Pregnancy Weight Gain (Updated 5/9/18)

My battle since I was a child was my weight. I've always been overweight, nothing new there. The battle to maintain a healthy weight gain during pregnancy is a whole new ball game. Especially when you're overweight already.

My first pregnancy I started at 208 lbs. Found out I was pregnant Nov 2015 By Jan, 2016 I weighed the below:

So that was 10 months in, with a 6 lb weight gain, not bad. But by May I was 247 lbs:

I finally delivered Aug. 9, 2016 So I surely broke the 250 lb mark. 45 lb weight gain. No thanks! Not this time!!!

So I'm sticking to a Low-Carb diet. As much as humanly possible, those sugar cravings are a killer sometimes, trying to fill them with fruit. Going to the gym & do at-home workouts as much as my body will allow. Here's my progress So far:

I was very happy when I got on the scale this morning only a 1 lb weight gain in 3 weeks!! I was expecting more because I've been slacking. But Last week I regained focus on my nutrition even though I didn't make it to gym, I made sure I ate right. And it paid off!

Update: 1/11/18

I'm up to 215 lbs. which means a total weight gain of 10 lbs. so far! Being that I'm 21 weeks as of today, my appetite has increased, and my energy has decreased the past few days I am happy with this, 4 lbs. in 4 weeks. I am still trying my hardest to stick to low-carb & my goal this week has been to up my water intake. So far so good. Now if my 1st trimester sleepiness would go away, I could get some movement going.

Update 2/3/18

I'm up to 216 lbs. at 24 weeks, total weight gain of 11 lbs. & I'm VERY glad with that. It's funny I took this picture on the 2nd, earlier that week I weighed and I was 220 lbs. purely bloated from carbs. Me & the Beautiful Carbs do not get along, although I love them so!! But after a few days of cutting carbs & drinking enough water that bloat was gone! I haven't been able to workout as good as I have wanted to due to horrible headaches & pelvic pain. But I'm getting 2 or 3 good workouts in a week, still trying to listen to my body. I started going to get pool gym, and that does feel quite wonderful!

Update: 3/1/18

Let the weight gain begin! Since the last post I've gained 5 lbs! My belly has got a lot bigger here lately, so hopefully it's all going to little man! I am fine with this! This means a total weight gain of 16 lbs this whole pregnancy! 3 months left to go! I cannot believe I am in my third trimester now. It's going to fly by! This is when you gain the most of your weight, because the baby is putting on getting bigger, fatter, longer, stronger! As long as he's growing healthy I'm a happy Momma! I have had some days where I've been so hungry it feels like I could eat everything in the kitchen! I am battling this by stuffing my face with fruits and fresh veggies with hummus. It has helped so much keeping healthy quick snacks around the house. Although the kids Cap'n Crunch is really calling my name sometimes, but I haven't gave in to that sugary mess! I am still doing whatever workouts my pelvis & hips are allowing. Which isn't much these days. That's why nutrition is so important! Remember to subscribe so you can get an alert, I'll be back to update with the next 4 week weight gain in April!

3/29/18

I didn't even realize 4 more weeks had passed! That really flew by! So today I hit 32 weeks pregnant, and I've gained another 5 lbs. Not surprised, third trimester is when baby boy packs on the weight. Hopefully it's all gonna be leaving when he does! But I'll be honest it's been harder to be stayed focused on healthy eating here lately. I have been craving sweets. Ice Cream is my bestie. I had about 2 weeks of bad eating, and I snapped back to reality this week. I've done really well since Monday. I post my calorie intake & macros on my Instagram story every night. Today I'm struggling with indigestion so eating light & eat is not a problem at all. Went grocery shopping today and loaded up on fruits & veggies. I hope the next weigh in at 36 weeks won't be another 5lbs. But if it is, he'll be worth it. Total weight gain thus far: 21 lbs. much better than this time last pregnancy.

4/19/18

I decided to update today because on 5/18/18 I'll be delivering via C-section unless he decides to pop out early! I hit 35 weeks today! I was 226 lbs. last weigh-in, up to 230 lbs. this morning. I won't make excuses I'm not eating like a crazy lady, but it's not always the healthiest choices. But it's not an everyday binge fest. I've done better than the last weigh-in with food, I've had a lot more salads, and fruits, with the side of pizza and nachos here & there!!! 4 lbs. isn't too bad, I'm glad it's not more! Pregnancy cravings are a struggle! So I've officially met my 25 pound weight gain goal for this pregnancy. I don't want to gain a pound past that, but that's not realistic since he's packing on fat still. What I can do is take the food day by day & be as healthy as possible with it. I have been active, walking a couple times a week & doing some light weight workouts. I really feel like doing workouts when my body allows it, has helped me tremendously this pregnancy! Also, chasing the toddler really helps the step count for the day! I will Update for the last time at 38 weeks, then I'll be getting ready to deliver my boy! I've had a few folks commenting on how I'm "all belly," carrying really well & didn't gain much. Makes me feel good because that was the goal I was working towards!

