Similar to many other expectant mothers, once the beginning of the second trimester started and my pregnancy became obvious, I started to obsess over my weight gain. It first appeared in my face then my hands started to swell, and then my chest began to go up a couple of cup sizes. Baby V wasn’t popping out yet, but I could see the weight gain even though no one else said they could. Each doctor’s appointment when I would stand on the scale, I would look at it with big eyes as I watched the numbers go further and further up. Then when Baby V finally did pop and he began to grow, I was super excited to hear about his healthy growth, but every morning I would stare at my growing belly thinking about whether the weight would go away after he was born. It was an obsession. Staring at the scale and thinking that I never imagined myself at this weight. But then I realized that my obsession wasn’t healthy and it was actually making things worse. And now I look at my pregnancy weight gain in a new light.
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Every woman’s pregnancy is different. And because of that, we all gain weight in different ways. Most of our baby weight is from baby, but some of it can be from the extra weight that we are putting on because our metabolism has slowed down and our digestive system is not working the way that it once was. We, as the ones carrying our babies, start to see the weight distributed in places that no one else notices. We notice this the most because we are the ones that look at ourselves each and every day. We know every aspect of our bodies, so when something changes, it’s a big thing to us.
I first realized that my obsession with my pregnancy weight gain was getting out of control when I went to my OB for one of my check-ups and I made a very conscious effort to take off any extra layers that I had on including my shoes. Somewhere in my mind I had convinced myself that those layers were adding extra weight. Since then, I realized that pregnancy weight gain is a good thing. Here’s why…
If you’re gaining weight that means that baby is growing. Baby needs to get bigger to get stronger. If I wasn’t gaining weight then that would be a cause for concern and obsession. We can’t see our growing baby every day, but we can see our growing bump, which is a big indicator that baby is stretching and growing and developing.
As long as you are eating healthy, the baby weight may not be fat. Other than a good amount of you weight being baby, some of the other weight is the amniotic fluid, the placenta which is supplying nutrients to your baby, and just some water that you may retaining. Water means your hydrated and less likely to get those annoying leg cramps or feeling of extreme thirst.
Lastly, there’s a very good chance that you will drop the weight once you have delivered. So stop obsessing over it all and just enjoy the changes of your body as baby is in there growing and getting ready for his or her big debut. Baby V and I have nightly conversations about his movements, but I am not longer blaming him for the extra weight I see on my body.
