How much weight should a pregnant woman gain?

With my first pregnancy, I gained about 50 pounds. I started out at 117 when I found out I was pregnant and weighed 165 when I went into labor. I'm not really sure if I gained too much, because maybe my body needed to make up for my small size in the first place. Also, my breasts went from a small size B to over DD. I never really put weight on anywhere besides my breasts and belly... I managed to be one of those that only looks pregnant from the side.

Now I'm pregnant again (14 weeks along) and I started out at 140. I lost 13 pounds initially but by last week I've gained a pound back, so maybe I'll finally start putting weight on again.

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I gained 55lbs the first go round, mostly because I was addicted to cheese puffs, tacos and Dr Peppers. I lost all my baby weight by the time my baby was around 9months old and then one month later I got pregnant again! GASP!!! this time around I barely gained 36lbs. I'm not sure why, I guess because I didn't really have any weird cravings and I was chasing after my toddler and working full time. I heard that it is actually normal to lose one to two pounds at the very end of your pregnancy, and I did just that with both pregnancies. I'm hoping that there will be a third time around for me and I hope I am as lucky as with the first two :)

I think the weight gain guidelines are just that, guidelines and women need to understand that 'eating for two' doesn't mean helping yourself to seconds all the time, but in fact, means being concientious(sp?) about what you do eat and making sure to eat well balanced amounts of foods from each food group.
(I know that cheese puffs don't count as a dairy product:)

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I gained almost 60 lbs. with my 1st pregnancy and delivered (via c-section) a 10 lb. 11 oz. baby just 2 days after the due date. Then I gained almost 50 lbs. with my 2nd pregnancy and delivered (again, via c-section) a 8 lb. 3 oz. baby 2 weeks before the due date. I didn't pig out during either pregnancy, really. I lost all of my baby weight and then some after my 1st pregnancy, but still holding on to 20 extra lbs. since my last pregnancy 5 months ago.

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I definitely gained too much weight, about 35 pounds. Since I was already overweight, this was not helpful. Since I had my daughter over a year ago, I've only managed to lose a few pounds of that extra weight (minus the 10 pounds or so that she and the placenta weighed). I gained hardly any weight the first trimester; most of it came in the last 4-5 months.

The problem is, I had a prenatal appointment where a young, male doctor told me I already weighed too much and I should only gain at most 15 pounds. He was a real jerk about it, which made me feel resentful. If he had taken the time to explain to me how difficult it would be to lose the extra pounds, I might have paid more attention (somehow I thought that once I delivered and went back to eating a normal, non-indulgent diet, the weight would just go away). Instead I told myself this was the only time in my life I could eat whatever I wanted, however much I wanted, and I did.

So I'm still struggling to lose baby weight, and at least get back to where I was right before I got pregnant. I just had no idea how hard it would be!

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How's this for a weird weight gain story.... During my first pregnancy, I lost 28 lbs during the first 4 months because of severe morning sickness. I gained it all back in the last trimester plus 2. Since I carry the extra weight, it didnt hurt me (or baby) to lose it. During my second, I was so sick I only lost it, a total of 30 lbs, and now after having her, I am down another 14.
When someone asks me what I gained, I get to tell them 2 and 0, how lucky am I?

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I gained about 30 during the first 4 months as eating was the only way to keep the morning sickness at bay. Then I found out I had gestational diabetes and started watching what I ate and the portions. I initially lost a few pounds but through the rest of the pregancy, I only put on 10 lbs.

Working it off after the baby wasn't too bad - breastfeeding was a HUGE help. I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight by the time I went back to work at 13 weeks. I don't know why more people don't do it - it benefits both mom and baby!

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I am 5' 5" and with my first pregnancy I started at 140 and gained 40. With my second pregnancy I started at 130 and gained 40. My boys were 9 pounds at birth and so I blame them.

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I gained too much weight - with my first I gained 45 lbs, lost 35 within four days of delivery. That's a 9lb 6oz baby, placenta, and liquids, and all the constipation that had been plaguing me during the pregnancy (why don't they ever count that?). Same thing with the second one. The worst is that with me I was not gaining really until the last three weeks (10lbs the first 9 months), and at that point it didn't matter what I did I was gaining.

It's all well and good to tell us fatties not to gain weight, but even if you are eating healthily and trying to exercise (kind of hard when your pelvis is dislocated) it still happens.

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With my first I gained 25-35....I give a range b/c the last week I swelled up really bad with pre-e and my dr said it was water weight-so it wasnt so much from my eating habits. DD#1 was 9lb8oz 23 3/4in born via c/s. I guess I lost is all easily.


DD#2 I gained 10 lbs. I ate VERY well and worked out when I felt up to it :) as suggested by my midwife to 'make' a smaller baby. She was born via VBAC 3 weeks early at 7lb9oz 21in long. It helped some but it was obvious that at 40 weeks she still would have been a bigger baby.

Now I am 29 weeks with DD#3 and have gained 0. Im certainly not trying as hard to watch my weight as I did with #2 but im not complaining. This little girl is already really long and has big chubby cheeks (per multiple 3d u/s).

