Dr said I should only gain 25 lbs total- added PIP

JNoelleE · May 2013

After the MW I saw said 50 lbs. I was considered overweight according to my BMI and started out at 206-210 (I always fluctuated) and I'm 5'11. I thought I could stand to loose a few lbs, was still hanging on to 10lbs from my first pregnancy which I got pregnant again when DS was 8 months.

But anyway, I think that's kind of ridiculous. Right? I'm not super worried about it, I'll continue to eat healthy and go on walks when I can, but I'm only up 13lbs at 23 weeks and think that's good... But I expected to gain the most at the end.

Anyway, she totally made me feel like a fat asss. This was my first time seeing this Dr. and was just surprised given that my weight has never been mentioned by anyone else.

meechellebelle · May 2013

I was in the same situation as you. I wasn't at an ideal weight but not huge and my OB said 25 lbs was where she wanted me. I ended up losing 10 in the first trimester and then gaining 25 after that so from pre pregnancy weight I only gained 15 lbs. I wouldn't worry about it honestly. Being healthy and going on walks helps and as long ad you're not gaining a ton of weight and developing issues then I doubt your OB will say anything.

macchiatto · May 2013

I followed Dr. Luke's guidelines for how much to gain. I had lost 20 lbs before TTC and started out at a "normal" BMI and for that I know her book says to gain 40-56 (her more recent guidelines say 37-54); I gained 54. I was so darn hungry I can't imagine eating little enough to gain a lot less than that! I don't remember how much she recommends if you start off in the "overweight" range but I think it's more than 25 lbs. Anyhow, if you haven't read her book it might be worth checking out for comparison. Some MFMs agree with her, some don't (even the various drs I saw had different opinions about how much I was gaining but I did have healthy full-term babies fwiw), but at least as of the time I was pregnant (my twins are now 4) I never found any other really research-based weight gain guidelines specifically for twin pregnancy other than Dr. Luke's.

One MFM I saw said to gain 30-40 lbs but when they said 25-35 for a singleton, to me it made zero sense to gain just 5 extra lbs for an additional 6.5 lb baby, an additional 2 lb placenta, an additional 2ish lbs of amniotic fluid, plus the other extra fluids and maternal stores you need for a second baby ... sorry I got long but it's a little pet peeve of mine I would ask your dr for the reasons behind their recommendations and see if there is research to back it up, but it bugs me (based on my own experience with the first practice I was with, and experiences friends have had) when drs base their recs off of research on singleton moms.

PurrCrasher · May 2013

I always planned to gain however much my babies needed me to gain. I ate really healthy, took my vitamins and drank a ton of water. I also took walks and swam a lot. I ended up gaining 27 pounds total but I would have been fine with gaining more if it meant that my babies needed it. I think it's easy to get caught up in the numbers but the reality is that as long as you're taking the best care of yourself that you can you're in turn taking the best care of your babies that you can. Eat well, exercise gently and drink a lot of water. Don't worry about the scale.

jessibel00 · May 2013

My dr said 15, I didn't listen and gained 35. My babies alone were just under 15 lbs. eat healthy, not junk food, eat when you are hungry, and you're fine. Don't let it stress you out, I lost all but 5 lbs of my pregnancy gain in 2 weeks. Stressing out about the scale is way too much added stress, especially when dealing with all the other crap you need to worry about with a multiples pregnancy.

kristen6 · May 2013

My OB recommended only gaining 20, I'm a similar size as you (a few inches shorter, a little bit heavier). I have been trying not to worry. I didn't gain much until maybe week 18 or 19, then I gained a huge chunk, and it seems to be slowing (hopefully). I think I'm up 22 total at 25 weeks. Really, I was hoping for 35 by the end.

Admittedly, I went on a bit of a milkshake bender for a few weeks, and I was hungry all the time. My hunger seems to be slowing a bit and I'm trying to re-focus on healthy choices. As everyone said, if you focus on healthy choices and try to stay a little active, try not to worry too much about it.

kelandspence2012 · May 2013

My dr never said a word about my weight gain! Im 4'11" .... yes i looked luke humpty dumpty at the end but i didnt care! Lol tell your dr when he gets pregnant with twins lets see if he can only gain 25 pounds! Some women dont gain very much and they are fortunate but in my experience that doesnt happen in very many pregnancies! I ate healthy but i still gained about 60 lbs!

sweetsugarmama · May 2013

PurrCrasher:
I always planned to gain however much my babies needed me to gain. I ate really healthy, took my vitamins and drank a ton of water. I also took walks and swam a lot. I ended up gaining 27 pounds total but I would have been fine with gaining more if it meant that my babies needed it. I think it's easy to get caught up in the numbers but the reality is that as long as you're taking the best care of yourself that you can you're in turn taking the best care of your babies that you can. Eat well, exercise gently and drink a lot of water. Don't worry about the scale.