This is the final update for this part of my pregnancy journey. Because next Friday, my son will be in my arms! As you can see this from April 9th until today I've gained the most at once that I have my whole pregnancy! My appetite has been insane! So glad it wasn't like this the entire pregnancy! There are some nights I eat dinner, and an hour later my stomach is growling, hard & loud like I haven't ate all day! The third trimester is also when the baby packs on the last of his fat. So hopefully, most of these 6 lbs. gained some of that went to him! I started this pregnancy around 206 lbs. (you can see in the beginning of post). I'm ending at 236 lbs. which means a total weight gain this pregnancy of 30 lbs. So I'm 5 lbs. over my 25 lb. goal. I can live with that! I'm actually quite proud of myself I stayed pretty consistent this entire pregnancy, and even though there were some splurges I would bounce back to healthier eating. I will be back Post-partum with a new blog to share with y'all my Baby Weight-loss journey. The picture below is from my Maternity photos with my first son, and my new ones from last week. The differences I see make me very happy! I did it! I got through a pregnancy without eating everything insight and losing my nutritional wits! 

Please check back because I will be updating this blog post with my progress every few weeks!

You can also follow my journey on Instagram with daily updates of both my little guys!

16 Month Journey Comes to an End.

Last night was my last night nursing my son. I am so sad right now. This is normally the time I would be nursing him, then he goes to bed around 8. I've came into the room to be out of sight, out of mind hopefully. Hubby is taking over the bedtime routine until Baby is used to not getting it at night. It's gonna be a long week.

Overall breastfeeding him has been easy. He latched on as soon as they gave him to me in the hospital. I'll never forget that little head bobbing around looking for its nipple, and soon as he found it he was going to town!!  

We never had any issues with his latch, or him refusing. The only issue ever was with me, I was harder on myself than needed to be. Every woman goes through the doubt stage. Wondering if you will produce enough milk for the baby. If you can keep up with the demanding cries of a breastfed baby every 2 hrs, all day, every day. I remember one night he was probably a month old, I had my Boppy pillow, he was nursing, I rested my head back on the headboard, and I passed out. Next thing I knew I was waking up in that position and he was still latched on, asleep. Who knows how much time had passed. So glad he wasn't rolling around yet!! I was exhausted to say the least.

I was so sure I wasn't going to produce enough milk, mainly because of the bottles & bottles, bags & bags of milk I seen stock pile pictures of online. That made me feel so inferior, especially when in the beginning if I pumped I'd get 0.5oz or 1oz. These women were producing 8oz & more each pumping session. I never leaked. Was barely engorged. So, I drank teas and hunted down lactation cookie recipes. Also poured flax seed all up on my steel cut oatmeal. Looking back now it's almost comical. Why do we as women doubt ourselves so much?

I was able to exclusively breastfeed my baby until he was 6 months old!! Meaning nothing else went into his body other than Mommy's liquid gold. I did it!!! My milk kept my baby alive and well!! My body did it!!! It made just what he needed, always has, and still is.

I am pregnant again, and for me, I've decided this is the end of our breastfeeding journey. I feel he's doing it now more for comfort than anything else. He eats, well, and a lot. He'll be 21 months old when the baby is born, and weaning him now gives me 5 months of a break, and HOPEFULLY gives him time to not crave it as much. I know he's going to be jealous when baby is here, for more reasons than just nursing. But I want him to have had a break from it, so that it won't be as hard on him then when the baby is getting it & he's not.

The way I started weaning him has worked out great. We were nursing 3 times a day. Morning, Noon before his nap, & then before bedtime. 1st thing when he woke, we would cuddle In bed, mainly because I was still sleepy. He would Nurse, we would talk (baby gibberish) then get up, and get the day started, this was our little routine. It was the first to go. I started cutting that on a Friday when I knew we had to get up early and would be out the house and busy. DISTRACTION was my friend! And that weekend his sibling were here and they're an awesome distraction, because he plays with them the whole time! So this was the easiest one to cut out.

In Nov. I had to go to my mother-in-laws to help watch her mom for a week. While we were there I knew he would be distracted enough, so I could cut the midday feeding & I did. He was not happy the first two days at all. But here is when the distractions came in handy again! I'd take him outside to play. Or give him a snack and juice. Cuddle him some, then he would go down for his nap. This one hasn't been as easy as the morning feedings because he still gets grumpy around nap time and I can tell he's whining for his "ninny". But I cuddle him as long as he wants, then he goes down for a nap (told you he was just comfort nursing).

