Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if any of you are TTC at this time? I want to have a baby so bad...DH and I are not actively trying, but we're not doing anything in the way of prevention either.

I guess I'm just looking for different views on obesity and TTC. When I think about getting pregnant it thrills me, but I know that I have a lot to think about in terms of my current weight etc...

Is it true that if you have a lot of weight to lose that you can maintain your weight during pregnancy? I'm not talking about dieting (I know that is out of the question) I'm just referring to eating healthy and exercising. Have any of you done this? What other things should I be thinking about?

I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on the topic....

Thanks for listening ladies!

I have had 2 boys.. my youngest is just turning 5 months old on monday.

with my first I gaine *gasp* 83lbs and my second 65ish.

I would like to have another some day.. (try for a girl).. but i personally refuse to do so until i can lose the weight I want and keep it off for a bit.. I don't want to tack more weight onto what i already have to lose

Like you, hubby and I aren't actively trying but we're not doing anything to prevent it either. I'd rather not have kids until I've lost more weight, but if it happens, I will still be thrilled.

My advice is to check out the pregnancy/breastfeeding threads. There are some awesome ladies there, and I like to lurk and read about their lives and what they're doing.

Some docs are fine with maintaining, but most will say you need to gain up to 15lbs (no more than that). It just depends on your doc and how he/she feels about it.

My advice is to check out the pregnancy/breastfeeding threads. There are some awesome ladies there, and I like to lurk and read about their lives and what they're doing.

Where are these boards located?? I can't seem to find them.

Chanty:

I was quite overweight when I got pregnant (about 70-80 pounds) but I only gained about 11 pounds. Baby was 9 pounds 2 ounces and I think the placenta counts for 1-1/2 pounds, so basically I stayed the same. I'm sure the reason is simple: I was eating very badly (and not exercising) before I found out I was pregnant. After I found out, I started eating healthy for the baby. Lo and behold, it was good for my health too! Imagine that!

By the way, what is ttc?

Cindy B.

Cindy,

Thanks for your reply, it's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I'm eating quite well now and I know that when I find out I'm pregnant I'll eat just as well if not better, but I was just looking for some input on the situation.

TTC=Trying To Conceive

Actually, I'm quite excited at the moment, DH finally admitted that he wants a baby as badly as I do, so we're definitely trying now!!! I'm overjoyed!!

Anyway, thanks again for your input, it was much appreciated!

Chanty - to find the pregnancy/nursing board look under forums and "dieting with obstacles." Pregnancy/nursing is a subforum there. Good luck.

happydaisy,

Thank you very much!!

Hi!

The pregnancy & nursing part of the forum is located under "Dieting With Obstacles". I hope to see you there.

Ideally, you should still gain *some* weight while pregnant-even if you are overweight. The baby can weigh anywhere from 5-10 pounds on average, but there are a lot of other things that will add weight as well-your breasts will gain up to a pound or two during pregnancy in preparation for breastfeeding, your body actually produces more blood volume, there is the placenta, and the large sac of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby, and so on and so forth. For overweight women, the doctors usually say that you should gain between 15-25 pounds-while the average recommended gain for healthy weight women is in the 25-35 pound range-and more for underweight women.

You should not "diet" while you are pregnant, but if you are overweight and want to keep your weight gain in the 15-25 pound recommended range-you can do so by eating 2000 calories a day during the first trimester (when the development of the fetus is mainly all of the organs, body features, etc. rather than size-and the calories are not yet needed) and upping that to about 2200 a day during the second and third trimesters. This is what I am currently doing-not so much because of the weight gain, but because I am a gestational diabetic (diabetic when pregnant).

I think that getting pregnant while being overweight, and how healthy that is, really depends on how extreme the case is. If a woman is 170, or 190 or so-and is active, as in doing some form of exercise a couple times a week-then that would be different than someone who is 300 pounds and has not exercised in ages. In that case, I would recommend some form of physical activity and some weight loss before trying to concieve. A little chubbiness doesn't really do anything-but being really large and unfit makes for a much harder pregnancy with more risks, and can make the delivery harder, as well as a c-section harder on the physician, if it became necessary.

aphil,

Thank you so much for your response. I've been doing quite a bit of research b/c I really want to be prepared. The information you provided is most useful.

I am incredibly impatient and do not want to wait until I reach my "ideal weight" before getting pregnant, so naturally I want to be as healthy as possible during my pregnancy. I just wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go ahead and try to get pregnant at my weight. Of course I would never want to endanger myself or a child.

Thank you again for your input!

Chantal--if you're serious about TTC, & you don't have it already, I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Wechsler. The amount of misinformation that is out there surrounding our cycles is simply mind-boggling, and this book does a great job of demystifying it.

I always tell women to try not to worry too much about weight gain during pregnancy. I mean, make an effort to eat healthfully, and leave the rest of it alone. How much weight you "should" gain changes way too often. I went through two pregnancies knowing the official response of 'overweight women should gain 15 pounds', and then at the tail end of my 3rd pregnancy I read an article in the paper about how they're now saying that 25-30 is what you *should* gain if overweight, and 35-40 is the ideal for normal weight women. My care providers always told me not to worry about it--even in my first pregnancy, where I started out literally 100 pounds overweight (well, 100 to 125, depending on whose ideal you take ). And yet, I know some women whose providers want them to gain no weight! My MIL, I kid you not, was put on a 1,000 calorie a day diet when she was pregnant with my husband. She's 5'8" and at the time weighed 150, which is a great weight for that height, but they told he she was overweight and needed to diet. (Hmm, wonder if that had anything to do with Rob being born at least 2 months early! )

Thank you very much for that info. I will look into purchasing the book. To be honest, I don't even know where to start. I mean, I've been trying to track when I should be ovulating but I know there is so much more to it than that. I assume this book will answer my questions?

What you said about your MIL just blows my mind. I, too, am 5'8", and my GOAL weight is around 160, I just can't believe she was told she was overweight. That's just crazy.

I have an appointment to meet w/ my doctor next week, just to let him know our plans. I assume this is the way to start.

I've spent so long trying not to get pregnant that I am just lost now! LOL

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your information

These boards are so great!

Yeah, it will answer everything. It's even got full-color photographs. And the good thing is that the same basic method (with only a couple of changes) that helps you to get pregnant can later help you avoid pregnancy. I don't do hormonal birth control after a bad experience with it when I was first married, so this is my method of birth control.

Chantal: Good luck! Don't stress or get too impatient or anxious, I really believe that can affect whether you get pregnant. Just relax and let it happen when it happens.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of other book suggestions, so I won't add too much (although I do like the "What to expect" series). But I encourage you to keep a pregnancy journal. You can either get a blank journal or get a pre-formatted journal geared towards pregnancies (recommended). Not only will it help you remember what's going on every time you have a doctor's appointment, but it's fun to look over months after the birth and wonder how you went through all that with a huge smile on your face! (Although even after the baby is born the smile is there and it only gets bigger!)

Best of luck to you! Keep us updated.

Cindy B.

I went out and bought the book today. Thanks for the referral it looks really informative!!

Thanks again!

Cynthia, thanks for the suggestion. A journal sounds like a great idea.