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With my first I gained 25 pounds and was back down to my normal weight when she was just 3 months. With the second, I gained about 55 pounds, which was good because I was a very small person and was in a car accident when I was 8 months pregnant and would have been thrown through the windshield had I not had that extra weight holding me down. My youngest is 13 months and I only have 3 pounds to go. Pretty impressive considering I was seriously injured and have hardly been able to walk up until 2 months ago.
www.taylorandcallee.blogspot.com

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I seem to end up almost exactly the same weight with each pregnancy-around 175-180. This is regardless of how or what I eat or even how much I am excersizing or what weight I started out at. Before kids I was 128, a good weight for me. (First pregnancy I had pre-eclampsia and was working 40-48 hours/week. Most of the weight was water and came off within a week. Second preg. I worked part time maybe 16 hours/week and got really hungry where I'd get sick if I went too long before eating, but a normal pregnancy. Third preg. and fourth pregnancies I was at home with the kids. Fourth pregnancy I was voraciously hungry during 2nd trimester). Baby #4 is now a month old and I'm at 153. When school starts again I'll be walking back and forth and more weight will hopefully come off. I know women who gained 50-60 pounds and it practically melted off. I think it's really an individual thing.
Also, the midwife told me that usually you do lose about a pound when labor's coming soon.
And, for the record, not everyone loses weight from breastfeeding. Yes it shrinks your uterus quicker, but I've breastfed four babies, on demand, 3 without ever using a bottle, and my body tends to hold on to an extra 10 pounds while breastfeeding. I envy those who have trouble gaining weight while nursing, but it doesn't happen to everyone!

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35 each pregnancy, 10 lb babies both times. Much harder to lose the weigh after the second kid.

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I gained about 30 lbs, and had a 10 lb baby. No one noticed I was pregnant until I was about 8 months along. I commuted by Metro, and walked about 2.5 miles a day to get to my office and the bus stop for most of my pregnancy. I didn't go the eating super size for 2 route, but I didn't deprive myself either. After my son was born, I was 5 lbs less than my pre-pregnancy weight.

I put most of my weight on when I was trying to breastfeed. I had severe supply issues, so my lc put me on a 3k calorie a day plan. Unfortunately, it increased the size of my belly and thighs, not my supply :/.

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When I got pregnant with my daughter I was told not to gain ANY weight because I was already over weight! I weighed 170 and suppose to weigh 130. I gained 30 lbs and have gain another 15 lbs since then. When I got pregnant again I weighed 215 and was told the same thing again. I now weigh 205 (last I check) and I am 16 (almost 17) weeks pregnant.

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I definitely gained too much weight, I started at 155 lbs. and the day I delivered I was 210 lbs. I will say that that I had/have an awesome OB/GYN, I knew I was getting heavy and she would never allow me to look at the scale and just told me when my weight started to be become an issue she would let me know. My last week I gained 4 lbs in one week, obviously a sign of GD. I was on partial bed rest...what the heck else are you going to do but eat and lay around? My daughter is 21 mths old and I've lost all but about 10 lbs, which is a lot of loose skin. Now I just recently learned I'm pregnant with my 2nd, only a few weeks though. Already I'm starting to walk more just in case I get stuck in the house again with this one at least I start out without gaining too much. Oh yeah, I was way overweight, but I pushed my daughter out in 40 minutes. So that difficult delivery stuff isn't always true...the delivery was the easiest part of the pregnancy for me.

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I gained about 45 lbs. I'm 5'7" and was a healthy 135 lbs. to begin with. Throughout the pregnancy, I ate healthy foods and had good portions. It was my hormones that made me gain so much weight. When I was on birth control, I had gained 20 lbs. so I knew that when I got pregnant, I would be packing on the weight. For every women, the number of pounds gained during pregnancy varies greatly and whether that number is a healthy number or not also varies greatly. My midwife said that while the weight I gained was on the high end, it was still within the normal range. Besides, I lost it all within months after my son's birth so I'm not complaining. ;)

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I would be more concerned about eating healthy than the exact number of pounds gained. Lets not gain 50 pounds of Oreos or ice cream, LOL. Also, if the mother is retaining fluid, this can account for what appears to be too much weight gain. I like Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon for general nutrition information. An older book called Let's Have Healthy Children, by Adelle Davis also has lots of good information for pregnancy, but there are a few flaws so if you use it, verify the information with a good holistic health care practitioner. I think quality vitamin supplements are also essential to a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Adelle went into specifics on what vitamins are needed and why. I disagree with her on a few things, like using soy and powdered milk for extra protein, and some of her recommended fats. But she has good info on vitamins. Breastfeeding will also help take off the weight quickly after pregnancy. I lost most of my pregnancy weight in the first 6 weeks. All of it with my second one, actually, then lost a bit more. I guess I was more active with two kids.

Jen
http://www.squidoo.com/vitaminsthatwork
http://www.squidoo.com/safecleaning

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14lbs. 7lbs of it were baby.

I had severe morning sickness for 37 of the 38 weeks I carried her. So I gained very little weight.
I wore most of my pre pregnant clothes through out my pregnancy. And was back into my jeans and tailored suite a month after having her. Breast feeding helped me loose the weight though.

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Exactly - the amount of weight gained is irrelevant-it is all about the nutrition to me! I was pushing the protein and cut out all junk and refined sugars and still gained quite a bit with my pregnancies. I felt healthy and exercised regularly. If all moms were more concerned with what they were eating versus a number on the scale, then our babies would be healthier!

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Before I became pregnant I was at an unnerving 255 (I think I had lost almost 30 lbs prior). Around week 8 I was admited to the hospital with HG, and by week 12 I was in the 240s. I think my lowest during the pregnancy was close to 220. Aiden came out fine, giving he was breech and had lung problems. I had started gaining some weight back, but was still 10 lbs below PPW when I gave birth.

I was told by the WIC office that I needed to gain weight, but during my last month I was told by a nurse (during a weekly NST) that it was a lie. My weight would have keep Aiden safe as long I kept liquids down. A month after birth I dropped down to 210, so more than likely it was all baby weight.

My point? If you're able to eat, eat healthy for your baby. If you can't even look at food, then go to your doctor for options.

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