Nervous about pregnancy weight gain

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  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
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    I'm not a mother yet, but I've struggled with the same things you're thinking about now. I currently want to lose weight before I ever get pregnant. One of my biggest goals is to look cute and preggo when I'm actually preggo!

    I think it's just something we'll have to come to terms with when we decide it's time to have a baby. Sure, there will be weight gain. And weight gain during pregnancy is necessary for the baby's health. But your level of activity and what you eat are still in your control (unless, heaven forbid, you have some sort of complication and you can't be active). In my opinion, yes, I will have lost all of this weight and gotten myself into shape, but if I can do THAT and be a mother, I think I can lose that weight again and regain myself. Especially since I'll have someone who looks up to me as their ultimate role model. You can do that :flowerforyou: And you will!!!
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    I have one child (18 mos) but was overweight prior to getting pregnant in May 2010, ate whatever, whenever I wanted while pregnant, and then only lost about 20 lbs post-partum, leaving me a lot heavier than I'd ever been before. (I'm 5'7", and I hit 255 lbs while pregnant. I started MFP a little over two months post-partum (I was no longer nursing) at 235.8.)

    We are talking about baby #2. Well, I shouldn't say talking, we are officially leaving the door open, so to speak, as of this month and have, um, done the deed with said door open. For some reason I am even more nervous about getting pregnant this time around... I don't know if I'm convinced something is going to go wrong (I really wasn't worried about that the first time and had a totally normal pregnancy and delivery) or what, but part of it is that I've come so far and work out very regularly, and I'm afraid of losing it all. I mean, I know I will be much more conscious of eating healthily this time around, and I will want to continue exercising, but I'm worried about how much I'll be able to do and how long into my pregnancy I'll be able to do it. (I think the other part is that I had just turned 30 when I conceived the first time, and now I'm 32 and am afraid that I'll have a hard time.)

    I mean, I guess it's more about habits than anything else. Even if I'm not working out hard, as long as I'm still doing something I call working out, even if it's just a walk around the neighborhood, it's the mindset that's important.

    But anyway, yes, I share your nervousness. However, like you, I am open to gaining weight and know it will come off afterwards with some effort. As my BIL, who is a pediatrician, told me, I got the weight off once and got myself in great shape, so I'll know after #2 that I can do it again!

    For me this will be my final pregnancy, I hope. I feel like we have such a good thing going with our son that I almost don't want to change it, but I feel like our family is as of yet incomplete, and I want him to have a brother or sister. (I am the youngest of four kids, and I'd lose my mind dealing with my parents if I were an only child :wink:)

    I don't think it's selfish; I think it's just taking all things into consideration. And unfortunately we ladies are kind of on our own about this because the guys don't have to deal with the physical changes and discomfort/symptoms that accompany pregnancy. I mean, my husband is very supportive in general, but there are some things he just can't understand.

    I think having a fit pregnancy buddy will help me. Obviously I can find ladies here, but my SIL, who has one baby who is almost a year old, told me that she plans to become pregnant shortly after I do (assuming I get pregnant fairly quickly - in other words, they'd like to conceive in November/December). She is a fit lady and has always been into running and such; she's been a huge cheerleader in my efforts to get healthy. I've been really grateful for her thus far and hope that we can be pregnant together so I can have someone who literally feels my pain. When she had her daughter, she called me a lot at random times for advice/venting, so if I could talk to someone else who may be up in the middle of the night when the time comes, that would be awesome!

    Ok, I know I'm just rambling now because I have a lot going through my head. I was seriously way less nervous about getting pregnant the first time, and I know that this will be my last (planned) time doing this. I have another two weeks or so before I can take a pregnancy test, and I'm trying my best not to think about it until then. I feel better "talking" about it here; I guess I don't want to let any family members in on our plans yet. I really wanted to tell my sister while we were working out together today, but I felt weird about it, like until I get pregnant, it should be our secret.

    Best of luck with your efforts to conceive, and I wish you a very happy, healthy pregnancy! Please feel free to friend me if you want to. I can't forget Debussy, so if you'll send me a friend request, you don't have to qualify it with who you are :smile:
  • RBXChas
    RBXChas Posts: 2,708 Member
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    Additionally, my son is 18 months old. I've been running regularly since last August (when he was 7 months old) and Spinning since last October (when he was 10 months old). I run from time to time (I've never been a fast runner or a long-distance runner, 30-45 minute easy runs are my thing), probably once a week, and I Spin 4x/week. I run in my neighborhood early in the morning or after my son is asleep (my husband is obviously home either way), and I go to a Spinning studio where there is no childcare. I go to 6AM classes on Tuesday/Thursday, so my son and husband are still asleep when I leave the house, and my husband goes to work after I get home. On Saturday and Sunday mornings (8AM and 9AM, respectively), I go to Spinning classes, and I get my son from his crib and change him/dress him, then my husband handles breakfast and hangs out with him in the mornings. Since I am home with my son all week (which is about to change when we send him to school later this month), my husband doesn't get a lot of time with him and uses Sat/Sun mornings as his "daddy time" with our son.

    So it can be done, even if your gym doesn't have child care, but you may need a supportive partner like mine! It sounds like your husband has been awesome thus far, so it's really doubtful that this trait will change after you have a baby. Most likely he will be even more awesome :wink:
  • lexybrigmon
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    if you are a healthy weight before pregnancy you should only gain 5+ pound of actual fat (about a pound between your breasts) and rest is fluids, blood(about 4 pounds!), extra tissue, and baby. (Among some other things)

    Weight gain is not a valid fear to not get pregnant.

    A healthy woman needs to maintain calories in the 1st trimester, increase by 350cal/per day in the 2nd, and 425cal/per day in the 3rd. Honestly not that much...