Gaining weight in the first trimester?

[PeachDaisy]

Hi everyone 👋
I am 9 weeks pregnant, first baby. I am just reaching out to see if anyone else is having similar problems to me because all I see if people have perfect pregnancies on Instagram and it's making me feel guilty. Due to constant nausea from the second I wake up to when I go to sleep, my appetite comes and goes and I am incredibly fussy as to what I can and can't eat. I have aversions to absolutely anything, even if it was something I wanted to eat a few hours before. Lately all's I seem to eat is impulsive cravings which is literally just junk food. I can't overcome the cravings as I literally go from 0 to feeling like I'm dying from starvation before I get a chance to convince myself to eat something healthy or nutritional. Before this I was very careful with what I ate and always watch my weight. I've gained 8lbs in 5 weeks and I'm just wondering if this is normal? My breasts have practically doubled in size so maybe there's some weight there but it just seems pretty alarming? Anyone in the same boat here?

TIA x

No, it's not normal or advisable to subsist on junk food! Don't buy junk food, OP and then you won't eat it.

If constant nausea is causing you to be only able to eat junk food it's worth a chat with midwife or GP. You'll need good food for your energy levels and health through this pregnancy. As someone who has struggled with nausea whole way through my pregnancy (I'm 30+2 currently and stlll really horribly nauseous) I know how debilitating it can be. Ask for some advice or help/ medication if its needed. But also don't worry too much as most women get over sickness as they go into second trimester. You may feel better then and be able to vary your diet a bit more again. But try not to let weight gain stress you out too much. Take care and congratulations on your pregnancy xx

You should ideally gain 1-4lbs in the first trimester and put on most weight after 20 weeks (1lb per week from week 20 I think is the reccomend amoun). Putting on too much weight can increase your risk of gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.

It's tricky in the first trimester to eat healthily due to all the food aversions and cravings for all things beige and carby but I'd try to slow down on the weight gain for now

During my first pregnancy the nausea was horrific and I ended up on the sick from work for weeks 8-12. All I could stomach was bland food and mainly rubbish! I had a diet of mainly dairylea dunkers and crisps - everything else I couldn't stomach. Spoke to my midwife and she said it should pass and in the meantime just eat whatever I felt I could stomach. It did pass after around week 14 and I found I could eat a lot more (and a lot more of a balanced diet) but had to eat little and often, snacking rather than meals, to keep the nausea at bay. I didn't put much weight on to be honest due to not being able to eat properly, but I know people who have put quite a bit on during their first trimester so I do wonder if it's maybe down to genetics? Have a word with your midwife and I hope the sickness passes soon for you I found those seabands worked a treat for me in both pregnancies. Boots sell them and you can get them from Amazon too

I really disagree with stuff like '1-4 lb in first trimester', x pounds and y stage in pregnancy. Every woman's body is unique and these targets can make people feel like failures. If you're really concerned about your weight talk to a midwife where you'll get professional reassurance.

In my pregnancy I'd put on a stone by week ten and went on to put on another 2 stone. All health professionals were happy and agreed I was having a healthy pregnancy. By 6 months postpartum I was back to 9 stone / size ten. Everything was fine.

Weight gain is healthy and normal and not something to be feared like the 'bump-only' pregnancy culture pushed by Instagram etc makes it out to be.

Good luck with your pregnancy and listen to your body, you'll honestly be ok

@rockinaftermidnite bit harsh on the OP there. I'm guessing you haven't suffered debilitating pregnancy nausea.

OP, no junk food is not ideal and there are associated risks with gaining too much weight too quickly BUT as someone who was hospitalised due to hyperemesis (severe nausea, water aversion, but limited vomiting) a few weeks of poor diet is not so bad. I subsisted on crisps and plain pitta for several weeks until I was given anti-emetics and every midwife I spoke to, said to just do what I needed to get through it.

If you are on a limited diet make sure you're taking a pregnancy safe multivitamin. You may need to try a few as some seem to make nausea worse (possibly the iron content). Most importantly don't beat yourself up, you have plenty of time to eat well when the nausea passes. Like @dillydallydollydaydream7 and @littlekipling said there are various non-medical ways to try and treat nausea, sea sickness wrist bands, eating little and often, not letting yourself get too tired, etc, but if you get to the stage where you're struggling to function, find a sympathetic GP to prescribe anti-nausea medication or have a chat with a midwife. Best of luck for the rest of your pregnancy!

