21 Weeks: Call Malcolm Gladwell, I’m a Weight Gain Outlier
Sorry, Heidi
I gained 16 pounds my first trimester.
To put that in perspective, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” the so-called “pregnancy bible” read by 90% of pregnant women in America, suggests gaining between two and four pounds in the first trimester. Oops. I see your two pounds and raise you 14.
Author Heidi Murkoff delivers this nugget, “Slow and steady doesn’t only win the race – it’s a winner when it comes to pregnancy weight gain, too.”
Heidi and I have broken up a couple of times, but that’s because our relationship is kind of intense. I need Heidi when I have scary bleeding – or jammy discharge after a CVS test – and require Heidi-style hand-holding to be sure everything is normal and not, in fact, a sign of imminent miscarriage. Many a night I’ve clung to Heidi’s comprehensive index (now dog-eared and smeared with Dorito seasoning), looking up spotting, breathing difficulty, hot baths, mood swings, mosquito bites, everything from abscess to zygote. But two to four pounds for the entire first trimester? Is she high? Or just high and mighty?
This is an important, classic and time-tested book, and I acknowledge it is a bible. However like the Bible, it occasionally says some really fucked up shit.
“Gradual weight gain also allows for gradual skin stretching (think fewer stretch marks),” adds Heidi, chirpily. And I know a subtle threat when I hear one. Translation in my mind: “Hey fatty, you keep up the eating if you want an ass full of stretch marks, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Still, Heidi is just trying to help and I can’t stay mad at her in case I need her stupid index again. In any case, it’s not her fault.
I guess I’m just a weight gain outlier. You could probably extrapolate from the above data that now, at 21 weeks pregnant and just over halfway through, I’m pretty hefty. As of yesterday at the gym, I’ve gained 29.5 pounds total so far. According to Heidi, that should pretty much be it for the whole pregnancy. Too bad I have four more months to go of important baby growth development time. How did this happen?
Dreakfast
First of all, I invented a new meal, like Taco Bell did. Mine is “dreakfast,” which comes between dinner and breakfast. Every night during my first trimester, I would wake up nauseas and feeling motion sick. I would pull up a small table next to the bathtub at 3:00 a.m. and soak while mauling a giant bowl of cereal and listening to podcasts of Radio Lab and This American Life. Sometimes that cereal would leave me with a taste for something sweet, which I would address with a mini tofu ice cream sandwich and perhaps an OJ chaser.
I was ravenously, ridiculously, painfully hungry.
It was like a sitcom, in that it was both boring and predictable. I’d stand in front of the refrigerator eating pickles and cheese. I wanted wheels of cheddar, craved anything involving vinegar or citrus, loved yogurt, licorice, and strangely, Guinness beer, which I didn’t drink, but fantasized about chugging from a frosty stein.
Does this fetus make me look fat?
Like a Hangover
I got my first hemorrhoid ever from pregnancy constipation, typical in the first trimester but still hideous, and fought it off with high fiber cereal and kiwis. The solution to hemorrhoids, like to all things in the first trimester, was edible.
It wasn’t and isn’t the kind of “emotional” hunger that makes you feel like you want to dig a spatula into a bottomless vat of rocky road so you can feel less lonely or bored or empty. It’s the large intestines rubbing together, physical desperation for fried potatoes and eggs kind of hunger you feel when you wake up hung over on a Sunday, when you didn’t eat dinner the night before, but instead sipped several doubles of Jameson’s, neat. It’s the type of hunger that makes you order a coffee and orange juice at the diner the morning after and look balefully at your waitress as if to plead, “Seriously, look at me. Get me that juice.”
I had the unswerving certainty that only the constant infusion of food would settle my stomach. I kept crackers by the bed so I wouldn’t have to make it all the way to the kitchen in our 900 square foot place. I fell asleep with a container of chopped pineapple in my hand. One morning, I gobbled down a giant protein bar for breakfast, and 20 minutes later thought to myself, “Man, I’m starving, I should eat breakfast,” which is when I noticed the protein bar wrapper sitting on the nightstand, and only then remembered I had consumed it.
