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March 2015 Moms
wishiwaspreggo
member
*~*~*~*All My Plus Size Ladies!*~*~*~*
wishiwaspreggo
member
Let's do another check-in 
I request this because I just had a doctor's appointment yesterday and it got me wondering...
How are your doctors treating you? Are they adjusting your care based on your BMI? Do they make fat-shaming comments or are they generally respectful and optimistic about your outcomes despite having an above-average BMI?
Last question: How are you dealing with weight gain? Has this become an issue for anyone yet?
Aaaaaaaaand GO!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: *~*~*~*All My Plus Size Ladies!*~*~*~*
Last pregnancy I lost weight. So far I'm maintaining, which means I'm losing some since baby and placenta etc. Are growing. It bothers me to be told I shouldn't gain anything though since that is actually saying I need to lose weight during pregnancy seeing as if I didn't gain anything, where would the weight for baby, placenta etc come from? So yeaaaaaaa.
I hope none of you stand for fat shaming comments. Just don't. You don't deserve that. Seek care where you are treated equally to all other patients and where any extra measures taken are actually necessary.
At my first appt I didn't see the OB, just the nurse. She pretty much told me to exercise in the nicest way possible. I have a hard time with my weight and at that appt I weighed in just 1 lb under what I was when I gave birth to DD. I think mentally it is hardest on me. We just got done moving to our new place so tonight is my first day back to the gym in just over a month.
DH is on the heavier side as well and a friend of ours who is 31 weeks pregnant posted a belly picture the other night. She's always been a skinny girl so she is all just cute baby bump. He saw that and said 'as a guy I shouldn't be jealous, but seriously! she has gained nothing but a belly' That made me feel just a little bit shitty
He has never said anything about my weight and I know that he wasn't directing it at me. It just didn't make me feel good.
DD 12.2010
There are several doctor's at the practice I go to, one of which is so unpleasant and a total fat shamer. She hasn't made any comments since I've been pregnant, other than that she doubted she'd be able to find the heartbeat with the doppler.
Because of BMI I had the hour glucose test done at around 10 weeks, so far that's the only thing "extra" they're doing.
Weight gain is something I have to be careful with. I was on weight watchers before I was pregnant and so I felt like I'd probably gain right when I went off of it, which I did. Plus the MS and then cravings did not help in the first trimester, I'm trying to be more in control now that I'm in the second trimester since I don't have too many aversions or cravings (yet). Although, I did take one bite of a bannana yesterday and it made me gag - weird!!!
Is anyone else doing an early gestational diabetes glucose test? My OB is having me come in at 20 weeks to do it in conjunction with my anatomy scan. I've never had blood sugar problems before. I'm not very big on sweets and tend to tire of them easily after a few bites. So I think I'll be fine but I guess they're just doing it as a precaution.
My friends made such a huge stink about how awful it is and when I mentioned it they showed me the bottle. Come on, it's like, 12 ounces. I could chug that in 3 swallows. My friends are pussies.
Anyway, my OB is cool. She just said I shouldn't gain weight which, like @FrecklesInside, confuses me. So I'm actually supposed to lose weight? Because if I'm gaining 7-9 pounds of baby, plus amniotic fluid, plus a placenta that would probably weigh a couple pounds, plus a 50% increase in blood... That's a good 20 pounds there on its own, right?
I haven't gained weight yet. I haven't lost it either. I'm having a hard time figuring out a good balance
I want to eat enough so my baby is getting proper nutrition and I'm not suffering from hunger pangs. But what's "enough"? I've been eating like a hog at the trough for the past 14 weeks and it's clearly not influencing my weight because I think my body's working so hard at building the baby that it's burning more calories than normal.
But now I'm in my second trimester. Are my caloric needs going to shift...? What the hell? What's a girl to do? It's so hard because the guidelines that apply to a 150-175 pound woman (eat 1800 calories plus 300 extra for baby) do NOT apply to me. Did anyone get advice from their doctor about that? I have no idea how many calories I eat on average. I need 2900 calories to maintain my weight. 300 on top of that seems much less consequential than 300 calories on top of an 1800 calorie diet, right?
My OB told me to exercise so I did a half hour workout after dinner. I went to bed with a growling stomach and dreamed about macaroni and cheese puff pastries. Literally. I feel like I'm doing it wrong somehow if that's what's happening at night. I don't want to starve my baby
DD 12.2010
As for how I feel about the weight gain, so far it's complicated. Until I start to see an actual bump, I don't feel very good about myself. My DH is very supportive of my weight gain and he also wants me to eat healthy, but with all the ms and aversions, I've been eating out a lot more than I have in years. Hopefully I can rally in the second trimester.
I am however having a lot of issues myself with my current weight & weight gain prospect. I'm honestly so in my head... I'm already carrying 30 lbs left over from my first pregnancy...
