Weight gain at 13 weeks pregnant and eating more???

[Anidae]

Hi ladies,

Ive read that if you gain 24lbs by 24 wks your chance of premature labour reduces, not sure if that's true but I do know how important it is to gain weight with a twin pregnancy, my daughter (now 1) measured small from about 20 wks onwards through my pregnancy and I had to have weekly growth scans which I found very stressful, hubby said it was because I didn't eat enough so steered buying me chocolate, cake, full fat everything!!!! But the midwife said the baby is like a parasite and will take what it needs regardless but funny enough when I did what hubby suggested, she started growing better, not sure if just a coincidence. But my mum was also monitored closely for my own growth and they let me stay in until 43 weeks to grow some more and then induced her when I showed signs of problems (only could have happened 31 years ago lol!!! We'd never Do that now!!!)

So, I'm just eager to do everything right now, upon reflection I probably didn't eat enough with my daughter, and I'm worried I'm doing it again, I'm just not a massive eater or snacker.

At 6 wks I weighed 10st exactly. Then I dropped to 9st 11lbs and now at 13 weeks I'm 9st 12lbs. I have a rather large baby bump too, about as big as I was at 18 wks with my daughter.

I haven't had morning sickness so can't blame that, I just think growing 2 babies is much harder than one, understatement of the year!

I read on the net I need an extra 300 cals per baby so 600 extra! Hubby did an online shop yesterday and you wanna see the amount of full fat food he's bought me : (

But both babies are measuring beautifully, I just worry about hitting 20 wks when they start to grow at their own rate xxx

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi honey - you're right that pregnancy is certainly not the time to be watching what you eat, but neither is it the time to be over eating. If you stick to a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and veg then you can't really go wrong. There's nothing wrong with cakes etc so long as it doesn't constitute the majority of your daily intake.

I tend to eat more food in pregnancy(have the munchies throughout much like the week before a period), but with the twins I only gained a total of 34Ibs and the babies were big at 38wks regardless of my not gaining excessively. I didn't diet, and ate as much as I could manage (stuck to healthy stuff for the most part). The babies took all my excess calories and grew even tho I didn't personally gain that much. After delivery around 26Ibs was instantly lost.

I can't remember how much I had gained by 20wks but it wasn't a huge amount. I think if you aim to eat good sized meals each day, interspersed with calorific snacks you'll be fine. The babies do take what they need and you're left with the rest (as I proved), so mother nature does take care of things - but there needs to be a healthy supply of nutrients there in reserve for you all. Hope that helps xxx

 

[Babyduo]

I have lost 3lbs so far (14 weeks) I just can't seem to eat and when I do I am full fast or throwing it up. I'm not too worried about weight gain (I have a little extra to spare) but I'm worried about enough protein. I'm thinking about starting something like ensure. It adds calories for sure but is high in those nutrients babies need. Maybe you should ask too? Better for you than cake but will give hubby reassurance you are adding calories!

 

[amjon]

I really don't think gaining weight or not effects the weight of the baby. When I was pregnant with my daughter I gained a whole 2lbs to the point I delivered her at 27 weeks. She was right on for weight. I'm hoping to not put on a bunch of weight with the twins either.

 

[ttc1soon]

I worry about my weight too even though a lot of people on here say not to, I can't help it. I am a natural worrier. I have gained 7 lbs so far. I heard about the 20lb by 20 weeks and at this point I am just hoping for 10 lbs by 20 weeks. Its not for lack of trying but I just haven't had any kind of appitite so I am still eating but not much more than before I was pregnant. I have heard it gets easier to gain weight after 20 weeks though (but thats usually from moms of singletons, idk for sure). I don't care about how much or how little I gain as long as they are healthy but I do want to do everything in my power to make sure that happens.

 

[jackie2012]

By 20 weeks i had gained 10 lbs. i was tracking right on target for a singleton pregnancy. After that my belly and my weight picked up rapidly you could see where the babies had growth spirts too in my weight charts. In total i put on 50 lbs and it was all babies and water. I had issues with not feeling hungry or just not wanting to eating. my MS was bad for the first few weeks and was basically on a liquid diet because solids would not stay down, but after that it was just a lack of appetite. so because of that and not physically being able to fit too much in i ate very healthy. I supplemented with protein shakes and ensure and basically just snacked constantly even if i didn't feel like it. i had the odd treat here and there but the bulk of my diet was just fruits veggie and lean meats cheese complex carbs stuff like that.
But i think in my opinion that that is why the twins didn't need very much help. They were born at 35 +2 and had an hour on cpac as a precaution a few hrs under the jaundice lamp and then were good to go. With my third son he was born at 36 weeks and had more complications and spent longer in the nicu than they did. my diet with him wasn't nearly as healthy as it was with the twins. my three other pregnancies my teeth suffered horribly and also i ended up anemic and on tons of supplement afterwards. this time my teeth haven't been effected and at my blood test last week all my minerals and vitamins are right where they should be. I think your mid wife is right if you don't put it in they will take it anyways and then your the one left lacking and it could effect your health.
at first the thought of gaining weight bothered me i had just lost 45 lbs and had worked my but off literally. then i had just decided that all i could do was to give it my best to keep up eating healthy and what ever weight i did gain was okay as long as the babies were healthy. In the end i had two healthy babies and 4 weeks post partum all the baby weight is gone.