Drugs Have No Calories
Along with the feeling of being car sick, of cramps and heartburn resistant to prescription Zantac, there was withdrawal from all the good, soothing drugs like Ambian and Xanax and Klonipin that I once used responsibly and “as needed,” need being a fluid concept.
There was the quitting smoking, too. I only smoked two cigarettes or so a night, but quitting means my body has no idea when dinner is over, so it isn’t.
What happens when you combine pregnancy hormones, fear about motherhood and the future, a queasiness calmed only by the constant eating of toast and crackers, a new and unexplained revulsion for vegetables, quitting smoking, doing lots of sitting around worrying and waiting for various test results? What do you get? Pretty fat, actually.
My Bladder Got Fat
My bladder didn’t actually get fat, just infected, twice, which is also common during pregnancy, but the prescribed antibiotics are not your colon’s friend. The only solution to this was a combination of taking probiotics from Whole Foods and listening repeatedly to the Alanis Morrisette song “Thank You,” which opens with the possibly overly specific but nonetheless satisfying lyric, “How ‘bout getting off of these antibiotics?”
I outgrew my underpants.
Drove down to the mall in Sherman Oaks for my first foray into maternity shopping at A Pea in the Pod. You feel special there because they have bathrooms and water, and creeped out because they are overly conciliatory and they say your pre-maternity size should fit in maternity wear but that is a dirty, dirty, dirty lie.
I still can’t bring myself to buy large panties, so I squeeze into medium Victoria’s Secret Angel undies just to see how deep and festering a red gash I can acquire from elastic digging into my hip flesh.
My Ears Got Fat
How do I know? Because I work in deep cable, co-hosting a show on the top half of the screen while the bottom half scrolls through better shows you could be watching on other networks. I use an earpiece (IFB) so the producer can talk to me during the show. About a month ago, it started popping out of my ear. I’ve used it for years doing live news. As is customary, an audiologist molded the IFB to fit my ear perfectly and no one could figure out why it suddenly kept sliding out as I tried to interview Jane Seymour or those twins from “Desperate Housewives.” It took a new sound guy to point out tactfully that, “Sometimes when people change sizes, their ears change, too.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Were fat.
Pollyanna Alert:
I swear this is true. I wouldn’t trade my worst, sickest, fattest, most bloated pregnant day for not being pregnant at all. Even 21 weeks into it, I still feel flabbergasted that the whole birds and the bees thing really works, even for me, someone past her prime breeding years with a few STD’s on the boards (I wasn’t slutty or anything, but my 20s were a little tough on the reproductive system thanks to one particular comedian – or as my friends put it, “The stand up gave you the lie down.”) It continues to feel surreal that this thing took, that I feel the baby kicking now throughout the day, which feels like I swallowed a cell phone and I’m taking calls on vibrate. Or sometimes if feels like about a third of the stitch you get in your side when you run too fast, or maybe popcorn popping.
I hope parenting is like that – even days it sucks you would still rather you had done it.
The fact that it still feels sort of unreal, that is totally, totally normal. At least that’s what Heidi says.
This was a very very very helpful post for me. I have cried 4- yes, 4 times today about the fact that two people have joyfully asked me if I was pregnant (yes, I am, but only 11 weeks, people! MYOB!) I’ve gained 7 pounds and just do not feel good about it. Broken out, gassy, cranky as all get-out, but worst of all I just have this weird feeling of “not doing it right” by gaining weight already. Plus, I work in a school with lots and lots of moms and I swear to god I feel them eyeing my stomach and wondering…argh. What’s my problem? I am so lucky to be pregnant, I’m 40 and conceived naturally. Just- thanks for writing this. I swear that stupid “what to expect” book needs to be burned. Thank you for hating it with me.
Teresa:
You look FANTASTIC! Don’t let any scale/Dr./Book tell you different.
Hoping you & Adam & Bryan get your show back on somewhere. In the meantime, I’ll be listening every time you do the podcast.
