sigh.
I just got off the phone with the Austin Birthing Center. All my paperwork looks good except one thing. That would be my BMI. I am 5’4 and 3/4 (at my last physical they would not give me that 1/4’’) and currently weigh 218.8 lbs. That puts my BMI in the obese category. The center is still willing to take my on, however, I am required to agree to only gain 5-10lbs thru my pregnancy. I am going to build a baby and only gain 5 lbs! To me, that says I get to diet hard core thru my pregnancy….f-ing fantastic. I am overweight, I can freely admit that, but I wear a size 16 pants. That is the average size in America. You would think I would not be asked to basically loose 20 lbs. thru the pregnancy, but sigh.
I have been on and off diets my whole life. I hated my body growing up. Was anorexic in the 8th and 9th grade until I started to run 7 miles a day. Then I ate whatever I wanted. You can do that when you run 7 miles a day. When I was injured and could not run, I put the weight back on. A few years ago, I trained for a half marathon. I did this at 200 lbs. I am just not a small girl however you look at it. I really thought during pregnancy, I would not have to diet. Eat healthy and walk, yes, makes sense to me. We will see what exactly the birthing center says. They said that they do tons of nutrition counseling and will build an exercise routine for me. I am interested in what that means. She said high protein and low sugar, which seems reasonable. Honestly it is not that bad except I hate to watch the scale. The best way for me to lose weight has always been thru self loathing. I can tear myself to shreds mentally picking my physical self apart, and I lose weight quickly. I don’t feel comfortable putting myself there thru the pregnancy. I guess I am just going to have to learn a new skill, but it just seems like an intense time to learn it.
On a plus note, I had the first ultrasound today. Just a gestational sack and a yolk egg, not real exciting, but still another sign that everything is going well. What is real exciting is that next Thursday I go in and should be able to see a heartbeat…kinda. He said it looks like a glimmer, but that it is the heart beating. He said it looks like a diamond ring, which I think he meant it kinda sparkles instead of looking like a steady heart beat. Should be really cool.
-S
WTF?! That seems completely unreasonable, not to mention kind of unhealthy. I'm sure they know what they're talking about, but yikes. I am the exact same size as you and not once did any of my doctors say anything about my weight or that I should only gain x number of pounds. You should be able to just enjoy your pregnancy, not stress over the number on the scale. Good luck!! Go with your gut and do what you're comfortable with.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I gained about 18 pounds up until week 33. Then I developed pre-e and gained 20+ pounds of fluid in 2 weeks, but that doesn't count.
Yay for the great u/s! Next week's will be extra exciting!
Um, screw that? I say enjoy your pregnancy and DON'T fret about it. I would rather look back and have enjoyed my pregnancy instead of constantly worrying about whether I've gained too much to stay with a particular birthing center. :/ Of course, I think you could do it! I just think it sucks.
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