Minimal weight gain at 19 weeks pregnant w/ baby #2

[ergo]

Anyone else only gain the bare minimum/slightly under the minimum amount of weight during their pregnancies? Pre-pregnancy I was considered on the high end of "normal" on the BMI.

I went in for an additional appointment yesterday to get some issues with my high blood pressure meds sorted out and had lost nearly 1.8lbs since my appointment just a week prior. Baby sounded great with a heart rate of 155, very active and I feel him kicking and squirming around all throughout the day. My doctor gave me the whole, "Are you sure you're eating enough?" talk and made it a point to even say that she knows that some people eat less to avoid seeing their weight shoot up on the scale during pregnancy. I've been eating regularly, with snacks included (lots of sour candy/gummies because this kid loves his sour cravings) so I honestly was worried that I would've gained MORE than I should've in the past week So far I've gained a total of 4lbs since I've become pregnant.

I'm not all that concerned right now, given this is the same trend I followed my last pregnancy. I ended up gaining exactly 20lbs by the time I delivered and lost all but 2lbs of the 20lbs by the time I'd left the hospital. I'm just assuming my body doesn't tend to put on a whole lot of weight during pregnancy, unless I was to really overeat?

Anyone else in the same boat? I feel like I'm experiencing deja vu, with the doctors questioning my eating habits with baby #2 just like they had with my first. It's honestly kind of annoying at the end of the day when I know I'm never allowing myself to go hungry or starving myself in order to keep my weight down.

Edit: Thank you all for all the comments! It was really reassuring to see that it isn't so bizarre to only gain minimally, or even LOSE weight during pregnancy--so long as it isn't intentional weight loss of course. This is my second baby but this pregnancy is considered especially high risk because of multiple factors, so to hear the doctor being so concerned over my small weight gain has made me a little more anxious than it did with baby #1. But baby is looking great so far! Appropriate fundal height for gestational age, even measuring a little ahead in ultrasounds. Here's to hoping his growth and good health continues well into the pregnancy

 

[bellahouz]

@ergo Everyone is different. I gained only 5 pounds by about 20 weeks. Most of my weight gain was from mid to late second tri. My doctor hadn't been concerned at any point about my weight gain - I'm 35 weeks and now at 22 lbs, but I stalled at a total of 16-18 lbs of weight gain between weeks 28 to 32.

 

[ergo]

@bellahouz I swear my OB will have my head if I failed to gain weight for a month straight I'm pretty sure I also stalled in weight gain last pregnancy during one of my late 2nd trimester months so I feel like that's fairly normal? Not everyone gains excessive weight when pregnant, and honestly I think it's a bad stigma to place on pregnant women that they need to eat excessively in order to have a healthy baby/pregnancy. That only makes it so much harder/nearly impossible to meet pre-pregnancy weight goals when recovering.

 

[thrall]

@ergo I haven’t gained much weight in the 3rd tri and I’m at 38 weeks on Monday. Overall I’ve gained about 27 pounds for my whole pregnancy. Mostly because I haven’t felt the need to over eat. I pretty much just eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full.

Everyone is different though and obviously there are a whole host of reasons why some women gain more. Most of it is completely normal.

 

[purity77]

@ergo I started my second pregnancy slightly overweight and only gained 10-11lbs. It all evened out and my doctor was never concerned.

 

[mwia91]

@ergo I lost 10-12 lbs in the first and second trimester and finally gained it back during this third trimester. I’ve only gained about pounds from my starting weight.

 

[ergo]

@mwia91 My friend was considered obese on the BMI scale and during her first trimester, she lost 30lbs due to a combination of contracting covid and horrible acid reflux that resulted in a hospital visit. But even with everything online stating that no one, regardless of BMI status, should lose weight during pregnancy, none of her doctors were concerned or made any comments.

I feel like it shouldn't be an issue overall so long as the baby is looking healthy and measurements are on track. I'm not sure if my OB is a stickler for the weight gain being priority or what

 

[katrina2017]

@ergo I was doing everything possible to keep my bp ok, so I started eating a lot better and doing some pretty light but regular exercise- I lost weight first trimester, stayed the same weight second trimester, gained some third trimester. My midwife was totally fine with it, and baby was born perfectly healthy (and over 9 lbs ). Left the hospital 15 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight. It happens!

 

[swan]

@katrina2017 Very simiLar experience with my first child. Im 32 weeks now and only gained 3 lbs. Baby is estimated to be weighing 4.5 lbs. My body loves being preg

 

[drdb]

@ergo I started pregnancy at 170lbs, and by the second trimester I was 140. Only towards the middle of the second trimester did I start to put on any weight at all. Now I’m in the third and back up to the 170s range. Sometimes it’s a journey that’s not linear or dramatic! Baby is taking from you all that it needs, even if you’re losing weight.

 

[zumaman]

@ergo I only gained about 15# through the whole thing. As long as everything is measuring well and I felt fine, nobody seemed very concerned.

I think bodies are all just wildly different!!

 

[ergo]

@zumaman That's what I think as well! That's why I've been bothered by the comments the last couple of visits, as though I'm just not eating and not putting weight on as a result. She measured me and my fundal height was 19 which was perfect for where I'm at gestationally--and all of my ultrasounds even showed my little guy is usually around a week ahead of his actual gestational age measurement-wise.

 

[katrina2017]

@zumaman That’s how I’m trending too, I’m 24 weeks and have gained 8 pounds total since starting IVF and getting pregnant. My OB hasn’t been worried at all, and said it’s totally normal for people to gain just 10-15 pounds total.