Hello September 2008 mommies

Dear Pooja,

I have a question for u...
How many weeks r u and is ur total weight gain only 5 lbs till now!!!
Isnt that v less.How much does ur baby weigh.
I am sorry if i am asking u personal questions and u can choose not to answer thats not an issue.
But i am under the impression that how much ever u weigh before pregnancy u have to gain weight during pregnancy.An over weight woman must gain a total of atleast 20 lbs during her pregnancy.Is this weight gain thing a myth.Pls try to answer me,i am confused now.

suji

 

Hi Suji,

I am 29 weeks now. And at 28 weeks my baby weighed 1/2 pound more than he was supposed to weigh at that time!

My net weight gain is 5 pounds which means I gained 5 pounds above what I weighed when I became pregnant. During my first trimester I lost about 8 pounds. In the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, I have gained back those lost 8 pounds and then an additional 5 pounds. But they only count the weight gain from your pre-pregnancy weight.

My doc told me that I should gain a max of 15 pounds, and that these would probably come mostly in the last few weeks. So she's pretty happy with me. With GD, it's best not to gain too much weight because you end up having a large baby which can be harmful to both mother and child.

People who are overweight already have the fat reserves needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Therefore, most of the weight gain should come from the baby, amniotic fluid, uterus expansion, breast expansion, increased blood flow etc. Which is about 15 pounds in total.

Pooja

 

Thanks pooja for the immediate response.
My doubts are cleared now.Gud that ur baby has gained weight and thats what matter the most in the end.But u know back home pregnancy is always equated to weight gain.
Gud luck with ur pregnancy.

suji

 

You are welcome Suji...

and back home, where weight gain is a must for pregnancy, we end up looking like auntyjis for years after the birth of the child

here these american moms look like models 3 months after delivery and have cute bonny babies to show off too

which would you prefer to be ;-)

Pooja

 

That was a funny reply Pooja,ya i accept back home they make us auntijis at the end of pregnancy.
I would seriously bet on being slim but my case is different,i was light weight to start off and have to gain gud weight,cant bargain there!!!
Let me see post pregnancy shall try to slim down.

suji

 

Hi Suji,

Lucky you ... I wish I had been slim to begin with!

Ya you probably need to gain lots of weight. one of my friends who is on the skinny side said she gained 1 pound per week for her entire pregnancy! She lost it all after delivery and now preggers with her 2nd! Most of my friends who are skinny gained 30-40 pounds and somehow miraculously lost it all within a year of delivery!

Good luck with the delivery and happy weight gaining to you

Pooja

 

Pooja...

We both are similar in several things. I am having a weight gain of 5 pounds too. This is my 26th week. I was on the heavier side too to begin with. So my gynec suspected I would end up getting GD becos of my weight, PCOD, and family history. So she had put me on metformin which I was taking till last month.

This test showed me to have 177 after 2 hours of 75 g glucose. My doc says it should not go beyond 120. What does your doctor say?

My doc herself has suggested a diet plan and asked me to take another sugar test tomorrow. I think she may decide about what medication/dosage depending upon tomorrow's results.

Yeah we already have an Accu-Chek at home, but gynec wants to take it from the lab every week hence forth. She says sugar monitors have about 10 points less than from the lab, but she has asked us to use it if we wanted.

How often do you check your blood sugar? Do you go to the lab or you check it at home and give the readings to your doctor? What readings do you get 2 hours post meal?

Radhee.

 

Hi Radhee,

I was on metformin till the end of my first trimester after which they switched me to glyburide, which is a medicine that causes your pancreas to increase insulin production. It is way better than metformin at controlling blood sugars and also gives you the chance to stay off of insulin shots. Maybe you can talk to your doctor about it? Here in US, they don't give metformin beyond the 1st trimester.

Best way to lower post meal blood sugars is to take a walk. Each 20 minute walk will lower your blood sugar by atleast 20-30 points. Also, try to eat equal amounts of carbs and protein at each meal and no more than 45gms of carbs per meal. Blood sugars tend to be more wacky in the morning. You are more tolerable of carbs at dinner time than at breakfast or lunch. You are also supposed to eat snacks between all 3 meals to keep the blood sugars steady. And eat a protein rich snack right before going to bed. With all this eating you'd think we'd gain so much weight but for some reason it does not happen. I think it's because of the better balancing of the carbs and proteins.

My doc has me measuring my sugar first thing in the morning and then 1 hour after breakfast lunch and dinner. Fasting is supposed to be less than 100 and 1 hour post meal I am supposed to keep it below 135. I use the one touch ultra home blood monitor, but have to note my numbers in a chart and every 2 weeks, go to the dietician who reviews my food log and blood sugar readings.

Going to lab every week sounds like a pain :-(

Good luck and don't worry. My experience tells me that GD is actually a blessing in disguise because it forces you to take better care of your health and that of baby too. Once the baby is born, it generally goes away too. And all the cool diet tips will help us lose more weight after baby is born, which may itself cure the PCOD.

Cheers!

Pooja

 

Hi Pooja,

How have you been doing? Thanks for the detailed reply. Sorry for not being able to reply soon. I have come to my mom's place and here the internet connection is very slow, so i dont check IL often.

Thanks for the diet tips. Yeah, my doc suggested something similar too. But a PP cut-off of 135 post 1 hour, isn't it too rigid? My doc suggested 120 cut-off post 2 hours. My sugars were okay, but yday when I checked the PP, it was 135 post 2 hours. I think I got a little slack in dieting. You know being at mom's place and not able to have all your favorite food is really quite irritating. Anyway, just another 2+ months for delivery, so somehow pulling through. I plan to take another lab test in a couple of days. The lab technician here comes home to collect the bloodsample, so I need not actually visit the lab every week.

so where are you having your delivery? Is ur mom coming from India to assist you?

I wonder what happened to other sept mommies..Hope they are doing fine too.

Regards,
Radhee.

 

Hi Radhee,

So happy to hear you are home and being taken care of by mom .. do enjoy! Yah the dietician I am seeing is a bit stricter than others. One of the other dieticians I spoke to told me 160 1 hour later is acceptable with GD but 135 is the upper limit of normal sugars so that's why they want me to keep it to less than 135. Thankfully, with gluburide and excercise, I am able to keep it that way.

My mom comes from India mid-august till then I am on my own :-(, But I want her to stay as long as possible after the delivery hence I am asking her to come just 3 weeks before the due date.

My latest woes of pregnancy is varicose veins of the vaginal area ... quite painful and no cure except delivery .. go figure!

Pooja