Is there a support thread for the larger mum-to-be? Anyone want to join me??

[ValiumQueen]

I am thinking of a safe place to discuss issues pertinent to those carrying extra weight - clothes shopping, weight gain, additional tests and scans, potential concerns about labour etc. Any thoughts?

Sorry that was meant to say with dd who is now 18 months

Also at booking in this time they tried to get me to see the fat person's midwife (aka the midwife specialising in nutrition) and I just said "no thank you, I'm fat because I'm greedy not because I don't know about nutrition' and they said fine and just wore declined next to the appt in my mat notes

Hello looking for some hope :'( I'm 31 weeks and now weigh 16 stone ! Was 14.6 when I first fell pregnant . I'm really scared that I will spiral after this child is born as not working and being at home at dinner tine (usually at work ) will continue to gain weight. Anyone know the best way to shift it and easily with 3 children ?

Hi sarah. I'm 14.1 at 19 weeks. I'm already a SAHM and I find it hard not to eat something everytime I am in the kitchen. But the main problem for me is the lack of exercise : DH works very long hours, I don't drive and I can't do anything apart from a walk with the children. (sorry, that's not very helpful!)

hi javette , wish i was 14.1 : ( i so depressed gonna try and walk again today but i get a horrific pain in my back and it actally hurts now to walk but im just getting fatter sitting here ! i drive for work aswell so spend a lot of time in the car which is not good : ( my poor DH keeps saying dont worry your loose it after but im really not so sure ?????/

Hi again sarah. I was 16.2 before my first pregnancy, so there's hope after all.
I had sciatica when pregnant with DC2 and it hurt like hell, it tok me 15mn to walk the 50 yards to the bus stop.
You're very lucky to have a supportive husband!

Sarah, sorry if I was a bit harsh in the other thread.

Something to bear in mind:

You don't weigh 16 stone.
You, your baby, its placenta, its amniotic fluid, your expanded womb, your extra blood, fluid, breast tissue and essential survival fat reserves for pregnancy and breastfeeding weigh 16 stone.

I'm not saying it'll all disappear the moment you give birth, but that number doesn't reflect your pre/post pregnancy body.

Speak to your midwife if you feel you are gaining more weight than you should do about your diet and lifestyle. If your main concern is after the baby is born, then speak to your GP at your 6 week check up (by that point you'll have a better idea of how much You weigh) about long term changes you can make to diet and lifestyle.

I appreciate you'll be a busy mum of three and you might not be able to fit in loads of exercise, but you will be able to add in some bits and pieces to make your daily activities more active. Some people add in lots of little things (like parking further away from the supermarket so that you walk more, or taking the stairs etc), others find it easier to carve out a half hour or an hour to go to an exercise class/run/gym session when someone else watches the kids and they get some me-time.

It is possible to lose weight through diet alone though. I did (before pregnancy) because I find it difficult to get out to exercise. Its often about portion sizes, healthier choices, and being occupied enough not to snack. If you struggle to lose weight, make sure you have a check up with your GP, I have a thyroid disorder and found it easier to lose weight once it was being treated.

Be gentle with yourself and your body. It's growing a whole person right now. :)

hi spirited wolf you werent being harsh at all ! i blame my DH for a lot of it as he cooks and dishes up such big bloody plates ! will deff try the portion size redution ! i walk as much as i can its about a 3 mile walk to the school pick up but as i start work at 4pm dont often have time to do the walk but do when i can ! i always take the stairs at work hate lifts ! my DH is lucky as he is a bin man so walks all day ! so when we go out together he wants to go in the car as he has been walking miles all week where as ive been driving miles all week! I think im going to go on a major walking escapade once LO is here ! and as i will b back to working just evenings again when i return i can still walk beofre i start work in the evening and will try not to eat late like i used to when i get home from work! i also think i have a thyroid problem as i was boderline once and i also have a lot of the symptoms of it but they say im fine my dad also has a thyroid problem and my niece but they seem to think mine is fine ?

Sounds like you already do loads.

I also had/have a problem with a DH whose ideas of portion size are different to what I need. I grew up in a large family, so I can be a bit competitive about food (he's got more than me or, if I don't eat it now someone else will have it) sometimes I need to remind myself that we're adults and I can get more of it later if I want it then and its gone.

It's difficult to get my head around because he eats so much more than me and is maintaining the same weight (he'd like to lose some, so he's not totally happy) but when I eat that much, I gain weight. Its partially down to gender, body size (he's taller) and down to activity levels - although he doesn't have a very active job like your DH, and he doesn't exercise, he is generally a bit more active than I am.

Its hard to deal with the fact he needs to eat more than me to maintain his weight because of the aforementioned perception that its not 'fair' for someone to have a bigger portion than me.

So now I'll ask for a smaller portion when he's cooking. Like if its sausages, I'll ask for one or two (opposed to his three), or I'll ask for fewer potatoes or more veg (to bulk out the plate so that less other stuff can go on there). Before I was pregnant, I also had him serve mine up on a smaller plate rather than a huge dinner one so that the portion size would be smaller but still look plenty.

Its worth pointing out to him if he queries your request for smaller portions, that women need to eat less than men and that he's really active all day, whilst you are driving.

Don't cut things down too much whilst you are pregnant though. Gotta look after that baby, and you do need a little more than usual in the third trimester (eqv. to a couple slices of toast a day).

