If you are already overweight before getting pregnant, at what point does the fact that you're not gaining weight become problematic? Has anyone received advice from their doctor about this?

I asked my OB at my last visit but according to their scale I'd gained 4 pounds in the previous 4 weeks. That's not accurate. I always weigh myself first thing in the a.m., after I pee, no clothes on. And my scale has said 207 for the past couple of weeks. I haven't gained or lost anything in the last month or more. (I think the reason it was 4lbs more at the last visit was I went in the late afternoon opposed to early morning, and was wearing warmer clothes!)

My belly is growing & I hear the baby on doppler so I'm not concerned about the baby. I just wonder, I'm at almost 18 weeks now, when does it become a problem?

Someone told me that low maternal weight gain is a sign of gestational diabetes, since weight loss is a sign of diabetes in general. Is that true? Anyone have experience with that?

First off, talk to your doc! I really don't have a clue. My OB told me a minimum of 20 pounds. I was about 30 pounds overweight when I got pregnant. I'm sure it is different for everyone.

Remember your blood vessels and amount increase by 50%, your uterus gets heavier as it gets bigger, add on the fluid, placenta and actual baby weight and don't forget the excess weight in your boobs. That honestly adds up to quite a bit, and rather quickly. I would think that you should gain *some* weight with all of that no matter how much you weigh.

I know you are going about this in a smart way, but please talk to your doctor. Some weight gain, especially half way through your second trimester is probably good. Sorry, not trying to nag! I just am encouraging you to ask a pro.

I've never heard of weight loss being a sign of GD. I've heard more women say their doctors were concered about GD because of weight gain, but I've always refused the GTT anyway.

Not gaining weight during pregnancy only becomes an issue if it appears that the baby isn't growing/gaining. You've said before you track your food intake & know you're getting the nutrients you need, so that's the important thing. Your baby will take from you what it needs, & you'll get whatever's left over.

Also, from what I understand weight gain tends to be pretty slow during the second trimester anyway.

Look at it this way, you won't have as much baby weight to worry about at the end.

I know I weigh a lot more than you but I actually lost weight up until the last month, not much just a few pounds. My son is healthy as can be and I did not have GD.

I asked my dr that same question because for the first 5 months it seemed like I hardly was gaining anything. She said they watch the baby's growth (fundus level) and if it looks like the baby is growing slower than avg, they just schedule an u/s. At this point, my uterus is growing "right on schedule" and HB has been great, so we haven't had the need to do the u/s (not that I would mind another u/s to see the little one )

thanks everyone. my next ob appt is in 2 weeks so if i haven't gained anything, i'll ask her if it's normal. maybe i'm gaining less 'cause it's my 2nd? who knows. i had a friend whose baby stopped growing at 28 weeks and her belly was TINY, and had a c-section at like 33 weeks because it literally did not grow at all in that time frame. they had no idea why, just that her placenta was not functioning properly (it was her 6th kid and the other 5 pregnancies were fine). the baby's okay now, just sort of small and has to catch up in size, but still, you do worry. i should be grateful i guess!

Well, I think the point of fundal height measurement is to ensure the baby is still growing (but even that's variable, things like position & who's doing the measurements can make it off). As long as you're steady in that regard, you're probably fine.

She didn't even do fundal height at my last visit. When do they start? Last time I was 16 weeks. My OB w/ my last pregnancy only measured once, and that was when he had a student doctor following him around for the day. I have my ultrasound this Thursday and I'm hoping that will put a lot of my worries to rest. Just to make sure the baby is growing and everything looks normal will be a huge relief to me. I have a bad feeling around me all the time. But no real reason for it, you know? I want to feel happy but I feel afraid of all these possibly terrible things happening.

Forgot you were still pretty early. I think the 'standard' is 20 weeks, but as you found out not everyone does it. It's something I like, nice & noninvasive. I like ultrasounds too, though I haven't had them done this pregnancy or the last. There's one of those recreational ultrasound places not too far from here, and it's so tempting!

This is a little late, but really, don't stress about not gaining weight. I was 208 when I got pregnant with my son. I gained 1 lb over pre-preg weigh the entire pregnancy. I was so sick in the beginning, up until about 24 weeks when it eased up a bit, so I was losing all the way up until then. I can tell you that my son is a very healthy 2 year old now. He was 7 lb 5 oz at birth at 39 weeks 5 days, and now he's around 32 lbs and 36".

My second pregnancy was pretty much the same. I only gained 3 lbs over pre=preg that time. My daughter is also healthy, although she's on the small side - 6 lb 13 oz at birth at 42 weeks 1 day, 12 lb 9 oz at 6 months, prob around 14 lbs now at 9.5 months. I was like that as a child too. (Heck, even all through high school I had people harassing me thinking I was anorexic.)

i hit 22 weeks tomorrow and am now ONE pound from my prepregnancy weight. don't know why i was worried. i just checked my fitday.com profile and realized i've gained 4 lbs in the past month. i do admit, since the weather has turned cold & rainy, i've not been exercising much (did it once last week) and eating a lot of comfort foods. i'll get back on track. i don't want to gain Heather Weight! just baby.

As long as the baby is gaining and growing I wouldn't worry to much. I hardly gained at all until the 3rd trimester with my first and overall only 25 lbs which mostly was baby. So far with my second I've gained more but my belly is also a lot bigger. At my TOPS meeting our weight recorder said that one girl who used to belong actually lost weight the whole pregnancy because she started to eat healthy so the baby fed off of her excess weight also. I'm sure you will have a healthy happy baby once it's born.

thanks violet

I don't know what the **** I was worried for... In the last 2 weeks (weeks 23 & 24) I've gained 1.5 lbs each week. I think that makes almost 4 for this month? I guess not terrible... but I know it's mostly Halloween candy and chocolate biscotti.