dr.luke vs OB & RE~weight gain

carolina1178 · February 2010

I have read dr.lukes book and according to book I need to gain about a pound a week.

OB and RE tell me not to worry about it if I am not gaining. I am not super stressing over it...there is no more food I can eat! I am eating high protein and healthy fats....with some comfy, craving food thrown in there ;-)

But I feel like I felt when ds was first born with all this info coming at me from a million directions...who's right? did you take something from each professional and run with it?

I am very anxious to see MFM next week because I have LOTS of questions for them! I hope they can offer a better MoM perspective than what I have been given so far. Even the RE and the nurse (who has twin girls) said not to worry about weight gain....that I will probably gain 10-15lbs more with twins than I did with one baby but it will come naturally and not to worry. I really have no problems gaining weight but I am just wondering if I should be eating more...not sure how I would accomplish that but I could figure it out.

TIA!

Temp6313048411121614 · February 2010

I would definitely go by what your docs say as opposed to a book. Your doc knows your specific situation, a book is just giving blanket suggestions. For some reason I specifically didn't ever want to read the book you're suggesting, something about it just rubbed me the wrong way. I lost weight until I was 17w (did with DS1 as well) and I still gained a healthy 48 pounds with my twins.

BizEB · February 2010

I'm not super stressed about it, nor is my MFM. I had horrible m/s for the entire first trimester and really didn't gain any weight so there was no way I was going to gain like 20 pounds by 20 weeks or whatever Luke says you should do. I still can't eat alot- still have alot of nausea and am still super picky about what makes me sick.

My MFM said to be "aggressive" about eating and to take advantage of any craving I have whenever I have it but I think he realizes it's just not going to be possible for me to gain weight like I wasn't deathly ill for three months.

carolina1178 · February 2010

for sure listening to docs over a book :-) the book had good suggestions but its not that realistic for me since I have a toddler to chase after :-P I think at one point she suggest you rest for 2 hours in morning, midday and afternoon...that would be great but not happening with my ds running around, lol!!

I just want these babies to be healthy :-D

RobynK · February 2010

Your RE is not a specialist in pregnancy, only in getting you pregnant. So I would personally put his/her advice about your pregnancy at the bottom of the list.

How much twin/multiples experience does your OB have? If they don't have a lot I would not be comfortable without a second opinion of someone with more experience.

Your MFM should have the best advice becuase he/she should deal with high risk & multiples pregnancies a LOT more than the other two docs -- I would go with that the MFM says. And if your MFM can have you meet with a nutritionist that is even better. For me, my MFM and nutritionist swore by Dr. Luke but everyone is different.

heathb21 · February 2010

I only gained about 5 lbs in the first 12 weeks, I really didn't do anything different, but the weight packed on after that. I never actually counted what I was eating and did exactly what Dr. Luke said to eat, I never thought I could eat that much. I just ate healthy and whenever I was hungry. I did gain 20 lbs by 20 wks like she suggests. I ended up gaining 52 lbs. My dr's never thought I'd make it full term (they were worried because I am small), but I made it to 37 wks. Don't stress over the eating. Just make sure you eat what you should be eating and whenever you are hungry, and of course indulge yourself sometimes too! Lots of MoMs lose weight in the first tri because they have bad morning sickness. As long as you are conscious of wanting to gain the weight, you will. Just remember everyone's body responds to things differently.

shipoopiisforme · February 2010

my mfm/ob is not a big fan of dr. luke's or weight gain guidelines in general. he feels weight gain recommendations should be made on an individual case basis.

i started off being overweight so my dr has told me to maintain my weight. i lost 6 lbs in the first tri b/c of m/s but gained 2 lbs back in the 2nd tri. my babies are right on track even though i obviously haven't gained anywhere near 20 lbs by 20 weeks.

janjag · February 2010

dr. luke's book was a big help... especially in a high-risk pg. but i didn't follow to the letter. followed the spirit.

didn't gain even 3 pounds until 13-15wks, and gained a total of 48lbs by 33wks. was on bedrest all of that time, so didn't burn many calories, but my appetite was incredible once i got to about 15wks. there were weeks in early 3T that i gained 4lbs. and it sounds like you are doing great with what you are eating!

i asked my ob about dr. luke's philosophy. she just warned against eating too many sugar calories. she said the research showed weight gain due to sugar might artificially increase birth weight but not have any health advantage to baby. hope i'm explaining that right.

macchiatto · February 2010

Not a lot of research has been done on weight-gain guidelines for multiple pregnancies. Dr. Luke has done far more of that than most OBs or even MFMs. So personally, I did value her advice over that of the OB I saw at first who told me to gain just 30-40 lbs (and I started off well within normal range). Seriously? So you should gain 25-35 with a singleton but just 5 lbs more with twins? That did not make sense to me. I followed Dr. Luke's guidelines and had healthy, full-term twins.

That said, although I followed her guidelines for actual gain, I only ate about 2/3 of her recommended calories and still gained the recommended amount of weight.

GiGi1221 · February 2010

I've gained 20 lbs now at 25 weeks...and the babies are measuring 1 lb 13 oz and 1 lb 14 oz. My peri was extremely happy with my weight as well as theirs...I started out average: 5'4" 124 lbs...