I gained 25 lbs with my boys. I started out overweight but not obese. No one ever mentioned how much I should gain and I read Dr. Luke's book. I was at about 12 lbs around 20 weeks (I think?) and eating everything I wanted within reason. I was constantly hungry. I made the mistake of asking my MFM what he thought. He said 12 lbs was high and if I was good I wouldn't gain ANY weight. WTF? How is that possible? lose weight as the babies grow? The nurse and US Tech's jaws almost hit the floor. They rolled their eyes after he left. I will say I ate more with the boys and was sick with m/s daily. With my singleton I was sicker (in the hospital twice for m/s), ate less and gained 35 lbs.

Long story short, be healthy and don't worry about the numbers.

starrkitten89 · May 2013

sweetsugarmama:
PurrCrasher:
I always planned to gain however much my babies needed me to gain. I ate really healthy, took my vitamins and drank a ton of water. I also took walks and swam a lot. I ended up gaining 27 pounds total but I would have been fine with gaining more if it meant that my babies needed it. I think it's easy to get caught up in the numbers but the reality is that as long as you're taking the best care of yourself that you can you're in turn taking the best care of your babies that you can. Eat well, exercise gently and drink a lot of water. Don't worry about the scale.
I gained 25 lbs with my boys. I started out overweight but not obese. No one ever mentioned how much I should gain and I read Dr. Luke's book. I was at about 12 lbs around 20 weeks (I think?) and eating everything I wanted within reason. I was constantly hungry. I made the mistake of asking my MFM what he thought. He said 12 lbs was high and if I was good I wouldn't gain ANY weight. WTF? How is that possible? lose weight as the babies grow? The nurse and US Tech's jaws almost hit the floor. They rolled their eyes after he left. I will say I ate more with the boys and was sick with m/s daily. With my singleton I was sicker (in the hospital twice for m/s), ate less and gained 35 lbs.

Long story short, be healthy and don't worry about the numbers.

This! I'm about the same as you, OP (5'8" and 220 pre pregnancy). My endocrinologist told me with my first pregnancy that I was "SO overweight" that I shouldn't gain anything. My OB was pretty appalled. Each pregnancy is different. I was told 25-35 pounds this time and I was told 15-25 with my singleton pregnancy. With my singleton pregnancy I gained 25, this time at 35.5w with multiples I've only gained 15, and last time I was sicker. Just be healthy and it's all good!

JNoelleE · May 2013

I guess my issue is, that I don't even really consider myself 'overweight' because my BMI is only a little past the normal range, and I'm almost 6ft tall! It doesn't make sense that I could weigh 20lbs more and still have the 25lb guideline? I mean how much would they really lower it? I am having di di twins, so two placentas, two bags of water, two babies... Just doesn't make sense to me. But, I appreciate all of your words and advice. I'm not going to stress and will do the best I can, and maybe this is the only Dr. out of the 5 that I see that even feel this way?

Anyway here's a pic of me at 22 weeks so you can see what I actually look like. My belly is gettin quite huge!

JocelynB0911 · May 2013

MFM told me to gain 40lbs and I kind of laughed as I have only gained about 8 so far at 22 (almost 23 weeks). My OB said unless I am packing on the pounds by eating crap food he is not concerned. The babies are gaining well and are very healthy as am I. IMO, I would take it as a grain of salt. If you are getting some form of exercise in (even walking) and eating right then keep doing what you're doing. I started at 199lbs (who knew) and am 5'7 but my weight seems to be evenly spread out throughout my entire body.

meldoo2002 · May 2013

I was never told an amount of weight to gain. I think you look great by the way. I gained 60lbs. and no one said anything (and I delivered at 30 weeks so who knows how much it would have been). I ate healthy, but did try to get a fair amount of protein in. I don't think it's a big deal. I lost it all within a few months so it's not like it affected my health long term.

macchiatto · May 2013

You look fabulous!! Seriously! What is with your dr? I would really want to know his/her reasoning.

Btw, I found the recs for women who start out "overweight" (which you do not look at all btw!). The Institute of Medicine used Dr. Luke's research to help create their guidelines for twin pregnancy (so they apparently "believe in her" )

https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2009/researcher-creates-weight-guidelines-for-women-pregnant-with-twins/

Here's a relevant excerpt: "Healthy, normal-weight women pregnant with twins should gain between 37 and 54 pounds, according to research from a Michigan State University professor who helped shape the recently released national guidelines on gestational weight gain.

Barbara Luke, a professor in the College of Human Medicine?s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and Department of Epidemiology, helped create the guidelines for the Institute of Medicine. Her research also found overweight women should gain between 31 and 50 pounds, while obese women should gain 25 to 42 pounds."

So ... yeah, sounds like you're doing great. Like pp's said, focus on eating when you're hungry, eat relatively healthy, lots of protein, drink tons of water, etc.

Also, while BMI is useful for research and statistical purposes, it can be misleading when looking at an individual since it doesn't take into account body composition. For example, DH is only 1/2" taller than me and weighs literally 50% more. My BMI is well within the "normal" range, his is "obese" ... and yet his body fat percentage is actually a little lower than mine! I have a small bone structure, his is huge, and he has tons of muscle. So drs who go only by BMI without looking at body composition do a disservice IMO.

Dr said I should only gain 25 lbs total- added PIP

Re: Dr said I should only gain 25 lbs total- added PIP

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