I am 38 weeks now, and have gained 33 pounds so far – 5 in the first trimester (give or take – I try not to look and I don’t ask the doctor). My sister, who is a doctor, said I should only have gained 20 pounds – 30 at the MOST. Mind you, I’m 5’9″ and generally slim. So, IN THEORY, she’s right … however in reality, it’s a lot harder to do. I eat (mostly) healthful foods (still eat ice cream – not a craving, it’s just a staple of my life). Here’s a typical day of eating for me:
Breakfast: Peanut butter on protein toast and an instant chai tea with skim milk
Morning snack: 6oz Yogurt – low fat and FULL sugar
Lunch: Varies. Today, chicken noodle soup (full can) and a piece of fruit.
Afternooon snack: Another piece of fruit
Pre-gym snack: Granola bar
Dinner: Varies. Usually some kind of protein and veggies. Tonight, we’ll have grilled chicken legs, salad, and a rice side; milk.
Dessert: Duh – ice cream … or cookies.
That’s generally what I eat every day and I still gained 33 pounds. I can’t wait to see how much my sister gains and see if she can ONLY gain 20 pounds the entire time. It’s damn near impossible unless you have preggorexia.
P.S. BTW, you look fantastic! I would never have guessed you have gained 21 pounds.
I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. I wasn’t a house … I was a hotel.
But it was all gone within 6 months. Sleepless nights and sporadic meals will do that.
Teresa, came to your page because of your plug on last podcast with Adam and Bryan, want you to see support for you three to stay together and the great show you developed, I hope you three can get another radio show together soon, Miss your fun mornings so much. !!!! You guys have an Army of fans out here in Arizona, thanks again.
I remained a ‘picky vegetarian’ throughout two pregnancies and, despite this, gained almost 50 lbs with each. I lost 45 lbs after my first kid and hope to do it again after my second (he is 3 months old). Hang in there – some of us are just genetically fatties during pregnancy
Now you are going to get all the “gained too much weight during pregnancy” comments…. which is great because you know you aren’t alone. I’ve had 3 kids, gained 65 lbs (that is not a type-o) every time and lost it too. My ob/gyn was awesome. He said “this is the way you are going to do it. It’s a good lesson in reforming your control-freak ways”. No matter what the books say, you are going to gain what you are going to gain. I gained my weight even though I did puke the first 5 months…. and the only thing that helped settle my stomach for any length of time (before the next heave) were carbs. That’s what I blame for my weight gain. Otherwise, I ate a very healthy diet. Even went to a nutritionist who told me I wasn’t consuming enough calories. I recommend reading “A Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy” for a light hearted and honest look at pregnancy. It’s a nice counter- balance to the doom and gloom of “What to Expect”. I just hope you don’t encounter the other fallacy of childbirth. I couldn’t lose all my weight (not the last 5-8 lbs of ‘boob weight’ but I mean 25 lbs) until I stopped nursing. Not because I was feeding my face…. just all 3 times, my body held on to those lbs for dear, sweet life. Once I weaned, though, it dropped off in a month… while I sat on the couch. Weird. And you are right, completely worth it. Although there are days…..
Thank you for your blog. While I enjoy you sharing your journey, the note about gaining weight stirs me. I gained 30lbs in just 2 1/2 months. Much comes from stress of work and loss of a parent.
More than anything I appreciate your writing as it generally takes me away from my own issues.
Dear T,
I am 25 weeks today and in the same boat as you. I think I have gained about 25-30 lbs already too. I had the nausea in the first tri and the only thing that helped was carbs. But trust me in my line of work (high risk pregnancy) we are BLESSED my friend. Some of these women are on TPN (basically a IV to feed them) just to keep something down in there 2nd and 3rd trimester. It sounds horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Oh that book is Bullshit when it comes to weight. its really not realistic at all.
Congrats on having a little man (thats what where having too) and just enjoy the ride.
Emma
Oh my god I’m in hysterics.
When I was in my first trimester, I, too, was painfully hungry. I would wake up in the middle of the night and want to cry, it was so bad! I craved chewy chocolate-coated granola bars, and then gradually that gave way to shelled sunflower seeds. I could eat tons of those in one sitting, even in lieu of dessert! Meanwhile, I haven’t touched one since I gave birth.
Another thing I “craved” was the smell of sawdust. My husband was building a wine cellar at the time so I would go downstairs and just breathe in the sweet fragrance of wood shavings. Needless to say, I accompanied him to Home Depot whenever possible… the timber department was heaven!