I think the weight will start piling on now with the bedrest- so we shall see...

nygrl79 · February 2010

RobynK:

Your RE is not a specialist in pregnancy, only in getting you pregnant. So I would personally put his/her advice about your pregnancy at the bottom of the list.

How much twin/multiples experience does your OB have? If they don't have a lot I would not be comfortable without a second opinion of someone with more experience.

Your MFM should have the best advice becuase he/she should deal with high risk & multiples pregnancies a LOT more than the other two docs -- I would go with that the MFM says. And if your MFM can have you meet with a nutritionist that is even better. For me, my MFM and nutritionist swore by Dr. Luke but everyone is different.

Ditto to this! My MFM doesn't go by Dr. Luke's book, but recommended that I gain between 38-50 pounds. I didn't follow Dr. Luke's nutritional intake recommendations, but I did follow her 20 pounds by 20 weeks guidelines because I also read from other sources that statistically, women that gained this weight up front had longer twin pregnancies. As the books I read have warned, I have found that it is much more difficult to eat and gain weight in the 3rd trimester with twins (unlike my friends that have singletons and gained most of their weight in the 3rd trimester).

Also, note that an MFM does not usually specialize in multiple pregnancies. The specialize in high risk pregnancies, which include multiple gestations. Therefore have more experience with multiple pregnancies than a regular OB. Dr. Luke, on the other hand, has focused her research on multiple pregnancies specifically and I believe her advise is based on hard cold research and statistical results. I am not saying follow her guidelines to a T, but I wouldn't dismiss her advice either.

Haven1 · February 2010

macchiatto:

Not a lot of research has been done on weight-gain guidelines for multiple pregnancies. Dr. Luke has done far more of that than most OBs are even MFMs. So personally, I did value her advice over that of the OB I saw at first who told me to gain just 30-40 lbs (and I started off well within normal range). Seriously? So you should gain 25-35 with a singleton but just 5 lbs more with twins? That did not make sense to me. I followed Dr. Luke's guidelines and had healthy, full-term twins.

Same here. I met with my OB for the first time at 13 weeks (I'd been going to my RE before), and she gave me the standard "25-30lbs" recommendation but "I get a little bit more" since I have twins.

Yeah lady, I'm hoping "a little bit" = DOUBLE in your head because it does in mine.

allabydreams · February 2010

My MFM has been very laid back about my weight gain (or lack thereof). At my 32-week appointment last week, I was still only up about 25 pounds, and I'm not able to eat much anymore, thanks to no space and increasing heartburn and gas pain, so I'm a little concerned I might be losing weight now. My MFM's guess a few weeks ago was that I'd gain a total of 30 lbs with this pregnancy, and he was fine with that because the babies have been measuring big (84th and 68th percentile at 32 weeks).

carolina1178 · February 2010

thanks everyone!

like I said, I liked dr.luke's...it is full of good info but like all books, I tend to take from what it what I can use, like I mentioned it seems a lot of dr. luke's book is focused more on multiples for a first pregnancy.But still a good resource.

I am not sure who said above but I hear you on not being to eat a lot the 3rd tri...even when I was pregnant with ds, it was hard to eat anything because there was just no room for food, unless it was very small portions :-P I am anticipating a little less room since there will be two babies growing instead of one!

I know the RE isn't a specialist in multiples right now but I haven't seen the mfm yet so my only professional resources in that sense are the RE and OB. I am looking forward to my MFM appt...hopefully it will be constructive :-P

MarcieCasavant · February 2010

Everybody is different. I read the book and was told by my MFM not to fret about weight gain. I gained 24 lbs and huge triplets at 33 weeks so I guess I don't believe in her theories.

PianoPlayingSarah · February 2010

I didn't even know who Dr. Luke was until I hit the internet after my girls were born. I found out I was pregnant w/ 3 instead of 1 at 17 weeks. Everyone freaked out and started sending me links on the internet saying that I needed to gain a TON of weight. I had not gained much up to that point at all. I was seeing a MFM and asked him about it at my next appointment - he told me that I didn't need to eat much more than I would with a singleton. I listened to my body and I ate when I was hungry. My start weight was around 105 and I gained 50-55 lbs.

Temp159135562506975 · February 2010

all i can say is that i followed Dr. Luke's guidelines (not the diet per say- but the idea of gaining a lot very fast, and doing it by eating a lot of dairy and protein). I also followed her "rules" of taking it easy and leaving work at 27w... and I made it to 38w and my boys were 6lb6oz and 7lb 15.6oz. Would all that have happened had I not followed Dr. Luke's book? We'll never know- but I do know I had great success with it and would recommend it to anyone.

mommyof4boys · February 2010

I had a freak out and ended up bawling when I was in the hospital with my twins. I had severe hyperamisis and lost 20 pounds with my boys. I would use Dr. Luke's book as a guide to eat better. Instead of skim milk, drink whole milk. Add a few pats more butter on your food, eat an extra bowl of ice cream. Up your protien, eat tons of chicken and tons of pb....

I used to eat eggs, toast, whole milk for breakfast. I would snack on puppy chow or have english muffins with pb on them. This quality foods.....

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