Weight gain in the last six weeks

[Anonymous]

I'm curious if people's weight gain really did slow/stop in the last six weeks or not. I'm almost 34 weeks and have gained 26/27 pounds. Was hoping to keep it less than 30 -- I was technically in the "normal" category before getting pregnant but was about 10 pounds heavier than I would have liked to have been.

I'm not going to diet or do anything to hurt the baby, I'm just curious if others gained a lot, a little, or the typical pound-a-week in those final weeks...

thanks!

[Anonymous]

I don't know many people who had the weight stop. Some slowed at the very end (btw 38-40 weeks) but most people I know gained until the end at least a little .5lb a week.

[Anonymous]

I kept gaining until the end - around a pound or so a week.

[Anonymous]

I stabilized and actually lost a few lbs. (heartburn = loss of appetite)....a few days before delivery I was very bloated and was up a lb. or 2......2 weeks after delivery I lost 20 of the 28 lbs. I gained....I was lucky.

[Anonymous]

With DD2 I gained 8 lbs in the last 3 weeks!! It was July though, really hot, etc. I was not eating anything to warrant that gain -- was just a bloated, swollen mess. Lovely, I know. With DD1 (born in April) I gained maybe a pound or two in the last for weeks.

[Anonymous]

It really varies from person to person. Also realize that most of the weight gain in the last few weeks will either be the baby or fluid retention -- very little of it will be you. I think babies gain about 1/2 lb a week at the end of the pregnancy. Water retention usually goes up as well. For some women though the weight gain does slow down. With me, my 2nd trimester is where I gained the most weight.

[Anonymous]

God, I wish. I'm at 37 weeks and still gaining at a ridiculous rate. I suspect a LOT of it is the water which has taken up permanent residence around my ankles and feet!

[Anonymous]

My weight gain stopped around week 37 and I was pretty much the same weight until delivery.

[Anonymous]

I had gained 20 lbs up until 7 months and then gained another 20 in the last 6-8 weeks. A lot of it was fluid (The week my ankles started swelling I gained 7 lbs in 2 weeks!) , but I kept gaining each week until delivery. I thimk it was in part due to the heat but I definetly gained right up to the end, luckily I have lost about 36 of the 40 lbs in the past 4 weeks after birth.

[Anonymous]

I gained a ton in the last 6 weeks - at least a pound or two with every visit (painful once you are going weekly!) but finally last week at 39 weeks I lost a pound so I guess I gained maximum density at 38 weeks....

[Anonymous]

Oh man, I wished I'd stopped gaining in the last couple of weeks...I retain water like a sponge and in each pregnancy, gained about 6 lbs. Argh...it was kinda depressing...

[Anonymous]

My last six weeks of my pregnancy marked a new era of the experience! My pre-pregnancy weight was 115, by 34 weeks I was around 135. I gained 15 pounds in the last six weeks, my ankles swelled, my fingers swelled (my rings, 4 weeks post partum, still don't fit!), I got stretch marks, and I had horrible reflux and heartburn. I obviously am SO thankful I went to full term, but really, my body went to s*** the last 6 weeks. Before then, I had the nice pregnancy glow with few bad side effects. I guess it's different for everyone!

[Anonymous]

I started off as 120 and ended up at 165- who knows when it creeped up but it is what it is...

[Anonymous]

Somehow I didn't have any water retention problems (despite delivering in July!) and didn't gain all of the water weight. (And I was diagnosed with low amniotic fluid and literally drinking gallons of water a day!)

Anyway, I peaked at a 29 lb weight gain at week 37 and then lost 2 lbs in the next 2 weeks to a total gain of 27 lbs. After deliver I lost 12 lbs immediately and then another 5 over the first few weeks. The last 10 have been hanging around for longer than I'd like.

It could go either way for you. I never thought my weight gain would slow down and I'd eventually lose a couple of pounds. Just eat healthy and stay away from the salty foods to decrease your water retention.

[Anonymous]

I think it's typical for weight gain to slow, but at the VERY end, maybe the last couple of weeks. That's what happened to me the first time around. At 34 weeks, baby still has a lot of growing to do.