Take care of yourself and that little one and remember that you aren't just weighing yourself anymore, there's baby and all that extra stuff I mentioned above (inc. fluid). :)

I once read a quote by a woman who said that when she weighed herself, she always mentally took off a bit, because she didn't feel that women should be penalised for having breasts.

I think that goes extra for pregnant women.

Love that spiritedwolf

Spiritedwolf I'm going to remember that, that's brilliant! My bust size has increased to humungous proportions in this pregnancy (wasn't exactly small before!) so I'm sure that must account for oooh at least half my weight by now

spiritedwolf I also mentally substract a few ounces because I have got hip-long hair!

Javotte ! I have really long hair too! must recalculate!

Its funny, I said to my mum and DH that they shouldn't worry about me obsessing about my weight loss (pre-pregnancy) until I had all my hair lopped off. At that point, I figured, I'd have gone too far to lower those numbers on the scale.

Oh definately Barmee

That reminds me... I'm convinced that part of my DH's pleasure in us finally concieving was that I had almost reached his weight, got as low as 16st 7lbs (from 22st 10lbs) with healthy eating and morning sickness (he's 16st 1lb) before my weight started to climb in the second half of pregnancy.

He is sooo competitive too!

secretly hopes that morning after she gives birth that she'll be lighter than DH Obviously we'll have more important things to worry about than my weight once the baby arrives.

Hi ladies, this is my first post on here and i am not quite sure what i am doing! Anyway-my name is Vicky, i am 30 and currently 22weeks pregnant with my second baby! My bmi was 32.8 at booking appointment, i am so glad to have found this post!
I had my 20week scan at 19weeks and was made to feel so rubbish by the woman who did the scan! She actually wrote on my notes quality of image impaired by raised bmi. She said my scan result was obviously only as far as she could see ok due to my raised bmi and was a bit off with me and my partner as baby didn't want to move around much!
I was left feeling very down and worried about how i am going to be treated through the rest of my pregnancy :(
i am a size 18/20 bottom half of body and 22/24 top thanks to breasts! Lol
me and my partner wanted to find out sex of baby so went for a private scan last week, scan was perfectly clear picture and we found out we are having a baby girl :) very pleased as we have two boys in our family already and this is our first child together!

I am constantly searching for nice maternity clothes and underwear, asda have some good clothes in their maternity range, and the sizes seem quite good!
Hope you are all enjoying pregnancy would be great to chat to everyone who actually understands how i feel!x

Good tip re asda. Anyone else found good plus size mat wear?

I've found some good size 18 stuff on the New Look website - they often have offers on too, which to my mind is always a bonus.

vixreyland sorry to hear you had such a horrible woman Try not to let her get to you.

Congrats on your girl, Vix - don't let that awful woman get to you!

for my first prengancy I had a rubbish 12 week scan and a really nice 20 week one, and it was mainly due to the attitude of the sonographer. Funny how much it matters, isn't it?

Thank you! I am a bit more relaxed now i had the other scan with no problems but when you have hormones and emotions all over the place and body changing you really don't need any put downs do you! Like we don't beat ourselves up enough for imperfections! ;)
this will be my last baby so wanted everything to be perfect and scans are the only sneak preview we get!
My 12week scan was very clear and that's why i was confused at 19week one as i hadn't put on much weight due to spending day and night being sick! Lol

i am constantly searching plus size maternity wear so will post any updates! :)
i have seen some nice stuff on new look online, are the sizes very generous? I did shock myself getting size 16 maternity trousers that are just cotton and a bit Jogger like for round the house, they must be quite generous sizes! Lol x

I also need recommendations for decent, supportive bras.... any ideas anyone?

This is the best bra I've ever had :

www.amazon.com/Lilyette-Womens-Maximum-Support-Fawn/dp/B000VK61Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338310964&sr=8-1

I had someone bring it back from the USA for me. I don't know if it's available in the UK.

Sorry, I should have been clear. I need to find a maternity bra, so I am assuming that means one without underwires.

dorothy I've just ordered a "genie bra" (as seen on TV ). I'll tell you if it is supportive enough for my big and slightly saggy breasts.

Hiya, can i join in? I am 10 weeks and a day and have a BMI of 37. This is my 5th pg and i am 40 - ive been overweight in all of my previous pg's and had gestational diabetes in varying degrees. I suppose it makes sense that i got left with type two some time ago and now have to inject copious amounts of insulin to combat my super insulin resistance during pregnancy.

I am lucky that i seem to be relatively problem free apart from that though.

I am due on Christmas day (according to my private scan today) but we shall see what the nhs one comes up with in 3 weeks as thats the one they go by - i think todays was pretty much spot on though.

Ill read back through the thread shortly - if anyone is looking for maternity wear in plus sizes simply be is pretty good - not much of a selection but some relatively fashionable bits (bit pricey for what they are though) I think its pretty easy to just wear what you usually do for a while at least.

My consultant is an arse and takes every opportunity to mention how many problems i should and WILL be having but i try and see her as little as possible (only once so far this pg and then not again till 20 weeks) she knows her stuff but is a bloody meanie.

Well loads more to tell but no one has posted today so ill look back on the thread for a catch up before posting again :) Its good to have a thead like this though as i previously used to look on the plus size moms board on the US baby and bump - not the same as here!