Weighty

We went to the midwife for another visit.  I think it was supposed to be a 24 week visit, but we were a week late so it was 25 weeks.

The visit went really well.  My blood pressure was proclaimed to be "beautiful" and we got to listen to the baby's heart say "whoosh whoosh whoosh" again.  The midwife smiled and said my bump looked really nice.  We started talking about our plan for me to give birth at the birth centre and Mandy dropped a bit of a bombshell on me.  She looked at my notes and pointed out that my BMI was slightly higher than what they like to have in the birth centre.  I was shocked.  She'd known what my BMI was before we'd talked about me going to the birth centre.  She'd previously proclaimed that I was a "perfect candidate".  I started to panic, but Mandy seemed committed to not letting this keep me from the birth experience that we'd planned.

I frantically pointed out that I'd lost weight during my first trimester, so there was a chance I hadn't back up to my initial weight yet.  Mandy first re-measured my height to make sure we'd gotten that right, since just an inch can have a big impact on BMI.  Then I hopped on the scale.  I hadn't been weighed since the first scan  at 12 weeks when I'd found out that I'd lost 6 kg.  I had no idea how much I'd put on since then, but I didn't think it was too much.  But I was still shocked to find that I hadn't put on any weight at all.  I was nearly 25 weeks pregnant and still weighed less than I had before getting pregnant!

Mandy made a note of my new weight and height to re-calculate my BMI, but also switched gears.  She said it was ok that I hadn't gained weight, but that I should keep an eye out to make sure I don't lose any more.  She said since my urine didn't contain ketones, that meant that everything was ok for the baby, but just to make sure I was eating enough.

I almost fell over.  I never imagined that my pregnancy would involve getting a warning about my weight (at least not from that side of things!).  I've struggled with my weight since I was a young girl.  I remember feeling fat when I was 10 and going through that very awkward phase.  I frequently got pulled into meetings with the director of my ballet studio for talks about my "nutrition".  I always secretly worried that I'd be one of those pregnant women that ballooned up and packed on tons of weight and looked miserable, so imagine my surprise that I've had the opposite happen.

I haven't done anything to actively not gain weight.  I've not intentionally tried to lose weight, but I haven't gone crazy either.  I certainly haven't indulged in the myth of "eating for two".  Mandy proclaimed that my weight loss/maintenance was due to my eating a sensible balanced diet.  And while I think that's true, I do attribute it to a few other things:

1. My appetite took a serious hit during the first trimester.  I didn't ever throw up, but I felt nauseated a good portion of the time and just didn't feel like eating much.  My sweet tooth became almost non-existent.  My appetite returned to normal eventually, but I haven't ever indulged in the myth of "eating for two".  We eat a healthy diet in general.

2.  Weekly aqua aerobics classes.  I've mentioned them before, but it's is a really good workout.  I've not had set aside "work out" time in my routine since moving to England, so these weekly workouts have given me a good dose of focused physical activity.

3.  I don't drink crap.  I went to some serious lengths to quit my diet soda addiction.  I've had 3-4 regular cokes since being pregnant, but that's it.  On occasion I've had juice or hot chocolate, but I'd say at least 90% of the time- if I've got a cup, it's filled with water.  And I drink a lot of it.  (Ross is very big on not drinking soda.  Whenever we hear about someone having a health problem, especially gestational diabetes, his first question is "What do they drink?"  He gets irritated that all the focus is on what people eat, but no one pays attention to what they are drinking.  It's like his personal crusade.)

4.  Attitude.  I've long believed that attitude has a huge effect on how you feel, at any time, but certainly during pregnancy.  If you expect to be miserable, then I think chances are greater that you will be.  Just as much, if you approach things with a positive mindset and look on the bright side, things are usually a-ok.

5.  Luck.  I really do have to say that I think my body is just handling pregnancy well.  I've had fairly easy-to-manage symptoms and have felt really good most of the time.  Perhaps I'm just good at being pregnant with no big effort on my part...

I have no idea what the rest of my pregnancy will look like, weight-wise.  I still have time to pack it on in the home stretch, but I'm hopeful that it won't be that way.  I'm also hopeful that Mandy will help us figure out a way to get in to the Birth Centre, even though my BMI (at 25 weeks pregnant) was less than 3 points higher than the cut off...

Did you struggle with weight during your pregnancy?
Did you have any surprises that affected your plans for giving birth?