Adam: “Teresa…you can reduce her to a very insecure 8th grader with an eating disorder in a matter of moments.”
How pathetic for a 39 year old woman to be identified this way by a coworker/boss.
Jim -
Actually, Adam’s characterization doesn’t bother me at all. Mainly because it’s true. Not to mention pretty funny, and very observant. Just so you know, both my insecurity and my eating disorder have been radio fodder for years, as have been the weaknesses and personality quirks of all of our crew, really.
I don’t try to hide being insecure at times. Most of us are, I think.
But I understand my vulnerability can be a real trigger for some people. So I get that you are not a fan. Still, you took the time to find my site and to communicate with me, so I appreciate that.
Anyway, my only problem with your note is that there is one glaring inaccuracy: I am, in fact 38. So, at least until June 8th, can you not age me? Life is doing enough of that already.
Cheers
T
Taraysa, you hit it!! EVERYONE is insecure. Sit in an airport terminal, a hotel lobby or (as I did today) jury selection room and watch people.
I LOVE your honesty and the (what appears to be) loving relationship you have with Adam and Bryan.
T, call Randy Wang and ask him to help you set up a podcast. This reading shit hurts my eyes, it reminds me of that place where they hide the books..
Dearest Teresa,
I first discovered you on Adams show. You are as delightful and funny as you are smart and classy. I am so thrilled for you that you found a wonderful man and are now expecting your first child. You look beautiful and happy. Thanks for sharing this very personal journey with all of us. I wish you nothing but good health and happiness.
I’m understanding what it’s like to be pregnant from your blog. I’m about to be 35, no kids. Maybe I’ll adopt. Unlike you, I can’t afford 29 pounds.
Teresa,
You were already beautiful and this pregnancy is making you even more so. I read your latest blog and subsequently found this article on msnbc.com. Check it out. Since you were underweight to begin with–you are on track with your weight gain. I say keep up the good work! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30982207/
T, you are beautiful! And that’s no ass kissing; I simply could not believe how glowing you are in those pics!
Ok, first. Please podcast. It would be rad to listen to you at work.
Second, try this to help your heart burn!
Grate the skin of an orange (preferably organic) into a half pint of yogurt (also, preferably organic – Nancy’s brand is fab, so is Trader Joe’s greek style and they both come in non-fat!). Eat it up.
I know you’d prefer it not to be caloric, but this is good for you and the baby.
Orange peel has D-Limonene in it, which is a natural heartburn / acid reflux remedy that really does work. We use it in our family, because my hubby had a baaad reaction to Prilosec.
The yogurt is good for your belly, and has live pro-biotic cultures that will also help with acid and, ahem, regularity.
NO side affects, tastes good, and works. Add it as a regular part of your diet, and I swear you’ll see a difference.
Good luck with everything!
And BTW, you look gorgeous! Found ya through Nameberry and adding your feed to my reader.
I gained 11 pounds in between my last two OB visits. That’s 11 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks. I’m kind of proud. I just wish it was visible in the area where the baby resides. Most of it is in my ass.
Just know this now…there is no such thing as “normal” in pregnancy or mommyhood! Stop reading the so called “expert” books now, they will drive you crazy. And will you hurry up and get on Twitter already? You’re too clever to not take advantage of the 140 characters! Say hi to Adam and Brian. Loves to Brian on his fight.
Thank you so much. And please become one of my first Twitter followers. New technology hurts my head, but I’m trying.
http://twitter.com/teresastrasser
Not to be too critical, but…
Actually, there is indeed such a thing as “normal”. But by definition, not everyone is, so it’s okay not to be.
And some “expert” books are great, provided they are written by true experts you can trust. They can save you many trips to the ER, OB, and calm you down before you panic over nothing–or tell you when you really *should* go to the doctor, etc.
Lastly, it’s actually spelled “Bryan”. You can read more about his and Christie’s battle here:
http://aninconvenienttumor.posterous.com/
If I were in a same sex homosexual relationship i would leave them for you cutie!
I hate Heidi AND her mom… I coined those books the What To Reject books looonnnng ago.
