Thursday, January 20, 2011

Feeling fat during pregnancy

I've been surprised how much gaining weight (and girth) during pregnancy has bothered me, considering:

  • I was fat and mostly complacent about it before pregnancy.
  • 39 weeks pregnant with Mikko, and may I say, Bwahahahahaha!
  • I really do like looking pregnant.
  • I know all about the health benefits of gaining weight during pregnancy, even for those of us who were overweight to begin with.
  • I gained 33 pounds last time I was pregnant and lost it all within 2 weeks of the birth — even though it was over the so-called recommended amount for fat women to gain.
  • I think it's ludicrous that weight gain recommendations don't take relative height and size into consideration — or, you know, current research. I think they're ludicrous just at face value as well.
  • My midwife doesn't care how much I weigh.
  • I know it's not getting fat; it's being pregnant. There's a baby in there who needs this weight to grow.1 (And, to go along with my first point, so what if I am getting fatter?)

So why does it bug me so much to step on the scale and see that I am now so much heavier than my husband? Why do I gaze at my naked pregnant body and see the lumps and rolls instead of the swell my baby makes?


I have an hourglass-to-pear-shaped figure non-pregnant, meaning I have broad hips and shoulders, and a comparatively smaller waist. (Not small waist, but relatively speaking.) So when I'm pregnant, it's a big surprise to me to see my belly grow. And grow.

I watch these TLC shows about women who didn't know they were pregnant until they went into labor. Some of the stories just absolutely floor me, but I can kind of, sort of see it as possible for a woman who typically gains weight in her tummy not to recognize that the extra bulk there is baby instead of food. I have friends and relatives who gain weight in their bellies first, so maybe it's not as much of a shock to have a swell there for them — or maybe it is. What do I know? All I know for myself is that my belly doesn't typically stick out unless I've really been stuffing myself or am bloated — so it's almost like a cue to me to take stock.

And the weight distribution has been a little different this time. My upper belly popped a lot sooner than before. "Upper belly" is a term I just made up, in case you're confused. It's the portion from my bellybutton to just under my boobs, and it decided to make an early and rotund appearance. I researched it and found out it was just my internal organs getting the heck out of the way — a little prematurely, in my estimation. My lower belly, on the other hand, is always slightly flabby, particularly after the skin stretching it went through last pregnancy, with an indentation at the bellybutton line, and the growing uterus just keeps pushing that flab and roll out — and out — and out — making it ever more prominent. So instead of the smoothly rounded bellies of maternity models, I have a sort of fleshy square, rounded out more when the flab is held in check by clothing, but springing forth when not confined, such as when I'm only in a swimsuit. And this makes me wonder if people really know I'm pregnant, or just think I'm tubbier than normal.


As my brother used to say, which one's snifferent?
Although I'm totally posing like that next time I go to water aerobics.


I've gained 22 pounds so far. That number slightly horrifies me. I'm just a little over halfway, after all, and I'm already near the limit of what we fatties are allowed to gain, and only 11 pounds shy of my first-pregnancy total. And that was with an 11 pound, 13 ounce, baby, with a placenta big enough for triplets. Heck, my baby was big enough for triplets! And I know the third trimester, still on the horizon, is the trimester I really packed it on, because that's the trimester that babies do almost nothing but gain fat (clearly) and get bigger. You can see it in action if you think about any preemies you've known — they tend to be gaunt — versus the roly-poly-ness of a full-term baby.

I've known other women who've gained more — or less (my mother gained 5 pounds with me, and I weighed almost 10 at birth) — and have had perfectly healthy babies, and been perfectly healthy themselves. Believe me when I say there was a lot of suspicion at the hospital that either Mikko
big baby in cloth diaper cover off eBay
Macrosomia! Oh, noes!
or I had to have blood sugar issues — and we didn't. Some of us are just built bigger, and that's all right. Some of us gain a lot in pregnancy, and that's all right. Some of us take awhile to lose the weight after pregnancy (or never do), and that's all right, too.

