Jun 22, 2009

Getting "Fat" :p

Wanted to post about a topic that my girlfriends and I discussed on several occasions throughout our pregnancies... weight gain.

Before I got preggers, I joked that I would eat everything that I wouldn't allow myself to eat pre-pregnancy and eat it regularly! However, just as we experience in non-pregnant life, there is also pressure on pregnant women re: weight gain. I completely understand that gaining too much weight is not good for Mom or baby. But the average women doesn't need to worry about gaining an extra 5 or 10 lbs!

I don't know what it is about pregnancy that makes it OK for people to say any of the following:
  • How much weight have you gained?
  • How much do you weigh now?
  • When I was pregnant, I put on...
  • Oh my god, you're huge!
If I wanted you to know how much weight I've put on, I'd make a freakin' t-shirt, writing my updated weight on it every week - just for you! And if I wanted to know that you only put on 20 lbs in your pregnancy, I would have asked you! Of course, people always tell you this right before they ask you how much weight you've put on and you, no doubt, downgrade yourself a few pounds :p Why the competition?

Don't get me started on my doctor (God love him) who, at 16 weeks pregnant, told me I was putting on weight too quickly... I had 8 lbs on total. I was so pissed. I'm a super healthy eater, I walk for an hour every morning, and he was giving me diet advice. Of course at my next appt, I didn't have enough weight on! I immediately pointed out that, PERHAPS, I was just putting on weight inconsistently. I couldn't wait to be referred to my Ob-Gyn so I wouldn't have to be scared about potentially being scolded by my family doc anymore.

Like most women, I've always been insane about my weight. Hilariously (of course) I look back at my pre-preggers pictures and think HOLY $&*@, I had a great body, I was an idiot!

For me, the mistake began in early pregnancy when I set a goal for the weight I expected to put on. Mom told me she'd only put on 25 lbs in her pregnancies, so I chose 25 lbs. Stupid. I had 25 lbs on by 28 weeks. I ended up putting on 35 lbs. So, of course, I felt like a blimp. My advice, don't set a goal for yourself and look away when the doctor weighs you. Don't get caught up in the number vs. the important stuff - eating nutritious food and continuing to exercise.

Funny enough, despite being a "giant person", I'd never been so comfortable naked in my life! I'd strut around in front of Dan, dancing and acting like a fool with my big ol' belly. It may be a while before that happens again - the post-baby body ain't so hot (YET)! ;) Wait until I learn how to work these Pam Anderson-boobs a little better! HA!

Curious what your thoughts are? It's a touchy subject and it's unlikely everyone will agree with me... comments please :)

Jen

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7 comments:

Margaret said...

I am only 14 weeks along and am not sure how much weight I've gained, but I know it has to be a few (esp. in the belly area, which has always been my hardest area). In a hormonal surge I make that general complaint "I feel so fat," to which my darling husband responds "you're pregnant you are supposed to gain weight." I have to explain to him that as someone who has always had to work really hard at keeping weight off it's hard to see the pounds go on even though I know I'm supposed to and it's healthy for the baby. I always just say, just because I'm supposed to doesn't mean it's any easier.

On a side note, I just came across your blog and I really enjoy reading it everday. Your daughter is beautiful! Congrats

Jen said...

I agree 200% - as much as you know you should be putting on weight and that it's healthy for you and baby, it's still so difficult to see the scale go up (especially when it goes up quickly during "growth spurts)! I was always thinking, God, I didn't do anything differently this week and somehow I gained 3 lbs - am I going to gain 3 lbs a week? Scarey! ha ha ha. Eventually I stopped getting on the scale - last 6 weeks or so, because I found it so hard on my psyche. Now I'm having a hard time feeling at all good about myself seeing as my belly is jello and I haven't washed my hair in 3 days! I know it will come back eventually though. Thanks for the comment!

sloaneclearv said...

just found this blog; i'm 31 weeks, and i love, love your stories! i have gained exactly 20 pounds so far, which they assure me is perfect. doesn't sound too perfect, though, does it? although, i personally know three people who each gained a whopping 65 pounds during their pregnancies, so my bar was set pretty low: as long as i don't gain 65 lbs, i'm happy! congrats, and i look forward to reading more tales of new mommyhood- it keeps me sane!

Jen said...

That's awesome, 20 lbs is nothing, you're tiny! :) You'll lose that in the first week after baby! I had a few friends gain 60+ lbs as well... which is insane as they didn't look like they had that much weight on at all! I know a lot of celebrities gain crazy amounts of weight but I'm convinced this is because it's the only time in their life where they are forced to actually eat food! ha ha ha. I'm looking to Jenny McCarthy as my role model. She put on 60+ lbs with her son and now she looks AMAZING... I'm not expecting to look like her (AT ALL) but at least I can get back to my pre-baby body at some point!

Anonymous said...

during my first pregnancy back when I was only 18, I lost almost 20 pounds. my belly got bigger but the rest of me slimmed down and shaped up. i suppose this was due to the fact that i had the worst morning sickness in the History of the Universe! but then during my second pregnancy at 24, i put on 37 lbs. I think this was because not only did I not have morning sickness and craved everything in sight, but also because I had fallen and been put on bed rest, which means no exercise. bummer. not to mention my second child was born at 10 lbs, 10 oz, and my first baby was only 4 lbs, 8 oz

Jen said...

That's insane - such opposite pregnancies! I can totally see how you would with severe morning sickness you could lose weight. I didn't have any morning sickness at all plus I lost my job so I was home most days... which made it difficult not to put on 100 lbs just out of boredom some days! I had to keep myself busy with projects so I wouldn't just sit around and eat chips and hot fudge sundaes! :p

Anonymous said...

When you see a midwife you actually don't need to weigh yourself...so once I got past a certain weight, while I still weighed myself, we didnt discuss it. That goes to show you reasonable weight gain is nothing to worry about. Why OBs make such a big deal is beyond me.