Didn't want to gain much first tri this time around- but did... Now I'm paranoid I'll gain as much as my first preg (60+). So yeah. It's an every day issue for me. And I can spew "eat right & exercise" till I'm blue in the face... But I just can't seem to put my $ where my mouth is. End rant.
Sawyer is going to be a BIG SISTER!!
BFP 7/19 EDC 4/1
They had me do the glucose screen at 10 weeks (first appointment), but I'm assuming that's due to a previous diagnosis of prediabetes and super strong family history of gd and type 2.
Lost 10 lbs first tri, and am not really gaining it back yet even though I'm eating tons, including a fair amount of junk. Some of my original weight gain was due to meds, which I'm off, so maybe that's it?
@mrskelly731 - Crap, maybe I am in trouble! I love fruit! I don't know if I could go the rest of my pregnancy without fruit
I eat one banana a day, plus a baggie full of mixed fruit (apple slices, grapes, berries, pineapple, etc) and then I eat more fruit after work with either cheese or deli meat. *sigh*
I think my strategy for now is to try to keep my eating to what it was pre-pregnancy. I definitely have been eating more than I normally would without my little tapeworm. I don't think it's safe to "diet" but I think it's appropriate to try to not *over* eat, you know?
I suppose I should go to bed hungry. I sleep it off anyway, and a wise friend told me "Dream food contains zero calories." Those mac n cheese puff pastries were mighty delicious in my dreams!
I've come up against people who were prejudiced based on my size before, though. Namely, I was on birth control that ended up entirely stopping my period for years. This is a common side effect of that birth control. When I told my care provider about my period, she immediately said I had PCOS because of my weight and put me on metformin. No testing or anything. The metformin made me horribly sick, and my insurance company jacked up my rates and assumed I had diabetes.
Guess who never had PCOS a day in her life and conceived without difficulty?
My mom is a big offender too. She's always on a fad diet and has given me a lot of emotional scarring regarding my body image throughout my life. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother and we have a very good relationship, but she has some glaring faults. She's the head midwife at the practice I go to and she's been amazingly helpful and supportive during this pregnancy. But she was absolutely shocked that I'm not diabetic. She's convinced all fat people are diabetic slobs and doesn't know what to do with a perfectly healthy daughter who is plus sized. So while I love her and she's super supportive, I am cautious about what I share with her and don't open myself up to well-meaning criticism.
We must be sisters from other misters
I went through the same thing, too (though my doctor had the wisdom to test me for PCOS before medicating me). She was *convinced* I had PCOS. She had me do an ultrasound on my ovaries, and they were just fine. She thought maybe a blood test would come back positive but nope, perfectly normal. She wondered if I was diabetic. Nope, that was normal too. She was so confused. I'm glad I did all that testing before I went to an RE. They were perplexed about my lack of PCOS, too. And even my OB's first question was if I had PCOS! Yes, I had a hard time conceiving, but it wasn't due to PCOS, dammit.
And my mom... Oh, lord, my mom. When I was 10 I complained to my mom that I was fat. I was a child. I had a bit of chub, but I was far from fat. My mom, doing her best to be supportive, I know, put me on Weight Watchers and that's when I went into a downward spiral of yo-yo dieting. I tried WW, South Beach, Atkins, praying the fat away, diet shakes, pills, potions of all sorts... I eventually lost a good deal of weight on ephedra, risking my fucking cardio health for a slim body. I will never, EVER, in 120 billion years, EVER EVER EVER, encourage my child to diet. NEVER. He/she will never see me punish myself with food. He/she will never watch me eat diet food or count calories. He/she will never hear me complain about exercise. And if my kid complains about being fat, I will do my damnedest to change their self-perception. It took me years to emotionally get over the damage I suffered from my dieting days. The self-loathing. Never again. I'm fat, I'm happy, and that's the last fucking word. People love me for who I am, not what dress size I wear. Fuck it all. As long as my health is good, I'm happy to strut around in my size 24 jeans
And my enormous breasts are magnificent, thankyouverymuch.
Ok ok- a little dramatic- but that's honestly how I've felt after my appointment so far. I've lost a significant amount of weight already & had GD with my first pregnancy so automatically my dr. Is putting me high risk & wants to start doing stress tests on the baby at 20 weeks every week until it's born. She says- don't stress like you did in your last pregnancy- that was silly & causes you more problems. She was the cause of my stress. Dr. Shopping but I live in a small area with very little choice. Can I just do this on my own? Lol. Women did back in the day. Maybe I'll be one of those women- "I didn't know I was pregnant" I'm beginning to understand maybe a reason why & I don't blame them.
I feel healthy & beautiful. My baby is growing just right & I'm sure things will be just fine. Thank goodness for a supportive husband!
I'm 232lbs & 5'6" & I feel my stomach growing.
There are plenty of instances of fat people being discriminated against or stereotyped in the medical field. It doesn't have to be that way - a lot of docs have been jumping on the lifestyle factor bandwagon, and you deserve to have a kind, attentive medical provider just as much as someone who weighs less does.
