Weight gain before third trimester

[LittleBoyJuly2020]

I'm 28 weeks pregnant, started this pregnancy at 11 stone 4 lbs. Went down to 10 stone 12 lbs up until end of March. This morning I am 11 stone 8 lbs. So at total of 10 lbs gain.
I've recorded my weight throughout and have gained 6 lbs in the last month alone.

Does that sound normal?? It seems quite rapid since I eat very healthily and keep track of calories (not dieting obviously).

Not seeing a midwife until next month so I've got nobody to ask really.

Did you gain much weight in the third trimester? I was hoping to keep it at the recommended 1 lbs per week and not sure if I should overhaul my diet/portion sizes again.

How much of the 10 lbs I've gained is baby related and not fat?

I sound a bit preoccupied with this but I have an autoimmune disorder and would like to not gain too much weight this pregnancy so not to cause further complications with that.

I was 10.5 stones when I got pregnant and 12.5 just before I had DD. I was 11.5 after having her and the extra stone gradually came off over 6-9 months.

I seemed to suddenly explode around the third trimester and get a proper bump! And then it just gained slowly in the last couple of months.

I think your gain seems fine for where you are in your pregnancy. Your body will be laying down fat stores in preparation for breastfeeding.

I put on 5lb in my first trimester and I'm into my second (18 weeks gone) and I've put on another 9lb. So, so far that's 14lb.
I'm under the understanding that for the average woman anything from 20-30lb is a reasonable weight can when pregnant, though of course, everyone is different.
If you're concerned then call your midwife and have a chat to put your mind at rest, but going off the average statistics, you sound about right x

The suggestion for 2nd trimester weight is ~1lb a week. If I look week by week I'm all over the place, going weeks without gaining the gaining 2-3 lbs in a week. However, if I look over 12 weeks (I'm 24 weeks) I have gained about 10 lbs so close to what I was expecting.

I lost weight in the first trimester due to severe nausea. In the second trimester, I gained around 1-2lbs a week on average. I'm now 33 weeks and have gained 33lbs in total (5 of those have piled on in the last week 😳). My diet hasn't been great to be honest and lockdown has meant that I haven't been very active at all for the past 5/6 weeks.

I'm hoping to gain no more than 9lbs between now and baby's arrival. I can deal with 3 stone total weight gain as I know I'll lose a lot of it straight away and the rest through breastfeeding (hopefully 🤞🏼). My mum put on 4 stone when she was pregnant with me and was back to her pre-pregnancy weight within 6 months of me being born (I am 10 years older than she was though).

Thanks for the replies I feel a bit better about it now. My bump has definitely popped in the last week and boobs are definitely bigger so hopefully not all of the 10 lbs is fat

@MentholChill It's alarming when the scale goes up quickly isn't it. 6 lbs in a month seemed like such a jump since I hadn't gained anything in the first trimester.

I think I'm carrying extra water too so I'm just telling myself at least half of my gain must be baby, placenta and water!

This all sounds well within normal - but I’m confused, haven’t you only gained 4lb? If you count from your weight at the start of pregnancy until now? Totally normal to not gain much until about 20 weeks and then for things to take off a bit after that - doesn’t sound like you’ll have a problem either way :)

(Also - baby will be about 2 1/2 pounds now, another couple of lb for placenta and fluid, another couple of lb for the extra blood volume circulating in your body and extra great tissue - you’re totally fine)

@TenThousandSpoons0 I didn't really look at it that way but yes I guess technically I'm only up 4 lbs from starting weight. And I really loved your explanation of the gain being related to baby stuff. I'm going to relax a bit and not let it get to me. I've been dieting for 20+ years so it's hard to change mindset.

I think the ‘1lb a week’ thing is only a guide and quite unhelpful tbh!

In my last pregnancy I went from 9.5 stones (BMI 22) to 12 Stone just before birth. I didn’t look huge and never felt I’d gained too much. For me, a lot of that gain was my boobs; A -D cup!!

I think it’s to be expected that weight will decrease sometimes in the first trimester, especially if you’re sick, then leap up in irregular chunks over the remaining pregnancy x

@LittleBoyJuly2020 most of your weight gain will be baby related so don't worry. I've noticed swelling in my feet and ankles this week so I'm putting some of that huge 5lb weight gain down to water retention. Baby is also in the midst of a growth spurt this week and my bump is growing daily! Aside from my belly and face, I can't say I've noticed much weight gain anywhere else (although I have been living in my PJs for over a month so may be deluded 🙈)

I refuse to step into scales during pregnancy unless I'm at a midwife appointment.

Try not to overdo it with the food and you'll be grand. And I agree with PP- you've gained 4lb. I'm ten weeks behind you and have probably put on more than that. I retain water like you would not believe.

This image might help OP - you also gain weight due to extra blood circulating and all sorts of changes your body is going through

Just realised typo in my post says “extra great tissue” when it was supposed to say breast tissue - which is also great! Ha :)

I was up by more than 2st by the end of the 2nd trimester but I didn't actually look much bigger (other than the bump obvs), I think a lot of the weight is the baby, associated fluids and also water retention.

I'm in a in a similar situation - 28 weeks and gained ~8lbs. I asked my midwife about this at my appointment a few day ago. Although this weight gain is in the 'normal' range, I have still had terrible nausea and was worried the baby might not be getting enough nutrients on some days.

Reassuringly she said they don't weigh pregnant women anymore because it means completely different things for different women. As some of the PPs have said it could be baby weight or water weight or fat reserves for breast feeding - there's no way to tell! It doesn't really mean anything from a clinical point of view.

Also the baby is pretty much a parasite (her words!) and will take all they need from you if anyone is worried about not putting on enough weight.

My new approach is similar to the sensible advice from @BrooHaHa - no more scales and healthy eating. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy

Thank you I've loved all the replies, they're so helpful and reassuring. I think I worried my weight was going up too quick due to being so inactive ( @MentholChill I've also been living in pj's haha) but I have been walking an hour a day since being pregnant so I hope I can keep that up.

I think you've all inspired me to put away the scales and just continue to eat healthily and trust that the rest will take care of itself