There's no advantage to dieting during pregnancy, and in fact, not gaining enough weight can put the baby at risk for being low birth weight, which is a diagnosis wrapped up with grave concerns like serious illness and possible death, far beyond the ones I had with my chubby boy — like the fact that our newborn clothes and diapers didn't fit him and we had to skip to the next size.

So how can I have looked at our enormous newborn and seen only health and vitality and adorable caterpillar arms, and yet I look at myself, in the process of perhaps making another such chunk-a-munk, and see someone who really needs to go on a diet?

I would never — never — intimate to another pregnant woman that she was getting too fat, or that she ought to lay off the cookies, or suggest anything other than that I love the fertile goddess look. Because I do! So why can't I automatically give the same respect and honor to my own body?

It's complicated, isn't it? This navigating of ingrained societal expectations for what an "ideal" woman looks like colliding with the very real functions that being a woman lays us open to. I cannot be more womanly than by producing life through these here female organs,2 so from whence comes the self-loathing that bemoans my lack of a cinchable waist?

And how much harder it must be for people who are battling or have struggled with eating disorders, or who have obstetricians (or relatives) breathing down their necks and suggesting calorie restriction, or maybe even people who just were thin all their lives till pregnancy and have no idea how even to reconcile suddenly being larger than average.

So, as I waddle through the rest of my second trimester, give me some tips on how to look with favor upon my burgeoning body — fat rolls and flab and illuminated stretch marks and all (and — oh, horror — the new ones I can expect!). Because it just gets larger from here.

How does your size during pregnancy affect you? Did you ever feel any pressure (internal or external) not to put on so much weight?



I'm not the only one mulling this over. Check out also Baby Dust Diaries: "You’re Huge! Pregnancy and Size in a Thin-Centric World."




1 I wanted to link to a chart that showed where weight gain during pregnancy goes, but I swear I can't find a single chart that's not on a page lecturing women not to gain too much weight. So I'll just briefly summarize that the weight gain is a result of the baby, the placenta, amniotic fluid, the increased size of the uterus, the increased blood volume, additional breast tissue as the body prepares for breastfeeding, and fat stores for the mother. Yes, pregnant women storing fat is normal.
2 I want to add an interjection here that in no way am I suggesting that women who do not bear children are unwomanly — just musing on the conundrum that the pregnant body doesn't fit within the range of what's considered the most feminine shape in our society.

31 comments:

teresa said...

You're so beautiful and you are so NOT fat! Take it from me... I can really relate to your feelings and when I got pregnant at over 200 pounds I was beyond horrified (4 years ago...). But I had to practice loving my body in ways I never had before (EVER) because I didn't want to feel anything but self love and appreciation while my daughter was in there. I think you're on the right track and keep trying to look in the mirror and love those curves, lumpy or not.
I want to share a post of mine where I talked a bit about this... (not to be self promoting, but just to share..)
http://www.gooddaytodiet.com/2010/06/21/venus-of-willendorf-goddess-too/

I'm still working on it!!

Issa said...

Yours is the second post I've read today about someone not loving their pregnant body, so I guess I'm feeling really lucky today. I made peace with (and even allowed my self to love!) my fat body a couple of years ago, and I suspect that it's made a difference in how I experience this pregnancy. I looooove my belly. I'm 23 weeks along, and I kind of obsess over it in, watching for the smallest signs that it's getting bigger. I love the stretch marks, I love the squishy area that's fallen to the bottom, I love the hardened upper belly, I love the weight gain, all that. Maybe I'm the only one in the world who demands that my partner reassure me that I'm getting bigger, but I really love it. I can't wait to see more of the changes as things go forward.

Amy said...

