10 pounds!!!

thebigmare · August 2010

So I had my 2nd appt today and the MW said based on my BMI of my starting weight (a weight that is 7 pounds off my home scale...sigh...) that I should only gain 10 pounds!!! Geez! I was planning on trying to just gain baby, but isn't she basically saying that I need to lose weight while pregnant??? I thought baby and placenta and extra fluid etc added up to like 18 pounds. Then I asked her for a calorie range and she said, "I only have calorie ranges for women who are of normal weight." Ouch...and soooooo not helpful! What are my other curvy bumpies' docs saying?

fluffybuns · August 2010

I'm overweight, and would have loved to lose weight before this baby, but oh well.

With DD I gained 40 lbs and the doctor never said anything to me! I lost it all very easily in a few short months after her birth!! I thank breastfeeding for that!

Well, I gained about 20 of it back and I'm nervous and don't want to gain a lot of weight with this one and want to be as healthy as possible.

I hope no one says anything like that to me!!!

JenWen3 · August 2010

I'm a little overweight, but not in the BMI obese category. My doctor said 20-30 was fine.

My sister was pretty much the same as me and her doctor always told her "any more than 20 pounds is yours to keep."

I'd like to keep it around 20, but I'm not going crazy about it. I'm trying to eat healthy (as I can right now with this m/s) and workout. I know I will have some work to do after the baby is born but I'm ok with that.

thebigmare · August 2010

The more I think about this, the more frustrated I become. Where is she getting this stupid 10 pounds from? Everything I'm seeing online for my BMI has me in the 15-25 pound range. If gaining just the baby is 16 pounds, and she only wants me to gain 10, then I'm supposed to be losing 6 pounds *while pregnant*?? And when I ask her for a calorie amount, she doesn't have it. Maybe it's just my pregnancy hormones, but this is BS. You're telling a woman who is already struggling with the fact that she's gaining weight that she can't control that you want her to lose weight, but then you don't tell her how to actually do it!!!!! Grrr. I'm really aggravated.

Amberry10 · August 2010

::Lurking over from 2nd tri::

At my first appt my OB said for me to gain only about 15lbs and try not to start gaining until I'm closer to my 3rd tri. At first I thought this would be impossible! But due to extreme m/s I've lost 37lbs so I have some wiggle room to work with. My OB still wants me to try to only gain the 15lbs and so far I'm almost 23 weeks and still haven't gained any weight. So just work hard and you can do it!

mags2144 · August 2010

OP-

I would be so frustrated, too! With my first, I was 25 lbs over my ideal weight when I got pregnant, and proceded to gain almost 60 pounds while PG. My doctors never said one thing about it to me. And I lost all of the 60 pounds, plus another 12 within 6 or 7 months after delivery. So, I'm sorry that your MW is not being helpful! FWIW, this time around I am being way more scrupulous about what I eat (I took PG #1 as an invitation to eat macaroni and cheese all day every day) and I have a 20-25 pound goal. That said, I know it's not worth freaking out if I gain 30. I'm not a dr., but I agree that 10 pounds sounds crazy. maybe aim for 20, and don't get upset if it turns into 25. You will be fine

staycee · August 2010

I was initially told the same thing last pregnancy by 2 different docs until I got referred to a peri (who said it's ridiculous to tell a pregnant woman to only gain 10 lbs)

by 27w I was up 20lbs. Then I was diagnosed with GD. Went on the GD diet. And at 35 weeks I was put on bedrest for extreme swelling. I lost 7 pounds of fluid my first week on bedrest. The day I delivered, I was only up a total of 13lbs. Darn near the 10 initially told to me.

madamsmurfette · August 2010

I had my first appointment with a doctor yesterday and she said to me, "You can afford to not gain any weight this pregnancy." I had the same reaction as you: if baby, placenta, fluid, etc. was all going to total 15 lbs or so, then she was really telling me to lose weight during the pregnancy. Which according to all the books, websites, etc that I've seen, all say you shouldn't attempt while pregnant.

Then the doctor starts to try to tell me that she would like to refer me to a dietician, but my insurance won't cover it. She even tells me to call the insurance company and basically beg them to cover it. I was livid. I wanted to tell her that I've been a patient of their practice for 8 years and maybe she needs to look through my chart. I wasn't always this weight. In fact, I've only ballooned up in the past year.... since I've quit smoking. I know how to eat heathily, I've just made bad decisions.

Needless to say, I'll be sure to request not to see her again during this pregnancy. Shouldn't be a problem because there's about 10 OB's in the practice.

(Oh, we were also talking about different testing throughout the pregnancy. She was telling me about a special ultrasound I'll need b/c DH was born with a heart defect and she said "it is usually performed around 20 weeks, but we'll wait to wait until about 22 with you. It will be easier to see through all the layers at that point." Why not just say all the fat?)

