How common is it to gain less during your second pregnancy?

[Anonymous]

All the anecdotes I hear suggest you gain more with each pregnancy and the babies tend to get bigger with each delivery. That was certainly true for my mom even though she was never a big eater, my dad had to make special meals for her just to get her to eat some protein, etc.

To make a long story short, my current practice would like me to gain less weight with this second pregnancy. My old practice was happy with the weight I gained last time but my current practice thinks less weight gain = smaller baby = easier delivery. I'm not so sure it's that simple, but I figure there's no harm in gaining 5-10 lbs less this time around as long as I don't have to do anything extreme to achieve that.

Just curious - have any of you had any luck with reducing your weight gain in your second pregnancy? Or more importantly, were your second babies smaller than the first? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My second baby was almost a pound bigger but I gained only 2 lbs more than I did with my first. Once you have kids you are so active and no longer have the ability to just lie around all day so I think most women tend to gain less in subsequent pregnancies just because the option to be lazy no longer really exists and you're forced to stay active.

[Anonymous]

Not me. I've already gained more by 33 weeks with my 2nd than I did in 40 weeks with my first. Yay. My mom gained 25 lbs with her first and 50 (!) with her 2nd. Luckily, I am not on pace to match that.

But, I'm sure for some women, they gain less the 2nd time around.

[Anonymous]

I gained 10 pounds less with my second pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

I have heard of a lot of women being a lot more careful during their second pregnancy (i.e., no "eating for two" as an excuse to go nuts), but I think generally the weight goes on easier the second time.

[Anonymous]

I've gained about 25 lbs less; gained 40 the first time. Due in 3 weeks.

[Anonymous]

I've due with my 3rd in a few weeks and with each pregnancy I gained a little less. I think for me it's because with more children I am more active and have less time to eat. First time I gained 40lbs, second time 30lbs and this time I have gained 17lbs so far with 5 weeks to go.

Also, my second was 10oz smaller than my first but I'm really not sure that had anything to do with how much I gained. This one may be even a little smaller but I was really small when I was born and none of my children have been that big at birth.

[Anonymous]

Gained 3 lbs less with #2 because of morning sickness that lasted the whole time. Baby weighed almost 1 lb more than his older brother. So there wasn't much correlation for me.

[Anonymous]

I gained 50 with my first pregnancy and only 25 with this most recent baby. Most recent baby was 7oz bigger than 1st baby. No rhyme or reason to it.

[Anonymous]

Gained 45 with 1st and 29 with second. I started heavier the second time and basically ended at the same place. I know a lot of people who've gained less. I think you show earlier but don't necessarily gain more.

[Anonymous]

I gained 75 lbs during my first pregnancy (twins) and only 18 with my second.

[Anonymous]

I'm in my second pregnancy now and I'm gaining less also. More careful with my eating, and more calories burned running after my first kid.

[Anonymous]

I'm on track to gain more with a second pregnancy. Gained 30 with my first and likely will gain about 35 with my second. Started at my same "ideal" weight both times.

I would say the difference for me with the second pregnancy is exercise. While I'm active with my toddler, I don't have as much time to devote to going for walks, yoga, etc.

[Anonymous]

I gained less with my second pregnancy but I was definitely more aware of the whole "eating for two" fallacy much more than I was the first time around. My second was also 1.5 lbs less than my first (they were both big babies and both came right around 40 weeks.) I'm 33 weeks with #3 right now my weight is actually right in the middle of where it was with my first two (I think it really DID go on much more easily this time around!)

[Anonymous]

I'm at 37 wks and probably have gained about 5-8 lbs less so far than with my first. I attribute it to the constant movement that watching a (crazy-active) toddler requires and the fact that I was still handing on to probably about 3-4 lbs of baby weight when I conceived.