I gained 40 pounds during my first pregnancy and feel that that was very sufficient weight gain. Pregnant women should NEVER deny their body of nutritious food during their precious one's gestation. However, cookies and 'junk food' are certainly not beneficial to eat during pregnancy or otherwise. Excess vegetable oil and processed foods can certainly cause problems for the unborn baby and weight gain for the mother. I stuck to good old fashioned fats to cook with: butter, lard, coconut oil. And never denied myself whole milk, cheese, meat, eggs, or butter (and homemade brownies) during pregnancy, or now, while nursing. Our babies need SATURATED FAT more than anything else (it is what our brains are made of, after all.) You look wonderful.

Jenn said...

I am 23 weeks pregnant also, and I truly could've written your post!! its exactly how I feel. Its also my 2nd, and my first was large as well (10lb 12oz) and I also gained a large amount of weight and lost it quickly. We didn't have diabetes either but very similar to you, everyone took one look at Daisy, and thought we did.
Heres my latest belly pic - huge or what??
Have you read anything about reducing risk of having such a large baby 2nd time round? Guess theres not much you/I can do though, what will be will be.

http://www.kiwimummyblogs.co.nz/pregnancy-diary/pregnancy-diary-week-22/

Frugal Vegan Mom said...

Hmmm...I'm coming from a totally different place but will share anyhow.

I'm a thin girl who struggled for years with restrictive/binge eating cycles, plus a heavy reliance on alcohol. I was slightly obsessive about making the scale stay at my ideal number.

I was terrified of getting pregnant and having my body go to shit because of it.

Then I got pregnant and somehow all the body issues got put on hold. It was like I knew I had to be healthy, eat plenty, and it was (IS - I'm 8 mos. right now) totally liberating to not worry about fitting into certain clothes and know that the climbing numbers on the scale don't mean I've been "bad".

I don't exactly love how my pregnant body looks, I've actually always thought it looks painful to have your stomach so stretched out! and sometimes it is!

All I can hope now is my attitude sticks around for post-partum and I don't get obsessive over getting back into perfect shape =(.

Frugal Vegan Mom said...

p.s. - One other piece of advice - stop reading so much and comparing your numbers to whatever "they" say is right.

Eat healthy, and eat when you're hungry, end of story.

Maybe even ask not to see the scale at your appointments?

Anonymous said...

This post was interesting to me as someone who had the opposite experience. It kind of makes me feel like us pregnant women can't win for losing. :)
I was small, always have been and only gained 20 lbs total. I was constantly told I didn't look that far along when people found out how many weeks pregnant I was and had expressions of concern that I wasn't gaining enough. My midwives, however, assured me I was fine, consistently gaining and not to worry. But I did anyway.

Everyone was making me feel like I was defective somehow. My chiropractors were telling me to take protein shakes to put on weight and one told me his healthy wife gains 40 lbs. when she gets pregnant (so what is wrong with me was the undertone.)

I would find myself apologizing about it and explaining I lost 9 lbs. at the beginning from morning sickness.

But, you know what, I'm not apologizing next time. I will embrace my perfectly normal pregnancy weight as we all should, no matter what that number is.

And my little girl was 6lbs. 14oz and perfectly healthy. She came right on her due date.

evelizabeth said...

Oh, first of all, HUGS to you! Body image issues are always difficult, especially so when our bodies are stretching and contorting in ways so beyond our control. I'll spare you the "oh, pregnant bodies are so beautiful" bit because it sounds like you already know all that. However, I will share this: Have you seen the play *Birth* by Karen Brody? The theme of it is MY [pregnant, birthing] BODY ROCKS! Perhaps keeping that in mind might help you find the respect and honor for your own body? Because basically, what you're doing right now absolutely ROCKS, regardless of how your body must contort to get it done! You're a super hero - you grow babies and make milk. Amazing super powers! And it sounds like you grow remarkably healthy, big babies! Yeah for you! The chubbier, the cuter in my opinion.

