So how much weight gain is too much?

[beanstalk]

I am 23 weeks now and have put on a stone and a half since getting pregnant. As I was a size 10 to start with, none of the midwives seem concerned. But I have a huge bump and am straining the seams of the maternity clothes that I wore at the end of my last pregnancy .
Anyone else feel they have got quite big quickly?
Is it safe to try to minimise further weight gain? I don't mean a diet as such, but to be a bit careful about how much I eat? My diet has been very carb rich, mainly because I feel so knackered and sick a lot of the time it is the only thing that I can face eating.
I am sooo fed up with the raised eyebrows when I tell people I am only 23 weeks as I look quite heavily pregnant already!

poppysweetie, you're still well within the 'average weight gain' bracket so panic not! Are you going to be breast feeding? If you are, apparently that's supposed to really help all your inner and outer bits get back into shape - I am definitely hoping for that!

You could always join a slimming club like Slimming World who have a plan for pregnant women so they will ensure you don't lose weight and only gain what you should whilst ensuring you are getting all the nutrients you and the baby need.

I gained over 4.5 stone during my pregnancy and wish I had joined Slimming World then! But I did join 6 weeks after giving birth as I felt fat and horrible and I did the breast feeding plan and lost all the weight. I am still breastfeeding 9 months on and I'm slimmer now then what I was before getting pregnant.

Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy. I hope you find a way that is right for you.

crikey - bonsoir anna - how do french women keep to 9kg weight gain? do they just eat snails? so glad i'm here in the UK where they don't even weigh you.......

They are bullied to tears by their obstetricians, as far as I can see .

I went back the UK to give birth and gained 18 kg by the end of my pregnancy. Though I lost it all and more by breastfeeding (which French women don't do much or for long).

I've just lost over 4 stones in 9 months with BF and WW - it can be lost!

I think it depends on your pre-pregnancy weight tbh, along with your diet during the pregnancy. My sister with food "issues" who likes to keep her BMI very much at the lower end of normal puts on horrific amounts of weight (she's pregnant at the moment and had gained 20kg by 24 weeks...). Last pregnancy she gained 4.5 stone. My BMI is usually at the top end of normal (24.6 at the start of this one) and I put on a much more sedate amount of weight (have put on 8.5/9kg and am due in two days). We have similar frame sizes. The difference is that she suddenly starts eating normally in pregnancy whereas I go right off food and have to force myself to eat the same as before.

hi im 19 and pregnant with my 2nd child,, im 28+ weeks but i look full term...
i seen midwife yesterday and she was shocked she didnt kno wot to do wit me, she said im measuring right but my bump is really massive.. so ive now got a app with the consultant next week..

does anyone kno how i could be so big?? my bmi was 27 and nw its gne up 2 34..

Kirsty19 - if you're measuring fine for dates then you really shouldn't waste much energy worrying about this. And I don't think it's very helpful for your mw to be alarming you in that manner! It's your BMI at conception that governs your care & most mws don't weigh throughout pregnancy anyway - because the fact is to a large extent weight gain is just one of those things that will be as it will be.

It is always worth trying to eat well, because apart from anything else, you will feel better, but it really doesn't matter how big your bump looks and there's a limit to what you can actually do about it anyway. By the way for many people 4th-7th months are the time of most gain, so it may well tail off for you now anyway.

The Brewer Diet for Pregnancy is fab & at the times I have stuck to it I have felt better & my weight gain has been very sensible. I haven't stuck to it religiously unfortunately, but I can vouch for the fact that it is very sensible, will ensure you are very well fed but ensure sensible, moderate weight gain because of my experience when I did stick to it. I had a link to a site explaining it but that site is not currently working, but I'm sure if you googled it you'd find an explanation.

Listen to your body (don't listen to panicky, alarmist mws), eat sensibly, try to stay active and shut the scales & BMI charts away where you can't reach them for the rest of your pregnancy. And remember the appearance of your bump is a complete irrelevance - it is affected by so many variables (tummy muscles, body shape, how the baby is lying) that it really doesn't tell you anything.

I was a size 10 pre preg and put on 17lb with No1 which felt OK to me. Now preg with no2 although v early on so will have to see how much I end up putting on although I hope for about the same as last time.