Pregnancy weight. How much is too much and what IS a sensible/slow gain?!

[Novia]

Hiya - I realise it's an emotive subject and everyone varies, but it would be good to get some opinions on this.

I'm just over 12 weeks and have gained about 2kgs. I realise this is just from eating rather than any real baby-weight at this stage.

I'm puzzled as to what I should be gaining and how often though. Everywhere says slow and steady - but there isn't much guidance about what this means in real terms. Are some months likely to be worse than others for example?

My sister gained a lot of weight when pregnancy and has struggled to lose it. This has made me a bit anxious about weight-gain and how my body is going to change. I'm scared of getting too big and then not ever being able to lose it.

Any advice, shared experiences would be great!

I gained five stone in my first pregnancy (two years ago), I just ate non-stop and literally anything I wanted. Lots of croissants, cornflakes, chocolate, takeaways and genuinely didn't realise just how fat I was getting because the bump was huge and I expected to get bigger. I developed borderline GD and although I can't be sure I suspect the weight gain had a lot to do with it. I lost four stone before becoming pregnant again and this time I've gained just under 2 stone at 31 weeks so took myself to see a dietician last week as I am keen to avoid GD this time and I'm still clear so far. She said the guidelines are roughly two stone over a pregnancy but they are just guidelines and every pregnancy is different. She also said there is no 'bad' food but for maintaining steady blood sugar what is most important is balance. Every meal should have about 40% protein, 30% carbohydrate and 30% veg or salad on your plate. Two snacks a day at roughly the same time every day and a snack size portion also balanced protein/carbs/veg. I'm supposed to eat around 1900 calories a day in my third trimester and I'm 5'9.

Does it really matter? As long as you are eating and moving well and baby is ok, that is all that matters.

I suffered from rare condition where for 14 weeks i was in and out of hospital on a drip, vomiting blood, bedridden, and trying my hardest to drink and eat without vomiting on strong medication. I have it easy too as i am hyperemesis free by 20 weeks.

Just try to eat as good as you can, dont ignore cravings, and keep mobile. Any weight gain will drop off after the baby is born.

You know when you are over-eating, right? Well nothing changes in pregnancy - if you overeat, you will put on excess weight in addition to your pregnancy weight, which you will have to lose afterwards. Try to eat healthily and when you are hungry, although I know that it is easier said than done! I've had 3 pregnancies, put on almost 3 stone with the first, and then 2 stone with pregnancies 2 and 3. First time around, I was definitely indulging myself more with anything that moved I fancied! It took me around 10 months to get back into shape. The next 2 times, I was back to pre-preg weight pretty much around 6 week check (although your body shape is still pretty different). If you are overweight, you should aim for less gain, and more if you are underweight (I was normal bmi at 5.4 and 8.5 stone). I always put on weight in bursts - 7 pounds in the first trimester (when only lots of carbs made me feel human), 1 stone in second and then another 7 pounds in third. Actually last time I stopped gaining at about 33 weeks and actually lost a bit by the time baby arrived - the doctors thought it was excess fluid and weren't worried. Baby was fine at 7.2 pounds. Please relax and enjoy your pregnancy, hope all goes well for you!

Thanks everyone for all your replies - they have been so interesting!

I'm going to try not to worry too much (and not to eat too much junk!) I've put on about 3kg in the first 12wks, but a big part of that I think is not having morning sickness and coming off my calorie controlled wedding diet! Now that I have more energy I'm going to up the walking too.

Hi OP, I was wondering this too.
The midwife made a bit of a comment at my 9week initial weigh in, the scales read 52kg but she wrote down 50kg. I'm not tall so that puts my BMI in the normal/healthy range. But she insinuated that I couldn't possibly be eating?!
I'm eating far more than usual (though struggling to get my 5 a day, unless all 5 can be bags of crisps...) but I want to

Hi OP, I was wondering this too.
The midwife made a bit of a comment at my 9week initial weigh in, the scales read 52kg but she wrote down 50kg. I'm not tall so that puts my BMI in the normal/healthy range. But she insinuated that I couldn't possibly be eating?!
I'm eating far more than usual (though struggling to get my 5 a day, unless all 5 can be bags of crisps...) but I want to put on the right amount by next time I see her in 4 weeks!

Oops not sure how a double posted - sorry!

I ate loads, especially towards the end, with my first and gained 4 stone.

I ate normally with my second and only gained 2.5 stone.

Just eat sensibly and dont scoff cake every day :-)