Once you make your mind up you have to stick to it!!! The tears suck so bad, especially when you know what he wants and it'd be so easy to give it to him... But you have to be strong! Or it's not going to end the way you wanted it to.

Now for the night-time feeding. Tonight he had dinner at 6, as usual. Then a bath. Now he's chilling with dad while I'm here trying not to go pull him from Daddy's lap and nurse him. It is so emotional. I am trying not to cry. Really didn't expect it to make me so sad. It is for more reasons than one. Yes, he's a big boy now, my baby is growing up so quickly, this makes every mom sad. But I also feel like I'm robbing him of his time by cutting him off now. I wanted him to get his 2 years. I also wanted him to understand what a little baby brother or sister is before we introduced him to one. But, that didn't go according to the plan in my head. So adjustments have to be made, for us all. I know he will get used to it and be thrilled to have a little buddy to play with 24/7. I just need to get past the emotions and feeling like I betrayed my firstborn. 

Dad is gonna be the biggest help in this last bit of weaning. It has to be done, and I'm glad I slowly weaned him. Going cold turkey would've been horrible for us both. I do not have the mentality to tandem feed. I applaud all the mommy's who do it. But I'm already tired. It is time to stop. It's been a beautiful 16 months. I'm so thankful I was able to provide this for my son. I'm praying it goes as smoothly with the next baby as well.

If you have any questions, or advice please leave a comment. I would love to know how your weaning experience went! Please follow my pregnancy journey on Instagram as well (www.instagram.com/momma.ape)

Baby #2 Coming May 2018

I am currently 15 weeks pregnant 💗 My son will be 21 months when this baby is born. We are super excited! Was that my first emotion? No, my husband yes, he was thrilled, me 5,000 different worries rushed through my brain at once. It took a few weeks for me to be able to, breathe. 

The worries, you may ask were a range of things like:

• OMG! My son is not going to know what is going on he's too young to understand, he's gonna feel betrayed!!!!!!
• OMG! I'm gonna be cut open again!!!!!
• OMG!!!! How am I gonna deal with a newborn and a toddler?? Plus my two older kids.
• OMG!!! I WAS JUST PREGNANT!!!
• OMG! I just lost all the pregnancy weight now I'm gonna be a cow again!

Then I snapped to reality, I am a strong woman, and women have been doing this for centuries! My son is going to LOVE having a little sibling to play with (he is already thrilled when his older siblings are here). And who says I can't try for a VBAC?! Also tending to a newborn and chasing a toddler will make the preggo weight fly off! So just calm your butt down woman!

Here's my little Cupcake 😍

I am very happy y'all!! We're hoping for a baby girl this time, but obviously all that matters is a healthy baby! I can already feel the baby moving and it's starting to get uncomfortable to wear pants. If the old wives tale about a girl stealing her mom's beauty is true, it's surely a girl because I am Mrs. Pimple Face & My hair is shedding horribly. Surely didn't' happen the first time around, but every pregnancy is different, so they say!

I was told by the last hospital I delivered at before, that if I deliver with them again it's an automatic C-Section. (You can read about that experience here:My C-Section Story). But you know what? I'm not down with that!! So we're trying out a new OB/GYN & Hospital and they empower women to try for a VBAC!!! I am so excited! I was rushed along first pregnancy, this time I am gonna take control and let my body do what it was made to do! If a C-Section happens, it'll happen after I have given my body time.

My weight had nothing to do with why I had to have a C-section the first time, but the new Doctor is adamant that a small baby, and a healthy weight gain makes a VBAC more successful. So I am determined to not gain much. I workout and do a Low-Carb diet. I was 205lbs when this pregnancy started, I'm 15 weeks in and I weigh 210. I am pleased with that! I want my snap-back to be on point!! 😉

Another huge goal I have is to wean my son. I have been exclusively breastfeeding him, his whole life. He'll be 16 months old this month. I wanted to give him 2 years. But I cannot tandem feed, more power to the mothers who do it, but this chick does not have the mentality for it! So we are currently down to 1 feeding a day, about an hour before he goes to bed. He's not happy but he's getting use to it. By the end of December I am going to have him completely weaned. That gives Momma 5 months of a break before the newborn is here suckling away. Hopefully, will give baby boy a chance to not be too jealous when new baby is getting and he's not. We shall see.

I will be documenting this pregnancy here, also on my Instagram.

 Feel free to follow, and let's exchange encouragement!