A coworker used to complain to me that the weekly e-mail updates she signed up for from What To Reject didn’t apply to her, and every week I would continue to tell her to cancel the damn subscription and stop wondering why she isn’t “normal.”
I love following your blog. I’m 25 weeks and have been having the ‘where did this weight come from woes’. But screw it. I’m doing my part it takes a lot to cook a baby.
I’m still bummed about the station closing down
LA misses your voice!!!!!!
I love and miss you, Teresa, wish these blogs were podcasts. Don’t worry about a thing, you and your baby will be fine. Pregnancy agrees with you (appearance wise), you look lovely, even your smile looks different, more serene. Your blogs are a hoot.
Fellow fatty here, I am 24 weeks pregnant and pushing 30 pounds of gained weight. Everyone says, “Well it’s because you were so thin to start out with” or “You are still so thin, how is that possible?” as if I would lie. Maybe I should actually. Anyways, there is no making it seem any better or worse than it is, this is my 3rd baby, and I am here to tell you, you have to lose all that damn weight in the end. It sucks. I have enjoyed your blog, pretty hilarious! So, I’m off to eat, my burrito arms are looking a tad thin today.
Teresa, love the blog. You are supposed to gain weight! You look awesome, you just glow. Of course the larger breasts don’t hurt either
Just make sure Batman stays larger than you. He may have to start joining you for the ice cream and cereal, but he needs to stay bigger than you. My wife got very nervous when her weight got close to mine so I (with not a lot of arm twisting) joined her in meals and gained 20 or so pounds during her pregnancy. She ended up gaining 65lbs and we had a healthy 10lb baby and she has since lost all the weight.
Stay strong and keep writing!
Haha!! i really needed a good laugh today. Thanks T!
My parents were also “past their prime breeding years” when they had me, and although I was a bit self-conscious about having “older” parents when I was a teenager, I realized later in life that this was the reason I had the most loving and stable home of all my friends. My parents had the money and, more importantly, the time to spend raising me that would be impossible for most people in their 20′s and 30′s. (Like most of my friends’ parents who were too busy working and getting divorced to give a shit about their kids)
P.S. “Does this fetus make me look fat?” F-ing hilarious!
I’m Giancarlo’s mom. He’s 9 now and his sister is going to turn 5 in 2 weeks. I vaguely remember the same “Holy Crap I gained how much in two weeks!?!?!” feeling in between doctor visits – especially with the 2nd pg.
You have to remember your body has increased blood volume, that placenta by itself weighs about 15 lbs (I’m not kidding). So don’t worry, you will lose it all soon enough. (Though with my daughter, 2nd baby, I was older and it took me longer to lose the weight.) Just be sensible (eat well) and don’t use the pg to go overboard with eating. You’ll be OK.
I saw your picture and I thought it was some random pregnancy model. That’s YOU!?!?!? You are beautiful and NOT fat. Stop torturing yourself with negative self-talk. You are simply pregnant. I seriously want a 3rd. I have a friend with 6 kids (all gorgeous, age range 13 – 3 months old). I never wanted 6, but DAMN, she makes it all look easy. She is so skinny and doesn’t gain a pound (it seems) during any of her pregnancies. (That is not the norm for anyone I know.) The bane of her existence are horrible vericose veins (the blood has to go somewhere). But once she gave birth, they mostly disappear. I truly believe pg & motherhood is the great equalizer for women. Some part of it humbles everyone.
BTW… I remember listening to you talk about being fearful of not loving your children. I remember being TERRIFIED my firstborn would be a girl because I thought we’d have a horrible relationship like my mother and I had. I breathed a sigh of relief when my firstborn was a boy (so I could relax). The 2nd fear I had was that I would not bond with my baby. My husband laughed at me then and now because that was never an issue after he was born!
The 3rd ridiculous fear I had was that he would be born with cleft palate. (I don’t know anyone with a cleft palate.)
I’m glad to report that if you are a loving, normal person (despite all the negative crap you or I have experienced growing up) you can indeed have a normal, loving relationship with your babies as they grow up. It will all be alright.
I saw you on Saturday at ShakesBEER, and you look gorgeous!!! Pregnancy fits you well.