I can relate to the fear of judgement when pregnant. For some reason, when you're preg you might as well be wearing a neon sign that says, "Please give me unsolicited advice, judgmental looks, and tell me horror stories about your cousin's neighbor's girlfriend's excruciating birth." I gained exactly 50 pounds with each baby and looked much like you do in your 38-week photo - huge baby belly straight out in front. I also went to 42 weeks with my first. For the last few months, people on the street or in the grocery store would look at my belly and then up at me in mildly veiled shock and say, "Are you carrying triplets?" "Oh, honey, when are you due?! Yesterday?" "You'd better have that baby soon!" And I'd feel like saying, "OH, YOU THINK?! BECAUSE REALLY, I LOVE BEING 42 WEEKS PREGNANT AND GETTING UP TO PEE EVERY 5 MINUTES AT NIGHT!!!" My midwives never minded the weight gain, even though I surpassed the "recommended" 25 pounds early in my second trimester, and for that I was grateful! But boy, did the general public seem to have problems with it! (I thought I was quite beautiful though - I had naked prego pictures taken at 41 weeks with my first, and when I look at them now, I'm surprised at how bold I was. I was huuuuuge.)

Let me just share one more thing: Toward the end of my pregnancy with my second, I was in the waiting room at the midwife's when this glowingly healthy, super athletic-looking lady came bouncing out of the back with a tiny little baby bump. I said, "When are you due?" She: "In three weeks." Which happened to be exactly when I was due, only my belly was about five times larger than hers - no exaggeration! - and could not under any circumstances be called "athletic." I wanted to sink into the floor with shame until I realized, "Hey, SHE may look healthy but you've gotta have a belly at 37 weeks! She's not going to have a healthy baby!" And THEN I realized, "Hey, I am totally judging HER pregnant body, which I have NO business doing! So stop, crazy self!" Kindness and gentleness to ourselves and our sisters - it's so important in this world of f-ed up body images.

Anyway, I have dishes in the sink and much to do tonight so I'll spare you more of my random, meandering stories. I'm sending you hugs and mantras of MY BODY ROCKS!

P.S. I always enjoy reading your blog!

Sheryl @ Little Snowflakes said...

I gained close to 60 lbs with my first pregnancy, and around 40 lbs with my second. I spent a lot of energy both times worrying about how fat I looked...never wanted pictures taken of me. Now that I'm not pregnant, I miss my pregnant body and wish that I had spent more time enjoying it! I know with my first I also spent a lot of time worrying about how I'd lose the weight. I'm vowing not to do that this time around...and just trust that it will come off eventually!

Momma Jorje said...

First, you can never expect 2 pregnancies to be the same. You just never know! Baby size, though... probably gonna be big. I make big babies, too... though not Mikko-big.

As for suggestions on your body image... I have a few ideas:

Have a belly/breast mold done of your pregnant shape. Decorate it and hang it in your home.

Have a sexy photo shoot done of you (in all your pregnant glory), either naked or scantily clad (based on your comfort level).

Have your belly painted (and get pictures!). I'm just thinking of ways to draw your attention to the BABY when you see the outside of your belly.

Each time I'm pregnant, I gain more weight than the last time and take longer to drop it. I'm not sure I've dropped the weight yet and I'm TTC. My husband finds me attractive, I try to let that be enough. Occasionally I get obsessed about one body part I don't like.

Momma Jorje said...

Also, I about had a heart attack thinking that preggo pic was NOW! (I'm sure you don't look 39-week pregnant-with-Mikko pregnant yet!)

Speaking of which... current belly pic?

Anonymous said...

I struggled a lot with my self-image during my pregnancies. Which is something I consider odd, too, because I don't struggle with it most of the time. And I totally understood why it was happening.

I think, for me, it was very much tied up in feeling out of control in my own body. I felt sick, and tired, and I got big lists of forbidden foods and forbidden activities, and my boobs changed, and I gained weight and my shape changed. I just felt like a stranger in my body. Like I wasn't MYSELF. And I couldn't quite come to terms with it.

I think that's OK. I didn't have to come to terms with it. I did my best to take care of my pregnant self, and I wasn't always happy, and I gave myself the space to be that way. It's pretty much all I could do.

Inspired Mama said...

