cause i started gaining weight normally and eating all kinds of healthy foods as soon as it stopped.

 

[mt_gooseberry]

With my first, I had hyperemesis gravidarum--the kind of morning sickness that is so severe that you JUST CAN'T STOP PUKING. I am 5'2 and I got down to 84 LBS. I was throwing up 20+ times a day. I looked like a skeleton. I tried all the natural remedies: ALL OF THEM. Nothing helped, and I had to be hospitalized for almost a week because at that point, it was looking like I wouldn't be able to sustain the pg. I was pumped full of anti-nausea drugs, but at that point I didn't care b/c it was between using drugs or losing the baby. I then tried several different medicines, and even with the drugs, I was still debilitated through 5 mo. Eventually I settled with Zofran (odansetron). This time around, I got the scrip for Zofran at my first prenatal appt. I used it as sparingly as possible, but I headed off the worst and have no regrets.

All that having been said, I support your decision to try to avoid the drugs. I know I tried. My dd was born at a healthy weight (6lbs 8oz) and none the worse for wear either from the weight loss or the drugs. Once I got over the ms, I was put on a pretty intensive weight gain program. Luckily, during the first tri, baby isn't growing so much as developing, so they don't need a whole lot of calories or fat. They do, however, need the nutrients for development, so if you can, focus on keeping down a prenatal (this was basically my entire goal for those early days!).

The one thing all the doctors assured me of during that pg was that you have to be pretty severely malnourished/starved to lose a baby. They ARE often born with lower birth weights, but my dd wasn't. Just pay super close to your diet when you finally are able to eat and you should be OK. That said, please don't let things get to the point I did. My insistence on No Drugs almost killed us.

 

[Mizelenius]

Ekatherina, thank you!

mt goose-- OMG, that sounds truly like a nightmare. I am so sorry. In your case I would use drugs with no issue!!!! I am holding my weight at 100-101 so that is OK . . .if I got down to 84 I'd be running to the hospital, too. 20 times a day is just horrible. I am so glad you are using medicine! It absolutely has its place!

Two of my girls were right around 6 lbs 8 oz and I did not have this! So, sounds like a good weight to me!

Thank you to both for the reassurance. My mom is here today to help and I am able to not move!

 

[Jaimee]

You might find THIS thread helpful. Sorry you're so sick- it sucks!

 

[Mizelenius]

Jaimee, thank you for that very helpful thread! It makes me a little less nervous to try SOME meds. If I could just sit around I would be OK . . .it is more for my 4 children that this is a real issue, because I am pretty helpless. I feel bad for THEM to have me like this, esp. the toddler.

I may give it one more week and if I am still basically not functioning then I will be more proactive.

 

[Jaimee]

You're welcome! I hope you start to feel better soon one way or another!

 

[BennyPai]

With my second dd, I lost 6lb during the first trimester due to morning sickness. I lost 4 more pounds during the third trimester (due to grieving) and that left me with a total gain of 25 pounds, compared with 35 pounds I've gained during my other pregnancies. I was terrified that I would give birth to a skinny/malnourished baby.

However, she turned out to be my biggest baby, weighing 10 lb 2 oz at birth. I'm not sure at what point weight loss will effect baby, but in my case my dd got everything she needed even though I was feeling miserable and ill.