A mom writes in asking for advice about weight gain during pregnancy. This mom, who is pregnant with her second child, recently learned she had gained 30 lbs. at her 22-week check-in. This surprised her because, for the first 14 weeks of her pregnancy, she could barely keep food down. She is wondering if it is normal to gain that much weight that quickly. Her experience during her first pregnancy was slightly different, and she’d like to hear from others about their weight gain experiences.
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A member of the community asks:
“How much weight did you gain with your pregnancies?”
“Hi mamas, how much did all of you gain during your pregnancies? At my 22-week check-up, I had gained 30 lbs already!!! I am so confused because up until 14 weeks, I couldn’t even keep any food down. It’s like everything I’m eating now adds weight.
I eat pretty big portions, but I’ve always been that way, and I cook at home, so I barely ever eat fast food or anything. I gained over 60 lbs with my son, but I started out smaller and didn’t want to go over 200 lbs. Is it normal to have gained this much this early?”
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
Community Advice for This Mom Who Wants to Know If the Weight She’s Gained During Pregnancy So Far Is Normal
To see what advice the Mamas Uncut Facebook community has for this mom in need, read the comments of the post embedded below.
Advice Summary
The community offered this mom in need a lot of great advice. Read some of their responses below.
“Your body is in starvation mode. Eat smaller portions more often. It is trying to put the weight on to compensate for being sick and have fat stored up for entering another phase of starvation, or sickness.”
“I gained 80 pounds with my daughter. I started at 125 and got up to 205. She weighed 11 pounds 6 ounces when she was born.”
“30 with my first, 11 with my second. The saying ‘eating for two’ isn’t true lol, so if you’re worried about it talk to your doctor about healthy eating habits, cut back on portion size. But really all bodies are different, especially when it comes to pregnancy, so I’d say yes it’s normal. Like I said though, if you’re concerned, talk to the doctor and make a plan!”
“I gained 53 lbs, and this week when I went for my 2-week postpartum f/u, I was down 46 lbs. In the end, I gained a lot of water weight though, from preeclampsia, I was super swollen. Plus my baby was 9.5 lbs.”
“First I lost 10lbs, gained it back and only 15 more from my initial weight. Second I lost no pounds and again only gained 15lbs. I never went over 175 with either of them.”
“With my first, I gained 24 lbs my 2nd I only gained 8. I was told a good weight gain is 25 lbs.”
“106 to 159 for my first pregnancy. 2nd was 119 to 180. I always gain a lot but it comes off from breastfeeding and chasing them around. But I heard some women gain weight from breastfeeding, thank God that wasn’t the case for me because I would have gone to 300 lbs.”
“I gained 60 lbs. I was astonished it didn’t fall off with breastfeeding like everyone said. I actually had to diet.”
“I gained about 50lbs with my first (140-190). Then 30 lbs with my second (160-190). Granted, I had preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome so some of that was swelling. Particularly with my second.”
“I had two pregnancies back to back and gained 40 pounds in total. Everyone’s body is different. Just love your body and that little one you are growing. You can worry about the rest later.”
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