Well, I got the lecture from the doctor about gaining too much weight this time around. She wants me to try to not gain any more weight between now and when the baby comes. Hmm... I'm not sure how that's possible. She suggested 30 minutes of exercise every day.
This is a sore spot for us. During my first pregnancy, we paid close attention to how much weight I was gaining. We went out of our way to make sure we were eating healthy and all the right stuff. Michael would cook for me and even had time to make special lunches for the two of us. We also went on daily walks in the evening.
Unfortunately, and we both feel quite guilty about it, those things haven't happened this time. Our excuse, if there is one, is that we're so busy with Ellie. If Michael comes home and cooks then we're not done with dinner until 6:45 or 7:00, and with Ellie's bedtime being 7:45 (bed time routine starts at 7:10 or 7:15), then where's the time? And who really wants to cook when you're so tired or when it's so much fun to play with Ellie instead (she's a lot of fun this age)? And I know I haven't been keeping as close eye on my weight gain, I think because it bothered me that I started out at a higher number to begin with. Lastly, it was a lot easier to take evening walks when you didn't have to worry about a 7:45 bedtime - I suppose I could go alone.
So... there you have it. We feel guilty - perhaps this is the first real difference between the kids. We fear that we've given Ellie a better head-start in life than this baby. Maybe that means she'll be smarter? Maybe that means she'll be more healthy? Maybe... maybe... maybe...
I'd like to know how common this is. I know the average weight gain during pregnancy is 25-35 pounds, but what is the statistic for second pregnancies? Is it higher? Is it the same? I gained 30 pounds with Ellie and I'm up 37 pounds with this baby. What will that do? The doctor says it could mean the baby will be bigger and thus it might be a more difficult birth (I somehow doubt it can be as bad as my first birth, when she was posterior). But what about longer-term effects? Does anyone know?
9 comments:
Jen I gained about 60 Lbs when I was pregnant with Thomas...and he is fine! Yes he was a big baby about 9 lbs. I think so difficult to stay in that 25-30 lb range...as long as you are feeling ok I wouldn't worry toooo much!
I of course didn't lose all the weight but I did lose almost all of it! Haha I'm hoping when I get pregnant again to only gain like 40lbs!! Shall see
Good luck!
Wow! 9 pounds! Did you have a natural birth? I seem to recall that
you did, but that's impressive!
Thanks for your input! I appreciate it!
I think it is pretty common in subsequent pregnancies to gain more weight and I don't think it has any long term affect on the baby. Have they guestimated how big the baby might be?
I know that my dr hasn't been overly concerned about my weight gain (or lack of) because the babies are growing and are a good size.
I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant and I never got any guff from my doctor about it. I even asked him if it was a problem since I was feeling so huge and uncomfortable. He said that my glucose levels were ok and not to worry about the weight. It was only at the very end of my pregnancy (2 weeks before the baby was born) that I had slightly elevated blood pressure. My little dude was born 7lp 9oz and is perfectly healthy.
Please don't beat yourself up. You can do everything "right" and have an baby with special needs, or do stuff "wrong" and have a healthy kid. No one can tell how a person will turn out.
niff- you're three weeks away from your due date, and they're having you stress over an extra 7-10 pounds NOW?
i really am not trying to simply pacify you here- truly- DO NOT sweat this. you have nothing to worry about. you're doing great, and your baby will be just fine.
women tend to level off and start to drop a little weight at this pregnancy point anyway, regardless of your regimen.
if your baby is progressing healthily, everyone should step off. enjoy your food, your life, your ellie, and your beautiful round body. this part is almost done.
Thanks everyone! Your comments have helped me to realize that this is just small stuff. Sometimes I wish doctors didn't go so strictly by the book.
Hugs to you all!
I agree with Melissa. I gained 60ish (too lazy to go back and look now) with the Cracker who came out 7#12oz @ 42 weeks, and but less than 20lbs with Olive who was born 4 weeks sooner at 6#8oz. If anything Olive should have been bigger since I had gestational diabetes, but I was anal about my diet. If you're really interested in stopping the gain I could tell you about the gd diet, but I really think you just need to vent, and you deserve to. You're so darn close, and it's not like you're going to go out and gain a lot more. Sheesh!
I know that bedtimes are very personal issues and you know you're child best. With that in mind, now that she's older I might try pushing bedtime back 15 minutes one night a week and see how it goes. It would give you a chance to take a brisk around the block walk while L runs along with you. A lot of times when we walk we have to push back bedtime, but since the kids are getting one last burst of energy out they usually end of falling asleep much faster instead of laying there for a few minutes first.
Hugs to you!
It would surprise me if there are long-term risks but it makes sense that the baby can be big and the birth possibly difficult. My sis's 4 kids were all huge, almost 10 lbs. They're fine, intelligent and healthy. The youngest is almost 13 and the oldest 21.
I really like what Kelly said, that you can do everything "right" and still not have complete control over the outcome, so don't sweat about not doing everything completely by the book.
I think the issue doc might be worried about is more for your health than the baby's (that it can be difficult to lose post-preg weight and some women who gain more can be at risk for gestational diabetes). At least you're almost there!
Re: weight gain. No comment. No human male in his right mind EVER comments on any human female's weight. Commenting on pregnant human female weight is a good way to make my wife a widow. And she might even help make that happen. So to reiterate: No comment.
BUT re: dinner, I have some bad news. It only gets worse. As your kids get older 2 things show up: homework and afterschool activities (in my case sports). We count ourselves lucky if dinner prep begins at 6pm and is served by 7pm. More often than wed like we're not eating until 8 and them scrambling to get #3  in bed at 8:30.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if your lives turn out like ours, you may have to start a late afternoon snack routine so the kids can survive until dinner.
Sorry.
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