Today was my 18 week appointment with the midwife. Entirely uneventful, which is what one hopes for in a pregnancy. Visits that are short and sweet mean that nothing is wrong!
Curiously enough though, the midwife seemed a tad concerned about weight gain…as in, she wants to make sure I’ve at least gained 3-4 more pounds by the next appt. Today, I weighed in at 133.4 pounds, which is only a 6 pound weight gain total. That’s not terribly low, but when you take into consideration I never once threw up in the first trimester and that right before I got pregnant with Gregory (as in, January 2010) I weighed between 133-134, it’s not a lot. Basically, it took me 18 weeks of pregnancy to get my weight back up to where it was pre-babies.
Yeah, so holy crap. What on earth did breastfeeding do to my metabolism? I thought for sure that the moment I stopped feeding G that I would suddenly go back up to my old weight (which hadn’t fluctuated since college). I never thought it would take this long.
This isn’t quite a problem yet. There are obvious upsides. It means that the nightly cheesecake helpings (courtesy gift from my father-in-law! double chocolate cheesecake!!!), twice a week In-N-out trips, twice a week huge helpings of mac and cheese (I eat a whole box in one sitting, I kid you not), and the midnight bowls of cereal haven’t done a lot of damage. Looking at that list, I think I need to re-evaluate my eating habits…perhaps add some veggies? 😉
Then again, if I don’t gain enough weight, and my body goes into super over-drive mode again during breastfeeding? It’s probable that having enough milk will be tough, if not impossible.
I know that many other moms don’t identify with this problem and can’t see it as a possible concern, but I am very determined to not only try to re-introduce Gregory to breastfeeding after the baby comes, but also continue to breastfeed for up to 2 years with #2. The fact that G has only been sick with one cold his entire 13 months of existence is a direct result of breastfeeding. I think it’s really really important.
I’ve already directed tons of questions to the midwives and nutritionist about how to slow down the weight loss after giving birth. I really want to make sure from the start that my body never enters “starvation mode”, and that I never lack for milk supply. Perhaps it’s just my genetic build, who knows. WIC has even assigned me a special lactation consultant who’s familiar with facilitating tandem breastfeeding. I’m finding high-cal protein smoothie recipes and thinking ahead about how to keep stocked in high-fat and high-nutrition foods.
Then again, maybe I should just stop trying to control things? That’s a problem that I’m sure every mom can relate to!
The upside to having to go to a boring pre-natal appt. is that I always have lunch with my Dad, since French Hospital is just 5 minutes away from downtown SLO. Today, we tried a BBQ place…mmmmmmm….yummy Cobb salad, cornbread with honey butter, and sweet potato fries…!
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Becks says
Hm. You know, it might be a good idea to ask your midwife if your thyroid is functioning normally (or your regular doctor – it’s a simple blood test). I know pregnancy/nursing can mess with those hormones – I developed post-partom Hashimoto’s disease, which is low thyroid, so basically, I have the opposite problem – if I were to eat a piece of cheesecake, I would immediately gain 10 pounds. Le sigh.
Kelly says
Aw, that sucks. Yes, I’ve definitely wondered if it’s a thyroid problem. If this continues to be an issue (because, trust me, I’m working on eating the whole house!), I’ll get it checked. Perhaps when they draw my blood next? Do you know what the dangers (not inconveniences like not having enough milk) are to having an irregular thyroid?