T,
I’ve always been one to listen to my body, and I encourage you to do the same. When you are craving certain foods at certain times, go with it. There’s obviously some ingredients in those foods that your baby needs, so IT’S OKAY! You look amazing and as long as the baby’s healthy and so are you, that’s all that matters. Besides, if you are planning on breast feeding at all, that will help get the weight off quicker as many of these above women said. So, follow your bliss, girl, and congrats! You and Batman will be wonderful parents!!
XOXO,
Kia
My husband and I are thinking about trying soon and I was sitting here reading your blog, laughing out loud (gaffawing actually) feeling so excited and only a little bit scared to experience what you are now.
After suffering my way through a terrible eating disorder I don’t know if I’ll ever *really* recover from, there is part of me that is terrified of getting pregnant. I’m not scared because of the responsibility, or the life change or the early wake-ups or any of that- just because of my ridiculous fear of even fatter thighs.
Your post made me laugh at myself and the country gravy I’ll likely take down with a straw when I am eating for two.
Thank you.
I am 5’3″ and was 114 when I got pregnent. I delivered at 168lbs, Sage was 7lbs flat. She is 18months now, I breastfed for 1year, that was all my body would give me. I am now 112lbs and really havn’t tried to loose the weight. I always struggled to stay thin before and now it doesn;t seem to be much of a problem. Who gives a flying f— what you gain and when you gain it. I’m an RN and I say if you don’t smoke, take drugs, or drink too much when you’re pregnant and you love your child and give them a loving environment once they are born into this crazy world then you’re a step ahean of 80% of women.
Your body is going to gain a natural amount of weight, let it! Don’t deprive yourself of what it needs at this time. You might only gain 4lbs that lst trimester, who’s really to say what’s appropriate!!!!!
p.s. conrats! Now that the show is off the air i feel disconnected!
T,
Listen to this woman – Rebecca is clearly an undiscovered genius. I’m completely down with the Rebecca Plan for a healthy and sane pregnancy. I never dug those unbelievably cheery yet unreasonably alarmist WTEWYE girls. They were the cheerleaders I avoided in HS all grown up with college degrees. Bleh. Listen to Rebecca – she should write “The Rational Woman’s guide to Pregnancy and Child rearing’.
Ditto her feelings of missing your voice on the smog in LA … still in some sort of withdrawal (we really ought to either get a 12 step going, or get you an on-air job).
Missing you my media “sister”
I, too, have gained a lot more than they say (15 pounds the first trimester, and at 34 weeks I’ve already gained 35). But I think that thin people will gain more. We have to. My theory is that the body is storing up some fat as a protection for the baby. So don’t feel bad about it. The formula is based on the average woman and the average woman starts out with more weight to begin with. Nature wants us to all get to the same place in the end.
Teresa,
Remember that all women, pregnancies, and babies are different. You look fabulous and are doing what is right for your body and your baby. Besides, that 25-35lb thing is just a suggestion.
Teresa, You look great! I’m currently 15 weeks along with my second and have gained as of this morning 15 pounds. With my first, I gained 50 pounds total, most of it going to my ankles and calves! Sheesh, I could hardly move by the end. Thank goodness for breast feeding, as I was able to *squeeze* into my normal jeans 3 months later without any exercise. As for “the Bible”, my doctor recommended that I get rid of it — she knew by the questions I was asking that I was reading it. She suggested “The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy” by Vicki Iovine, a little more upbeat. Thanks for the blog, I really love it!
Thank you Teresa. You make me feel so much better. I am only 14 weeks but having a very similar experience and am guilty that I don’t feel all cute and fluffy about my pregnancy. I hate that damn book. I finally got rid of it like it was a cursed ouija board or something.
Hiya T.