When I was pregnant, I really enjoyed how I looked as my belly expanded more and more. I was 17 when the year I had my daughter. Unfortunately my family was really "worried" about me because of that fact. I can't even explain how many times I heard that I need to be lathering my stomache with lotion so I don't get stretch marks. How I needed to make sure that the ONLY weight I gained was THE baby itself. My Dad took a plastic bag one time as an example and stretched it out with his hands so that it looked all distorted and stretched (almost ripped). He said if I'm not careful I'm going to ruin my perfect teenage body by stretching out my skin. He said I'd look as ugly as that plastic bag, and that he was sure my boyfriend (nor any other guy) would never want to see me naked because I would have messed up skin.

So regardless of how much I believed that I was beautiful for my round belly, I was also a bit freaked out that these people were right and that I was ruining my body. Now when I see my belly in the mirror, covered in stretch marks I can't help but smile because it reminds me of the nine months I carried the most precious thing in my life.

In short I think family and friends really should keep their 'weight comments' to themselves. Everyone's experience is different and it's none of their business anyways right?

Lisa C said...

It totally makes sense to me that a taller woman would gain more weight during pregnancy. In fact, I was floored when my 5'10" friend gained only 20 pounds during her first pregnancy and produced a 9 pound baby. WHA?? And of course she thought she looked fat even though she looked like a freakin' model. Then there's me, I'm 5'7" and I gained about 40 pounds, and produced a 7 pound baby. Yeah, I definitely looked fatter than her! But people still told me I looked great.

Anyway, I think it's normal to feel fat during the second trimester. Your tummy is growing but you don't look full-on pregnant yet. I remember crying and screaming at hubby during my second trimester that I was fat and ugly and nothing fit me. Even though I knew I was just pregnant and my body was doing what it was supposed to be doing. Those pregnancy hormones really don't help with reasoning, though.

Cassie said...

I feel EXACTLY the same way. I'm 23 weeks pregnant and I don't know what it is about this pregnancy that makes me feel so BIG! I think it's because my body got so big so fast. I just feel big. I'm actually afraid to look at the scale now, maybe i'll go take a quick peak.
But, like you said, I have no reason to worry, my midwife doesn't care either and I don't think it really matters too much because I easily dropped the weight after a year of breastfeeding.
I just try not to worry about it too much... just concentrate more on getting enough rest and thinking about giving birth :)

Cassie said...

Oh, I was thinking, maybe I'm gaining more this time because my body knows i'm going to be nursing two kids...

kelly @kellynaturally said...

I gained 40 & 46 pounds with each of my pregnancies. My babies were a little over 8lbs & a little under 7lbs.

Each time I stepped on the scale during pregnancy & saw that number I felt a little bit like a space alien. So... I avoided it in favor of believing that my body was gaining what I needed to support each baby.

Pregnancy is a transient state. It's body-altering and brain-altering and mood-altering and doesn't give you enough time to "get used to" any of those altered states. So go easy on yourself. Your body is doing what it's supposed to. You look beautiful.

Olivia said...

My pregnant belly looked a lot like yours. I have a flabby lower abdomin and my daughter rode high the entire time (husband called her his Uptown Girl) so my belly sloped sharply inward from top to bottom.

I am fat, really, not just a bit overweight, and it was/is so difficult to see the numbers on the scale. I think because those number are given such importance in our society. It's not about size and proportion, it's about whether a woman weighs 120 lbs (even if she's 5'10"). I've heard it suggested if the numbers bother you, ask to be weighed with your back to the scale and your midwife just note the number without telling you. I might try that next time.

During my pregnancy I mostly focused on those areas I liked. For instance I would gaze at the firm top part of my belly even when it was just my organs, and keep the lower, flabby part covered. I focused on my breasts because I found the growing, visible veins fascinating. Ditto on my stretch marks. Instead of looking at them with disdain, I chose to see them as remarkable and wonder as to where they would go next.

