Friday, June 1, 2012

Weight Gain

I hear about so many of you out there that gain no weight the first trimester.  I totally understand this because of morning sickness, etc.  And the fact that you only require 300 calories extra per day.

According to:

When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, Or Quads: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy 

 By Barbara Luke, Tamara Eberlein,

mom's of singleton's are supposed to gain about 12 pounds by 20 weeks.

Mom's of quads are supposed to gain 45 pounds!

I have also read recently that in multiples, first trimester weight gain is the best predictor of final birth weight.  Because of the increase in multiple births, more research has been done and the guidelines for weight gain have been increased for mom's of multiples.

Here's where I'm having a bit of difficulty - I will write about the risks of a quad pregnancy later - but in a nutshell, I am not willing to put myself or the babies at that degree of risk.  Therefore, I only expect to have a quad pregnancy during the first trimester (if that).

So where does that put me weight-wise?

My bump is equivalent to early second trimester.  But I'm sure most of it is bloat.

I've gained 3 pounds since starting IVF which doesn't seem like much, but it feels like 10.  I wonder if it's decreased muscle mass also...

My RE won't really discuss things with me until the next ultrasound because things can change so quickly in this type of high-risk pregnancy.  That's fine with me because I know that it essentially doesn't matter quite yet.

But for the sake of my singleton; do I need to be gaining a ton of weight so that it can keep pace with where it should be?  I imagine the answer is - probably.

I know a lot of new pregnant women struggle with the weight gain aspect of pregnancy, and I am too.  I've been at a normal weight my entire life.  Until I started IVF, I played soccer 2-3 times a week.  Now I'm doing nothing (except walking a bit).  And I feel gross.  I will work on working out more - gently - but I haven't had the time or energy in the last few weeks.  For the first 2 weeks, I felt very uncomfortable from the egg retrieval and probably mild OHSS and I just started feeling better physically at about 6 weeks - right before I was hit with the quad news.

Actually, the day before my ultrasound, I went for a longer more vigorous walk.  I tried running a block or two and it just didn't feel good (and my boobs hurt).

I'm just in a really confusing place right now because what's going on today might not be the same as what's going on at 10 weeks or 14 weeks or after.

For now, I'm definitely going to buy some maternity pants this weekend.

5 comments:

  1. I wish I had more insight or something to offer about pregnancy with multiples. I'm sorry that you've been uncomfortable. Have fun picking out some cute maternity pants! =)

    I haven't been big into working out in years, but I have started walking two nights a week with some women from church. I figure I better start now before we begin stims next week!

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  2. +1 on the maternity pants. They are the best. The most comfy pair of jeans I have is from Gap - it is like wearing sweats, and they are still cute! (the others are cute, but not as comfy, but they definitely work) For working out, we can talk! The class that I go to uses these SPRI resistance bands that are a lot easier to use than weights, but you can do a bunch of preg friendly exercises that are good for toning and strength.

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  3. I have recently read the same book and the part on the weight gain totally shocked me. Mostly because my morning sickness is so bad I can hardly look at food. The chances of me gaining that much weight in my first trimester is very slim. Which makes me worried about the end birth weight of my babies. But my baby bump has already made its appearance and I don't know if it's just from bloating but I am already in sweat pants and maternity pants lol I understand the topic of food can be so frustrating! Good luck on your weight gain!

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  4. I'm 8.5 weeks with twins from IVF. I've lost a few pounds because I was hospitalized with moderate OHSS and then there is the morning/night sickness.... Since the initial loss around week 4-6, I haven't lost anymore, just stayed the same. I also read that early weight gain is important for healthy bird weight of twins. I got worried at first but then read more- it seems like you really only need to gain between 2-4 lbs by the end of first trimester. After that, by week, 22 or so, you should have gained about 22 lbs, something like that I think, but I don't remember exactly. I don't know about quads, but I imagine the higher end of that number is fine, esp since you're focused on the singleton.

    So, for now, I've just got my goal of 3-6 lbs for the next 4 weeks. The other 30-35 lbs I'll worry about later, hopefully when the idea of stuffing my face sounds appealing again. Kind of looking forward to that :)

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  5. Don't worry about your weight, you're carrying babies! :)

    I don't even weigh myself and I tell the doctor not to tell me what I weigh because I can do without being upset over the gain.

    Also, I bought that book, too! I'm almost through it... and ready to kick the world of multiples ass. <3.

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