Two pregnancies done here snd in both I packed the pounds on in the first trimester, in the second pregnancy i even started off being careful, well as much as I could around only being able to eat crisps for a week around the 7 week nark due to sickness 🤣 and I still piled on the pounds. My conclusion was that my body must have wanted to put the weight on and was going to do it irregardkess to what I did. Our bodies need to gain weight to grow the body and I think some of us put on more weight than others, but it does come off after the babies out xx

Both pregnancies I put on a lot of weight early on then less later. I was slim to start with so even putting on a good number of pounds I'd still have had a lower BMI then lots of people did at conception (BMI 22 by about 13 weeks). Surely that's got to make a difference? I think my body just needs the energy. My sister is slim and was the same. Last time I lost the baby weight and more through breastfeeding/walking with the pram within a couple of months despite still eating loads so I really don't care this time around!

I’m 11 weeks and my diet is 80% potato waffles right now. If you need to exist on junk food just to get yourself through the day, go for it. There is time to make healthier choices when we get further along

I’m 13 weeks and have put on 6 pounds. I had a midwife appointment yesterday and they seemed happy with that and said it was normal x

Don't worry Op, by 12 weeks I had gained 6 pounds.
For anyone who likes to throw out unhelpful comments like 'just don't eat junk food, don't eat carbs, don't buy anything like that' how about you just don't comment at all?
I had really bad MS from 7 weeks and spent most of my first trimester in bed or laying on the sofa, I was also prescribed anti-sickness medication from my GP. I also could literally only stomach beige, bland food, pasta, bread, chips etc. I was also really worried and my midwife said it's better to eat something than nothing at all. By around 13 or 14 weeks I started to feel better and then my diet became more varied, so it does pass.

I suffered with severe morning sickness in my first trimester and was told by the midwife to eat whatever I could stomach. Some days it would just be toast others I could eat more of a variety. I couldn't eat any fruit till I was about 13 weeks because it always came back up.
As long as your eating it's better than not eating at all. Everyone will have different opinions on the matter but that is from their own experience.
Hope you feel better soon and if it's really bad speak with the Dr as there are some things they can prescribe that help slightly :)

I gained 10kg throughout my pregnancy, so just under a stone and a half

10kg is on the lighter side, I'm not sure that's going to make the OP feel better!

@PeachDaisy I went from 67kg to 70kg in 12 weeks, and now I'm 19 weeks I'm 72kg. Up until 12 weeks all I ate was like PP, beige food, couldn't look at fruit and the though of veg made me want to vom. Outside of beige, I also could only eat Singapore rice noodles and Indian curry so got them both twice a week. I still have nausea today so eat little and very often ie every 1.5 hours, but choosing to nibble at apples and grapes in between my smaller meals as I can now eat a more varied diet.

I also got obsessed with social media for a bit, with all these skinny mini mummies, and even worse, watching those bump progress vids, especially as this my first I think to myself why does my stomach look so big and bloated compared to theirs?? Aren't I supposed have washboard flat abs until 20 weeks?? But now I've come to terms with what my body needs nutritionally ie to feed another human, and it helps that my husband doesn't watch this shit or social media, and loves the way my body is changing and adapting to service our child (can't think of a better word).

Your appetite will get better, and if it doesn't, just take vitamins to make up for the lack of variety, your body will do what it needs to do to grow a baby, just make sure you pay back with good nourishment after it arrives!

OP I gained a similar amount very quickly and hardly anything at all weeks 12-21 so it'll even itself out. I was seriously hungry/nauseated for a few weeks too & waking up at night having to eat every few hours. Give yourself a break...it's hard!

I gain about 7lb before I even realise I'm pregnant, usually get the same a totm too with bloating. I'm not weighing myself atm as I couldn't stand to cook healthy food because the smells would make me feel awful. It is getting better but I do still sit trying not to be sick when tea is cooking in the oven. I have been carb loading too much but like others have said you just have to get down what you can manage in the 1st trimester. As the sickness becomes more manageable you can get back to healthier foods. I think you only need to worry about it if you've had massive gains by full term but then you can get it off after birth anyway. Staying active during pregnancy will help control weight gain too so try to continue any workouts you did before at a reduced intensity.
My 1st 2 pregnancies I was terrible and gained 4st in each. 3rd I was much better and only gained 2.5st. With our twins I stopped weighing after the 2st gain mark (about 6mth ish) but after birth I was only 7lb heavier than pre-pregnancy and that came off within 3mth.

My midwife said something very helpful "as long as you are eating, worry about your nutrition in the 2nd and 3rd trimester".

Anyone being extra harsh, or "you should do this" is either a super textbook normal pregnancy (if there even is one) or forgets that everyone is different, and what works for them will not, and cannot, work for someone else.

Obviously, don't eat 3 pizzas a day, or 12 packets of crisps, but even if you DID do that one day in a month, there is going to be no harm - other than some mad indigestion.

Best of luck, and if you are concerned, speak to your midwife x