How much weight did you gain during your first pregnancy?

Question

I'm currently 8 months pregnant and so far I've gained 31 pounds! My body doesn't seem to have changed at all -- just bigger boobs and a giant belly. I'm afraid that by the time I give birth, I'm going to have gained 50 pounds. For my height and weight, I should've only gained an average of 25 pounds (so I've read.) Is this normal? How much did everyone else gain during their first pregnancies?

Answer 1

My first was 21 pounds, my second was 16.

Answer 2

My first pregnancy I gained 40 pounds, second pregnancy I gained 20, and my third pregnancy I gained 25. The weight gain didn't start really bothering me until half way through my third pregnancy, like I didn't really realize it. Now I'm on my journey to lose all of the extra weight, 34 pounds from my pregnancies and the 20 extra pounds I had before getting pregnant...so 54 pounds total. I'm amazed at how big I really got during my pregnancies since I didn't feel that big, but pictures and stretch marks prove otherwise. Although I got big all over...thighs, arms, face, sides, tummy, boobs, hands, and feet. Don't worry about what you can't undo now during this pregnancy, just make sure you make an effort to get back down to a size you are comfortable with and that is healthy for you afterwards. You will be okay! And during your next pregnancy just try and be a little more careful about your eating and exercising.

Answer 3

I weighed 30 lbs more the day before I gave birth. Although I had my son at 34 1/2 weeks. So Im sure I would have been in the 40 lb gain by the end of the pregnancy. Although it didnt matter because a lot of my weight was water weight and I lost 20 lbs the day after I had him. So i guess I got lucky cuz i only had 10 lbs to lose to get back to what I was before. I do believe that doctors say gain anywhere from 25-45 lbs is alright. They dont want you gaining to much because thats just more you will have to lose when your done being preggo!!!

Answer 4

I gained 26 pounds with my pregnancy. I had gestational diabetes, so I had to watch my diet very carefully to keep it under control. The good thing is that I ended up losing all my pregnancy weight plus an extra 20 lbs. within 2 weeks after giving birth. I had a lot of water weight though - most of which was in my legs from the knees down. I had the worst cankles (LOL). Those too went away though within a week after giving birth.

Don't try to diet at this point, but just try to make healthier food choices. The baby is going to start packing on the pounds now to get a nice cushion on his/her body to prepare for birth, so all the calories you are taking in from here out will be for the baby. I highly doubt you are going to gain 19 lbs. in the next month and a half. Also, with the extra weight the baby is gaining and pressing on your organs, you might find you have indigestion and can't eat as much anyway.

Best of luck for a happy and healthy baby. They say breastfeeding helps you get back into shape quicker too. I breastfed for a year. I don't know if it helped, but it didn't hurt either.

Answer 5

Your lucky. With my first, I got gestational diabetes really bad and had to give myself 4 insulin shots a day. I was throwing up throughout the whole pregnancy. I had to stop working and get on Disability. The whole pregnancy was the worst. I ended up gaining 100 pounds with my son. I weighed 165 before getting pregnant and topped out at 265. I lost 65 pounds 2 weeks after I had him and found out I was pregnant again when he was only 5 weeks old. I gained 40 pounds with my daughter.
So you gaining 31 pounds is nothing. It's OK to gain up to 40lbs. while being pregnant. You have nothing to worry about. You'll lose all that weight fast. I only wish I could have only gained 40 pounds with my first.
My son is now 18 months old and my daughter is 7 1/2 months old. I am having the hardest time losing the weight from my son.
You'll be fine and I doubt you'll make it to 50 pounds. Maybe 40 but not over. Congratulations.
Consider yourself lucky.

Answer 6

I'm 5' 5" and weighed 140 at the beginning of my first baby. I stopped counting at 43 lbs, but I only had 5 more days until the baby came. So, I probably didn't gain more than 45-46 lbs by the end. This time I started at 143 and have gained 24 and am at 32 weeks. I'm doing better this time, but I've gained a lot less water this time also. Just eat healthy, cut back on the salt, and don't diet.

Answer 7

I was 40 pounds overweight when I got pregnant with my first daughter. The doctor told me to gain 20 pounds and the day I delivered I had gained exactly that. I am currently 33 weeks into my second pregnancy and have gained 16 pounds, but I was 30 pounds overweight to begin with.

Is your doctor concerned about your weight gain? He/she will be better able to tell you if you need to change something in your lifestyle, either what you are eating or how much exercise you get. Keep your chin up, if you work hard after the baby comes you can lose the weight, and breastfeeding helps a lot!

Answer 8

Before I became pregnant with my daughter I weighed 145. In the first 3 months I lost 15 lbs. And when it came time to delivery day, I weighed 163. Now I weigh 123. I don't know what happened. Metabolism kicked in, cuz I sure don't work out. LOL.
The point I'm trying to make here, is that every woman is different when it comes to pregnancy. They can't put a precise number on anything because there are so many body types, and with all those hormones changing, it's tough to say. They say 25-35 on average. But really hun, talk to you doctor. They will be the ones to tell you if you are gaining too much weight. Any advice that we offer isn't accurate because we aren't sitting there with you with ph D's under our belt.
Good luck with everything! I hope you have a great delivery, and congrats on being a soon to be new mom!

Answer 9

31 pounds is fine and the good news is that by 8 months you are done gaining weight. Over the next month, the baby gets bigger, but your stomach is so small from the constant pressure that you will only be able to eat small meals often.

Some women gain 50 or 60 pounds, but that is a bit extreme.

The first time around, I gained about 30 and was back to my prepregnancy weight within a few weeks (a lot of it really is just water that you start to shed within a few days of birth).

The main thing is, until you give birth, just concentrate on stying healthy, eating the most nurishing foods you can and getting rest, rest and more rest. You will need it. I write a blog for women recovering from childbirth, and here is a link to information you need that no one will tell you about that you really, really need to know to take care of yourself after the birth http://www.babylune.com/quick-dirty-advice-for-those-about-to-pop/

Good luck and have a safe, healthy birth

Answer 10

Goodness, I wish I could have kept it at 50 pounds. I am 5'11 and I weighed 120 pounds before my first son.. I was under weight if anything... I gained 82 pounds when I was pregnant with him... I had gestational diabetes and every other possible issue.. and my son was over 9 and a half pounds at birth.

I worked my *** off and lost almost every pound.

I am now almost 7 months pregnant with my second child and only weigh 152 pounds.. so far I've only gained about 25 pounds.. I working hard to not get myself in the situation I was in before.

Answer 11

I used my pregnancy as an excuse to eat anything and everything I ever wanted. I gained 84 pounds!!

My doc said that I should only gain 25 pounds for the entire pregnancy. At 5 months, I had well exceeded that number and during my check up, I asked if she could allot me 25 more!