My doctor has been absolutely fantastic. He said that people that aren't at their ideal weight should try to aim for gaining 20-25 pounds during pregnancy because only gaining 15 can be hard. He has said nothing else about my size.
Cholesterol is good, all my other numbers are good so he doesn't seemed to be as concerned. I'm on the obese spectrum of BMI so I should probably only gain 11 or so pounds--but that's going off of what I've read not what the doctor has said.
@anniehearts that sounds like my first OB. She got one appointment with me while I was TTC and I dropped her immediately. I would find a new OB ASAP.
~~~~For SuzyQ and all our loss moms~~~~
Met: 02.2007 / Engaged: 11.21.2009 / Married: 07.09.2010
EDD: 03.02.2015 / Scheduled Delivery Date: 02.25.2015
So, my doctor is great. She's not huge but she's a little round herself so I think that makes her more compassionate. I do have some blood pressure issues and she watches that very carefully. She's never made me feel bad or guilty about my weight. But ... I know I will need a scheduled C-section this time and I go to a small hospital (live in a rural area). There is only one regular surgeon there and I had some problems with him regarding my weight during my surgery follow-up last time. I ended up with MRSA ( a nasty staff infection), which caused my incision not to heal like it should have. He basically told me I need to exercise several times. I was exercising 4-5 days a week back then so the assumption that I didn't just because of my weight bothered me. I realize my weight may have been a factor but you have to be exposed to staph to get staph infection. It doesn't just happen because you are overweight. So, my dilemma is that to avoid that surgeon I would have to choose a different hospital and subsequently a different doctor. I want my doctor, just not that surgeon. Not sure what I am going to do.
As for the glucose test, I didn't think it was so bad last time. It kind of tasted like the orange drink they used to have at McDonalds or like really sweet Hi-C. I was nervous too because I had heard all these bad things but it was tolerable. The hard part for me was the fasting because I feel kind of sick if I don't eat first thing in the morning.
As for weight gain, I had initially lost about 15 pounds because of being so sick but I have gained 1-2 pounds since I started feeling better about two weeks ago. The thing that I felt like stink about being overweight and pregnant is, I never looked pregnant. I think people just thought I had put on more weight.
For me, this has been so liberating - it's healthy and normal to outgrow your clothes, have a big belly, and get stretchmarks and cellulite. Even the normal or underweight gals will experience most or all of this. We can eat more than we do normally, and so far most of the fat - shaming I've experienced bursts like a bubble when you mention you're KU'd. The shamers look ashamed themselves, and they should.
Whenever something I used to hate happens (pants don't button, dress is too tight, belly gets bigger) I remind myself that this is good, and happening because I'm pregnant, not fat. Even if you gain a few pounds, this is a good and healthy thing.
I'm having a harder time zipping my pants but it doesn't look like there's anything down there other than a new fat roll! When I lay on my back it's a hard bump, but when I'm up walking around it feels just the same as the upper part of my belly. Probably the layer of fluff settles differently when I'm on my back. I, too, am looking forward to the day when I look pregnant!
But us plus-sizers can have some fun
If some nosy stranger asks if we're pregnant, we can say "No, actually, I've just gained weight." and watch them squirm.
And yes I'm adding my 42 week bump photo because I need to remind myself that I will look pregnant again at some point!
<a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Getting Pregnant"><img src="http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1da37b" alt=" BabyFruit Ticker" border="0" /></a>
@Lolagirl2012 - you definitely look cute and pregnant there! And you will again
I'm one of those people, though, who never, EVER asks another woman if she's pregnant. Even if she's clearly 8 months along, waddling around Target pushing a cart full of diapers and baby formula. A friend of mine is slender but carries her weight in her thighs and lower belly. She looks like she has a 4-month pregnant belly. She absolutely hates it when people ask if she's expecting. Can't blame her. I had another friend I was convinced was at least 6 months pregnant (it had been a long time since I'd seen her last and she gained weight). I didn't ask because I didn't want to embarrass her and sure enough, when she bent over to pick something up her tummy folded. If there was a baby in there it would've stayed the same shape. She's still the same shape many years later. Just gained weight in an unfortunate way.
I've heard the NPs at my hospital just suck in general, so I'm over it. Also, she had such a bad face lift she could barely move her lips so I didn't feel too bad about my situation. Her other fun quote was "your dad's diabetes and your weight bought you an early glucose test".
I passed that glucose test with flying colors. I also had some protein in my urine which is indicative of not having enough carbs. Suck it, crazy NP!
Baby Boy - 3/2015
MC - 8/2017
EDD - 8/2018
And kudos to you for controlling your carb intake - my good diet flies out the window when ms hits.
I hope you get to spend most of your time with the OB, not the NP. You deserve a practitioner who isn't a wacko.
Baby Boy - 3/2015
MC - 8/2017
EDD - 8/2018