Here's a story many pregnant mums will relate to! (And remember if you'd like to share your story here and on my website, www.BreastFeedingMums.com, please email it to me including your details and any links you'd like included!)
Pregnancy and Weight Gain
by Tara from FuzzyNotions.wordpress.com
When I found out I was pregnant with River it was quite a surprise. It wasn't that I didn't want to be pregnant, I did! But more because I didn't expect to get pregnant within a month and half after stopping birth control pills.
I had expected it to take a while to regain my fertility after being on the Pill for almost 4 years. So when I decided to stop taking it mid-October I anticipated getting pregnant in 6 months to a year. I thought I would have a little time to adjust myself to the idea of being pregnant.
When the nausea and fatigue started sneaking up on me in late December I just attributed it stress from the holiday season and thought that I might have some sort of virus. About mid-January when I was still feeling like dog shit everyday I thought something must be wrong. I hadn't had a period (other than slight spotting mid-November) so I planned on calling and making an appointment with my OB/Gyn because I thought something was wrong with my cycle.
I thought I better just take a pregnancy test before I called because I figured the first question they would ask was whether I was pregnant and I wanted to be able to give them a firm no. So I bought a pregnancy test while I was on my lunch at work. When I got back to the office I went into the bathroom and peed on the stick. When I saw two lines I about fainted.
So after about 5 other pregnancy tests (just to make sure!) I called my OB/Gyn for a whole different reason. I went in about a week later for my first appointment where I was told I was about 8 weeks pregnant. My doctor was a little brusque and out of the blue informed that if I were for some reason to start miscarrying there was nothing he could and to just wait it out.
From that point on my life changed. I became a nervous wreck. I worried about anything and everything involving that baby that was growing inside my belly. I started off worrying because they didn't find a heartbeat with the doppler which progressed to me worrying about miscarrying. Once they found River's wondrous little heartbeat I felt better for awhile.
Then I started reading different articles on the internet (vicious internet). The articles filled my head with worst case scenarios and dread. I chased my tail in a circle of worry. I went from worrying about miscarriage, to premature labor and then finally to still birth.
What all of this anxiety and worry added up to was a very crazy, very hormonal pregnant woman. So I ate. And I ate. And I ate. Looking back on it now I realize the eating was the only thing that took my mind off the (completely unwarranted) worrying. I was pretty much medicating myself with food.
I ate cereal by the boxful, ice cream by the carton and chips by the bag. Before I was pregnant I was good about eating my fruits and vegetables but by my 20th week of pregnancy I was eschewing broccoli for a load baked potato and fruit for bagels and donuts. When I was at a restaurant if there were strawberries on top my pancakes, oh no that certainly wouldn't do; I needed extra butter and maple syrup please and thank you. I loved food like well, a fat kid loves cake.
I started out the pregnancy weighing in at 145 and ended up weighing 215 pounds the week that I delivered River. So let's see here, that adds up to a 70 pound weight gain. WOW, that is a lot of weight to gain, but I enjoyed every bite.
I delivered River (I was induced) at 39 weeks gestation. I had a very long labor, 19 hours total with 3 hours of pushing, but was able to deliver vaginally with the help of a vacuum. He was born August 16, 2006 weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19.5" long. I was ecstatic. All that anxiety that I carried around with me my entire pregnancy was gone the minute I pushed (or pulled) River out. It vanished into thin air and was replaced with the deepest, most instinctive primal love I have ever known.
After it was all said and done I was left with a precious baby boy and an extra 35 pounds. Thankfully I didn't suffer from postpartum depression. I was the complete opposite of depressed; I had never been happier in my life. Breastfeeding was hard at first (but that is a whole different story) and I felt fat. Both of those things worked out in the end though. I'm still breastfeeding and I am back at my pre-pregnancy weight of 145 pounds. It has been a long arduous journey to get where I am at now but I couldn't be happier! Life is good.
Visit Tara's blog, FuzzyNotions.wordpress.com, to read more Musings on Life and Motherhood!
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