Just so ya know, you can never make the pregnancy bystanders/pit crew happy, I had the opposite problem due to a “lovely” pregnancy complication called “hyper-emesis gravidum” I actually lost weight during my first and second trimester (despite starting my first pregnancy as “below normal weight for height according to the nervous Nelly doing my paperwork). With my first two, my beloved sweet ex-hubby referred to me as the “barf-o-matic” – I threw up in gas station trash cans (in full view of complete strangers). In plastic AM/PM bags in the car, once in the trash can in lobby of the Sports Arena (pre-Staples days) waiting for a Pat Benatar concert. My nurse practitioner (usually an uber-smart woman with a comforting bob – was on my ass like a diaper over my weight loss). I am happy to report all my children turned out capable of of college level math, have a wicked sense of humor and were born with the correct number of parts for their gender and species. It seems as though despite the fact that pregnant women can worry excessively about everything from the free market economy to the disposition of gitmo detainees to the relative nutrion to preservative ratio of your average Trisket … MD’s feel they aren’t earning their sheckles if they don’t pile on a few more topics.
Don’t let them rattle you. First baby weight is some kind of weird substance that seemingly evaporates overnight into breast milk (sorry guys for the icky reference).
=S
Please keep writing about your experiences! If only for the rest of us, who will also one day have to read the “Bible” and feel like an outlier.
You’re up to 128 pounds now. Not bad.
Ack! Please don’t read that book, Teresa! Unless you are hoping to have a mindless, conventional whatever-suits-the-doctor type of birth, that book is worthless. It does not tell you your options, it does not encourage you to speak for yourself, it just leads you down one certain path. I would highly highly recommend picking up a copy of “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth”, which is set up much like a text book. It’s split into different topics and gives you the pros and cons on each so you can make your own decision. Another awesome book is “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth”. Also anything by the Sears Family is fantastic.
Teresa,
You look absolutely gorgeous. You are taking good care of your little boy. During one of my pregnancies my doctor said, “There’s nothing wrong with being hungry for a while.” “Excuse me dude. You don’t look like someone who doesn’t eat when YOU are hungry.” (is what I thought but didn’t say.)
personally, i never read heidi’s book – couldn’t get past that hottie on the cover. but the abnormal is your new normal, mama. you are officially a freak* of nature. i salute you.
xo, sugar
* i mean that in the most complimentary way. promise.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts and thank goodness I’m not alone! I have to go to the Dr. today and be reminded how to “slow down” the weight. I gained 5 lbs. first trimester, 17 total at week 20 and you’d think I was on the 80 lb. plan the way they (dr.’s, books) talk. The suggestion is 25-35 and MOST women exceed that, why don’t they tell you that to put things in perspective? Oh…and how ’bout how the 25 lbs. is suggested because those people are heavier to begin with. Sorry, that was my hormonal rant
Thanks for keeping things in perspective with yourself and helping us other “fatties” too.
I read recently that models and actresses who feel pressure to be thin often gain more than average while pregnant because they finally have freedom to enjoy it. And then after the pregnancy they became just as thin again. Since you were model-like before and on TV that includes you. So, enjoy it and just make a healthy temple for your baby and don’t worry about the weight.
PS – I would get so mad at Heidi and her stupid things she’d say, like the part about vegetables and how they were “bunny-set favorites.” Hi, I’m pregnant, not retarded.
I love this. I’ve had two babies and this is all so familiar, and I love the way you write. So excited for you!
I freaking love your blog and the way you write. Thanks for keeping it real. When the day comes for me to actually reproduce, I’ll be re-reading all these posts.
Yea all the people who write the books and the Dr.s, basically anybody that isnt the pregnant woman are horrible about the whole weight gain issue. Unless you are having the all day sickness and can’t eat a bite its almost impossible to not gain more than 4 lbs in the first trimester. My old boss told me oh I thought you were supposed to lose weight in the first trimester… right thanks alot! You are gonna be great and yes parenting is like that too even the bad days you still can’t picture your self without your munchkin!
Teresa, I love your writing.
Thanks.
At least you’re supposed to gain weight. I got on the Nuvaring and it made me “ravenously, ridiculously, painfully” hungry too. It was like a little kid in Africa. I was never full. I wanted sweet stuff and salty stuff right after the other. My work told me it’s okay for me to snack at my desk but not that much! I gained 25 pounds AVOIDING a baby!!
Luckily I was only 110 when I started so now I’m just “average”? And luckily the ravenous hunger has gone back to normal after a year, but at least you’re getting something from your pounds. And there are women that do worse. Some gain 50, 80, even 100 because their pregnancy is a get out of guilt free ticket to Old Country Buffet.