[Basmati]

I gave birth to my seventh baby just over five weeks ago. When she was conceived, my sixth baby was eight months old and I still had 10 lbs to lose before I was at my pre-pregnancy weight of 125 lbs.

So I started this last pregnancy at 135 lbs. By the time I was in labour, I was at about 182 lbs, so nearly 50 lbs of weight gain.

I weighed myself a few days after the birth and was at 165.

Then at about a week post delivery I weighed 160.

At two weeks post delivery I was still 160.

Then at three weeks post delivery I went down to 159.

I've not gotten on the scale in the past couple weeks but today I weighed myself and found I am up to 164 lbs.

I've been breastfeeding my baby a lot and she's healthy and gaining really well.

I have never gained weight postpartum before. This is the strangest thing. Has anyone ever heard of this happening? What could be going on?

 

[happyhousewife06]

I am in this sinking boat with you. I am also breastfeeding and gaining weight. I have no clue what the deal is! hang in there I have heard that it may start changing at around 8 months... well see.

 

[LynnS6]

I gained about 20 lbs while breastfeeding dd. It was the sleep deprivation that did it to me. I didn't start to gain weight until I went back to work (she was 4 1/2 months), but 3 months after that I'd put a lot of weight on.

It's really hard to lose weight while sleep deprived because your body wants to eat more for fuel (since you aren't sleeping to get energy, it needs it from somewhere). Stress too makes it harder to lose weight.

 

[june'smom]

I gained about 5 lbs after dd was born. I was so shocked and upset. Until I started to think about why. I was eating constantly (bad snacky stuff) and not moving at all because all I did was nurse! I was also not sleeping nearly enough, so my sleepiness turned into hunger to keep my energy up.

Eventually, though, I started walking again and paying attention to what I was eating. The sleep issue was better after a couple weeks with dd which made doing everything easier.

For me, it takes almost a year to get back down to a weight I am comfortable with.

 

[FondestBianca]

same happened to me big time with this kiddo. This time around I started at 148 (I was 162 after dd, went on weight watchers, lost 34 lbs putting me at a slightly-too-thin 128, then yo-yo dieted causing my weight to go up and down for 2 years). I was up to somewhere around 190+ when I delivered ds. Ds has been EBF since birth but my weight only went down to a low of 165 THEN all of a sudden I started gaining again and went up to 167. That prompted me to go back on weight watchers (especially since they have a program for breastfeeding moms) and after 5 weeks I'd lost 10lbs. It's been almost 7 weeks now and I think I've lost another pound or two. It's the ONLY way I've ever been able to get weight off. The plan makes the lbs come off quick and easy for me... it's just very hard for me to follow because I'm an overeater and addicted to food.... but, it works. Less sleep, more stress, and more sitting due to BFing slows the loss a bit as well.

Maybe ww is something to look into if you would like to get back on a healthy track. There is a ww group here on MDC with lots of helpful friendly folks.

 

[Basmati]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FondestBianca Maybe ww is something to look into if you would like to get back on a healthy track. There is a ww group here on MDC with lots of helpful friendly folks.

I'm curious about that, FondestBianca. I looked at the main board and didn't see a Weight Watchers section, though. Anyone have a link for it here?

 

[LynnS6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basmati I'm curious about that, FondestBianca. I looked at the main board and didn't see a Weight Watchers section, though. Anyone have a link for it here?

Yep, there's a thread here. I find it very helpful because I'm doing WW online and so I don't go to meetings. Honestly, I don't WANT to go to meetings, and I'm just as happy to spend my time doing something else.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1064421

 

[Basmati]

Thanks Lynn. I'll check it out. I know absolutely nothing about Weight Watchers so I have a lot to learn. I always thought it was just meals that you buy pre-packaged or something like that. I had no idea there were meetings involved.

 

[ChampagneBlossom]

I agree with the sleep deprivation being KEY to all this...

 

[PreggieUBA2C]

I have always been back to pre-pg weight during the fourth month pp (I've been pg 7 times), but after ds4, not so. This time it has taken me until now and he will be 17 months tomorrow. I stuck at 15 lbs over this whole time.

For me, it was that I've had thyroid problems that were so severe that I was losing weight too fast and it was very hard for me to gain weight even during pg, which I did, but less with each pg. So this time, as I've been healing my thyroid, I ended up in the stage where weight gain happens, which was an improvement for me. I've since passed that stage and have now lost those 15 lbs in the last couple of months.

Have you assessed your thyroid health? Sleep deprivation has a huge impact on thyroid as well as every other part of your body and mind, of course.

Try eating seaweed every day and see if that helps.

 

[Basmati]

I will look into the thyroid possibility.

I see a lot of mention about sleep deprivation. However, I feel well rested, as I have felt since the day my baby was born. (It was so much worse during the pregnancy as I was getting up every two to three hours at night to use the bathroom!) My baby sleeps at least six hours at night for over a week now.

As of this coming Friday I will be six weeks postpartum. At that point I want to try starting exercising with my Cindy Crawford DVD for moms. It seemed to help after my last baby. Will see if it makes any difference this time.

 

[Nourishing Bodies]

Weight gain can often be surprising and depressing. I completely understand the frustration and desire to make a change. Too often we look only at what we eat, when we eat, how often we eat, the calories, etc. and forget to take a look at the holistic picture. Weight gain is very often the symptom of something else that is lacking in our lives. When a new mom puts on weight while nursing, it is very likely that what is missing is ourselves. I'm sure you all can relate. We loose ourselves in our new role of Mom. Although nutrition and the foods we choose to put into our bodies will make a difference, true health and weight loss will not happen until we find the happiness and balance that our souls need. This will be different for everyone, but some examples are partner struggles, sleep deprivation, lack of exercise due to time, always caring for someone else and not having the energy to do the same for yourself. I encourage each of you to consider this. A balanced health is a change for life.