After pregnancy, I lost most of the weight, but am still heavier than before. However, seeing myself thru my daughter's eyes has been life changing for me. She doesn't see fat as something gross or ugly. It's just soft, bouncy mama. She lifts my shirt to search for my belly button and I let her. Treasure hunts are fun. :)

Lindsay said...

Well for the record, not that my opinion matters, I think you're a gorgeous pregnant mama.

I also in a pathetic way love hearing that other moms get down on their bodies too because it reminds me that I'm not the only one...even if we're all wrong and should embrace our bodies :)
When I was preggo I gained 40lbs, which is a ton when you consider that I'm only 5'2" 125lbs right now (non-preggo)! What was really funny was the reactions from Hubby's extended family. They were all sweet about it, but they are all tall thin and athletic and look about 3 months pregnant when they actually have their (totally healthy) babies. I, on the other hand, looked like I ate a watermelon at about 6 months. And had corresponding stretch marks, which made me look like I'd been mauled by a tiger. I think they found it somewhat amusing.

Anyway, the thing that helped me most was focusing on how awesome it was that my body could be so useful. When I focused on the usefulness rather than the decorative value of my body, I found I scored myself much higher. :)

Shana said...

I love Momma Jorje's suggestions! Particularly the body paint and taking pictures of your painted self. That sounds so fun. If it's true that the opposite of depression is play, then that sounds like the perfect playful activity to get you out of a body image funk.

For what it's worth, I think you look fantastic. Send me some of that fertility goddess energy, I could use some!

Elena said...

With baby number five I tried to just ignore all numbers. We torture ourselves with numbers in an effort to control. I just let my midwives worry about the numbers, deciding that was their job, not mine. Despite my attempt at ignorance, I was well aware that I gained the most weight with baby number five, and for some reason it did bother me. I appreciate you sharing all your innermost thoughts here, I think it's helpful to us all to know we're not alone in our body image challenges.

Heather said...

I gained about 37 lbs during pregnancy, which was really surprising because non-pregnant it is hard for me to gain weight and the most I've ever weighed was when I was pregnant. It was nice that my body was doing what it was supposed to and my midwife was concerned that I may not gain enough since I was a naturally thin person.

I chucked a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes because someone told me that I would never weigh my pre-preg body weight again.... well, that person was wrong and I got rid of a lot of clothes for no reason!

But on the other side of the fence, I have trouble gaining weight (yet again, being non-preg) and that is difficult to deal with. People can be harsh, whether you are overweight or underweight.

I've just learned to appreciate what my body does. I know it can be hard seeing your body change, but it's great that our bodies know just what to do during pregnancy!

Danielle said...

Oh man, your post hit me on a rough day and left me in tears. Not the intended effect, I'm sure, just an uncanny collision of circumstances.

Just Wednesday night I had my 34 week midwife appointment. I've gained a mere 19 pounds and my fundal height measurement didn't change at all since my 32 week appointment. I'm still sitting at 31cm. The midwife isn't too worried, as I'm still within the normal +/- 3cm range, but I am. I am worried that there is something wrong with the house I have built for the little one inside. That there is something wrong with my body and, possibly as a result, something going to be wrong with the babe.

I haven't been dieting, I have been eating when/if I am hungry, as I always do, even indulging on cookies and treats from time-to-time. I drink whole milk, snack on full-fat yogurt, really what else can I do?!

I am trying to relax, as my midwife said, and take this a little bit at a time. Trusting the process, trusting that my body, like yours, is providing adequately for this babe inside. But it's hard. I feel like I just can't win. Last pregnancy I got ragged on by my doctor in Japan for gaining to much weight (I gained 28 pounds total, but delivered at 35w5d), this time I'm having the opposite issue. Really, it's frustrtating!

Unknown said...

I consistently hover in the 260s -- and I rounded out pregnancy at 289. (I was weighed at my first appointment at 269, , but I was already 14 weeks pregnant, so I don't know for sure how heavy I was right before I got pregnant.)

My OB was great; she said to me at the first appointment, "I'd like to see you gain no more than 15 pounds," and never spoke of it again.