TheCricket · August 2010

I was so hoping not to gain more than 10 or 15 lbs with this pregnancy, since I am already overweight. So far, I haven't really gained anything, even thought I seem to be eating more carbs. I suppose I can attribute that to the fact that my endo raised my Synthroid level (I have Hashimotos - or, in layman's terms - a non-functioning Thyroid which is how I gained weight to start with). And, I suppose now that we know it's twins, my body may require more calories already. I don't know - but I see charts that say I should be gaining between 30 and 50 with these two. Ugh.

All I know is that my OB said to take my vitamins, eat well, get some exercise, and not stress about the weight - we'll see how by body reacts in the second trimester as opposed to the first, where most women don't really gain much.

2bejunebride06 · August 2010

I know how frustrating this is because I went through a very similar thing with my OB when I had DD. When I went in asking for meds for my m/s she said that it was actually great that I had m/s because "I was a little on the heavy side to begin with". I was a size 8 at the time. By the time I finally put on 5 pounds around 27-28 weeks, she told me that we were really going to have to watch my weight. It was ridiculous. My friend, on the other hand, gained nearly 60 pounds with her DS and her OB never said a word to her. Before we had our LOs she was probably just about the same size as I was or a little heavier.

Here is the bottom line - you are going to gain what you gain. Try not to freak out about it. Eat smart, make healthy choices as often as possible, try not to give into to many cravings for cake/ice cream/snacks, and know that you are going to have to work to take off some pounds after you have your LO. There really isn't anything that your OB/MW can do if you gain more than their recommended weight.

2bejunebride06 · August 2010

madamsmurfette:
I had my first appointment with a doctor yesterday and she said to me, "You can afford to not gain any weight this pregnancy." I had the same reaction as you: if baby, placenta, fluid, etc. was all going to total 15 lbs or so, then she was really telling me to lose weight during the pregnancy. Which according to all the books, websites, etc that I've seen, all say you shouldn't attempt while pregnant.

Then the doctor starts to try to tell me that she would like to refer me to a dietician, but my insurance won't cover it. She even tells me to call the insurance company and basically beg them to cover it. I was livid. I wanted to tell her that I've been a patient of their practice for 8 years and maybe she needs to look through my chart. I wasn't always this weight. In fact, I've only ballooned up in the past year.... since I've quit smoking. I know how to eat heathily, I've just made bad decisions.

Needless to say, I'll be sure to request not to see her again during this pregnancy. Shouldn't be a problem because there's about 10 OB's in the practice.

(Oh, we were also talking about different testing throughout the pregnancy. She was telling me about a special ultrasound I'll need b/c DH was born with a heart defect and she said "it is usually performed around 20 weeks, but we'll wait to wait until about 22 with you. It will be easier to see through all the layers at that point." Why not just say all the fat?)

OMG. I would NEVER see this doctor again, and would probably leave the practice altogether - after all, you never know who is going to be on call when you go into labor or are induced . I'm sorry you had to go through that.

caldera · August 2010

I haven't had my first appointment yet but I expect my doctor to tell me the same thing as with my DD. She told me not to worry if I didn't gain any weight but not to gain more than 15 pounds. I just ate healthy and kept up with walking 4 days a week and I only gained about 12 pounds (all in the last 10 weeks or so). I had really bad morning sickness from weeks 8-25 so during that time I actually lost about 15 pounds. My baby weighed 9 lb 9 oz so yeah, essentially I lost weight and it was all baby + placenta, fluid, etc.

"mooskie" · August 2010

My doctor politely suggested that it would be ok if I only gain between 10-15 lbs. With my last pregnancy I only gained about 12 lbs and it really wasn't hard. I "simply" (although it can be hard at times) made healthier food choices and because I was already overweight everything worked out just fine. Just try to make healthier choices (not even really eat less) and I don't doubt you will be able to stay around the 10 lbs. That being said...don't let your MW make you feel bad if you go over that...especially since we will be pregnant over the holidays Big Smile

starlily313 · August 2010

Wow. I am really loving my OB after reading these experiences.

I was a good 30 pounds overweight pre-pregnancy. At my first appt. the OB didn't say anything to me about weight other than the average weight gain among his patients is 36 pounds. He said it's okay to gain less than that if you start out overweight, but that he prefers not to give a set number of only X pounds per week or only X pounds during the pregnancy. He likes to evaluate the overall weight gained in each trimester.

I honestly wouldn't be able to handle some of the comments the rest of you received. I had a very weight-conscious pediatrician whose comments basically triggered an eating disorder when I was a teen. It seems like med schools really need to have more intensive instruction on bedside manner.

shanplu · August 2010

My OB said to stay within about 2000 calories.

kickenb · August 2010

I'm overweight too and pretty sure my BMI would say obese. I don't think my midwife will say anything this time as she didn't last time. However, if she did, yes I would be pissed.

I was reading an article in my FitPregnancy magazine and they talked about overweight/obese maternity patients eating a diet of 2000-2500 calories a day. It said that by staying around that, you will gain no more than 10 pds or may even lose depending on how many calories you ate pre-pregnancy.

Not saying this is for everyone, but I'm going to try to stay within those calories and have been tracking on babyfit. Now, what kind of results it will produce, I'm not sure! I don't care as long as baby is healthy!

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