The Bub in the Belly

Yesterday was an exciting day - we went for a maternity photoshoot in the morning! We had a lot of fun! I'll share some of the shots soon.

We went with Shann and her family for the shoot and after that, we had dim sum lunch at Red Star in Chinatown. After dropping Ryan off at his nanny's, Richard and I went to watch "The Avengers" at the cinema - enjoyed that a lot!

When we went to fetch Ryan in the evening, he had just fallen asleep! His nanny told us that he was in such a good mood, playing the whole afternoon, that he refused to take his nap. He eventually dozed off while writing at his writing desk. He ended up sleeping till the next morning! He must have had such a fun time at the shoot and at lunch, playing with Shann's daughter, Rou Ern!

Actually I was on medical leave yesterday. After lots of very late nights, I had been waking up the past few days with thick green phlegm clogging up my nose. Three nights ago, it turned into a terrible cough that kept me awake the whole night. Zombie-fied the next morning, I staggered my way to the doctor and, as I am coming up close to my EDD, she immediately put me on a half-course of antibiotics, with approval for 3 days of medical leave (I used only one and a half days, heh). I fell gratefully into bed that afternoon and hardly ate anything that day. The next day (yesterday), I put myself on the scale and found that I'd dropped nearly 2 kg, in just a day!

The photographer was astonished to learn that Shann and I are due to deliver so soon, she said our tummies were so tiny. Some of my shots didn't quite work out because my tummy was not prominent enough. She is certainly not the only one to make such a comment, which prompted me today to write about weight gain during pregnancy because I don't want to give the impression that it is necessarily a good thing to gain so little weight or that you should be dieting to stay slim during pregnancy.

I'm definitely not a lightweight in terms of actual kilos. The thing that keeps me looking compact is that I'm still relatively proportionate. There are definitely advantages to keeping things light though - I don't tire easily, I can wear non-maternity clothes, my posture doesn't suffer, and Ryan and I can still hug each other to sleep. However, it's not because of any conscious attempt to diet.

During pregnancy, it's pretty common, at least for me, to have my weight fluctuate 2-3 kg up and down. I've heard many pregnant ladies report that they lose weight, especially when nausea strikes or when they get sick (which would be the case if they were not pregnant anyway). I remember losing 2 kg right at the start, between my first and second appointment at the gynae. On the other hand, there were several days when I would discover that I had put on a kilo overnight after a sumptuous day of feasting and many other days when I shed the same kilos overnight after being careful with what I ate during the day or when I was too busy/had no appetite to eat.

In general, of course, I did put on some kilos - baby, amniotic fluid, expanded uterus, increased fluid, extra blood, placenta, more storage of maternal fat, nutrients and proteins, enlarged breasts, etc. - it all adds up. Completing nearly 35 weeks of this pregnancy, I've put on 6 plus kg. Which is not really something to brag about - my gynae says it's on the low side because I started out the pregnancy heavier than I was when I started my previous pregnancy! Generally speaking, slimmer people need to gain more during the pregnancy than fatter people. In other words, I was fatter to begin with - hahaha! I attribute that to the fact that I am still nursing (need to keep on a few extra kilos for breastfeeding). Good news is that, if you don't put on anything extra apart from that, you should shrink back to your pre-pregnancy state very quickly after delivery!

As I started out heavier, the slower rate of weight gain means that I am now approaching the same weight I was at when I was at the same stage in my previous pregnancy. At the moment I'm just about a kg more than where I was previously, and I expect to end up at the same weight when I deliver. So I do believe that, if you eat right and stay active, and you don't have any medical conditions (like diabetes, etc.) your body will end up at the optimum weight that it needs to be at.

While you should be careful to eat healthily and not put on excessive weight, slow or little weight gain could mean that you are not storing enough fat to carry your pregnancy to term, which may result in a low-birth weight baby at delivery or even a premature birth. (If your baby is of normal weight, it could simply mean that you were heavy to begin with, as in my case). In any case, the important thing is to hit the required weight for a healthy pregnancy and to stay healthy while you do so.

Here's something from Epigee Women's Health which says pretty much the same thing:

"Can Complications Arise from too Little or too Much Weight Gain?
Women who are underweight before pregnancy need to be extra careful about gaining weight. Being underweight could result in a premature birth and/or the low-birth weight of your baby.
If you are overweight before pregnancy, it is important to note that even though the amount of weight you are recommended to gain is lower than that of women of a normal weight, you still have to gain weight. Pregnancy is no time for dieting. Without the necessary amount of weight gain, your body will be unable to store the amount of fat required to carry your pregnancy to term.
That said, a greater than normal amount of weight gain during pregnancy should also be cautioned against, as this may lead to obesity after childbirth, which could lead to a whole host of other health problems."