Just found out pregnant with #2 and 35lbs overweight

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone!

I know this is a common story....

I just found out I am pregnant with my second (HOORAY!), my first is about 16 months old. The problem is, I'm about 35 lbs overweight. I gained ALOT during my first, I mean alot, and I tried and tried to loose it but I got stuck with the last to loose. Now that I am pregnant, I'm super worried about complications due to this. I know it's not a major major amount, but it's still enough for the Dr.'s to let me know it's not optimal at all. And now I'm starting to get a little freaked out. I want the best for my baby and myself, but I'm feeling guilty over this extra weight and the problems that might arise from it. I'm not sure what I'm asking for here, maybe BTDT or advice? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I'm right there with you. I still had about 15 lbs to lose from my first pregnancy (DS is 1 now), and I just found myself pregnant with #2. Not ideal, as I'm more than 15 lbs overweight (probably closer to 25-30, all told). One thing that's helped me stay positive is that I find i'm putting on much less weight (as compared to how much I'd gained by this point last time around), and my goal is to have my end weight be close to where I was with my first--if not, less. I'm just making smart choices, and I find that I have less time to eat or think about food when I'm chasing after a 1 year old when I get home from work. I'm not dieting by any means, just staying away from empty calories, sugars, etc, which can only be a good thing for the baby.

[Anonymous]

I was much more overweight than that when I had my child, unfortunately. Something in my body must have known to eat right, though, and I completely lost my sweet tooth. I gained 7 pounds total. Discuss weight gain with your doctor to see what is a good goal for you. For obese patients now (which I was), they say don't gain anything. I don't know if you fit in that category or not. I ate lots of lean protein and eggs (choline is great for brain development), lots of leafy salads, and fruit. I know of course a lot of this might be difficult depending on your type and level of morning sickness. FWIW, I didn't have any pregnancy complications and I lost 40 pounds pretty quickly right after my son was born. Pregnancy actually was the best thing to happen to me and I'm in much better shape today, so it can be done. Best wishes.

[Anonymous]

I'm right there with you.

Before I got pregnant with #1, I had a miscarriage and dealt with that sadness by overeating. I was at least 30lbs overweight when I got pregnant (I've never been a skinny girl). I freaked myself out thinking I was going to get gestational diabetes and have to be on a really restrictive diet (I am a picky eater, so it would have been a nightmare for me), so I was pretty careful about gaining once I was pregnant. I ended up gaining 22 lbs total -- so it can be done!

And now I'm back in the same boat. Gained a bunch of weight when I quit nursing, and now here I am overweight and pregnant again. (Apparently getting fat is a signal to my body to reproduce!) Like the PP said, I'm just trying to avoid empty calories and do the best I can.

You really are going to have to try hard to let go of guilt over the extra weight, because there's nothing you can do about it now. Losing weight/dieting while pregnant is a really bad idea. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

You'll probably be a risk for preclampsia and have GD.

What type of exercising are you doing pre-conception? Swimming, yoga, pilates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You'll probably be a risk for preclampsia and have GD.

What type of exercising are you doing pre-conception? Swimming, yoga, pilates?

Focus on lifestyle - I was about where you are when I got pregnant (normally about 20 lbs overweight, suddenly tacked on 15 lbs in the months before pregnancy when my thyroid went out of whack.) But I did run/lift weights consistently, and have for several years; my cholesterol and triglycerides levels were always perfect.

I'm 36 weeks now, gained twenty total. My pregnancy has so far been uneventful. GD screening results were stellar, no preeclampsia. Just focus on maintaining or developing a healthy lifestyle. You won't necessarily have the complications listed above; just make sure to take good care of yourself and try not to gain too much weight.

[Anonymous]

I became pregnant with my second over 100 lbs over weight. I was so worried about it. I gained about 30 lbs total. My docs never said a peep about my weight. I had a very normal pregnancy. No thyroid, blood pressure, or diabetes issues. My son came right on time (weighing over 9 lbs!). He's now 8 months old and I've lost almost 60 lbs. Your situation may not be ideal, but you shouldn't stress to much. Eat healthy, walk or swim when you can, and enjoy your baby. When the time is right you can work on the extra weight. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

actually I don't think GD is tied to weight / weight gain - every single woman I know who had it was on the thinner side...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You'll probably be a risk for preclampsia and have GD.

What type of exercising are you doing pre-conception? Swimming, yoga, pilates?

Where ARE you getting your information? Really, she's going to have GD because she started out overweight? Must be epidemic among pregnant women then, given that most women in this country are carrying a good number of extra pounds. In my anecdotal experience, my skinny friends were the ones who ended up with preeclampsia (2 of them) or GD (2 others).

[Anonymous]

OP HERE. Thank you so much everyone, really. It seems I have lost 4lbs in one month, bringing me to under 30yrs old, 5'7 - 173lbs - 28BMI. Sigh. On the night I gave birth to my 1st child, I weighed in right at 200lbs, and my starting weight was 145lbs (yea, I know I know). My baby was right at 9lbs. I'm ashamed and guilty that I let this happen, but now I am focusing on my baby and figuring out the best things I can do! I read up on GD (which I didn't have) and having a BMI of over 25 and birth defects and got really, really freaked out.
I really did try to loose the weight before having another baby, I nursed for 13 months and couldn't get a single pound off doing so. Once I stopped I worked pretty hard to get more off, but hit a plateau so to speak. As for exercise, I was doing the 30 day shred, riding my bike, walking, and little things I could fit in here and there. I did Zumba for about 2 months and had a yoga practice for years before my first.

[Anonymous]

ugh...just wait for #3. At that point, you simply wont care.

[Anonymous]

Seriously - OP. Health is about more than a number (including BMI, which more and more people are discrediting, as it does not show the whole picture of health!!). 173 is not awful for your height at all!

I"m also technically overweight and have only gained 3 lbs and am halfway through my pregnancy. I have never had a blood pressure or any other problem. I am very active and could probably out run and out stretch a lot of "skinny" people. Focus on your whole self. My first pregnancy - I gained 60 lbs without really doing much of anything to try. This time I am pretty much acting the same and am just not gaining anything. Bodies react differently to different environments.

Just keep moving, keep focusing on eating well and enjoy your pregnancy!! Congrats

[Anonymous]

Yeah, OP, you're more like 35 lbs from ideal and only about 10 pounds overweight, if that. You are nowhere close to obese. I don't think this is too bad. Talk to your ob, who will probably reassure you that this isn't terrible.

[Anonymous]

GD has nothing tondonwith weight. In fact the 2 friends I know who have had it are both super skinny. I don't know about PE but I do know, OP, that you are not THAT overweight. If you are careful with eating and stay active during the pregnancy you will probably end up not too different than I you'd started at a healthy weight and been a bit less anal. I would shoot to gain no more than 10 pounds or so. Ask your doctor to recommend a nutritionist to help you keep things under control. You will likely end up better than I did--I'm 5'7 as well and started out around 145. At 37 weeks I tipped the scales at 202 and I stopped looking at my weight after that. I certainly don't recommend that kind of weight gain, but my baby and I were both fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:actually I don't think GD is tied to weight / weight gain - every single woman I know who had it was on the thinner side...

Me too. My GP at the time said the same.