Pregnancy Weight Loss (breastfeeding, milk, babies, sucking)

[Chippery]

I have a question. During my pregnancy I gained roughly 27 pounds. I had Pre-eclampsia, which can restrict the growth of a baby inside. The baby arrived at 5 pounds 6 ounces (early, at 37 weeks.)

The 1st week PP check up I had already lost 25 pounds. On the 2nd week PP check up I'd lost a total of 30. 4 days later, I see that I've lost another 3 pounds when checking at home. To me 33 pounds in just over 2 weeks seems pretty extreme. My diet has stayed the same.

I keep reading that a healthy weight loss is around 2-3 lbs a week afterwards. I've already lost any pregnancy weight. Granted, I do have extra pounds to lose, but that was one of the reasons they said I didn't gain 'too much' while pregnant.

Has anybody else gone through this, and what would you consider normal?

[charz]

With both my pregnancies, I lost 20 pounds within 2 weeks of giving birth. Unfortunately, I had gained 42 pounds with each pregnancy. The last 22 pounds proved more difficult. I had lost all but the last 10 pounds when I became pregnant again (first child was 2 at the time). I lost all 42 pounds after the second child and I gained it all back.

[findinghope]

i gained a total of about 40 during the pregnancy, and by the second week after the birth, i lost 20---and i kept the rest and added to it in the past 2 years.

i wish i had your problem!

[laysayfair]

Are you nursing? That pulls the weight off. I gained 50 lbs and lost 25 in the first 2 weeks. I did on-demand nursing and lost the other 25 in about 8 more weeks. Then I had to eat like crazy to keep weight on because of the breastfeeding.

[Chippery]

I'm expressing every couple hours and supplimenting w/ formula as needed.

We ran into complications with actual nursing when he was born. He was too young to coordinate the sucking/swallowing/breathing. That kind of threw things off - in the feeding department.

20/25 in two weeks sounds comparable. Did you have any problems with the milk supply during the weight loss? During my paranoid reading online about weight loss, some sources suggested that losing too quick could seriously impact the amount of milk. Do you agree?

[michelleleigh]

Chippery, congradulations it sounds like you are doing well, Milk production should not be a problem if you are really worried try to get hold of a lactition consultant. Also rember that by brestfeeding pumping you are useing up extra callories that and the fact you are probably not really sleeping( I have a 6 week old who is allways eating) Take care of your self as well as the new one Blessings Michelle

[121804]

Originally Posted by Chippery

I have a question. During my pregnancy I gained roughly 27 pounds. I had Pre-eclampsia, which can restrict the growth of a baby inside. The baby arrived at 5 pounds 6 ounces (early, at 37 weeks.)

The 1st week PP check up I had already lost 25 pounds. On the 2nd week PP check up I'd lost a total of 30. 4 days later, I see that I've lost another 3 pounds when checking at home. To me 33 pounds in just over 2 weeks seems pretty extreme. My diet has stayed the same.

I keep reading that a healthy weight loss is around 2-3 lbs a week afterwards. I've already lost any pregnancy weight. Granted, I do have extra pounds to lose, but that was one of the reasons they said I didn't gain 'too much' while pregnant.

Has anybody else gone through this, and what would you consider normal?

I gained about 25 lbs w/ #1. Lost that weight & about 10 lbs more in about 3months.

Prior to getting pregnant, I was in the best shape of my life, so there was not much excess weight.

For baby #2, gained about the same, but have just lost the baby weight & not much more. Baby weight took about 6 months.

Nursed both babies.

Just think it's different for every woman. I was under a great deal of stress when baby #1 was born. Things were much more normal in our lives when #2was born.

Just as every pregnancy is different for every woman, so is the PP. What you read is a rough "outline" of the "average".

As long as your OB/GYN is ok with how you are doing, I wouldn't be concerned.

If you are worried, your best bet is probably to ask your doctor.

PS...stay away from excess reading of what is suppose to be the "right thing" on the internet. I did that with #1 & was ridicously paranoid over the silliest things. With baby #2, I just enjoyed it as much as I could, even when things arose (I was induced early due to low ambio fluid, etc) & I stayed off the internet during the pregnancy. Sometimes those baby websites are more for dramatic effect than anything else.

Follow your instincts. That is probably the best bet

[bande1102]

I had pre-eclampsia with my first and my weight loss was similar to yours. With pre-eclampsia, I was holding onto water like crazy. I could literally gain 5lbs overnight so the fast loss didn't concern me. I just figured it was water weight. My son was nursing, too, and it didn't seem to affect him. Is the baby gaining weight and growing as expected?

[maestramommy]

Are your breastfeeding? That can burn a lot of calories, although I agree that you are losing it all very quickly. I think it depends on how much of it was water weight, which does come off the first 2-3 weeks. If you had preclampsia, and were on any kind of bedrest, you might've gained a lot of water weight. Also, were you normal weight, overweight or under weight before you got pregnant? If you were normal or under weight, it can't hurt to ask the doc about it if you continue to drop weight.


ETA: just saw your other post. Regarding milk supply, only you can answer that question. If you feel like the supply is declining, or that your baby is eating more than you have, the best way to remedy that is to eat more, and drink a LOT of fluids.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by Chippery

I'm expressing every couple hours and supplimenting w/ formula as needed.

We ran into complications with actual nursing when he was born. He was too young to coordinate the sucking/swallowing/breathing. That kind of threw things off - in the feeding department.

20/25 in two weeks sounds comparable. Did you have any problems with the milk supply during the weight loss? During my paranoid reading online about weight loss, some sources suggested that losing too quick could seriously impact the amount of milk. Do you agree?

No, I didn't have that problem. My body made milk like it was going out of style and made it for 4 years. My body seemed determine to take care of my baby at all cost. I agree with the suggestion to eat more and drink a lot of fluids. It uses up a lot of calories making milk for a baby.