I told my mother when I called to tell her the sex of the baby that I just hoped not to pass the 300 mark, and she was quick to say, "You don't want the diet when you're pregnant," which made me feel better because she actually gasped when I told her my weight. (My mother is pretty laid back; I promise that's atypical for her.)

In general I took my weight pretty well during pregnancy, considering how much I hated it before pregnancy. I used to get bummed because I hardly looked pregnant until the very end, and even then not so much: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_HmtpMyyELgQ/SXSfqn5O0gI/AAAAAAAACZE/Z7Q_cN294Nc/32weeks.jpg I don't think a stranger would have guessed, especially because I slouch when NOT trying to document a baby belly. It was not how I had envisioned in being pregnant.

However, being pregnant and birthing a child made me really appreciate my body, no matter how atypically beautiful it is.

Lauren Wayne said...

@DanielleSorry you're feeling stressed! I measured big for fundal height at 18 weeks, then right on target for 20, which reminded me that growth goes not in a nicely linear fashion but in fits and starts. I would just keep eating as you have and trust your body and baby. I was actually worried about not gaining enough weight in the second trimester my first time around, and a dietitian friend recommended avocados and peanut butter — just a suggestion for some other dense snacks if it would make you feel better to be doing something.

Megan said...

I'm also 23 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and this time around I am absolutely loving the pregnant look. With my daughter, I gained over 60 lbs! A lot of it was water weight at the end, but I was so incredibly swollen and huge. It took 14 months to lose it all and I actually didn't feel great about my body again until getting pregnant with this child. I popped much sooner which I thought I'd be annoyed with, but I liked it so much better than the 5 months of frumpy "I ate too much over the holidays" look I was rocking last time around. This pregnancy, I'm also much healthier. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too and I think that's played a huge role in how I'm feeling about my body. Plus, with chasing an extremely active 19 month old, I just don't have as much time to stress about it.

Fran said...

I gained almost 50 pounds with my first pregnancy and a little over 30 with my second pregnancy. Funny thing is, I hit 180 as my top weight both times! I remember thinking, "Oh My God! Getting this heavy can't be good!" At the same time, I wasn't eating junk, I felt healthier than ever and I didn't have any issues with sugar or high blood pressure, so I didn't worry about it.

For what it's worth, I think you look beautiful!

MummyinProvence said...

I think you look great! It's dumb when they don't take into account other factors like your height, build and more importantly your BP and blood sugar!! I gained 30 pounds in my pregnancy, lost 15lbs by 6 weeks PP but 9 months on am hanging onto the 15lbs extra inspite of exercise and watching what I eat ... the product is a happy healthy baby and a fluffy (yet proud) mama!
I have the rest of my life to be skinny so hear is to fluffiness!

Tereza Crump said...

oh, you look so beautiful!! I love being pregnant... It's the best time of my life: I eat the healthiest without stressing about it, because I just eat what I want (or what baby needs). I have the best sex ever and I feel so sexy. :) LOL

love it!!! and I do gain weight about 40 pounds....

Stacy (Mama-Om) said...

I gained almost ALL my pregnancy weight with my second child in the first half of the pregnancy. (I also "popped" right away, from the muscles relaxing. I had a nice flabby tummy!) But the main thing is that I was so nauseous that eating constantly was the only thing that helped me feel not dizzy.

Because I had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies, I was interested in seeing a nutritionist with the second (can't remember why now), and I remember her cautioning me that "at this rate" I would be gaining too much weight. It just seemed silly to me... I had explained how I had felt sick the first half of the pregnancy but now that the gestational diabetes had kicked in, I actually felt BETTER and needed to eat less, but she still got out a chart and cautioned me.

Whatever. I ended up gaining the same amount with both pregnancies (25 lbs or so). I am sure if I had gone back to her and she saw that I wasn't gaining weight in the second half, she would have "cautioned" me too! LOL!

mingusententia said...

@Lisa C

This made me laugh. I'm only 5 weeks, and I just yelled that at my partner this morning.

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